GameBoy as external HDD

[doesi87]

Hi everybody.

I watched this forum for a while now and got this feeling of modding something myself. I thinked for some time what to mod, because I use a laptop and don't want to touch it. ( Yes there is much fear :D ) Then I saw this article about someone putting a winXP pc in an old gameboy. I had two old ones lying around and thought: You want a new external HDD, you have a gameboy, you like the idea, why not give it a try.

Cutting this long speech short, I decided to mod one of the gameboys into a new external HDD. I put this in the idea zone because i did not start yet. Hope it is right in here.

If someone here did this already please share you knowledge with me, because this is my first mod. I will appreciate any kind of helpful information or idea.

Oh and please forgive my mistakes, but english is not my native language. But I will try to write it the best I can.

Here are some pictures of the two Gameboys
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0438Small.jpg

This is the kind of HDD I want to install in it. Note this is just an example. Not sure about the actual one that I will use.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0439Small.jpg

This is a sketchup model i made for this project. It's not very detailed or useful in the moment, but i will do most of the planing with this. It will be improved in the next days.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/Gameboy-modelSmall.jpg

All mesurements are in Millimeters, because i'm form germany.

To make it more complicated i want to add a nice feature to the gameboy. I use a remote controll to switch the power to my pc and all the stuff on and off.

The switch
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0445Small.jpg
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0446Small.jpg

I want to mode some of the buttons to the original gameboy buttons to control the power. I will post better pictures of the remote later. Have to separate the parts first.

Please comment on the idea and/or give tips. I appreciate every help i can get.
mfg doesi 87

[DaveW]

That's a pretty cool idea...rest assured no-one else will have one at least!

Jump in there dude.

-Dave

[doesi87]

Thanks Dave. I think it will be a nice feeling to have something not built for you somewhere far away.

I separated the remote unit and got an idea how it works.

The remote unit
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0451Medium.jpg
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0447Medium.jpg

Thats how i think it should be possible to connect a different switch to the unit
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/switchideaMedium.jpg

I will solder some cables to the marked points and connect them to a test switch to be sure it will work. There is just one problem. The remote uses one on and one off switch for each channel. But i want to have an on/off switch. Not sure how to make that, but it is still time to solve that little problem.

[xmastree]

You don't need to solder a wire to all the three blue pins, as they're already connected.

As for making it one switch for on and off, I think that depends on the receiver. What are you using for that?

[.Maleficus.]

Welcome to the boards doesi!

This is going to be pretty cool. I wonder if you could still use the screen for something? That, would be killer.

[doesi87]

You don't need to solder a wire to all the three blue pins, as they're already connected.

As for making it one switch for on and off, I think that depends on the receiver. What are you using for that?

You may laugh, but i realized this in the same moment i unplugged the soldering iron. Will have this in mind when it comes to the real soldering.


I wonder if you could still use the screen for something? That, would be killer.

Yes, that would be cool. But i have no idea how i could use it. But i will think on this.


As for making it one switch for on and off, I think that depends on the receiver. What are you using for that?

I want to controll a simple powerplug (?). Here is a picture that will explain what i mean:
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0002Medium.jpg

It is not really a remote for the notebook but for the power. I need this, because i can't reach the plug without crawling under my desk and breaking me every bone i have :) .

But i might found a solution for the switch problem, if it is not possible to get an on/off switch. I use two of these plugs at the same time. And there is a button to control all plugs at the same time. I could use this one and connect the on function to the A button on the Gameboy and the off button to the B button on the GB.

Thanks for your suggestions and interest.
-
So i decided to open the gameboy and see what is inside. But the thing is screwed with very strange screws. They have a triangular shape. So i have to wait till tomorow or maybe tuesday to go to the local hardware store and pick up a screwdriver for these screws.

Because of this i had the time to do a little 10 min mod i found in here. Change the light of your mouse sounded pretty nice for the beginning. Since all of my viewable hardware is black with silver and all leds are blue i wanted the mouse to be the same.

I opened the case of the mouse and fought my way down to the LED.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0458Medium.jpg

Then i soldered in a blue LED lying around and guess: It worked. I know you've seen this many times, but it still makes me proud that my first attempt destroyed nothing. So here is the final result:
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0460Medium.jpg

I know it has nothing to do with the gameboy mod but i got bored not being able to open the gameboy and just wanted to something else.

[Noobkiller]

Love the idea dude. I'll be watching this one

[Nagoshi]

Yea, Nintendo and their weird screws :)

Oh, and I love that mod idea. And your speakers, cause I got the same sub :) which model from Logitech you have? I got the Z-340, and I love them :)

[doesi87]

Thanks for your interest. I'm using a Logitech Z-640, but both rear speakers are broken. So it's only a 3.1 system. For 5.1 sound i use my medusa headset. But the Logitech system was great when it was complete.
-
To solve the screw problem i bought this nice little thing at the hardware store today.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0499Medium.jpg

But to open the last two screws on the gameboy i had to drill their holes a bit bigger, which caused them to burst. But thats not a big problem, because i can't use the screws to close the case when it is done, because i have to remove the screw-housings to have enough space for the HDD.

