I understand scope & scale, but that 1st pic cost have been better to me.

I think I'm pretty conservative. Personally, I love arcades and strip bars! I'm from a pretty conservative city (Indianapolis) that never outlawed Pinball. My dad said they were everywhere growing up, and looked perplexed when I told him about the bans in NY, LA, Chicago. Plenty of arcades around here in the 80's growing up, and while Pinball has waned in this city, there are still plenty of strip bars!

I guess us Hoosiers are more practical conservatives!

Agreed, this is exactly what prompted me to up my initial donation. PinRepair is the main reason I've been able to fix 95%+ issues with my games. Clay, thanks for all you have done.

Same article has been picked up by the Detroit Free Press, but now you get Clay's *happy* mug over the text...

http://www.freep.com/article/20130819/NEWS06/308190035/pin-ball-pinball-wizard-green-oak

Later,
Eric

Just backed this project.

Clay and company have a great reputation for "getting things done" and he has helped out the pinball community greatly. Time to help back. Not sure when I will get back to that area of MI, but certainly am looking forward to checking it out.

Happiest I've ever seen him.

7 days and counting....

A big thank you to everyone who has donated so far, and a big reminder that any donation of $20 or more qualifies the donor for a personal visit to the facility once it's done. And that will be soon!

It WILL be ready before the snow flies!

Come on out all you Midwest folks!

Thanks,
Eric V.

Still time for a great cause!

Is this the same Clay who made all those awesome repair guides but then took them down because he got mad at something? Did those ever go back up somewhere? Those things helped me fix a ton of games over the years.

Yes.
No.
You and me both, which is why I donated despite the negligible likelihood that I will ever make it to see his museum.

You can contact him and get access to the videos for a donation to that site, which is diff'rent than the kickstarter.

Details here

http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/pinballninja-july4-sale
Sale is probably over

I think he meant the pinrepair guides.

Ahhh, my bad.

You can't love strip bars and be a true conservative; don't you watch Fox News?

If you already knew the fact that Regan was not religious and never attended church, you are probably a Right leaning Centralist.

Most of the anti-arcade laws were enacted in the 80's.

Some towns allowed existing arcades to be grandfathered in, but the moment they changed owners, wanted to expand, move locations.....blam.

A great cause worthy of supporting.. I'm definitely in.

Yes I meant the repair guides. Being the fact that they never did come back I would be reluctant to ever contribute to any projects he does in fear of him getting mad and removing it someday. I can't believe that he never made them available again.

Is there any similar repair guides online anywhere? I know I'm going to need helpful guides again someday. If so can someone please post the links. I've been out of the loop for awhile and only recently joined here and didn't spend much time on RGP the past couple of years or so.

www.pinwiki.com has a lot of helpfull repair stuff.

So you will not cough up twenty dollars to a great cause( pinball museum.) or Pinball Ninja because Clay may take it down. That's petty. You used the guides before for free surely a small donation is not to much.

Where are those guides now? I can't use them because they are gone. I personally won't give money to a pinball museum that may get shut down because the guy who put it together got up on the wrong side of bed. Giving him money now would be rewarding bad behavior. I don't even remember what it was that led to the removal of said guides but I'd bet knowing how this hobby can be, it was probably something rather petty and directed at some small group of people or even one person. If those guides were still available I'd probably have gladly contributed a little to the kickstarter as a thank you for the availability of what was an excellent resource.

I will bookmark that pinwiki site, thank you TheLaw!

They are still out there. Pinrepair.com just isn't hosting all of them anymore.

Use a search engine. You can find the guides AND, if you go back a couple years, come to your own conclusion as to why he no longer pays to host them. I believe it may have ironically involved an incredible museum on the west coast and a bunch of people complaining about a $15 donation or something.

So, use Google, find the guides & then donate? After all, you have a good chance at being able to make that 5 hr drive to see how incredible the place will inevitably turn out.

Why are the guides gone?:

http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/pinball-ninja-access-denied

EchoVictor can clarify, but I'm pretty sure this museum is replacing Clay's warehouse storage. It probably saves money in the long run (owning not renting), and yet allows his collection to be played by the public (even if on a limited basis), so I'm not so sure about it getting shut down any more so than any other pinball museum getting shutdown.

I gave $20 knowing not only do I have a free pass to visit when it opens, but Clay deserves the help for all that's he's done for the hobby.

Vintage Flipper World is indeed replacing the current warehouse storage, as well as combining it with Clay's home collection as well.

MXV,

I am sorry that you got caught in the crossfire from the whole Tilt Town shut-down incident. Clay pulled the guides down under legal advice, not out of some sense of vindictiveness. That whole time showed us to mind our public perception.

Be assured that the new VFW museum project has been fully vetted and approved by the local township board. That's why we have to stay as a private entity, and only be open to the public 4 weekends a year. We want full transparency and cooperation with our local officials.

We'd love it if you could support us and come out for a visit, but also understand your feelings if you choose not to.

Thanks,
Eric V.

3 days left to go.

Thanks to all the folks who helped us with a big jump this weekend. We're getting closer and closer to another milestone....

"$10K by Christmas".....I mean Thursday?

Thanks,
Eric V.

Nice!

All right, last time I bug you guys!

We are in the home stretch. The new roof is being installed as we speak, and we're already starting to bring games over from various locations. There will be a lot of activity over the holiday weekend, and then we'll be really close to setting some games up and arranging the layout.

There are only 24 hours left to go on the Kickstarter initiative. Remember that any donation of $20 or more qualifies for a private visit of the museum at the timing of your choice.

Please consider coming out and paying us a visit....

