I'm kind of with you on this. Toppers that perform a function, such as F-14 Tomcats beacons or Pinbot light bar are must haves. Non-functional original toppers are desirable but not a must. Aftermarket toppers have to be very well done and look like they were supposed to be a part of the original game to be of any consideration.

It's like a lot of pinball mods, something else to buy for your game. I have put many mods in my games, but toppers have not interested me yet.

You are not alone, sir. Original ones like Wh20, FT, TAF whirlwind are awesome and actually add to the game.
Woz's is lame as are most laserific ones IMHO.
I just dont' get some of them. Spiderman laserific says spiderman in the same font as the backglass directly above it so it says it twice.... ummm.... ok.
Might get some people excited, but not me.

I agree with the above post. If It is integrated into gameplay, definitely have to have it. Otherwise, they just seem like unnecessary clutter to me. I recently found an original topper for my wh20. I only bought it to make the game complete but to me its just decorative and not essential at all.

I don't feel the need to stick one on every game, but the mckee POTC topper is slick. The flashers are integrated into gameplay and I love it. I dislike the homemade ones involving action figures and cheesy stuff just kinda stuck up there.

Toppers are ok if you have the money for them, but not needed in any way. I can hardly look at the display screen when playing. Lol

Wait. You can PLAY these things?
I thought they were for lookin' at!

I don't get it either for the most part. I like most original, and some aftermarket, I did a sweet balrog one that is tied to GI and flashers, and have thought of the RS one, but don't feel the need to get something for each machine.

But the modding of our Barbie dolls is what helps keeps the interest alive for many to one extent or another, and customizing all in all I think is a great thing which helps in revitalizing and rejuvenating games, giving them new looks, and more appeal. So although I look at some mods, and some powder coating colours, and some gaudy this or that and think "yuk", I still appreciate that we all have a lot of options if we so desired.

For the most part I really dislike aftermarket toppers. However, there are some exceptions like the TSPP topper where it's just the tops of their heads. I wouldn't spend money on it though.

The crap people tape to the top of their games is almost as bad as the crap people zip tie to the inside.

Just because you have a pinball, and they happen to make a fisher price looking toy of the same license, doesn't mean you have to junk your game up.

Remember when "mods" we're cool, not action figures, mirrors, chrome/lit up flipper buttons, stickers etc? Lots of people trying to make a quick buck, can't blame them for that, just shocked people buy this stuff sometimes.

I am not a topper fan unless it os original. I do like the CFTBL topper grave walker thing, but still I just see them as taking up extra space and limited pin dollars.

I agree about some of the toppers. The LED lit acrylic ones just don't do it for me. Reminds me of the cheap wall hangings you buy at the flea market.

Some of the full color vinyl or painted ones though are pretty neat. I like them to be wired into the game somehow too, even if they aren't factory original. Putting a flasher in something and wiring it up isn't that hard.

They are just there for a person to be attracted to the game. once you are playing it they have done there job. Its all about getting those quarters or these days dollars into that coin box.

I agree totally about the toy collections or misc nick-nacks people put up there. I also agree with the various light up "signs" people put up there. The Laserific stuff, in some cases looks OK, but I don't get adding them to the game.

All that said, if a topper is wired to the game and tied into certain features, I think they can be cool if done well. I made a Stargate topper years ago with a swirling blue sphere inside of a custom painted stargate ring. Each of the chevrons on the ring had an LED in it tied to the ones on the playfield, so it was swirling with the "event horizon" and the chevrons lit to indicate playfield status. It was cool (despite the fact that TECHNICALLY the stargate wouldn't engage until after all the chevrons were lit, but...).

I too am mad that people choose to do as they wish with their personal possessions. Just so mad.

Personally I'm not a topper fan. Part of it is that I find a line of machines to be much more appealing if it's a nice straight line.

But yeah, some of the aftermarket ones all look very cookie-cutter. Not a big fan.