The i removed the inner parts and cleaned the case.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0481Medium.jpg

I tried to keep some parts of the 'mainbord', where the button-controls are. To get these parts i drilled some holes around the area i wanted to keep and cute the rest with pincers. The i drilled small holes in the connection points and soldered wires to them. Sorry for the bad picture but my camera couldn't get it any better.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0490Medium.jpg
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0494Medium.jpg


Then i removed the battery-part of the case and glued the backplate in place. I will remove the rest of the unnecessary plastic tomorrow.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0496Medium.jpg

Also i tried to do some work on the remote control but the force wasn't with me. I soldered the unneeded wires out and attached new ones to the right places. It worked for one single time. But when i try it now, it won't work at all. It gets power and doesn't look damaged, but the led won't light up.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0497Medium.jpg
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0498Medium.jpg

Maybe i will find the reason for this behavior later this evening.

I also ordered a 120 GB HDD and an external case today. Hope the things will arrive on wednesday.

This does not realy belong in the idea section any more. Would be nice, If some of the mod's or admins could move it. Thanks.

[Bucko]

Moved to the works in progress forum.

Looks good though!

[si-skyline]

HAHA sweet. god i have tons of gameboys laying about.. would never thought of putting a hard drive into one tho,

great idea, cant wait to see the finished product :D

[FrooP]

this idea is awesome, poorly I throw my gameboy in the bin :( you could make the original start button as the power switch, would also be a killer idea ;)
keep it up und grüße aus brühl^^

[doesi87]

this idea is awesome, poorly I throw my gameboy in the bin :( you could make the original start button as the power switch, would also be a killer idea ;)
keep it up und grüße aus brühl^^

Grüße zurück nach Brühl^^. I want to use the original on/off switch as a power button for the HDD.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0505Medium.jpg

I soldered it out of the board and connected the two pins which represent the same pole.
Test inside the case.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0504Medium.jpg


After gluing the backplate back into place i removed the flip thing to open it. But it looked really bad from the rear so i decided to make something simulating this flip thing. I cut out a small piece of the white battery case plastic and fitted it to the gap. Then i cut the top part of the flip thing and glued it to the little piece of plastic. After that both parts are being glued to the case.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0514Medium.jpg

You know this really big gap between the top and bottom part of the case, where the game is inserted? I decided to create a nice vent in that place. So i searched for old games and found these two ones. I wanted one with Mario, because it was the first game i ever played with a gameboy. I also found Super Mario Land 2 but i will go with part one, if i do so.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0516Medium.jpg
Don't sure which one i will pick. Super Mario would be nice, because it's a classic. But i don't want to destroy the cartridge. And you won't see much of the cartridge at all.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0517Medium.jpg

I will just open the Dr. Mario game to see whats inside and how i can make a nice vent out of it.

[Spawn-Inc]

I will solder some cables to the marked points and connect them to a test switch to be sure it will work. There is just one problem. The remote uses one on and one off switch for each channel. But i want to have an on/off switch. Not sure how to make that, but it is still time to solve that little problem.

from my own experience if you have the butten pressed constantly (which you will with a switch, and assuming you leave the switch on) then it will drain the battery. this happened to me twice with my tv remote. i jammed it (not hard) in between my bed and wall and within 4 days it was dead. it took 2 sets of batteies for me to figure why it was doing that.

[doesi87]

from my own experience if you have the butten pressed constantly (which you will with a switch, and assuming you leave the switch on) then it will drain the battery. this happened to me twice with my tv remote. i jammed it (not hard) in between my bed and wall and within 4 days it was dead. it took 2 sets of batteies for me to figure why it was doing that.

Yeah, that would have been a problem. But i hope to get the original A and B buttons to work as the on and off buttons. If it works it will avoid this problem and look really nice.

I opened the game cartridge to check if it will work. To my mind it will, so now i have to decide which type of vent i want. I might just go with holes. Will plan that later this evening or tomorrow.

Before telling you about the other work I've done i must tell you a little story. I owned this cheap kind of a Dremel for 30 €. It was a bit annoying to use but it worked. But when i tried to work on the case of the gameboy today something weired and frightening happened. The bit decided to leave the locking mechanism while working and drilled about 2 mm deep into the working bench. This frightened me a bit, so i decided to go and by a real Dremel ( wanted to have one for about 2 years). I got this nice little toy here
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0524Medium.jpg
On the left is my old one which is in the bin now.

So with being well equipped for now i started working on the case again. I removed the unnecessary plastic to fit the HDD.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0528Medium.jpg
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0530Medium.jpg

Hopefully the HDD and the external case will arrive tomorrow so i can start planing where to put everything.

[NocturnaL]

Nice man, old school idea here +rep

[doesi87]

The HDD and the external case arrived today. So i started fitting it into the gameboy. Sadly i can't keep the original on/off switch because it won't fit.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0535Medium.jpg
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0536Medium.jpg

I made a hole for the slot and fitted it.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0540Medium.jpg

After that i made a piece of plexi to attach the board and HDD at a straight level. The plexi was then glued in place.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0543Medium.jpg

After that i made a little piece of plexi to secure the board in its place. The piece is screwed to the bigger plexi with the weired screws from the gameboy case. They fit m2 holes, so i could screw them into the plexi.

