ZN-40 SNES, coming right up sir! (7/31/08: DONE!)

[Life of Brian]

Update 7/31/08: For "completed" pictures, please click here.

Yes, it's true - I'm making another ZN-40 SNES. This time it's not for me - I've been commissioned. This portable should have been finished a while ago, but the factors of being away at college during the week, my brother's family visiting from Alabama during Christmas Break, and getting engaged have all prolonged this project. Luckily, I've managed to make time for this portable the past couple of weekends and I have progress to report.

First, some delicious pictures:





A drill, some perf board, and clips make easy speaker holes


Nice and flush, but slightly raised section for the buttons. It came out well.


Adding epoxy putty to the back for the triggers/shoulder buttons. Just cut off a section with a razor blade, knead it between your fingers, and you're ready to go! Here's a tip to keep the junk from sticking to your fingers like crazy: Dip your fingers in some water before mixing the stuff together and then applying it. It's a waterproof substance so it won't hurt it and it helps you get a nice smooth finish on what you're shaping. It cuts sanding time down a lot which is good because this stuff dries as hard as a rock in under an hour.


Before sanding


And after sanding


Phew - dusty!


I figured this would help others see how high I made the triggers stick out


Together at last




Here's what the inside of the trigger looks like. Yes that's a reset button from an SNES mini - it's perfect for the job! I'd say it's roughly equivalent to pressing an XBox trigger, although it doesn't travel as far.


While the epoxy putty was setting I went to work on the screen. Four 17,000 mcd LEDs ought to do the trick


Anybody remember hailrazer's tutorial about making PSOne screens crisper and more brilliant by removing the anti-glare plastic? Well, it works! There were some bad scratches on the screen so removing this fixed that problem. Good as new!




Ooookay... I better stop posting pictures before everyone's internets explodes. While waiting for my pics to upload I desoldered the cartridge slot from the motherboard, so that's another thing off my checklist. I'll post with more updates next weekend!

-Brian

[schmellyfart]

Wow the screen looks amazing with the anti-glare mod.

Using a bit of water works wonders with the bondo. I started doing it last May when I was working on a Genesis portable case because of when I used bondo with my pNES case It stuck to my fingers like crazy.

[Life of Brian]

Wow the screen looks amazing with the anti-glare mod.

Using a bit of water works wonders with the bondo. I started doing it last May when I was working on a Genesis portable case because of when I used bondo with my pNES case It stuck to my fingers like crazy.

Wow, that last sentence of yours is loaded. Must... resist... inappropriate... jokes...

Anyway, back to the topic. Yes, I highly recommend the screen mod if you've got a bad scratch on it or you're bored

[dragonhead]

pNES.....ehem

so anyway, looks great man! i was looking at that case for my next portable but i guess its a bit too thick for my liking

[ZN13]

It's a good thing I pronounce NES one letter at a time!


But where did you come up with the name?

[schmellyfart]

Wow the screen looks amazing with the anti-glare mod.

Using a bit of water works wonders with the bondo. I started doing it last May when I was working on a Genesis portable case because of when I used bondo with my pNES case It stuck to my fingers like crazy.

Wow, that last sentence of yours is loaded. Must... resist... inappropriate... jokes...

Wow. Haha I totally didnt notice that when I was typing or proofreading. I was going to type portable NES, but I decided to have some fun and type pNES...the rest was unintentional.

But where did you come up with the name?

Me? I didnt some up with the name, I saw it on here a while back

[Dr. KillGood]

Paint it chrome PLZ!

[Life of Brian]

Paint it chrome PLZ!

That would look awesome, but it's been requested by the buyer that I try white and maybe some gray to keep with the SNES feel of it.

[Rekarp]

Big fan of your case work Brian. Can't wait for it to be finished

[bacteria]

Nice work mate. Good to see a tutorial guide, very interesting work!

[hailrazer]

Anybody remember hailrazer's tutorial about making PSOne screens crisper and more brilliant by removing the anti-glare plastic? Well, it works! There were some bad scratches on the screen so removing this fixed that problem. Good as new!




Ooookay... I better stop posting pictures before everyone's internets explodes. While waiting for my pics to upload I desoldered the cartridge slot from the motherboard, so that's another thing off my checklist. I'll post with more updates next weekend!

-Brian

Nice !!!!

It's about time I get to see others doing this

Nice job.

[Metroid fan]

Looking good! I think i'm going to take my snesp out of my crappy case and put it in one of these nice ones. Mines going to look a lot like yours but I'm going to have paint job and battery differences. Now I just need a job to earn up some money for this and a drum set.

[Kurt_]

Halirazer: I did it, and wrecked a screen! Lucky for me Schmelly had one!

Brain: I was gonna do a cool colour theme too, and with a seamed design, I suggest a dual-colour case. My main problem: Krylon didn't have the colours I wanted at Canadian Tire.

[CronoTriggerfan]

Looking gorgeous as usual! How did you cut the hole for the screen and the PSOne mobo? The cuts are so exact!

[Life of Brian]

Looking gorgeous as usual! How did you cut the hole for the screen and the PSOne mobo? The cuts are so exact!

The screen hole I tackled first with a dremel, then sanded/filed to the lines. I also filed the corners so they'd be square. However, I think I cut a little bit too much on the left side so the metal from the screen might show - I'll need to figure out a fix for that.

The PSOne lcd screen mobo I cut in my room with an exacto knife. I just repeatedly cut along the same line, flipped it over and did the same on the back. I've had both success and failure with this method, and really what makes the difference is technique and patience. I've completely ruined circuit boards by being impatient or not cutting a deep enough or wide enough groove. I was determined to get it right this time!

I'll be posting more of a "how-to" from here on out due to some very good questions I've received about many parts of building this particular style of SNESp. You can look forward to more pretty pictures with descriptions that should be quite helpful when building your own portable.

One last thing. While I can't think of a more comfortable SNESp (I'm completely satisfied with this design), the time it takes to make a case in this fashion is longer than the usual already long process of making a case. There's a lot of sanding, careful planning, and careful painting + sanding involved. I suppose that's true of most cases, but really this takes a whole heck of a lot of sanding so if you don't find that activity to be therapeutic then you might try something else.

As always, thank you so much for the compliments guys. I enjoy showing my portables off to my friends and family, but you guys definitely know what it takes to make a portable and that level of understanding adds extra emphasis to your compliments, so thanks.