# Evil Dead Pinball Topper Installation Guide

**Source:** Spooky Pinball  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2025-02-02  
**Duration:** 8m 52s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrgej7DljEs

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## Analysis

Bug from Spooky Pinball provides a detailed, tool-free installation guide for the Evil Dead pinball topper. The tutorial covers backglass removal, RGB cable routing, wing nut attachment, protective foam installation, and in-game menu configuration. The guide emphasizes design improvements like tool-free wing nuts and includes safety precautions for protecting the topper and playfield during installation.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] The Evil Dead topper design uses tool-free wing nuts (improvement over previous Spooky topper designs) — _Bug explicitly demonstrates and credits 'Router Dave' for the design suggestion: 'we just have these two wing nuts here now, so that you don't need any tools to actually take your topper off the game'_
- [HIGH] Evil Dead topper includes protective foam piece in the coin box to protect the topper and film reels when playfield is folded up — _Bug shows the foam piece and explains: 'when I fold this up, this piece of foam is going to protect everything so you don't damage your topper'_
- [HIGH] The topper has RGB lighting controlled via menu settings accessed through the in-game test menu — _Bug instructs: 'go into the menu and activate your topper in the menu... hit that green button to enter the test menu. Locate the topper test screen... turn that to On'_
- [HIGH] The Evil Dead topper uses a three-cable connection system (labeled 1, 2, and 3) routed through the game head — _Bug identifies: 'It is labeled 1, 2, and 3 on the side. You'll be unplugging Cable number 1 from the very top spot there'_

### Notable Quotes

> "This is a significant improvement on our previous topper designs that I really love—is that we just have these two wing nuts here now, so that you don't need any tools to actually take your topper off the game."
> — **Bug**, ~3:45
> _Highlights design iteration and customer feedback incorporation (crediting Router Dave) in Spooky's topper engineering_

> "Do not turn the topper on without removing the foam."
> — **Bug**, ~6:30
> _Safety instruction emphasizing critical protective foam removal before powering topper_

> "Thanks to Router Dave for letting us know to do this."
> — **Bug**, ~3:40
> _Community design feedback attribution, demonstrating Spooky's openness to customer input on product improvements_

> "The last thing we want is for you guys to damage your topper, so be sure to always use this when you put your game up."
> — **Bug**, ~15:00
> _Explicit customer care messaging about protective practices for premium hardware_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Bug | person | Co-owner and creative director of Spooky Pinball; host and presenter of the Evil Dead topper installation tutorial |
| Spooky Pinball | company | Boutique pinball manufacturer; releasing Evil Dead pinball with custom topper hardware and installation support |
| Evil Dead | game | 2025 Spooky Pinball release featuring advanced topper with RGB lighting, film reel mechanics, and tool-free installation design |
| Router Dave | person | Community member credited with suggesting the tool-free wing nut design improvement for Spooky topper hardware |
| AJ | person | Assistant appearing in the tutorial video, helping demonstrate topper unboxing and installation procedures |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Topper installation and hardware design, RGB lighting and in-game menu configuration
- **Secondary:** Customer support and protective practices, Product packaging and unboxing experience, Community feedback integration in product design

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.85) — Enthusiastic, professional presentation with emphasis on customer care, design improvements, and community appreciation. Bug's tone is encouraging and supportive throughout, positioning the installation as straightforward and the product as premium.

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** Spooky Pinball incorporating customer design suggestions (Router Dave's wing nut concept) and actively crediting community input in product development (confidence: high) — 'Thanks to Router Dave for letting us know to do this' demonstrates public acknowledgment of external design contribution
- **[product_strategy]** Evil Dead topper features tool-free wing nut design, credited to community feedback from Router Dave, representing iterative improvement over Spooky's previous topper designs (confidence: high) — Bug explicitly states: 'This is a significant improvement on our previous topper designs that I really love—is that we just have these two wing nuts here now, so that you don't need any tools'
- **[product_concern]** Detailed protective measures required during installation and playfield operation (protective foam, cable management, motor clearance checks) suggest potential durability/protection concerns with topper hardware (confidence: medium) — Multiple safety warnings: foam protection for apron, motor clearance checks, cable routing to prevent backglass shadows, explicit instruction not to power topper with protective foam installed

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## Transcript

Hey, it's Bug here from Spooky Pinball, and welcome back for another tutorial. Uh, today we'll be showing you how to officially install your Evil Dead topper, and the good news is you don't need any tools. All right, so first things first, we gotta get the old topper off the game. It's not really old—it's brand new and it just came with your machine—but it's not going to stay on for long. So go ahead, get your coin door open, get those display keys out. We're going to fold down the display panel, we're going to pop out the backglass. It's very easy; you just lift up and pull it out. And yeah, we will begin the process of getting this old topper off your game.

Next, we're going to follow this wire like it's a shot of a lit fuse from Looney Tunes or something, but no, this is the RGB cable that comes from the topper all the way down to this lightboard in the game here. We're going to unplug that cable. Of course, it is labeled 1, 2, and 3 on the side. You'll be unplugging Cable number 1 from the very top spot there.