Then i wanted to make the vent in the gameboy bigger, because they were really small. But i made something totally wrong in this part. So i had to remove the complete vent section. I glued some plexi to it. It does not look this great but i will slope the edges to make it look a lot better. Maybe i can illuminate it with power from the status led. Have to see how it will look if two leds are connected to it.

To board has a status led with two colors. It is blue in idle mode and red when there is HDD activity. Like this LED so i will keep it. It will be placed where the battery led is in an original gameboy. I parted the LED from the board and soldered wires to it, so i can move into the right place. I will glue it into place when most of the mod is finished.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0554Medium.jpg
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0555Medium.jpg

The HDD has a one button backup function which is nice because it will work as a backup disk. Not sure about the software but i want to keep the functionality. So i decided to move the backup button to the original start button. (Nice idea from FrooP) I prepared the start button with wires and tested it. Worked nice.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0551Medium.jpg

There's just one little problem about it. I have no idea on how to remove the button from the board. Hope you can help me with that. So here some pics:
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0556.jpg
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0553Large.jpg

I'm a little bit afraid of damaging the whole thing, especially after destroying the remote. So please give me some advice on how to get this thing of.

[scar~face]

SUUUUUUUUUUH-WEEEEEEET

i want one.

[doesi87]

I removed the plexi I added to the vents and used some mesh from the external enclosure. It does not look that nice but I'll go with it, because it's way better than the plexi. So here are some pics about the process:
The mesh:
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0557Medium.jpg

Making a plexi pattern for bending the mesh into shape:
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0559Medium.jpg

Mesh from both sides:
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0561Medium.jpg
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0563Medium.jpg

I will flatten the edges around the mesh later today to make it look a lot better.
Also I covered the original speaker hole with some of the mesh. I will continue this with the other holes in the case I don't need anymore. Hope they'll give a little ventilation, so disk won't become to hot. Look on the last picture to see the hole. It's right in the middle.

Since I won't be able to use the original screws to mount the case back together, I decided to make a support form this plastic to screw the case together. Can't really explain this in English, so I will post some pics when I did it.

[DaveW]

Argh! It was all going so well! The mesh needs a bit of work dude. It's a real shame because this was looking absolutely great up till that point. :(

I think if you took the mesh out and made the hole bigger, it would make it much easier to work with and you could get it to sit better. Plus, the way you can still see 'bits' of the original speaker grill sort of ruins the effect.

Don't take it the wrong way, you do what you like-but constructive criticism is what you're here for, right? :p

-Dave

[doesi87]

hm guess your right about that. constructive criticism is the most important thing for me right now, because I don't know that much about modding. I will do some photoshop work to design a nice vent and post it here before I go on. But I'll have to buy some bigger mesh then, because the one I'm using right now won't be enough. Will look around to found some nice mesh on Saturday.

[doesi87]

I went to photoshop and created some patterns. Please tell me about what you think about them. Personally i like the last one most but I'm not sure about cutting it out. Will try this on spare material first. So please leave whatever comes to you mind about this.

1.:
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/mesh1.jpg
2.:
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/mesh2.jpg
3.:
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/mesh3.jpg
4.:
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/mesh4.jpg

[DaveW]

What about a Triangle? I think that could sit quite nicely.

-Dave

[doesi87]

I can't fit a real triangle in there. I would be to big and overlap the buttons. This is the nearest it can be
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/mesh5.jpg

[DaveW]

I meant the other way around, so the hypotenuse faces top-left and the right angle points towards the corner.

-Dave

[doesi87]

I would look nice, but I don't see a way to fit it. One side of the old vent will be seen. Please correct me if I'm just to blind to see what you mean. I really appreciate that you care about this.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/mesh6.jpg

[DaveW]

Hmm, you have a point...you could round the corner, and get it right in to the edge, but the hypotenuse will go over your original cuts unless maybe you arc it outwards-which might not look so bad.

-Dave

[Zephik]

Why not clean up the edges around the hole you made, then take some body filler and fill in those speaker grooves.

Quick trip the hardware store should do it. Grab some sandpaper and one of those small tubes of body filler and voila, beauty. But off course, you will have to paint the gameboy so the body filler doesn't stand out. But you should be doing that anyways imo. Even if you keep the original color, it would look really nice with a fresh coat.

Another option would be to just fill up the entire hole along with the grooves. It would be like, the speaker was never there. ^_^

Hope that helps :)

[doesi87]

Thanks to both of you guys. Don't have the possibility to do something tomorrow, so I will just do some planing about the triangle. I will try to round the edges and the hypotenuse to fit it and maybe make a model of it to see what it looks like. If it won't fit or I don't like it at all I will go with the filling method. Never done this before but read much about it around here. But one question: Could I fill the hole and then cut out some vents in a shape I want them or should I better not cut the filled area?

And yes I will give it a paint. Not sure about the colour yet. Maybe classic white or silver with black to fit the overall scheme at my desk. Have to think about it.