I am on board with pretty much everything already stated. Anything that somebody just puts on the top of the backbox kind of cheapens the look of the machine to me. A stuffed toy rabbit on TOM, boxing gloves on CP, (which don't make sense anyway,) super hero action figures on super hero machines, etc. Why does a Spider Man machine need a Spider man doll standing on it? Figures inside machines to me are even worse. Some people turn the playfield into a toybox. The only way that I would make an aftermarket topper is if I was going to make something that was a work of art, just for the originality and the wow factor of it.

I am not a fan of toppers in general, but I really like having the Betabrite toppers on my Stern games. It gives my room more of an arcade feel and I like that they can run and scroll info even when the machine is turned off.

Do you always make stuff up when you don't have anything to say? Do you see the word "mad" anywhere in my response? Do I say anywhere that people shouldn't do what they want? I'm surprised they do sometimes, but that's a large leap from suggesting I should be able to control what other people do to their games.

Let me guess, you are the zip tie and tape cheap shit to your pins kinda guy?

Worked on this one for a while.

image-677.jpg

$10K by Christmas

I dont use toppers either, i have had only 2 games with them, and they were factory ones...

My Lights Camera Action had it, and my Gottlieb Monte Carlo came with it too...

funny as i have had PM's asking if i would sell both seperatly, andthe answer was NOTTA on both...

otherwise i prefer no toppers on my games

if you replace the words "fisher price" with "happy meal toys", you share sentiments with mr. python angehlo

I agree that unless it came with the game and serves a purpose (eg. lights that display during certain game modes) or add to the theme of the game (eg. white water's awesome cascading waterfall), there really haven't been too many after-market toppers that have struck a chord with me. the only one that I can think of in the past few years that fits well with the game (and looks like it belongs) is laserific's ac/dc train coming off the tracks

I think toppers are nice , especially if the lighting is integrated. Keep in mind these toppers built by the factory was there to attract customers because they can be seen from a distance because they were taller than the other machines. Data east exploited this idea by making their backboxes taller. Toppers if done right , even homemade ones can be made to add some visual excitement to any game , if implemented well with size, shape and proportion

I don't mind the toppers, nor the toys that some pinheads put inside their pins. I basically look at it like it's their pin and they could do whatever that want with it. As long as it doesn't effect the ball flow of the game, what does it matter? I can't imagine playing an Addams family pin without an Uncle Fester in the electric chair, but that's just me.

I've been known to put some figures or extra toys on my pins. If I decide to sell the pin, most of the mods can be removed if they don't like them. No hard feelings at all. Most of the pinheads kinda enjoy them, especially some of the extra figures I put inside the TSPP pin. If the figure is displayed on the backglass or in the dmd screen, then I may try to put that figure in the game.

This thread reminds me of an old SNL skit.

If well done, I like the creativity and it can add something to the theme of the game. Some of the aftermarket mods (including toppers) are awesome. Mfr's have used toppers on their games and we probably would have seen more of them if not for BOM constraints.

Why denigrate toppers vs. side mirrors, adding LEDs, playfield toys, backbox lighting, under cabinet lighting, powder coat painting, or any other after market addition that's basically a pinball decoration? Is there some "need" for those items?

It's all bling. Like some, hate some.

Of the 5 machines I have, two have toppers. Space Shuttle has the factory topper sign. Nothing special about it. My ACDC has the Laserific Train topper. IMO, that is the best looking aftermarket topper I have ever seen. I liked it so much that I bought the topper before I had bought the game!! I spent a lot of $$ for the pin that I wanted and I wanted to add something to it that looks great and really makes it stand out. I couldn't be happier with it.
As far as my other pins... I only prefer to have toppers on them if they were factory issued. I am generally not a big "Bling" type of person but the ACDC was a must have!

The only aftermarket topper that I have seen that I liked is the guy who put the food movie guys on top of his CFTBL. The grave topper is horrible in my opinion

I think that everyone has a different taste , I say if you have the money to buy a pinball do what ever the F*%# you want with it , I have toppers and custom mods , painted rails and legs , side mirrors and much more in my pins , some like it some hate it .

