I've been given the green light on this work log, so I'll fill in the gaps.

I've started work on Burnferno's portable gamecube.

So far he's sent me a Gamecube, Logic3 PSone screen, and a 12v battery supply.


Our initial idea was to have the screen mounted on top of the lid, however in practice it's too heavy to eject the lid and the screen is just too large, so we decided to go back to the original design you've all seen.

This is portable Gamecube number 8 (I believe).

It will feature the original case on the back, the handle, and will be completely black.

Since the case was silver, I decided to swap out the shell for a black one I have hanging around doing nothing.


For the past 3 days I've been trying to get the LCD to work with RGB, and I've finally got it sussed by adding extra voltage to it.

The circuit for the battery supply is drawn up, the gamecube has been castrated and I think I'm about ready to make the first cut.

Since the controller was a cheap replica from eBay, I bought another identical one in black so I could use the black shell in the design (minimising the requirement to spray paint). I'll be cutting off the board so that I can split the controller and use the original as a donor controller which will supply all of the control input where they're needed.

So that's everything in a nut shell. I'll get pictures up once I get my SD card back.

Cut the controller in half, now I just need to draw out the shape that the case is going to be, cut out the plastic and start bonding it together.

Still waiting to get my SD card back

Aww can't wait for the pics :3

I wish I knew how to do stuff like this. (and I wish I had the money too as well )

If only. Some day, I maybe play Wind Waker on a train...

Got my SD card back, and I bought a new camera yesterday.

At the moment it's just wiring. I've got to cut the controller shell straight in half. The first one I cut was too small after I levelled off the cut, so this one I need to get just right.

Not quite sure how I'm going to get it dead accurate yet. I really could do with a scroll saw or something to make this cut.

I have one if thats any good lol.

I decided not to cut it in half. I'd only gain like 3mm and that's nowhere near enough what I need. Instead, I'll just extend the gamecubes case outwards to give me the extra cm or so that I need.

From here on out, I'm winging it with the design. The trouble with an irregular shaped screen... Always complicates something.

So far I've tacked the controller to the screen case and given enough clearance for the black polished overlay.

I need to reinforce the tacks with strong epoxy otherwise it will break off.

As promised.. Picture



Hopefully the final height of the project. Approximately the same height as the gamecube.


A photo of the gamecube working on the screen. I had to build an adapter to get the right video signals using an LM1881N chip, 2 capacitors and a resistor.


The back of the screen with the controller halves tacked on. They're about even to the untrained eye. I can see the difference, but I really can't be arsed to line it up again.

This weekend (when its light) I'll fibreglass the inside part of the controller-screen piece to make it more stable. When it's stable, I'll place the shell on the back and start attaching the bottom half of the controller to it.

Right.

Today I managed to fibreglass the inside of the controller to the main section of the screen for added stability, and I also fibreglassed the outside part (since it will be covered up anyway)



I masked off the controller so I didn't get any fibreglass on that part, you can see the line. Anyway, now it's nice and strong, but still possible to break, so I'd better be careful until I finish the front face and mount that on.



This is a rough cut of the front face. Tomorrow I'll do a proper cut. This is probably the worst cut of all since it consumes a large amount of plastic each time I get it wrong, and I have 3 shapes that I need to cut nearly perfectly accurate. Don't worry if it looks really bubbly or crap, that's just the protective film. That gets peeled off at the end to give a mirror finish.

I also cut the mount part that goes between the Gamecube controller and the gamecube itself (not shown, but not really all that interesting, it's just a strip of plastic really...)

I'll prime and spray the screen part before I mount the top piece. I'll fix it in place with resin and more fibreglass to the back of the case.

Yesterday I cut out the front face, but it was far from a perfect fit, so I'm going to use that as a template for the final cut and hopefully get it right the next time.

Yesterday I started a complete mock up. I still have to recut the new front piece, but I included a photo of the original with the protective film removed so you can see what the plastic looks like. Nice, huh?



Anyway, it's very similar to my 2nd version in design, except it has a smaller screen and is made from HIPS plastic for extra durability. The HIPS is very thin so I need to add support panels inside to stiffen it up once I've finished it.

Yesterday I also ordered polystyrene cement to start gluing pieces down.

I'll cut out the middle of the screen to reduce the overall weight too.


EDIT: lol, you can see a Bart Simpson poster in the reflection. That's covering up a load of holes in the wall where I put up shelves... We've been meaning to fill those in and redecorate. For now, Bart Simpson will do.

OK, I've marked up the front panel on a new sheet (templated with paper this time) and it's ready to cut which I'll do tomorrow.

Today I went and bought the flat black spray paint that I will be using to paint the screen and the screen part (even though it's a very small insignificant bit)

My polystyrene cement arrived on Thursday too, but I haven't had the opportunity to test it. It's only going to be for bonding corners and edges and reinforced with resin. Then the edge will be nicely rounded and shined. This is going to look pretty good when it's finished.

Yesterday I was about ready to start assembly after the paint dried, however, I've realised that the paint I'm using isn't curing fast enough and a small imprint has been left by the surface. This will have to be sanded and lightly resprayed to remove that.

Curing of the paint can take up to a month, otherwise it will be too soft and will come off really easily.

However, that's just the LCD, so I can leave that piece to cure for the next few weeks uninterupted whilst I continue with case construction.

Tonight, I'm going to be gluing down the front panel and begin preparation for filling the small voids. Once that is done and set, I can begin installation of all of the components to mark my outline for the case and then start building the back piece.

The screen can go on last as it needs all the time it can have to cure. In infrared source would do it much quicker, however I haven't got one.

Oh, and pictures later on...

Glues not adhering to the paint as well as I had hoped.. In fact it's stripping it off. Not a problem though, I'll remask and respray. The glossy effect will have to be polished up with some rubbing compound as a few slashes of glue have put imperfections in the finish. Nothing that can't be fixed all round though, just slight delays. I had hoped I would have made more progress than now, but what can you do? Paint is drying slow, glue is drying slow.

epoxied the panel to the screen last night, but even that doesn't seem to be doing the trick all too well. I'm going to have to get out the heavy artillery. Fibreglass!

Another week has passed since I last replied.

Sorry about the lack of photos, I haven't had my camera to hand.

The build is going well. This weekend I fibreglassed and started panelling. I did a test fit for the battery pack and gamecube - near perfect fit. Now I just need to get the height right, cut and shape the back piece and get those mounted.

A decision was made by Burnferno not to have a mirror finish, which makes my job easier I guess as I can work faster and be a bit more careless in where I cut, fill, and sand.

The start button will be positioned on the right hand side, which will prove to be a bit difficult as the battery pack will occupy the same area. I'm sure I'll come up with something though...

I cut out two big holes in the screens casing (the part you won't see) in order to reduce the weight. That stuff was quite thick and has shaved off a fair amount of the weight.

In terms of pictures, I'll post some when I get around to it. Right now I'm focusing on getting the structure right as opposed to worrying about taking photos.

Tonight, I'll be doing a bit of sanding, a bit of fibreglassing, and a bit of cutting so I can mark up the position of the gamecube case.

Hopefully I can take a photo of a mock up once thats done.