[DaveW]

You should be able to cut the filled area no problems. Good luck dude! :D

-Dave

[Kristofisis]

I agree with dave, the old plastic speaker grill has to go:). How about a semi-circle with a concave edge facing towards the buttons..if that makes sense.. Or a convex- making it almost a diamond but with surved horizontal edges. If you could only read my mind...

Are you looking for a true shape (ie. square triangle etc) or curl and cut around the buttons, leaving them and their surroundings intact but cut around. I dont know if the semi-circle will work but I personally like the curved diamond idea.. hope it helps!

[doesi87]

Okay will go to the hardware store tomorrow and get some filler. The old vent will go away and I will make something nice. Not sure about the shape jet. I will try to make something with Kristofisis idea. But I'm not sure I totally got it. Will post some pictures later this evening or tomorrow. Thanks for all your help guys.

[Eclecticos]

You might want to try clamping it down before you use the dremel to cut something out.

Also resting your hand on something helps to keep the cut straight, and Marking the selected area.

Other than that it looks really good! Just cut it out bigger. And a Hot Glue Gun would be better IMO

[ghoul]

im loving this its an awsome idea cant wait to see it finshed.

also what are you gonna do with the screen? it might be a cool idea to get an old screen shot of super mario land or something and get it printed on a decent martrile then put it where the screen is? just an idea.

[doesi87]

I bought some filler today. Will work with it later this evening. Also bought some little clamps to hold the gameboy while working. There were only these huge things around which won't work with the little gameboy. Haven't decided about a color yet. Maybe white, maybe silver and black. I will post some pics about it later this evening or tomorrow. Also got some mesh. It's made to protect trees from animals but it looks nice and was really cheap, 100*20 cm for 3,75 €.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0573Medium.jpg

This is what I got done since the last update:

First I made a construction to keep the two parts of the case together. It's just a little piece of plexi with to screws.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0564Medium.jpg

Then I made the game cartridge I want to use as a vent under the controller board. I drilled several holes into the front and the top and also removed some plastic inside the cartridge.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0566Medium.jpg
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0567Medium.jpg
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0568Medium.jpg

After that I covered the remaining holes in the case with mesh. They will also be vents to give the thing a little air. Hope there will be enough cool air to cool the HDD, but since it is a notebook HDD I guess it will be enough.

See you later for the hole/filling/vent problem.

[Cool1Net6]

Very cool project.

-Cool-

[B1Gtime]

Sw33T project

+rep

[doesi87]

Hey thanks, glad you guys like it.

Sorry I couldn't make it yesterday evening but I had some serious trouble with the filler. I can't describe how it smells. So I had to move it around the house into the garage and had to protect it from being moved or covered by the rest of my family. Man did I mention the smell? I can even smell it now and it has been in this room since yesterday evening and the window was open. But okay it's not really important. So finally I got most of the hole covered with the filler. It came in two parts, one for bigger holes with textile parts to cover huge gabs and artificial resin to cover it. The second part is finer material to be on the top. I did everything it said on the packing and brought it onto the gameboy.

The Filler
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0574Medium.jpg

Making the first layer with the resin
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0577Medium.jpg

Mixing the filler
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0578Medium.jpg

Filler attached to the hole
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0580Medium.jpg

After it dried I sanded it down to a nice surface.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0585Medium.jpg

But there is one little gab remaining. This morning I filled it but it still has to dry, so no picture of the final surface yet. Here it is filled but not sanded.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0586Medium.jpg

[ChevronX]

Nice work; cant wait till it is finished

[doesi87]

Thanks ChevronX, glad you like it.

Here is the gameboy with the gab filled and sanded down.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0587Medium.jpg

I really like the result and want to thank you all for making me to do this and not stick with the old vent cut. It's much better now. But I'm not sure about the vent I want at all. Pending from no vent to the crazy shape shown early or the triangle ideas. Will do some more planing today to get a better idea of this. I may go with this one, but not sure right now. http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0588.gif

But while thinking about the vent I did some work on the remaining holes in the case. I attached mesh to most of them. I put the smaller mesh on the sides and the new bigger one on the bottom holes. There is just one hole on the side which I have to work on, but I have enough small mesh left for this.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0582Medium.jpg

But I think I will have to make another support like the one below to close the case properly.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0564Medium.jpg
I attached everything and screwed all screws in, but there was a little gap on the left top corner. But I will do something about this.

[doesi87]

I decided to give ghouls idea a shot and replace the display with a nice picture from the original Super Mario Land game. Will buy a OHP printable film tomorrow. This way I can print out the picture with my printer and simply attach it in front of the screen. The characteristic screen colour will shine through and the picture will look quit realistic. Not sure about the picture though. I downloaded a speed run from YouTube and searched for nice shots. Then I pasted three into a picture of the gameboy and made them overlay to get the result the OHP film will produce. Here are the three possibilities. Please feel free to choose one, but explain why if it's possible and not just a feeling (post feelings to). I really can't decide which I will choose and need to hear some other statements.