I'm with you. Most of the aftermarket toppers look awful, cheap and/or tacky. A few of them are okay, very few are what I would consider good looking. I can't think of any I would pay $75-$150+ for. They are just not for me. I would be too busy looking at them and thinking about all the money I spent on them and how I could have another game instead. I am way more about how the game plays compared to how it looks. I know many would rather have a sweet looking game even if it plays like crap. I would much rather have a beater that plays perfectly.

What I REALLY don't understand is why all the color changing with mods? People have these mods that look bad IMHO for the most part anyway and then have them cycle through all the colors of the rainbow that don't apply to the game in any way, which makes a bad mod look even worse.

Customization is a very fun aspect of the hobby to many, and certainly to me. If the price we have to pay is to see some gaudy, tacky mods from time to time, or have to ignore various threads about them, I think it is a worthwhile exchange.

Toppers? You can't play toppers. They're stupid. Who wants nice stuff on top of their machines you can't play?

This is exactly why I sand the outsides of my cabinets down to the bare wood when I buy a new game. If you can't play it, I sure as hell don't want it looking nice.

Chicks dig toppers

Wow. Based on all the "me too" comments in this thread, I guess there really is no market for toppers.

Personally I like them when well done and don't give a $uc& what others think about them.

Although I read and posted to this thread so perhaps I do care.

The entire "pimp my pin" mentality just goes to show how self-infatuated some of us are in this country. A $200 topper here, $60 Pingulp there, $300 in LEDs, mirror blades, under cabinet lighting, speakers, etc. etc. Most of it is a tremendous amount of money going down the drain that could be used for something important like, oh I don't know, a mortgage payment? Do you realize how fortunate you are to even have a job and a roof over your head? Fresh out of college I will be LUCKY if I own a single machine in the next decade.

Oh, and don't even get me started on the flippers.

Not my thing, but to each their own. It is YOUR game after all, do want you want with it!

I can understand your frustration, but I think most pinheads make sure their mortgage payments are paid for before they buy their things. I put some "bling" on my pins only after everything is paid for. After all, isn't that the reason you get up every morning to work, to MAYBE buy you a little something and to enjoy life?

That's the thing: Everyone is different. I'm 47 years old, am a year and a half away from paying off my residence, have two grown children with kids of their own, and took some of my savings to do something I've always wanted to do: Buy some pinball machines.

I'm sure one day you'll be in a similar position if you choose. At that point, you'll be able to fill up your overpriced toys with meaningless trinkets....

I almost bought the AC/DC topper, but then it would be the only pin I own with a topper (my GnR doesn't have one). I decided I would rather use that money for a shaker. I was getting kinda caught up with the mod planning for a while, but then I played some machines on route and realized I had just as much fun playing the unmodded ones. I finally figured out my priority for mods:

Must have: LEDs, LED OCD (and GI OCD when released), shaker, pingulp
NIce: under cab lighting tied to flashers (adds a lot to the game when playing in a dark room)

That is pretty much it for me. LIghts, shaking, and beer holder.

Hmmm. Well, I was in school/training for 27 years(including Kindergarten). I make my mortgage payments, provide for my family, and fund my retirement. If I have some disposable income left over, and purchasing a luxury item here and there makes me happy, I think I'll go ahead and keep buying them. But thanks anyway

The top of a pinball machine is a lot like an empty shelf.
People just want to put stuff there. A lot of it looks nice. No problem here.

speaking of toppers....am looking for a DE Simpsons one. PM if you have one available.

Besides, toppers keep the cats from jumping from head to head.

I think that lit sword on Totan suits the game.

Agree. It coincides with the amount of jewels that you collected. I have it on mine and I get more compliments on that topper.

TOPPER:

In referring to gay relationships, or gay male prostitutes.

The "man" in the relationship is usually known as a "topper".

(Urban Dictionary definition)

My son brought home a toy pirate pistol and I put an led in each barrel and it fires when you hit the ship, my Transformers came with a shooter rod with a bumblebee head and I pulled the head off and ground it to fit over the seam on the T molding but that is about it, to me they are just dust collectors.

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