data east Star Wars Restoration
By George Stanczuk - Viper Pinball Restoration Garage Specialist
After purchasing the machine, several weeks were spent on the mechanical and electrical systems. The batteries were replaced and the game specifics set to my liking. All yellow targets replaced (5) and R2D2 motor was replaced. Pop bumpers returned to original moving style but retained blue pop caps. Replaced the Death Star target assembly. Found that the guide was broken and no replacement available. A 3D model was available on Pinside. My local 3D printer to the rescue and now I have several in my stock for future use. Made a set of sling plastics protectors. Everything was removed from the playfield.
The playfield was cleaned and waxed. The metal ramps and habitrail were cleaned and polished. R2D2 top was polished. Replaced all rubbers and plastics with new. Rebuilt the shooter lane launcher with new parts as the old one was a rolled over mess. Added the rubber to the launcher. Replaced the missing support bracket under the playfield The game had LEDs however changed them to 2 SMD and colours to my taste keeping with blue theme. Once the game was running perfectly after many plays the fun began!!!! This was important so that later when reassembled there would be minimal issues if any.
Everything and I mean everything was removed from the cabinet and back box. All ends of the wiring harnesses were tagged for easy installation at reassembly. Two persons removed the playfield and it was stored away. All bolts, nuts and screws bagged and marked to identify location. The end result was two empty plywood boxes! I used automotive resin to fix both pieces. The cabinet was the worst under the back box with pieces of plywood missing. Every surface was sanded with an orbital sander and 80 grit paper. This removed all cabinet artwork.
Parts that needed repair were levelled so that the resin could self level. A dam was made with painters tape and the voids filled with resin. The process was repeated several times until every imperfection filled. The pieces were rough sanded with 120 grit. The result was boxes with sharp edges and no dents anywhere.
My local automotive paint supplier matched the blue of the decals. They made up spray bombs of the correct paint. Every surface inside and outside was painted.
The paint is a water based acrylic and drys quickly with no sheen. It is completely dry in a few hours.
The boxes were then coated with sanding sealer. When dry the boxes were sanded smooth with 240 grit making sure that the sealer is not completely removed. A tack cloth was used to remove any dust particles. Now it’s ready for decals.
Starting with the back box it was reassembled minus the swing out lamp board. Side decals were installed dry. Excess decal were trimmed off. The back box is ready for installation.
The cabinet decals were started from the front and then the coin door opening and all bolt hole openings cleared. Excess decal trimmed off. Each side of the cabinet process was the same install and trim. Two persons were needed for cabinet front and sides as these are large pieces. Side blades were installed as there was no interference from the playfield.
In between the sanding and resin work there was idle time. During this time all trim pieces were sanded, cleaned and repainted with black semigloss enamel. Exposed bolts were stuck onto cardboard and repainted black as well.
Installation of the playfield took two persons. The installation was easy and side blade protectors invaluable as they kept the playfield from scratching the artwork. Anyone who has side blades should have a set. All trim pieces, glass trim and back box swing plates were installed. The back box was bolted to the swing plates and the back box locked in place. The DMD was reconnected and new ground straps added as the old ones were not in good condition. Connecting the wiring was simple due to the tagging process at the initial disassembly. The total assembly process with two person took place over 5 hours, this includes decal installation and all trim pieces. The following day a few more hours were needed to fix a few wiring hacks that were discovered and one nasty IDC connector replaced with Molex connector. The wiring on the connector did not match game electric drawing so the decision was made to go with what was previously connected. The flipper buttons were also changed out as they wouldn’t clean up. All the original factory tags and decals were installed with scanned copies of the originals. The originals were retained for the game binder.
Now for the moment of truth let’s fire this up! Keeping the back box open and a hand on the power switch the game was turned on. No smoke, no sparks. The game fired up with no issues on the CPU or the DMD. Now to start a game and test it. The game didn’t start. The start button was not fully seated. A correction was made, reseating the switch to the button and it started. All switches tested and all lights working. The game plays as it should. The game was moved to its temporary location and levelled. Both the playfield glass and backglass were installed.
The game was played in two player mode twenty times with no issues. Shortly the game will move to its forever home next to other games in my game room.
