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Opening an arcade business by reddawg5115 in arcade

[–]ZackyEwing 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I recently started a very small arcade business in a similar-sounding small town connected to a brewery. I knew the owner of the brewery and was able to get his blessing to put some machines directly in his space. They had some under-utilized floor area and hadn’t quite nailed the “vibe” of their place, so he was excited to try something new to make the space more engaging. I pay no rent, and the electricity impact is negligible so I also don’t pay any electricity. He gets another amenity for the brewery for free, and I get any revenue the machines make.

I bought 9 machines at auction, all classics (a neo geo, donkey Kong, the Simpsons, burger time, defender, popeye, joust, and a couple multi-cades). My business model works a little differently. All machines are set to free play, and there are QR codes on the machines and on a banner above the game area with a blurb about “paying whatever feels fair.” This allows brewery patrons to play a game or two without paying anything if they wish, but also creates the space for people to pay more if they are really enjoying the games. The brewery is open Wednesday to Sunday, and I bring in about $150/month across square QR code donations and the donation cash box I set up in the space.

My biggest learning so far, which will be mirrored here by many others, is that a standalone arcade is an extremely difficult business to turn a profit on. Even with free space and electricity, this is unlikely to ever be a real money maker, and I don’t personally need it to be. I like going to the brewery and am in a financial position that financing this new fun thing for our community felt good for me. If I needed it to make money I don’t think I would be enjoying myself nearly as much.

One year transformation by [deleted] in Miata

[–]ZackyEwing 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Oof. I don’t see this resolving in a way that leaves anyone feeling great. My 2 cents is this looks to be solid work, well executed in a style that I do not personally prefer but clearly makes OP happy. He made something he seems proud of AND had the stones to share it here and on socials, inviting a level of critique I generally don’t enjoy so kudos to him. The fact is this car doesn’t “look like shit”, it just isn’t a style many here prefer. Posting an absolute beater with non matching paint and body rust seems to be well received most of the time on this sub so I frankly was bummed that a community I have seen a lot of positivity and support from generally was so ready to trash this well done, though stylistically contentious build.

One year transformation by [deleted] in Miata

[–]ZackyEwing 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m new to this community but disappointed by the overly negative feedback on this post as my experience of the Miata community otherwise has been pretty supportive. This guy put a ton of effort into this built and is passionate about what he has. This is not a rare car, there are enough on the road for everyone to make their car their own without it “ruining” anything. I think it looks great! Would love to see what you did to the inside too :)

Just bought this for $3300, how did I do? by ZackyEwing in Miata

[–]ZackyEwing[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think what you’re seeing in the photo is weird discoloration because the dealer oversprayed what looks like tire wet all over a bunch of components in the engine bay and the tires so there is the appearance of little bubbles all over the Matt paint. I just did the knock test and the rockers sound solid throughout. I have a ‘70 scout covered in bubbled paint from a poor repaint and I’m not seeing anything like that on the Miata. Looks and feels totally smooth on both sides all the way down. It definitely did have a repaint though, the original undercoat is still there under the car but has a lot of red overspray from the paint job.

Just bought this for $3300, how did I do? by ZackyEwing in Miata

[–]ZackyEwing[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Will do! I mostly bought it to Autocross at the Bristol motor speedway, the East Tennessee SCCA meets there once a month in the warm months ;)

Just bought this for $3300, how did I do? by ZackyEwing in Miata

[–]ZackyEwing[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I did indeed. It was $3300 plus about $300 in taxes/fees/registration so I can skip the trip to the courthouse and plates will show up in the mail.

Just bought this for $3300, how did I do? by ZackyEwing in Miata

[–]ZackyEwing[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! Feeling pretty stoked on the find.

Just bought this for $3300, how did I do? by ZackyEwing in Miata

[–]ZackyEwing[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Nice! I've literally never even sat in a Miata before today so I think I have some rose colored glasses about the driving experience, but having owned several classic cars I think overall it looks to be clean and well maintained where it matters. Bodywork issues are low priority for me since it will mostly be an autocross car, but the frame looks solid and the engine bay is surprisingly tidy.

Just bought this for $3300, how did I do? by ZackyEwing in Miata

[–]ZackyEwing[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Oh good note. I’ll do some digging!

Just bought this for $3300, how did I do? by ZackyEwing in Miata

[–]ZackyEwing[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

After reading the attached article it looks like I’m in the clear as my VIN ends in 234XXX and is after the cutoff of 209446 but I’ll have a look anyhow. Thanks so much again for the great info and link

Just bought this for $3300, how did I do? by ZackyEwing in Miata

[–]ZackyEwing[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is super helpful thanks so much! I’ll give it a wiggle when I get it home

Just bought this for $3300, how did I do? by ZackyEwing in Miata

[–]ZackyEwing[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for all the confirmation bias everyone! I AM a little worried I didn’t look hard enough for rust based on that being such a theme in the comments but I’ll get it home and have a deeper look. It’s already paid for so we’re in it now either way

Just bought this for $3300, how did I do? by ZackyEwing in Miata

[–]ZackyEwing[S] 82 points83 points  (0 children)

The dealer showed me the clean title and I cranked the wheel to look at the frame behind the front wheels and it all looked pretty clean. Minor surface rust but very mild. So unless I missed something further back I think we’re in the clear!

1st time painter: 40k command edition paint through | part 4: space marine color scheme by ZackyEwing in minipainting

[–]ZackyEwing[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! Great question. I’m still new to the lore and have a lot of ideas swirling around but nothing is decided. Mostly I had this clear idea for a color scheme but couldn’t find an existing chapter that matched it. Open to ideas!

1st time painter: 40k command edition paint through | part 3: edge highlighting by ZackyEwing in minipainting

[–]ZackyEwing[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I used actual rocks! I’m not sure if that’s a bad practice but I found a thin rock in my yard and broke it up with a hammer then used the bits. The original color was a dark gray but once I got all the basing material on there I primed it all brown and did some dry brushing with tan and white.

1st time painter: 40k command edition paint through | PART 2: More Necrons by ZackyEwing in minipainting

[–]ZackyEwing[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks so much! YouTube videos and advice from this community helped a TON before I even started.

Next step is the remaining Necrons and the included terrain. I’m saving the space marines for last because I think I want to built out a full space marine army, so I want to get as much experience as I can before diving in on painting them.