Your next step is going to be to pull this cable through all of the D-loops in the head. Uh, this will be pretty easy—it's really straightforward. You're just running the cable back through. Uh, if you really wanted to, you could unscrew these D-loops to help get it through a little easier, but I—it's plenty easy to just go ahead and run this cable through the loops as it is. You may need to cut a zip tie too if it is zipped down to the rest of the cables, but there really shouldn't be too many of those.

So once you thread this last spot here, you're just going to go ahead and run the cable through this hole that is in the top of your head. You're just going to run it all out of that hole so that you are clear to go ahead and take off the wing nuts and remove the old topper. This is a significant improvement on our previous topper designs that I really love—is that we just have these two wing nuts here now, so that you don't need any tools to actually take your topper off the game. You just go ahead and loosen each of these. I recommend holding the bolt down from the top side to make this a little easier. Um, but you just go ahead, loosen these, pull the bolt through, and that's it. The topper is unsecure. You can pull it right off. Thanks to Router Dave for letting us know to do this.

So the topper is ready to remove now, so off with her head!

So now it's time to get that really, really sexy topper box opened up so we can start getting the content out of it and ready for install. So as long as you don't open the box upside down, you'll find these items in the top here: it will include the extra hardware, a thank you note because of course we love you guys, a sticker with our super cool awesome new logo on it, a checklist ensuring that you have all your parts, and the bottom extension kit for those who want to put the topper beneath the game.

Unboxing the topper is really this simple. You just remove the top layer of foam. You'll remove your side pieces of foam as well. So after you get this last piece of foam removed—this step's very important—you're going to put one hand on top of the topper and one hand onto the bottom side so you can get a good grip on it and lift it out of the box. I really love how AJ holds things—like, look at him holding this puppy, then compare it to how he holds the topper. He holds it kind of the same way. I don't know.

All right, now that you have the topper completely out, it's time to remove the bag off the Shel barrel, and then there's also some additional pieces of protective foam here that you're going to gently remove as well. I would also like to point out here that you should probably set your nice new fancy topper on top of a real table and not the flimsy thin edges of the cardboard topper box like AJ is doing here. But AJ is a professional, so don't try this at home. But yes, finish up removing these protective pieces of foam here to free up the movement for the topper. Do not turn the topper on without removing the foam. Then go ahead and cut the zip tie and unwind your cabling that goes out from the bottom side of the topper.

From here, you are ready to set the topper on top of the game. Now we have to run this cabling through the top of the game. There is a cutout in the top of your game for this cabling—you used it earlier already when you took the previous topper off. You're going to set the topper down just in front of this hole so that you can run your cabling through it. Now, of course, be cautious doing this. You don't want to bump the topper and knock it over the edge or anything, so be very gentle, be very cautious. If you have a friend that can help you out, you know, have them hold on to the topper or just watch you, and just run this cabling through the hole, and you'll be ready to set the topper then on top of this hole.

Just wanting to show here that your topper should sit perfectly flush with the top of your game. There should be no bump or anything separating the topper from the head of the game from those cables. So go ahead and check now that your holes in the topper are lined up for the bolt and the wing nut so you can secure this bad boy down.

I let AJ shoot this. So once you have the top lined up, you can go ahead and run your bolt through the head and start securing the wing nuts. After the wing nuts are secured, you can now go ahead and plug in your topper cables. Be sure to plug the cables into the correct ports here—match up your colors. I'll give anyone who can guess what I say here a free topper. Got a... all right.

So now that you've routed your cable all the way through the head and you're back to your lightboard, plug that cable back into position number 1 on the lightboard, and then with some of the spare zip ties we give you, go ahead and tighten up your cables up here. You want to do this to keep them away from the headbox lights because the lights will actually cast a shadow on your backglass.

Once you have the head all back together, it's time to go into the menu and activate your topper in the menu. So go ahead, open your coin door, hit that green button to enter the test menu. Locate the topper test screen. Once you are in the topper test menu, obviously you want to go to "Topper Installed," turn that to On. I recommend turning on the Attract Mode if you want to get more mojo out of your topper, and that's it. At this point, your topper is completely hooked up and ready to go—ready to do all the fun, scary, horrible things that it does to your game room.

One last incredibly important thing to show you before we go: so in your coin box you had this piece of foam—if you remember from the unboxing video, whenever you put your playfield up, you want to make sure you have this piece of foam installed on your apron. This is to protect your topper as well as your film reels on the apron. So you can see here when I fold this up, this piece of foam is going to protect everything so you don't damage your topper. The last thing we want is for you guys to damage your topper, so be sure to always use this when you put your game up.

And one last thing: you want to check before powering up your topper here is that everything is clear from your motor. This would include the wires and the cabling, as well as the air. You're going to want to make sure you just keep the air clear of the motor. We're going to have measures to be protecting the motor from this, but better safe than sorry.

And with that, you are set to go. This is a very easy topper install overall. Uh, thank you guys so much for watching. Please don't hesitate to reach out to our tech support team if you have any questions on this process. Uh, and have a great day. Do something spooky for me.

_(Acquisition: youtube_auto_sub, Enrichment: v1)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: fa0cac29-fcb7-4174-900b-4a9e991cf4be*