These should NEVER be used as G.I. lamps! I saw a bunch of games at the Pinball Hall of Fame today with these, and they produce to much glare, and just don't have the right tone for a playfield / backglass.

LED's might be okay for under the playfield, or for flash lamps, but behind the back glass or out where they can be seen on the playfield, they look like CRAP!

LED's (at least on older machines) are way to bright for G.I. use, produce spotty lighting, and don't have the right color.

Who want's a back-glass or trans-light to look like this?

DSCN0147.JPG
... or a play field that looks like this? DSCN0223.JPG DSCN0227.JPG

Actually, I picked the BEST examples. I've never seen any pin with LED's (as G.I.s) on it that look right. Some don't look as bad, but I've seen worse. And as you pointed out, "you can't randomly stick LEDs in a machine and expect it to look good". That just kind of backs up what I said.

Now if newer machines are made to compensate for this, fine, but it really doesn't work on older machines. But LEDs by nature tend to direct light in one direction. A lamp filament is omni-directional. That's why LEDs generally work okay as inset lighting.