No it's not pinball, but it is awesome...

Game Overview:
There is perhaps no other game more coveted by arcade video game collectors than a 1984 Star Wars cockpit. Considered by most as a "holy grail" of collecting, they are incredibly hard to find at a price that a rationale, thinking person would actually be willing to fork out. While there were 2 versions of "Star Wars" from Atari: the upright (originally costing $2099) and the cockpit (originally $2999), the cockpit version is the version that truly commands the desire and pocketbooks of hardcore collectors.
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As always, supply and demand dictates that market. Because the cockpit versions of this game are huge and weigh a ton, sadly most examples are rotting away somewhere in a garbage dump (many arcade operators trashed them when technology moved on to games like "Out Run" and "Mortal Kombat"). As such, there just aren't that many left! If any game is worthy of a heartfelt, passionate restoration, it's an Atari Star Wars cockpit.

My personal history:
There's been a Chuck E. Cheese in Peoria, IL for as long as I can remember. Growing up nearby, my Mom and I would frequently take trips there. Out of all the games that came and went, the one I remember most fondly was their Star Wars cockpit.

It was incredible! You had to climb inside the seat, where it was dark, quiet, and focused. Upon coin-up, the "Jedi-Knight-In-Training" would be surrounded by sound (it has 4 6x9s in it) and engulfed in an incredible HD experience provided by the vector graphics being displayed on a 25" monitor (most homes didn't even have TVs that big back then!). I loved it and played it every single time we visited.

Some 25 years later, I started collecting arcade equipment (pinballs, video games, etc...). From day one of being a collector, I've been on the lookout for a Star Wars cockpit. Every time I thought I had a line on one I could afford, it either got snatched up before I could pick the game up or the seller backed out. Sure, I've seen tons of examples of the upright version, but it just doesn't compare to the cockpit IMHO. For me, it had to be a cockpit.

Finding This Example:
On January 16th, 2016, I saw a "for sale" ad on one of the arcade forums I frequent (KLOV). The seller was dumping like 30 games, but down at the bottom of the list was a Star Wars cockpit. I messaged the seller immediately and got a response fairly quickly. He listed his price and what was wrong with the game. Again, I responded right away and then....nothing.

I emailed and emailed. Nothing. The seller also took the game off his forum post. I figured I had yet again missed it.

Then on the 23rd, I saw a new post from the seller about the game, but this time with his phone number. Within 5 minutes of the post going live, I called him and setup a time to buy the game. I even advanced him $100 so he would for sure hold the game until I could come get it (I'm in Indianapolis; the seller was in Cleveland). SCORE!!!
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I knew it would need a LOT of love to be brought back to life. The game wasn't working and had been shuffled from place to place, until finding its place here. Still, when I arrived I felt giddy about what was before my eyes...
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Let's load this bad boy up and get outta here!!
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5 hours later, my buddy Erik and I arrived home. Since it was 12:30am, we unloaded it and called it a night.

Restoration Entry One:
When I woke up at 8am the next morning, I felt like a kid on Christmas morning! Not only did I pick up my video game "grail" the night before, but I was going to have all day today to work on it. It's going to need a LOT of work to bring this baby up to where I want her to be. A few pics to detail what needs to be done, and what has been done:

First things first: looking at the coin counter on a game is like a holy moment for me. I love seeing how many times a game was played.
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In this case, she's been coined up 26,709 times. Not that many actually when you think about the game being around for 30-some years.

Along these lines, it's fun to also see if the arcade operator made his money back from buying the game. Assuming that he/she charged $0.25/play and that all of these coin-ups were financially given to the original owner, that means that this game made $6,677.25. Since the game originally sold for $2,999, this means that the operator potentially made a profit of up to $3,678.25. Pretty cool huh?

