We just picked up one last week, and are loving it. It needs a lot of work, but I'm excited to dig in to it, and really make it ours.

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It looks nice in our growing collection.

Some of the things to fix are:
-R2's head doesn't rotate
-DMD has 2 lines at the bottom, and to on the RH side that are out
-Missing backbox insert latch
-Needs all new rubbers badly
-Needs a lot of bulbs that are missing or out
-The rear half of the playfield is filthy

Some of our plans for it are:
-New R2 head motor
-Color LED DMD
-All new titan or superband rubbers and posts
-Some new LED's all throughout
-Maybe a code update after we log enough games to notice the difference
-Some kind of side blades... something that matches the comic book style of the rest of the artwork on the playfield
-Maybe a different death star that looks more realistic

Anyway... I'm excited to finally own one, and look forward to learning as much as I can about it!

-Paul

Just added a color DMD to my newly acquired Star Wars, and HOLY HELL did it take this game up a notch or three!

If there ever is an upgrade that will immensely make your game better this is it!

-Paul

Oh that's definitely on the list. We're trying to get a feel for the original code first so we'll be able to tell the difference.

I don't know about anyone else but we use that handle every time we get the tri-ball. We coordinate throwing the handle in sync with the animation on the DMD.

We're silly like that.

-Paul

Best upgrade we made to ours!

-Paul

Whenever I get a new pin I just play it for a few days just to take note of anything that's not working properly, or doesn't look good, and I make a list of things it needs, or upgrades I want to do. I'll keep playing it while I'm waiting for whatever parts I ordered off the list I made.

When parts arrive I tear the top side of the playfield down for a deep cleaning (leia's beard), polishing and waxing. While it's apart I get familiarized with everything (mechs, switches, ramps, plastics...etc), and clean each part I took off before I reinstall it. When everything's spic-n-span is when I install new bulbs, rubbers, and piece everything back together. This is also when I'd remove all of the lamp boards, and reflow solder on the connections.

I also install a lithium battery board in place of the AA's (or NVRam). Check all the fuses to make sure they're the right value, and that the holders are still in good shape. Check the boards for corrosion, and old bulging caps that may need to be changed.

I believe it was a fellow pinsider Mof that posted a really detailed checklist he goes through for each pin he works on. It's a very thorough list that covers everyting.

I guess it's all dependent upon what you're really looking for.

Congrats, and enjoy!

-Paul

I like the 2nd one as well, but I can't stop seeing what looks like a horn coming out of the top of Leia's head. Maybe darken that part of Obi Wan's cloak.

A cliffy will protect against any further damage.

http://www.passionforpinball.com/SW-Cliffy/swthin.htm

I don't see an LCD version available for DESW only the LED version (which is AWESOME!).

https://shop.colordmd.com/led-replacement-display-for-star-wars-pinball-machine/

Unfortunately looks like there's been a shortage of parts needed to make these so they're out of stock at the moment.

-Paul

We went with this, and couldn't be happier.

https://shop.colordmd.com/led-replacement-display-for-star-wars-pinball-machine/

I left mine off, and have had zero issues over the past 2 years, and this pin gets played a lot.

-Paul

Sure does!

It's been a while since I installed the colorDMD, but I don't recall anything out of the ordinary during installation. It was pretty straight forward, and worked out of the box.

-Paul

Yup. They work fine for the inserts.

-Paul

Just added a PinSound to our machine, and it's awesome!

That is all.

-Paul

I didn't upgrade the speakers.... yet. The color DMD is just a huge upgrade with the PinSound being a close second. Where the PinSound shines is offering the user the choice of orchestrations that's customizable. We have 4 different orchestrations loaded on the USB that's easily changed between with the volume knob.

IMHO I like the DESW more than the later Stern version. While the Stern version is way more polished with lots of more modes/options I just don't like it. I don't like the choosing of characters, the video modes, constant game stoppages, and while I like the comic artwork, the art package it originally shipped with is utterly yawn inspiring. I could go on, but suffice to say I was really disappointed with it, and still am. (same with Mando)

The DESW is just plain corny and fun, and with a color DMD and the different sound packages with the PinSound board it's just fun to play.

-Paul

You did an awesome job on that one too. Someday I hope ours comes out that nice.

-Paul