Cool Bear arcade stick supplier SHUTS DOWN! What happened?

After nearly 5 years of arcade stick enclosures and components, Cool Bear (formerly Blunderbuss Designs) shuts down for good. Thanks for your contributions to the scene in your part of the world, and we wish you the best!
Their site while it's still live: www.thecoolbear.co.uk/
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Twitter: @AFightstick

[@stevemont7022]

As a newcomer to the fightstick maker scene myself Cool Bear's departure definitely hit me when I first saw it on Twitter. I really appreciate that you took the time to contact him and share some words of wisdom and advice from the man himself to people like me who hope to cement as long a legacy as he managed to achieve.

[@HushMySweet1]

That's a great comment! And I feel we can learn a lot from those from those who have walked a similar path (and then hopefully we can be inspired by their successes and avoid their mistakes to help keep that cycle going). It sounds like you have a good attitude, so I'm optimistic you'll carve out your own, similar legacy. Thank you for watching/commenting!

[@MISTER_CEO]

Nigel's a fucking sick guy. I remember first seeing him on r/fightsticks talking about making the original Cool Bear V1 lever. I provided some (very basic) advice for him and managed to convince him to make a full collar lever, which turned into the removable collar of the original. He even invited me and a friend round his house in the UK to test out the originals, and the pair of us have what I believe to be the first ones he produced which I still use to this day. I heard bits and pieces of how tough the business was, and how costly it was to get things produced in the UK without cheaping out. No clue of his financials at all but I'd be willing to bet he wasn't making loads of money off of it which goes to show how much he cared. The real business however, lies in his wife's spring rolls, those things fucking bang

[@HushMySweet1]

Thanks for the added insight! Sounds like a passion project for sure. Now if I ever get over there to that part of the world, I'll have to nab some of those spring rolls, lol.

[@jamalsiddique1362]

This was super rough as this was my endgame arcade stick for so long, saved up for ages and a month before I was going to get one he shut down! Cool bear is SORELY missed in the uk.

[@BattleMonkeyX]

Sad to say goodbye to Cool Bear from the scene😔, and a nice farewell with this vid.

[@HushMySweet1]

It's always a little bittersweet when people move on to other things. Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment.

[@tokyobassist]

Talk about missing the party. I was working on my Otto V5 build 2 months ago and currently working on my Korean build and it's been hellish. I've been looking high and low for a frosted white bat top and I hear about Cool Bear and here we are. I never knew he had enclosures too. Damn man. This stings.

[@HushMySweet1]

Aw man, that's a bummer! Keep up the good work on your builds though, sounds like you're really dedicated. Let us know what you come up with and post on r/fightsticks when you finish! GL!

[@phantomchris]

Very sad to see him close his doors. My cthulhu is the best and most quality feeling stick I've ever held (mine is at 1:57), and I put many miles in on my One-Zero before that. If he ever decides to step back in I'll be there as a very happy customer to support.

[@HushMySweet1]

Nice build and nice comment!

[@deminator1472]

Its been a while since I've caught your videos! Been a hectic few months but glad to see you've been pumping out quality content - just got caught up. Shame about Cool Bear though. Keep up the awesome content man!

[@HushMySweet1]

Ayyy! Welcome back/nice to see ya! And thanks for watching!

[@HollowRick]

Damn... I should bought one while i had the chance a few years ago 😢

[@HushMySweet1]

😢

[@vthegrigori9137]

Love the CB battops I have; all his products are amazing.

[@HushMySweet1]

That's awesome! I'm looking forward to trying out this enclosure!

[@PandorusFightStick]

such a shame being myself from the uk to lose them!!

[@TK-Yogi]

I was supposed to buy that last enclosure. he inboxed me but I was a day late. hope you make good use of it. really wanted another CoolBear case before he closed.

[@HushMySweet1]

Yeah, I'll try to put something cool together. Which model/color did you have previously? Did you theme it or leave it minimalist?

[@TK-Yogi]

​@@HushMySweet1 I have a white BD1Zero Bambi. I wanted to upgrade it to the Moondust Cthulhu. was thinking about doing something Moonraker related as the colour works very well with vintage themes. I'd likely use ENTH buttons to work with the theme of the case for contrast.

[@dapro7707]

Is coolbear available in uk, can I buy from any site or dealer?

[@HushMySweet1]

Not that I'm aware of. There might be some back stock somewhere, but it's doubtful.

[@8bitflea]

Do you know any good artists? I want some custom art for my hitbox but I don’t know any.

[@HushMySweet1]

I know lots, but it depends on your budget and the style you're after. Check out this page of artists/designers on r/fightsticks to get a feel for what's out there. Good luck! www.reddit.com/r/fightsticks/comments/14csa1b/faq_and_fightstick_question_megathread_continued/

[@JUANminiDIY]

sad

[@heybuzzed]

Cb 2.1 best lever ever

[@DJDonkeytron]

Every time I buy a stick, it sucks. So I bought an old school lever (HAPP style) but it's too tall/deep for most enclosures. (commenting for the algorithm) I would rather not spend more than 80-100 US on an enclosure... Any suggestions would be helpful.

[@HushMySweet1]

Your lever is going to hamstring you a little bit because as you say, it's a bit beefier for a lot of enclosures to accommodate well. You still have options, but I'd probably find something that looked nice and reach out to the owner/company to confirm the available space. So, like JonyFraze and the 4tW case, reach out to him on his discord and see if he can cut you the side panels half an inch taller. Or maybe Eternal Rival would accommodate if that's more your jam. Some used to have taller panel options for just this reason, but I can't seem to find a good link atm. Still, most of these builders are small enough to help and also try to prioritize good customer service. So I'd say start there. And thanks for watching!