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The picture below shows what is considered the "back" of the game (though it's technically the front of the Tie Fighter). What you need to notice are 2 things:
1. The game is missing the back door. This door is what provides simple access to the monitor and game boards. Most likely it was either damaged, or removed to give better air circulation (vector based games get crazy hot). I'm going to have to make one myself if I want to have a door here.
2. Some of those panels are beyond worth messing with. I'm just going to recreate a few of those as well to bring it back to snuff. It's just black melamine board ($30 for a gigantic sheet from Menards)
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A shot of the "front" of the game. What needs to be noted is that the plexi is definitely not original. It's clear, while the original was slightly tinted to block out just enough light to make gameplay a submersive experience, but still clear enough that a bystander can watch the action. Sure, it could work to keep this but Jedi Knights like the dark setting of the cockpit and it just won't do for me. A beautiful repro of the original is already ordered. Colorwise, it will look more like this: IMG_3889_(resized).JPG
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Inside the back of the cab reveals all the boards and monitor
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And here's where I had my first "oh crap" moment. Part of what makes the cockpit version so cool is that it has a 25" Ampliphone monitor in it. While this monitor is in fact 25", it is not the original Ampliphone monitor and yoke (the part on the tube that tells the guns where to shoot colored light in order to create a picture). Here's what so scary about this: CRT tubes are no longer made; they are incredibly hard to source. And a 25" Ampliphone-compatible tube is ever rarer than a SW cockpit.

Upon seeing this, I immediately emailed some pics to a guy that knows a lot about vector games. He informed to "take a deep breath and calm down," as we should be okay. The yoke is in fact an Ampliphone yoke, but it's for the 19" game. To my surprise, he said this is no big deal as it does the same job. What could be a big deal though is if the tube they put that yoke on is compatible (and has been converged correctly). If not, I have no clue how to proceed.

Since the game isn't working currently, I'm choosing not to get anxious about this part of the puzzle and trust that when the time comes, either the monitor will be beautiful, or I'll be directed what to do next. I think we'll be alright, but this really is something I wish the seller would have disclosed. I should have known better to do my homework to know what to inspect, but you live and you learn. I'm praying that my lesson learned won't be a costly one!

Good news is that I have all the other pieces and the monitor does look to be a viable swap candidate.
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The Ampliphone HV board and deflection board
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The power supply. This is a very common power supply on Atari games. It needs to be rebuilt from the ground up though with new parts so it puts out proper, consistent voltages.
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The flight yoke (joystick). Yes it's ugly but I've got all the parts to bring her back. Going to take some paint, new artwork, and work.
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A look at the bottom-side of the game reveals the wheels, and that the casters that prohibited the game from rolling all over the place are missing. I'll have to fabricate something here as well. Also notice that there's a chunk missing from the bottom panel of the game. I wonder where that went.
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Oh, here it is...
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I've pulled everything out in this picture. Closer inspection shows the original rubber mat inside. Gross. It needs to go and be replaced...
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Rubber mat pulled up and floor has been sanded
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It appears that this game was the home for a loving mouse family. It would have been perfect as it's spacious, warm, and dark. Perfect place to poop. I've since blown the entire game out, vacuumed, and sanded what could be accessed.
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There are (4) 6"x9" speakers in this game. I love it. The originals still look good! I wonder if anyone has ever put a sub in this game?
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Finally, here's a few shots of the cab with everything removed:
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That's enough for day one.

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:reserved:

EDOT is ultra cool looking, but doesn't fill the "I love this game" category for me. That and a local friend of mine has an EDOT so I'm good!

PM sent! Pumped to have a brother in this.

Gryszz, I need to have you over soon for brews and pins (and vice versa). PM me your cell and email?

Yep, on the way.

Really glad you told me this. Thanks.

Yep, he's the guy I was referring to in an earlier post when I mentioned being concerned about my monitor. Love that dude.

When you start in yours, post a thread! I'd love to see what you're doing as well.

I actually lived there for a year as a kid (1987-1988) and went there all the time too! Small world.