Thanks,
Eric V.

A museum that's only open 4 weekends out of the year isn't a museum, it's a mausoleum. Even with the Kickstarter private visits, I still don't get this thing. The one out in California failed on Kickstarter, but at least it was going to be open year round. What am I missing here?

Will it not still function as a private club? Just maybe only available to the public 4 times per year?

More information on that is needed.....

Right now,it seems, the only way in outside of the 4 public weekends is to be a Kickstarter backer. Nothing I've seen about how to get in after Kickstarter campaign is over.

At the old clubhouse, Clay had a deal where it was $200 a year for the membership.

It is possible that he may consider doing the same thing again with the new location.

Napabar,

you've pretty much hit the nail on the head regarding access outside of the 4 public weekends per year. Unfortunately, these opening restraints are what have been placed upon us by the local zoning commission. The facility is zoned Residential R-2, which only allows us to have a special use permit as a "private museum" (or a day-care center, but we're not doing THAT ).

To be publicly open all year-round would require re-zoning approval from the township, as well as a complete change (i.e. wayyy more expense) in the tax structure. The finances just wouldn't add up. Thus, we've accepted the limitations placed on opening by the township and are doing our best to be accomodating around them.

Thanks,
Eric V.

I guess my question would be, what was your original intent? Did you plan on being open year round, got a good deal on some land, and then got screwed by zoning changes?

They wanted $150,000 whereas this one had a goal of $5000. Pretty simple.

As someone who has been to Flipper City a couple of times, the twenty bucks you'll be pitching in will assuredly be well worth it if you're within a decent drive of the Detroit area. Hell, it's worth it even if you never plan on visiting. These are good pinball people doing good pinball things. The new location looks incredible and I think it'll be easier to find via GPS!

Wasn't arguing about the amount differences between the two projects......

Intent was simply to find a reasonable cost location to handle 200+ games set up. During the property search, the VFW hall fell into our lap at a "hard-to-walk-away-from" price (and convenience) point. Once the property was singled out, it was then just a matter of working around / dealing with the zoning constraints that were already in place. We were pretty sure there were going to be some limits no matter where we picked.

Thanks,
Eric V.

Start playing around the 1:50 mark. As somebody who has had to deal with local zoning problems, this movie always makes me laugh!

Great film! My favorite line....

"You...bring a pitcher of beer every 10 minutes until somebody passes out....then bring one every five!"

Classic!

I went in for $50...I want a T-Shirt! Just another reason to visit the Detroit area!

About $145,000 (difference between what Banning museum wanted and what Clay wanted)

Clay's project is realistic and meets the needs of those involved. Banning was a pipe dream. I sent Clay 50, and next time I'm in detroit I'm going to stop by and check the place out and play some pin. That small amount helps keep a roof over those 100+ games and provides a place for all the locals, and some not-so-local, to hang out and play. That is all... no big expectations here.

Already replied to an earlier post about the money. That's not what I was talking about.

Thanks Eric for your words. As eluded, the best way to get involved with the project is to do a $20 or greater kickstarter thing. That gets you in the door just about any evening that we're there, or nearly any Friday night. It also gets you on the mailing list so you know what's going on.

As for public events, as Eric said, we can have them but in limited quantities, because the local zoning board wants it that way. And to be honest, opening to the public isn't really top concern (it can't be, zoning and all.) Opening to known supporters IS top concern. So again, be a supporter at $20 or more, and this guarantees you an "in". It really is the best way to get involved and for very little money. I guarantee it will be well worth the $20. After all, where can you go play 200 games in an environment that is casual and lightly attended, and for $20? Pinball Hall of Fame and Silverball Museum may be the only other places like that, but they're clear across the country from Ann Arbor Michigan. (And there's probably a lot more people going through those venues, making the games work harder.)

Myself and a few Chicago friends (along with Kevin from the area) were invited by Clay to pay a short visit to his new location last weekend. It is simply amazing to see the transformation that is taking place there. Sure, there is still work to be done, but it is obvious when you tour the place that a huge chunk of the work has already been done, and only in a few weeks!

Clay could not have been a better host, all while unloading a truck full of games with a group of volunteers from the local area.

I was one who was late to contribute to this Kickstarter fund, but I am proud to say that I made it in under the wire!

There's still a few hours left for anyone else who is a procrastinator (such as myself) to get on board to help this one-of-a-kind project take shape.

Terry.

Crap. I was trying to have some fun by sitting on it to be the guy who put it over $10k. Too late!

Here comes! Congrats, guys. I'm looking forward to seeing the space next time I'm in Detroit.

Amen, Brother. If you are fortunate enough to be invited as a guest there at any point, even after the kickstarter, I highly recommend tossing a 20 in the coffee can during your visit to help Clay out with expenses. The selection and condition of games was insanely good at Flipper City and VFW is going to be even better.

Arcades scare conservatives................that's a bunch of crap.

I think you forgot the smiley face.

Just donated a bit. Six hours left in the Kickstarter campaign.

I usually visit family in Detroit once a year. Looking forward to stopping in. Best of luck, Clay and Eric.

15 minutes left!

Huge congrats to Clay and Eric. Looking forward to seeing the new place!

BAM!!!

238
Backers
$10,338

WOW!

Once again, a gigantic thank you to everyone who pitched in to help us carry this project down the home stretch. Your contributions are greatly appreciated by Clay and myself, and will help us provide a wonderful location for pinheads to meet and enjoy.

For those of you who were in the $50 and over category, please stay tuned to this space. I'm working on ordering the T-shirts right now....

Thanks a bunch,
Eric V.