I was playing AFMrLE the other day thinking the same thing.

Whirlwind is the best topper.
It blows everthing away

Game of thrones for the win.

I'm sure if other companies could come with one customers don't mind
paying an extra grand or more for, they would be all over it.

I haven't seen a topper that comes close to what CGC has produced....I would say AFMRLE is a tad better than MBRLE...All the Stern and JJP toppers suck by comparison....JJP's POTC CE model was decent, but still not in the same league....JJP's crappy plastic toppers are the worst....

If the Hobbit topper Lorenzo was working on ever got made. It would have been close.

LTG : )

I'll take your word for it....I haven't seen it

I really enjoyed the Ghostbusters topper

Might be pictures out there or on Pinside. As I recall it was kind of the front of the Hobbit house. And the door would open when you start the game and close when the game was over. I'm sure software was never written for it. Licensing, time frame, or cost I believe killed it.

LTG : )

Looks like CGC knocked it out of the part again with the new MMR topper

I think Ghostbusters now wins this category thanks to the recent code updates for the game. There's a lot of cool toppers out there but very few actually interact with games mode and even fewer that pull off multiple effects throughout the game. The Ghostbusters topper does that.

I don't get the appeal of toppers.

AFMRLE wins hands down

Yes they have to produce better toppers, I think everyone is over the cheap etch plexiglass look

yea...JJP toppers on their $10K machines (WOZ, POTC) is embarrassing

I forgot about that! Now that we’ve got the JJP pirate trunk mod, this is totally in grasp...

Mod makers will never be able to sell a topper for the volume or R&D cost CGC puts into their stuff. New games? NIB prices would go up another $1K

Attack LE is the best topper ever made
I think every pin deserves a topper
Always like the attract modes

Fish Tales , WW,Wh20 are beautiful
As well

Are you serious?

Amh has gotten more compliments than any other topper i have owned.

I'm with you. I can't for the life of me figure out how this is a thing.

Makes me think about a poll I made a last year.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/does-the-topper-decide-what-game-you-buy
But this one is nice and wouldn't think twice about adding it to mine.

Not a huge add on topper fan but this new one they did for MMr is pretty cool.
I can appreciate stogie troll.
2F338ADB-A375-49BA-AB2E-0C6D2F93DF6E (resized).jpeg8B757D56-4E08-4F3A-82F5-4C5DE3BDFF16 (resized).jpegA758CC8A-7D11-4994-866F-7519FC753F4D (resized).jpeg

The old Space Invaders has a pretty cool topper, not interactive though but cool.
Tommy mirror ball is ok too.

100%. Same as adding stupid tchotchkes all over the playfield.

I see an opportunity though, the topper market seems full....but no one has yet cracked into the Unders market.
Business opportunity....who is with me?

The detail on the MM topper is awesome , but I think the potc CE topper is right up there , with it's animation and lighting effects

CE Topper is cool....the only decent topper JJP has produced....but u had to pay almost $13K to get one ....

I get it...in my mind its eye candy for the most part....hard to argue that it doesn't dress up the game nicely. Most toppers are cheap plastic crap, but CGC has done a great job of developing toppers that actually interact with the game play (kind of like the shaker).....It is a nice to have, and not a need to have product...just like all mods on pinball games

What's there not to like about toppers , who needs nice art , who needs a dmd , who needs powder coating , who needs a shaker motor , all of these things don't affect gameplay but overall they make the whole experience better . I love my fish tales topper , seeing it flap around during certain points of the game , it adds to the whole experience .

the detail in this topper is incredible. Def the most detail I've ever seen. Now it doesn't appear to move like AFM BUT it does have a troll smoking a cigar.....

hmmmm

Have not seen a topper I cared for since Whirlwind, Fire, and Fish Tales.

Fish-Tales9a (resized).jpg

boom - Stern have crushed it!

At first I thought they were tacky at best and at worst a complete waste of money... But, then I saw the Monster Bash LE topper and I was hooked on toppers. I really think its a great way to add one little bit of character onto your machine. I am addicted to toppers now. I want one for all my machines. But, I just don't want garbage. I want something cool.

I don't care too much about a light show. Or integration, as I will never look up at the topper during play. I never do with my MB. I want something that looks good when turned off. And perhaps does add to the light show when turned on. But, the latter is only a side benefit, as my monster bash I barely notice the light show when playing. When viewing another person it matters.
But, I think with an older pin a better light show would be more noticeable as the lighting on MBr is insanely well done.
I'm looking at making my own Sinbad. I got an idea for having the Dragon and Cyclops fighting as a topper or staring down each other about to fight from the Seventh Voyage of Sinbad. And possibly Sinbad on the topper surrounded by some of the Sinbad babes... They'd be on a separate frame in the foreground much smaller then the monsters.

Probably because they are preoccupied with Playfield design, concept, theming, art design and coding. Not having to do any of those things Probably frees up a lot of time for topper development.

Honestly me either. It's just added cost and ultimately doesn't add a ton to the game. It's just eye candy. That being said, I did love the MBrLE topper..so I mean even I can fall for eye candy. For the majority I simply don't care though. I never actually 'look' at the topper when I'm playing so I have no idea what it is doing.

Okay that's pretty cool.

Another layer of immersion for me. I like the fact that when I’m occasionally not staring at the ball I can look up and see both the display AND the topper. Everyone likes more when it’s done right.

Wow, that's one of the best for sure. Very cool!

That Black Knight topper is definitely up there with the AFM, maybe even better.

To each their own. I don’t really care about the topper. Especially with how much they cost. The games are expensive enough.

One thing though about CGC toppers. They are amazing. But, they really shouldn't be just for the LE purchasers. A topper should be available to buy for whoever wants to buy it.
I'd say the same about Sterns if they made toppers only for LE's. Sure I think it should be included in the LE price point. But, shouldn't be exclusive.

Now, I know pinball is split about who likes toppers and who doesn't, so you probably can get whatever topper you want if you're willing to pay. But, you should be able to get one from the company and not do the fake scarcity crap that they do.

These are toys. They are not collectors items. Do they hold value, yes they do. But, I don't buy my pins to hold value. I buy them to play. And when I want to sell them, I'll happily take what I can from them as a bonus. Because, the true worth for me, is in playing them...
And the true worth in a topper is looking at it when the machine is off and being all, "man its pretty!!!!!"

I know Munsters is a four letter word around here, but the Raven taunting and true interaction w gameplay(coming out and callouts) is one of the best I've experienced (spinning clock still being dealt w in code, still very cool in multiball jackpots).

My AFMRLE topper is awesome as well......

Nice!!!!

Holy shit thats a cool topper....Did they tell you the cost?

Seems like people like Stern's toppers?

Just one, and they don't even sell it yet