Shot 1:
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/display1Medium.gif

Shot 2:
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/display2Medium.gif

Shot 3:
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/display3Medium.gif

The actual image looks way better, but the resizing tool couldn't really shrink these files down.

[DaveW]

Looking good, +Rep! If you can get away without putting a vent in there, that's what i'd do, but you seem to like the mesh, so just go for what feels right. :D

-Dave

[scar~face]

id say the third one

[doesi87]

I did a test to determine if I need the top vents or not. I did one hour of test in idle and another hour of copying files directly after the idle time.
Shut-off temperature: 22°C
after 1 hour idle : 27°C
after 1 hour copying: 35°C

So I decided to give it no top vent because it is not necessary. Knowing that I went to the hardware store and bought some spray paint. I'll go with black and stainless steel effect spray. This is the nearest I can come to the overall paint job on my desk. So I bought primer, black, stainless steel and clear coat. Have to think about the paint job now.

I also bought the OHP film. But not sure which one to pick yet.

EDIT:

I will go with this paint job:

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/paint1.gif

So I primed the case and made a first layer of the titan paint (stainless paint, but really looks like titan, which fits well). I think it came out quit good. Will get a closer look when it is dry. So here are some pics about the painting:

Covering the parts not to be painted:
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0592Medium.jpg

painted rear side:
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0593Medium.jpg

painted front side:
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0594Medium.jpg

[si-skyline]

It would of been better if you could keep the original colour of the gameboy, but the black and silver would look nice too..

:up: well done with your process so far!

[doesi87]

I'm going with a slightly different paint job as planned, but nothing really different. Just a Titan stripe under the display and the letters will be black. Here's a pic of the black painted case. Titan areas are masked:
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0599Medium.jpg

I choose the third picture because it reminds me the most of the old Mario games. So I printed it on the OHP film and cut it out. It looks really nice:
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0598Medium.jpg
The picture doesn't really show how nice it looks. Hope I will get better pictures of it, when the whole case is assembled.

[XcOM]

thats looking sooo sweet dude, Keep up the great work.

[vidas7de7jesus7]

I like the idea of the paint job. It'll look nice. I'm not sure what you mean by a titan stripe, so can't comment on that. I also think you shouldn't put any words on it. I'm personally a fan of sleeper mods, and the "Nintendo Game Boy HDD" just would ruin the effect. Overall, it looks excellent.

[doesi87]

Glad you like it. I just call it titan because "stainless steel effect spray paint" was very long to write. And it looks nearly the same as some titan paint on my pc. There will be a stripe in this colour directly under the display and all around the case. Will show some pictures as soon as the paint is really dry and I can remove the masking tape. Will also post some pics with and without the lettering. It isn't painted yet, because it will be the last step to take.

[Bopher]

Awesome idea. To bad you can't get something that would let you use the screen to display harddrive space and status when it was hooked up.

HDD Temp: XX
Status: Idle, writing, reading, etc.

Maybe to show up the screen picture some though you could hook a clear LED or something to kinda spread the light all over and flash as the HDD activity light. Or maybe I'm making to many complicated suggestions.

[doesi87]

Like the idea about the illuminated display. Maybe I will do something like this later. The status display would be nice also, but the HDD will be in idle mode for about 80-90% of its life, so it would be some kind of over-the-top. Maybe in my next mod :rolleyes: .

Here are the promised pictures of the case with lettering and without. Hope the paint was dry enough to remove the masking tape. The parts around the buttons aren't as clear as I wanted them, but their better then I expected. Think it looks somewhat okay for my first paint job ever.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0601Medium.jpg
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0602Medium.jpg
The GAMEBOY letters will be in black paint and the HDD in the titan paint.

[doesi87]

Okay forget about the above pictures. I was sitting here watching the gameboy for about 15 minutes and I must say: I do not like it!. At first I thought I is nice but now I just don't like the design. So I will sand it down and paint it in the titan colour completely. I like this colour but not in the combination it is now. So please be patient and forgiving for these rapid changes but it simply can't stay the way it is now. Will post new pics soon.

[FrooP]

du must des nich abschleifen das deckt auch so
for all the others
you dont need to sand the paintjob down, its fine if you just make a coat above :D

[doesi87]

I tried this, but it wasn't really good. The colour was not even through the case. So I sanded it down yesterday (even if it was unnecessary it was a good feeling :) ), and applied the first layer of paint. Have to go to the hardware store and buy some more paint before I can go on.

Edit:

Ok, after applying the first layer of paint I saw much unevenness around the case that wasn't really visible with the black paint. So I decided to use some of the filler to make it an even surface. I applied the filler in a very thin amount and sanded it down. Then I searched for areas I had not seen the first time and found some on the top surface. So I used some more filler and sanded again.

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0604Medium.jpg
This was shot between second filler and second sanding. It looks much better now. Actually I'm glad it wasn't good the first time with the black on, because I wouldn't have seen the uneven spots around the case. Hope to do some painting tomorrow. Till then.

[doesi87]

Okay, this sucks. I wasn't at home when the sun was shining on Saturday and now it is raining since then. So no further painting. Hope there will be better weather soon because I really want to complete this paintjob. Did all filling and it has a nice clean surface but simply can't paint it. Please stay observingly, I will do the painting as soon as the weather changes.

