With the arcade machines, one of my most favorite parts is the marquees. Besides the monitor and graphics, the marquee is the sign to attract you to the glowing light. There are some people that collect the marquees, but the price of them can range from $5 up to hundreds of dollars. It’s all a matter of how it looks and if it is glass or plastic. And unfortunately, after a while the plastic will get warped based on the light source. Also, the glass can easily get scratched and decrease in value, especially if the art is painted on the glass.
But I was poking around on Facebook and came across a promotion for a mini arcade sign. It pulled me in. Mark Bevere, from New Jersey has created a product that is a perfect addition to not only anyones arcade, but to the office, bedroom, family room, garage workshop….ANYWHERE!
Classic Arcade Art is a product that gives you great options at a great price. He creates arcade marquees to fit into two different sized led light boxes.
The Mini Lightbox, which is 9 x 3 x 2 inches in measurement is great for the desk or bookshelf. The power source is based from USB, so you are able to take it anywhere and use a USB battery charger. So this can even go into your car. The box does come with a carrying case for safe travels. The box itself has two parts, front part is glass covered wiht a wooden frame that has magnets to easily connect to the base part of the light. All you need to do is gently place the marquee of your choice and then turn the light on in the back. Also, if you would like to display on your desk, you can get a mini tripod to mount under the arcade box. If you are just wanting one box but would like more than one marquee, you are able to order from the catalog of choices. I ended up ordering Track and Field, Tron, Star Wars, Contra and Donkey Kong. Most importantly, a kit is affordable for $45 and the additional marquees are $5 each.
The other choice that you can order from is the standard marquee size of 24″ wide, 10″ high, and 4″ deep. This is mostly for those who would like to hang their signs on the wall or for bigger display on a shelf. Unlike the Mini, this one has two led strips and also has an optional wireless rf switch to turn on and off remotely. But as with the Mini Lightbox, you do have choices for the signs. The rate for these is around $100 with additional marquees at $45 each.
I ended up purchasing the Mini Lightbox to see what they were like. To be honest, I wish I got the bigger model in addition to the Mini. These are truly incredible. With the led lights in the background, it makes the sign really pop out and would also not start to yellow up due to the bulb usage. The other problem that I had was choosing what game to get. He has a really good start of a library of games and also game systems to choose from. It really creates a problem for me because I love a lot of games. I might just have to buy 30 different marquees to do a calendar method. They are very clear and clean on each game design.
To top it off, the light box itself is clear, clean and slick. It is the perfect addition to my desk, right next to the Pac Man Digital clock. And also, if there is a design or company logo that you would like to put into the box, they can also create a marquee to fit perfectly into the box. This is probably the best idea that I can think of for a gift option for loved ones. Guaranteed, I will be buying more signs. For more information, visit https://classicarcadeart.com/products
Brad has been a die hard arcade fan ever since he can remember. From the first time he played Space Invaders, to the first time he played Pacman, Brad has always had a love for video games. Hanging out at either the Great American Fun Factory in the mall, or spending the night in front of the glowing games at the local roller rink, he was always thinking about when he can spend the next quarter. He also worked at Babbages, which is now GameStop, for over six years. Mostly because they had a really sweet checkout policy on new products and great discounts. But since he had the Atari 2600, he has never looked back and owned some of the greatest home machines, NES, SNES, GENESIS, Turbo Graphix 16, GameBoy, Game Gear, Lynx, Playsation 1,2,3,4 and Vita, XBOX, Gamecube, and N64...just to name a few. Brad is also a reviewer for Mobile Beat Magazine as well as a freelance videographer, part time disc jockey, performing artist and photographer. But has a true love is for video games and Star Wars, as he is a member of the 501st Central Garrison. His ultimate dream is to own a fully working pinball machine and arcade machine. Difficult to say which one, but a Star Wars one would be nice start.