Just noticed that I'm missing a piece of the puzzle: the cheap black cardboard shroud/bezel that goes around the monitor behind the glass. Anyone got a source for this? It should look something like this:
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Restoration Entry Two:
The restore is coming along nicely. Having removed all of the black hardware (bolts, screws, trim pieces, coin door, etc...), I've primed them and painted them black with enamel. Can't tell very well from this pic but they turned out beautiful.
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I've also started to dismantle the HV board. Very soon (waiting on parts), it will get new caps, new transformer, etc...
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As of today, these pieces are on their way:
-new flyback for HV board
-rebuild kit for monitor
-rebuild kit for power board AR-II
-new "Big Blue" for power supply at the bottom of the cabinet
-new AVG chip, which is what produces the vector graphics on the game board
-new power cord with ground
-new yoke overlay from ThisOldGame.com
-new plexi canopy pieces from ThisOldGame.com
-new black matte vinyl for pieces that are beyond saving
-new melamine board to reconstruct pieces that are beyond saving

In the meantime, I've discovered that these cockpits were not meant to be taken apart. The way they are constructed makes it incredibly difficult to actually remove pieces. Notice what Patonaud says here in an earlier thread post...

I asked him about this and basically, he had to destroy his cockpit because it got stuck when he was trying to install it. Basically, Atari didn't want people deconstructing it and the way they assembled it makes it incredibly difficult to hack up. Unfortunately, I have no choice and need to get this thing a bit smaller and lighter because it's going in my basement. If I don't take the arches off, it will get stuck in my bulkhead just like Pat's did. So off to work we go...

Several of the screws were either stripped or stuck and I had to hack up the cab a bit to get them out. Fortunately, these screws were in the black border section of the artwork. I'll fix these spots later with bondo and paint.

In order to get the top arches off, I had to break a piece. No worry, I can recreate this later and the plan is to put back the arches in such a way that they can actually be removed later, should the game need to come out of the basement someday. For now, take a look at my special edition drop-top Star Wars...
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Probably the biggest update to share however is akin to the saying "when it rains, it pours." While doing this restoration, a fellow Pinsider reached out to me (vidgameseller) and informed me that he had another SW cockpit that he was looking to get rid of. After a 6 hour round-trip yesterday, well...then there were 2...
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Troy (vidgameseller) is a super cool guy and a standup seller. Incredibly honest, a true collector that cares about these games, and just an all-around asset to the hobby. Highly recommended.

The 2nd cockpit is in a little worse shape than the original one I started with (Troy said as much when we first communicated). It's ridonkulously dirty and needs a bit more cab work. That said, it's complete just like mine and has incredible potential to be brought back to life.

So why in the world would I buy 2?

A couple reasons:
-I don't know a whole lot about vector games and the parts that aren't working on mine seem to be working on this 2nd one. Having another set of boards enables me to see what needs replacing and fixed.
-Having a 2nd cab nearby that's assembled will help tremendously in reassembling mine.
-I'm a sucker for original parts. While I think my monitor is going to be fine as a replacement (and is probably even newer), I'd prefer to have the original tube in my game (which this one has).
-Who doesn't love road trips and getting to meet new friends in the hobby?!

When I'm done with my restore, I'm going to sell the 2nd SW cockpit as I refuse to hoard this incredible game. In the meantime, it'll serve nicely as a template!

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Finally, just for kicks I thought I'd share these 2 historic photos of when George Lucas himself first got to play the game. Rumor has it that Atari gave him production sample #1, which sat for years at Lucasfilm. Apparently some of the tech geeks at Lucasfilm modded the game with a special button labelled "The Force" which allows you to advance frame-by-frame in the game, effectively making the later levels way easier via cheating. Steven Spielberg used to play this game when visiting Lucasfilm and ordered one for his home. When it arrived, he was confused and disappointed why the game didn't have "The Force" installed!

When Pixar joined forces with Lucasfilm under Disney's brand, the game went to the Pixar offices, where it now resides.
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