[FrooP]

there is also another filler called "spritz spachtel" dunno how this is called in english :D better to use for smll dents

[doesi87]

Thanks for the info FrooP. Looked at the filler I used for the small gabs again and searched the net for the "Spritzspachtel". I think it is nearly the same. I think the bigger problem is the size of the tool I use to attach the filler. Will look for a smaller one for the future.
The filler I used:
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0605Medium.jpg

It says:

fine putty
for small scratches

[doesi87]

The weather finally changed to sunlight and no rain today, so I was able to do some painting. Here is a picture of the game boy with three layers of paint. Sanded between each layer with 400 Grid sandpaper (had nothing else around).
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0608Medium.jpg

There are still some small gabs in the surface. Not sure what to do about them. Would it be better to fill them with the fine putty or with more layers of paint? I prefer the putty idea, because I have lots of it and the paint is much more expensive. But if the paint would be the better solution I would buy some more of it.

Don't expect to much progress till next weekend, because I just passed my Abitur today but have to do a "Abweichprüfung" next week. This is very important for my final mark so I have to learn much for it. But making breaks is necessary while learning (or I don't remember anything I learned), so I will do some work on the game boy in these breaks.

[Briag]

hi doesi87!
I found something for you, could be great...

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=6076470[/URL]6470

[doesi87]

Thanks for the link. That's some nice enclosure. I like the working buttons most. Too bad I don't like apple very much:D

There was some nice sunshine around today so I got some painting done. The case is ready for clear coat now. The paintjob is not as nice as I hoped it to be, there are still some scratches on the rear part of the case, but you won't see them when the case is lying on the desk. Filled the gabs and scratches on the top with the fine putty.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0617Medium.jpg

[si-skyline]

wow i like that colour, much better then the last one! :)

[doesi87]

hey glad you like it.

If the weather is nice (and really think so), I will give it the clear coat tomorrow. Will do the rest of the wiring later today or tomorrow to. Must do a little re soldering on the led because it needs a slightly different way for the cables to go (This is very bad English). Planned this earlier this week, it is just a little chance in the cables. Hope to give you some pictures tomorrow.

[doesi87]

here is a picture of the front part with two layers of clear coat applied. couldn't do more today, because it started raining. Will give it some more layers on Tuesday. But I can say that it starts to look nice.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0736Medium.jpg

[xRyokenx]

It's coming along really nice. I remember having a lot of good times with our old GameBoy... ahh Tetris, the only game we had for ages, lol. Did you guys know those little cartridges aren't harmed by water? My bro forgot it in his pocket when he went swimming and it still worked after we dried it, but it was lake water though, not salty like the ocean is. I still wouldn't recommend trying to do that though, just in case.

[Cagedconnerman]

pretty cool idea doesi87, +rep

[Andr0m3da]

I can't wait to see the final product..this is quite the inspiring project.

[jegerjon]

funny project, keep it up :)

[doesi87]

Thank you guys, glad you like it. I spend some time on the led because it wouldn't work as I planned it. So I decided to use a fan-connector which will give me the flexibility I need.

Test the led and connector:
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0774Medium.jpg
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0775Medium.jpg
Solder the connector to the board:
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0778Medium.jpg

[doesi87]

I finished the wires for the status led. It will only have blue or off and not the red light for activity. First I thought this would be great but when testing the led it drove me crazy, so I decided to kill the red colour.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0878Medium.jpg

Here's the led attached to the upper case with hot glue. The connector is in position to connect to the one on the hdd-controller board.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0880Medium.jpg

When removing the screen cover I found a little problem:
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0885Medium.jpg

I haven't cleaned it completely jet, but that's not the problem. There is a little white spot directly under the window. So guess what: I have to some of the painting again. There is still some paint left, but as I got my new rig this week and have to work lot more than usually because we have holidays over here this won't happen very fast. But everything except the paint is completed. Hope to give you some nice shoots of the finished game boy soon.

[doesi87]

Okay I sanded the top with 800 grid wetsand paper for about half an hour this morning and gave it a last coat of paint. Now the "bottle" is empty. But man I like the surface now. It was totally worth sanding it, but I think I did it to long. There was no really viewable chance after about 15-20 minutes. But I wanted to be sure. You will get a pic as soon as I gave it the new first layer of clear coat.

[doesi87]

Just a small update, because the top is still getting clear coat. The coats may be finished at the weekend, if the weather is fine.

Did some work on the bottom part today. I attached the game cartridge to the case and gave it the Super Mario Land cover to fit with the picture on the screen.

Some shots of it:
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0888Medium.jpg
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0889Medium.jpg
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0894Medium.jpg
The top is a bit rough but I will work on that.

The picture on the screen will be attached as soon as the clear coat is finished.

EDIT:

Here is a first shot with 4 layers of clear coat. Will give it some more layers at the weekend. It looks way better than the photo shows it but I don't know how to make a nicer shot of it.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT0899Medium.jpg

[doesi87]

okay I gave it the last layers of clear coat. The coat is drying right know. Tomorrow I will mount the display and the Super Mario foil if the paint is dry till then. Will give you some pics as soon as possible.

