Posted February 28, 2015 by FrizzleFried in Current Lineup 10429

Star Wars / Empire Strikes Back

Manufactured by Atari (c)1983

Condition When Purchased:	C-
Current Condition:	A

It had been a good 2 to 3 years since I sold my Star Wars cockpit (for good money I might add). Since that time I had been on the lookout for another Star Wars upright to replace the cockpit that I felt I had to sell. I felt I had to sell the cockpit because not only did I get a good offer for it at a time really needed some money, but it also was, frankly, a bit uncomfortable for me to play. Being a 6'4" guy, my legs had to essentially be spread while I played, not to mention getting in and out of the cabinet took a little more effort that I care to admit. Being that I sold the upright I owned before restoring the cockpit and because I grew up playing both the cockpit and upright versions of the game, I knew that I wanted to replace the cockpit with an upright model. Unfortunately with this area being a small market, I knew it would take some time… and it did. It was ironic that the cabinet I ended up picking up was actually the first Star Wars upright that I saw in the area when I first started collecting back in 2006. It took some time to pry it from the owners hands (the same owner who had it back in 2006) but I managed to do so around the beginning of 2011. I knew going in that it was going to be a project… but Star Wars is a worthy game… so I over paid for it and prepared myself for the financial hit I was about to take to restore it from the ground up.

Here is how the cabinet looked when I purchased it:

While it says Empire Strikes Back on the marquee, I can assure you that it was, indeed, an original Star Wars PCB inside. The coin door was missing… the marquee would need to be replaced, the side art was in pretty bad shape, the front art needed help, there was no back door either. Basically the whole cabinet needed work. On top of all that I also knew I wanted to run a Star Wars / Empire Strikes Back multigame kit in it as well. So I set forth to acquire all the parts necessary to re-acquire the force.

First I ordered new side, front, and yoke art from Phoenix Arcade. Next I puchased a new marquee overlay from Arcadeshop. I sourced a coin door from a fellow KLOVian, picked up some primer and black pain from the local Home Depot and then set my sights on a multigame. Having prior experience with Mark Spaeth's Star Wars multgame I first looked in to purchasing it, however, there was a new name on the block and I'd heard some good things about his product, Vector Labs. Of course Clay's multigame solution was also a viable option but being how difficult it was to source, I focused more on the Spaeth kit and the Vector Labs kit. Ultimately I decided on the Vector Labs product.

Next came the tear-down and restoration of the game. The cabinet itself was solid, but it would need to be stripped, sanded, and re-painted. There were also some small nicks and scratches that would have to be filled. The first step was to pull all electronic hardware from the cabinet and strip the side and front art off. I have to say that to this day this cabinet remains the single biggest PAIN IN THE ASS to strip side art off. I am usually pretty good using a heat-gun and razor blade but the original art on this cabinet LAUGHED at me. Even the trusty heated decal remover was no match for the adhesive from hell that Atari used on this cabinet. If you could believe it, the photo to the right shows my progress after over an HOUR of work with the heat gun, razor blade and heated decal removed. This just wasn't going to work.

For the first time I was forced to purchase some chemical stripper from the local Home Depot. It was some NASTY stuff for sure. Using rubber gloves and a mask I applied the stuff all over the side art and let it sit for a while After a bit of time the art essentially bubbled up and I used a scraper to scrape it away. To this day I've not had to apply that nasty crap to another cabinet and I do NOT look forward to the day I may have to. At least it worked as advertised. Unfortunately cleanup was another matter. Basically it as scrape, scoop, then deposit in the trash kind of situation. I figure once the stripper did it's work it took all of an hour to clean up each side in total. Not bad considering it was looking like it was going to take a day or more per side to strip using my usual method. Luckily the front art came off much easier and I was able to avoid having to use the stripper on it.

Once stripped the cabinet needed very little in the way of bondo. I used a little glazing putty to fill in minor scratches and the gouge here or there, but nothing terrible Once the cabinet was completely stripped (well, mostly stripped) my friend Dan and I built a new back door for it then it was time for prep, prime and paint. I try to use oil based paint as often as possible as I feel you end up with a better looking resut, especially if the paint is being rolled on (which in my case it always is as I don't have a paint booth nor the expertise with a paint gun). I always use a fine foam roller and usually end up with a finished product that looks great. That was the case with this project as well.

Once the 2nd coat of black pain dried I started installing some of the electronics. First was the rebuilt Wells Gardner 6100 vector monitor that evidently had a live in a Tempest at some point (which is no big deal as you can not see ANY of the screen burn through the smoked glass). Next came installing the Arcadeshop Marquee overlay, which ALWAYS seems to be a bit of a pain in the ass (whoever decided on marquee OVERLAYS for games (ala Star Wars, Tempest, Millipede, etc) should be kicked in the balls by the way). Finally the paint was allowed to dry for 5 or 6 days (ALWAYS wait a few extra days than you think you should before installing side art… out-gassing DOES happen and if you install your art too soon you'll end up with bubbles… I guarantee it).

After what seemed like ages, the paint was cured enough to add side art. The artwork went on with very little trouble (by the time I did this restore I'd restored a number of other cabinets with full side art). While it seems like a daunting task to install full side art, and it really IS the first time you do it, after doing it once (correctly – yes, I am looking at you Noice) it gets easier and easier. For those "not in the know" the method many employ (including myself) is to lay the side art out and line it up. Next is to secure it with painters masking tape at which time the top is rolled back and the top few inches of backing material is peeled then cut. After a final ~~double~~ triple check for alignment the top part that has the adhesive exposed is applied. Once the top few inches is down, remove the masking tape and start peeling back SLOWLY while applying the decal. Some folks like to use a credit card or squeegee… I tend to use my hand. If done properly the art comes out AWESOME with very little bubbling. I much prefer this "dry" method over the "wet" method some employ. The one time I used the "wet" method (Spy Hunter) I ended up with a textured side due to moisture. I suspect I chose a bad first cabinet to try the wet method on as Spy Hunter uses a MDF type material for it's cabinet. I imagine using the "wet" method on a plywood cabinet would turn out better. I'll stick with this method though from now on as it works for me.

Finally I was down to the final steps to complete the restoration. I remove the Empire Strikes Back yoke art and applied the decal purchased from Phoenix Arcade. I then installed the bezel and control panel (the only two items still using original artwork), installed the Vector Labs multigame kit to the PCB, dropped that bad boy in to the game and wired everything up making sure to double check all my work as I went along.

I was THRILLED to hear the reassuring sound of Ben Kenobi saying "The Force will be with you." AWESOME! A few seconds later the screen lit up and I knew all was going to be good. I played a game of Star Wars, relishing in the glory of the Death Star blowing up then figured it would be a good time to test the multigame option. Using a series of button pushes on the yoke was met with a static "tick" then the voice of Ben again saying "He will destroy us" followed by the Empire Strikes Back logo appearing on screen! KICK ASS! The game was complete and could be put in it's new LONG-TERM home.