New pin owner!!

That80sGuy

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Ok.. so I used to have a hard rule about never owning pins...just seemed like too much upkeep compared to vids. Then I got a Bride of Pinbot a couple years ago at auction. Short version.. it had too much wrong with it and I had too little knowledge..and money to fix it. ...so I sold it..managing to break even at least.

That one really enforced my rule.

But now I am happy to say that soon I will have in my possesion a Data East Star Wars!!

This game is from a pin guy..he picked it up and fixed it up. Only thing for me to do is some cosmetics..like replacing playfield plastics..touching up the cab .. ect. If I was going to own one pin..this is it. I figure a working pin will be easier to learn on. lol

Couple questions: http://www.aaarpinball.com/StarWars/SWFS.htm

1. Does anyone reproduce the cabinet art?(it looks ok..just normal wear/use)
2. Does anyone reproduce the Death Star?(its there just worn at the top)
3. Anyone do metal repair on ramps?
4. Can edge wear like around 'The Force' hole be repaired?
5. How hard is it to do the LED light conversion?
6. Whats the latest/best ROM revision for the game?
7. Any advice from other DE Star Wars owners?
8. Need a list of reputable parts suppliers.

Thats it for now..I'll have more questions once I pick it up and get it home.
 
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yeah it was..I annoyed the hell out him with e-mails.. lol I am a HUGE SW fan..and one of these DE SW pins is in my favorite pizza joint back home.
 
I started out with one and said the same thing I am a vid guy and then all hell broke loose..There just as adictive but require more money.. The thing is they hold there value a little more.
 
I hear ya...however I am currently in a tiny rental house..so not much room for any more than one pin. I already have 5 vids crammed in the dinning room. lol
 
Seems like there is never enough room. This is my second home since I have been collecting. The first converted my garage into a gameroom and built the new garage on the front side of that. It was your basic trilevel.. I now have a earth home and if you know anything about this type of structure it wasent easy to ad on.. This home I added 1200sq ft and I am out of room... Bride of pinbot was my first great game. It ended up having some issues with that dam spinning head.. I got rid of it and got bought others.. I had a friend who I started talking to when I got into the video game collecting who said I had some ambitious titles that I was looking for..Not sure what is next in a dry spell and reverting back to videogames since its cheaper..
 
It's funny to hear the other side of the spectrum. I can work on the pins but the vids confuse me. My boyfriend and I found the best working vid we could find because we were so afraid of it breaking! (Still are for that matter :) )

Congrats on your SW! I'm jealous, I love the movies and have yet to play the pin.
 
That looks like it will clean up pretty good.

You can use some putty epoxy for the wear around the holes then cover with Cliffy protectors.

Not sure about the Death Star, you might have some trouble finding a replacement. I think you could make a pretty good fix on it and then match the paint. Shouldn't look too bad.

I think you can get those plastics that break a lot at Marco. The ones by the Death Star.
There is also someone in Greece on Ebay right now selling plastics from a DE SW they are parting out. You can also get plastics to protect the more expensive plastics from Pinbits I think.

If you do a search on this and other forums you can probably find the exact match for the paint. Someone on here might even have extra. I would just touch up the cabinet and not worry about trying to get it perfect.

I don't know a lot about fixing ramps. I have one that needs some repair myself. I think what you need to find is someone local that can do tig welding on stainless. Someone else might have more info on that, try a search for it and see what you get.

Putting in LEDs is as easy as changing a light bulb. Just make sure the machine is off when you do it. You might order a few and try them out before you do the whole thing. Sometimes they look good and sometimes you may only want them in certain areas. You will have to remove things like plastics and ramps to get to the sockets, so take digital pictures of every area. That would be a good time to put new rubbers on the game and give it new life. I put some LEDs in my pop bumpers and then just used colored bulbs in a couple of other areas (see pic).

Congrats on the game! By searching the forums, reading pinrepair site and using google you should have enough information to be dangerous. A search on pinball parts on google should also give you what you need.

PS: Make sure you put in new batteries and check for acid damage!!! If you have some soldering skills you might what to mount the battery pack off of the board. Old batteries can cause HUGE problems.
 

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Ok..
But now I am happy to say that soon I will have in my possesion a Data East Star Wars!!

This game is from a pin guy..he picked it up and fixed it up. Only thing for me to do is some cosmetics..like replacing playfield plastics..touching up the cab .. ect. If I was going to own one pin..this is it. I figure a working pin will be easier to learn on. lol

Couple questions: http://www.aaarpinball.com/StarWars/SWFS.htm

1. Does anyone reproduce the cabinet art?(it looks ok..just normal wear/use)
Don't know... that one... thats a resonabley big job and usually pin decals are close to $300

2. Does anyone reproduce the Death Star?(its there just worn at the top)
3. Anyone do metal repair on ramps?
Don't know about the death star, but if you're talking about the metal "ends" on plastic ramps.... pinrestore.com sells everything you need. Its not too hard (Well, I've never done it, but it doesn't sound all that hard.

4. Can edge wear like around 'The Force' hole be repaired?
Marine or woodworkers epoxy and then install this :D
http://www.passionforpinball.com/SW-Cliffy/swthin.htm

5. How hard is it to do the LED light conversion?
Quite easy actually... just remove the bulbs and install the leds.
If you don't get a kit, make your color match the LEDs to the inserts for
maximum light "output" through the insert.

6. Whats the latest/best ROM revision for the game?
Look it up at www.ipdb.org.. you can download them from there too :)
7. Any advice from other DE Star Wars owners?
Welcome to the dark side :D [sorry... couldn't resist..] I don't own a Star Wars tho.
8. Need a list of reputable parts suppliers.
www.pinballlife.com
www.actionpinball.com
www.bayareaamusements.com
www.pbresource.com
www.marcospecialties.com
www.pinrestore.com

All top notch, and all have something they do better than others. I'm pretty regular at pinballlife and pinball resource myself.
Thats it for now..I'll have more questions once I pick it up and get it home.

MUST READ www.pinrepair.com [ here's the Data East page(s) http://www.pinrepair.com/de/index.htm ]

cheers
/Tim
 
Welcome to the sickness. :)
I am parting out my DE Star Wars. Have most playfield parts except for the ramp. Already sold it. That ramp is cheap, thin metal and many are broken. Companies who make ramps would do well to reproduce a stronger version.
I have a complete working Death Star and R2-D2.
 
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Welcome to the sickness. :)
I am parting out my DE Star Wars. Have most playfield parts except for the ramp. Already sold it. That ramp is cheap, thin metal and many are broken. Companies who make ramps would do well to reproduce a stronger version.
I have a complete working Death Star and R2-D2.

Message sent
 
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Power Supply

Nice DE,

Suggest checking the regulator board for vetted caps, melted connections and fuse holders.

Just did a full recap, new fuse holders, headers and connector plug on my Tommy with Star Wars next in the pin.

Happy Pinning.
 
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