[doesi87]

The clearcoat is still sticky. I wonder if this is normal? Should I let it dry longer or can I simply go on and work on the display?

[doesi87]

The clear coat finally dried, so I removed the masking tape.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/Picture2.jpg
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/Picture3.jpg

I then did some work on the display-film. I cleaned the plexi cover from the film side and attached the film.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/Picture7.jpg

Sadly the display is very dirty from the other side. Tried to clean it with some stuff but nothing really worked. Have to try more things:D
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/Picture4.jpg

sorry for the bad pictures, but I had to use a webcam.

[idylan123]

u know that plastic screen comes out.. its just like double sided taped in there. im working on a gameboy ipod case and it came out pretty easily so i could paint it.

[The boy 4rm oz]

Personally why would you cover up the X-craft? I have one in black and it looks fine the way it is. The X-craft is a thing of beauty and that game boy case is just wrecking it. Plus there will be very little ventilation in the game boy case.

[doesi87]

Thanks for the info. I got it out. This will make things much more easy. I tried to get it out before but I thought it was attached so well that it would break if I pushed it any more. But instead it came out quit nice.


But to annoy you all (:D) I will repaint it again. I know its a hard time with me, but I got this new case (switched from laptop to desktop) and want it to fit the case paintjob. I think of modding the case itself sometime but the paintjob is just fine, so I will definitely stick with it. But to me this just don't look right:
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/Picture11.jpg
I think of giving it the same look like the case. The white ring will get silver, the rest black (with better knowledge then last time I tried the black, so it won't produce this bad looking bulbs). So this project will go on and hopefully it will be recoloured for the last time.

I'm sorry for making this look very confused and disorganized but since it is my first real project I want to have it nice and this needs some practice and testing also including rejection of some progress. Hope you still watch this and give me advice.

[si-skyline]

oh god another respray.. nah just kidding with you :P
I think you just learned that planning is really worth the effort at the start of a project, save your self alot of time.

If a ecommendation is possible i would of done the paint scheme on the computer first before wacking out the paint. something like photoshop or one of the many of the same programs out there like GIMP.

I like that your thinking of matching your computer too :)

A very good job on the prints too they look cool :up:
keep up the good work

[VCR]

I like this mod a lot! Wanna trade game boys?

[b4i7]

nice on makin it match...i plan on doin that with my laptop and all my stuff once i finish my case

[doesi87]

Puh, glad you don't give up on this.


I think you just learned that planning is really worth the effort at the start of a project, save your self alot of time.

Have to give you that point. Found the planing stage boring and just wanted to start. Next time will be very different. It does not only cost time, it costs money. Guess I learned something.

And I'm doing some planing about the colours for the computer. But I have to read more about etching and try some things before I can be sure how it should be in the end.

[doesi87]

Just a small update for now, because painting is still happening. But I have something to show about the display. Since the original one has been very dirty I decided to make a new one. Searched for 1mm plexi around but found nothing I searched for something else to use. Finally I found this little thing:

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT1744Medium.jpg

Did a quick cut to have it in the shape needed:

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT1745Medium.jpg

And sanded it to the exact shape of the display:

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT1746Medium.jpg

I fill make the last little adjustments when I fit it in the gameboy. But I'm quit happy with the result for now. And no you won't see the black markings in the final product :)

[si-skyline]

cool find on the new screen, what is it?


Have to give you that point. Found the planing stage boring and just wanted to start. Next time will be very different. It does not only cost time, it costs money. Guess I learned something.

haha true, im the same really.. for bigger projects i try to brake it downand then i find it easier to focus on the smaller parts of the project, but thats normally all the planning i do xD

but well done on the screen :UP:

[doesi87]

cool find on the new screen, what is it?

It's one part of the enclosure of a card game. Would have never thought about using it but it lay on my table and suddenly it made click in my mind :) .

[si-skyline]

haha very cool thinking, it looks like a good replacement too.

[doesi87]

Hey guys, got the painting work done. Now I like the colour very much. Sadly the camera won't show it nicely. The flash reflects to much on the surface. Will try to get better shots this weekend.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT1774.jpg

I still have to add the display with the OHP film and bring everything together, but I hope to be finished next weekend.

[Computer-Geek]

Much better! i like it alot +rep :)

[doesi87]

As I managed to loose the OHP film I have to redo it. But I got a little bit confused. Should I use

the coloured version:
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/display1.jpg

the grayscale version:
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/display2.jpg

or a engraving illuminated with blue leds:
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/display3.jpg

Can't really decide this yet. Like the blue glowing version but I'm not sure how it will look when it's finished.

[slytherock]

I like the engraving Idea, but to follow the GameBoy theme: use green leds

[elbarto241]

go with slytherock's suggestion. engraved w/ green LEDs would look amazing

[Computer-Geek]

I agree with the engraving and green led idea :)

[Remy]

Definitely agree with the engraving and green leds to illuminate. I'm enjoying seeing this mod progress. Way to keep at it, and know when to change something (like your paint scheme). Sucks you have to spend so much on paint though.

