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Looking for other mame/cabinet builders in S.E. UK.
coldrain:
Its the same down here, I live on the kent coast and have heard the tales of scraped cabinets from the local arcade owners. When I was young we had a few "video arcades" and now there are just fruits....
I have been reading the post about opening a new arcade in the main forum, I think if it was done right and not a place for kids to bunk school it could be a winning idea, but you would have to combine it with a coffee bar/internet station... Just need a lotto win and a few more cabinets now :)
arcaic:
Markb - I've been collecting arcade machines for about 10 years now (although not so much recently). Although it was way easier 10 years ago and operators didnt value the games as they do now phoning them up rarely got a true picture of what they had available.
There is no alternative to just droping in and talking to the operator and especially the techs if you can find them. I know many operators who get many calls a day from 'losers' wanting to buy a Defender for 50 quid and they tend to lump them together as a waste of time and just get rid of you. If you show up in person with transport and cash then you'll be surprised what can turn up. Very few bargains like there used to be (Starwars upright + DoT + Gravitar all working) for 125 quid was maybe my best. Dead Robotron + 10 Defender board sets one of which turned out to be a working Robotron set for 25 quid was pretty good too.
You need to be open to what might be available. If you want one of the big control panel cabs with front access, rotatable monitor, diamond encrusted joysticks then its probably not going to be there. If you want a generic JAMMA cab that can house a 2 player mame setup then you really should be able to find one. You also need to be realistic about what to expect condition wise and not hassle them about the two inch scratch on the side or the ---Bad words, bad words, whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when saint censors you?--- burns on the cp. Some operators are very clued up and will want silly money some will still almost give them away IF you have cash and take it there and then.
None of them are stupid and if they can get 20 quid for 2 minutes effort instead of having to spend 1 hour and paying 10 quid to scrap it they will.
Another thought is as to when you drop in on them. There is little point doing it in mid season as they will usually be too busy extracting pound coins from little old ladies on the pushers and kiddie on the dance games. If you drop in at the end or at the begining of the season then they are less busy and may well be clearing out or changing stock so may be more open to offers.
You could also try looking in local Cinemas and pubs ect (anywhere there are videos) and look for stickers that indicate who supplied the machines. As you know you dont see many JAMMA games nowadays but I bet these guys havent thrown them all away yet.
It is true that many cabs have been scrapped but its also true that it costs money to scrap them and many operators are inveterate horders and never throw anything away so dont give up. I still have mates who in the last year have found some pretty good dedicated machines from operators and havent had to pay silly money. If they are still there then JAMMA cabs must be!
Cheers
Andy
NickS:
--- Quote from: coldrain on October 05, 2004, 03:34:20 am ---Its the same down here, I live on the kent coast and have heard the tales of scraped cabinets from the local arcade owners. When I was young we had a few "video arcades" and now there are just fruits....
I have been reading the post about opening a new arcade in the main forum, I think if it was done right and not a place for kids to bunk school it could be a winning idea, but you would have to combine it with a coffee bar/internet station... Just need a lotto win and a few more cabinets now :)
--- End quote ---
I am from Wiltshire. If you are after a cab to convert to mame try joining the yahoo newsgroup "UKVAC". A lot of the UK arcade game collectors belong to the list and it should make it much easier to find a cab. I think there are a few who live near you as well.
rchadd:
i'm here in surrey making my cocktail cab
coldrain:
Are you building a cocktail cabinet or updating an old one..?
I am updating an old one that i found at a bootfair but would like to build one next time, if you are building it I would love to see how far you are.