Anyway, love the mod can't wait to see it completed.

+REP

[doesi87]

Hey glad you like it.

As you all voted for the engraving I tried it with a scrap piece of plexi and it works. Note, this is a scrap piece of plexi and I didn't copy the picture well onto the plexi. The final engraving will look much better. This is just to test the amount of detail I can put into it:
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT1786.jpg
It should work with some patients and proper preparation.

Green Led's would fit very well to the gameboy but blue would fit the case. Have to think about the colour. Will use some blue ones for testing, because I just have blue. May order some green later.

[doesi87]

Bad news. I won't be able to engrave the image into the actual plexi. Here is a test I did today:
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT1794.jpg
It looks really bad. But I like the engraving idea more and more. Guess I will choose a more simple image to engrave with thicker lines.

[doesi87]

Guess I found a solution for the problem. Remember the cardbox enclosure I used as a display cover? I tried to engrave the picture into it which made it easier because the picture could be a little bit bigger. It worked quit well.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT1795.jpg

But now the silver area of the top cover is over leaped by parts of the image.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT1796.jpg

Will have to see how it looks illuminated and then decide whether the silver part has to go or not and how to cover the plexi/display thing.

Oh and I will redo this in some plexi with proper alignment. This was just to test the size.

EDIT:

Okay it looks bad when enlightened. But I managed to make this:
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT1798.jpg
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT1801.jpg

It's only a part of the image. The top part is missing, so the rest could be made bigger. Now it fits into the original screen. I think I won't give it a cover on top of the plexi since it looks better without one. Have to think about the colour now. I like blue leds but you are right about the green ones being more original. Guess I will order some green ones to see what looks better. So no being finished this weekend. But slowly it comes together :)

[psychowit]

that looks cute

[doesi87]

Sorry no update for quit a long time, but I'm busy at the moment. But I ordered the LED's. Think next weekend should be some time to make progress with the display. Till then.

[scar~face]

personaly, i would go with a less detailed image, like a big mushroom or mario's head, instead of fight with such fine lines

[doesi87]

hm, may try that. Wills search for more images and try them. Have enough plexi here to try a few different ones.

[Scotty]

Maybe try etching with a knife? It would give a finer line, take longwer but the result should be better.

[slytherock]

Agree with Scotty here, try with an X-acto
http://www.generalgraphic.com/images/xacto1.jpg

[doesi87]

have something like this lying around here. Will try to use it on the original pic at the weekend. Thanks for the hint guys.

[Vertigo]

Very cool idea, I was thinking of making a gameboy mp3 player myself. Keep it up, anxious to see how this turns out.

[doesi87]

Hey guys,

made not the progress I wanted to make this weekend, but I have an excuse. A friend of mine goes to America for a year at the end of the week and we had a goodbye party for her, it got late, you know. But there is some little progress so far. Tested the knife idea and it worked pretty good. Here's a picture of the result. Please excuse the blue led's. Got the green ones this week and tested them and it looks really nice but my camera seems to not like green and won't make nice pics of it. So here's the whole thing with blue leds:
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT1812.jpg
One shot with green ones just to get the colour:
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT1815.jpg

Oh and the plexi isn't flipped around right know so the image is mirror-inverted.

[Scotty]

Not bad, much sharper then before. :D

[doesi87]

Got some time for modding today so here is what if done so far:

First of all I had some issues with the display plexi. There was some glue on it and I had to clean the plexi which was harder then I thought. Especially when it looked like this somewhere in the cleaning process:
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT1818.jpg

But I got it clean and ready for mounting on the top part of the gameboy case.The next picture shows the mounted display with the led (going with just one led, it's bright enough) and some wires.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT1822.jpg

Wire-work completed and fan-connector added to connect the led to the HDD-board.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT1824.jpg

At the moment we stand here:
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT1825.jpg

A black backplate for the plexi is added and everything is glued in place. Sorry no pics of the led/display while being active, but I tested it and it looks sweet.

Now I'm thinking about the buttons. Not sure if I should keep them in the original dark grey or paint them silver. Guess I will leave them original, because I like how they look when mounted.

[doesi87]

This mod is finally finished. First of all I want to say that the paint looks really bad on the pics but it isn't that bad at all. And I excuse for the bad picture with the led on but I couldn't make a better one. Not very good with the camera :redface:

I decided to go with the original buttons and glued them in place with hot glue. Then I mounted everything together and ran into a little problem. I had to use a little dot of glue to mount the case properly. No big deal, just a little bit of glue so there is no open spot at the side:
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT1830.jpg

Here are some final pics:
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT1832.jpg
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT1833.jpg

With led on at daylight:
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT1834.jpg

And in the dark: (sorry for the bad pic)
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z294/doesi87/PICT1835.jpg

Thanks for all you comments and help on this guys. This was my first real project and I think I learned quite a lot while doing this. I know it's not really a professional or very good mod but it was very much fun doing it and I won't stop here, because it made me want more :)

[scar~face]

sweet stuff man, look pretty damn good.

if i ever happen upon an old gameboy, im gunna try to rig myself up one of these!