Game Boy Color Reshell Tutorial and Review
After how much I liked the DMG shell I reviewed last time, I submitted my review to the vendor and asked if they would provide me with one of their Game Boy Color shells to review. Much to my surprise they appreciated my review and agreed to send me out a Game Boy color shell. A big thank you goes to Orient Mall on Amazon!
The last time I bought an aftermarket shell for the GBC I was hoping I could swap out a well beaten green shell and add a yellow GBC to my collection. What I ended up with was a cheap, slightly transparent shell that, once I bought a real yellow GBC, turn out to be worse than I originally thought. This time I’ve decided to go for a transparent black custom with further customizations to come.
Once the Orient Mall kit arrived I was pleasantly surprised with everything included. Just like the DMG shell this kit comes with the tools, but this time the kit came with a full set of screws, a sticker for the back of the shell and even a speaker replacement, which seems to be a common problem with aging Game Boy Colors these days. Since I already have a full set of screws, the speaker on my donor GBC works, and I already have the tools from the DMG kit, I won’t be using these, but it’s still nice to see them included for those who need them.
Now I will be putting together a brief tutorial on how to take your Game Boy Color apart. First you’ll need to flip your GBC over and remove the battery cover (as well as any batteries you may have inside that compartment) and remove all six tri-wing screws on the back. You should now be able to remove the back part of the shell, revealing the guts of the system. You will now have three phillips screws holding the motherboard into the case. Once all the screws are removed and set aside you’ll need to carefully release the screen’s ribbon cable from the top of the motherboard by sliding the tension pieces upward.
Now that the ribbon cable is free from motherboard you can remove the motherboard completely and set it aside. Keep in mind that if this is the first time your GBC has been taken apart the screen will be attached to the front part of the shell by double sided tape. Now this can be a bit tricky but all you should need to do is gently pry up from the bottom of the screen and break it loose, without breaking the screen or damaging the cable. It’s not as delicate as you might think, but it’s always safe to err on the side of caution.
Once everything has been removed from the old shell I decided to cut the screw threads on the new shell for all of the mounting holes. Since this is a transparent case I took extra care to not torque the screws down too far in areas where a mistake could easily be seen. I did, just to show you what kind of milky white mess you could end up with, bottomed out the screws which will be hidden by the screen cover, as seen below.
Again, reassembly will be the mirror of exactly what you did to take the whole thing apart. Before you put everything back together I would highly suggest cleaning any contacts on the motherboard or the rubber pads for the buttons, to insure better functionality. One thing to note is that the new shell will not have the double sided tape to hold the screen in place. After putting the motherboard back in the foam on the back of the screen seems to hold it in place perfectly, though if you have double sided tape and want to put it down just in case you can do that as well.
What I like about this kit: The fact that it comes with an extra speaker, tools and a full set of screws, even though they’re not tri-wing. Unlike the odd molding on the previous GBC shell the battery cover from this kit will fit, albeit snuggly, on an OEM shell. The shell doesn’t feel cheap and the texture makes it feel like what a brand new GBC might have felt like all those years ago. This time around the buttons for the GBC kit were perfectly molded and worked perfectly, they’re also much darker black, at least with the kit I received, making it look even more awesome.
What I don’t like about this kit: The included battery terminals for the back are too tall, which never allowed the battery cover to sit flush. This could easily be fixed by trimming them down, but since I already had one from the OEM shell I chose to just use that instead. The molding seems a bit messy around some of the conjoining edges. Once everything is screwed down tight everything fits together, but the seam between the parts is a little wavy in areas. And finally the OEM power switch doesn’t seem to work very well with this shell, and the included power switch is a bit too tight for my liking. It’s functional, but a bit too tight.
Like I said before I plan to do a few more customizations to this and I’ll probably be posting those later, depending how in depth they are. If you want one of these kits you can find them on Amazon. Readily available, inexpensive and Orient Mall has really fast shipping. Whether you’re wanting a total custom, a total repair or just looking to freshen up your Game Boy Color, these kits are really good value for what you pay and what you get.
How to clean a nylon carrying case.
For the past decade I’ve had an obsessive compulsion to organize everything, and my video game collection is no exception. Luckily for me video game companies had both the foresight and the marketing prowess to have video game organizers made. Not only do I use them to keep my video games organized, but I also collect them even if I have no immediate use for them.
The most common video game organizers that I happen to find are carrying cases made of a nylon material, and although the material is strong and rugged, it can hold on to dirt and other markings pretty tightly. That becomes an issue when I find most of mine at thrift stores, where they’re either super filthy or marked up with markers. While markers are extremely difficult to remove, if not impossible, dirt will wash off with a little bit of work.
GBC and Gameboy nylon carrying cases found at the Goodwill Outlet store. They're both very dirty, but that is about to change.
Above are two carrying cases that I picked up from the Goodwill Outlet store and they were extremely dirty, as you can see. I have quite a few cases for different Gameboy systems like the one on the right, but I’ve never found one that holds the system, like the one for the Gameboy Color, and I’ve always wanted one. To be honest, when I first picked up the one for the Gameboy Color I almost put it back down, but I figured as cheap as it was a run through the wash couldn’t hurt.
Back and front were pretty dirty.
After a simple run through the washing machine with the Gameboy bag, as well as one for the Sega Game Gear, all three came out fairly clean. I always allow them to air dry as I don’t know what a dryer would do to the nylon material, so I decide to err on the side of caution. If needed I will use multiple wash cycles as well as spin cycles to help pull out extra water.
So much cleaner!
As you can see above the case came out significantly cleaner, although I may never get it perfectly clean it still looks largely better than it did when I first bought it, making me extremely glad I decided not to throw it back into the bin. This took a couple of runs through the washing cycle and I did have to do some manual scrubbing with a rag on both the outside and the clear sections inside. Also notice how dirty the logo was for the Gameboy Color bag, but since it is made of what I assume to be rubber it is very easy to scrub off with a rag or a pencil eraser works well also, it just leaves eraser dust.
Not always the case, but more often than not, with a couple of runs through the washing machine, just the same as you do your laundry, and a little elbow grease can give your nylon carrying cases a fresher look. I’ve yet to find a good enough way to remove markers or ink, but sometimes they do become lighter once they’ve been run through the washer. It may look new, but you’ll always know who owned it if they’ve marked their name on it.
There are also risks such as straps or zippers getting caught inside the washing machine, or sometimes even the nylon itself will become frayed from being put inside the washer, although I find it rare that any damage occurs in the washer. You take your own risks when you’re trying this with your own items, but I haven’t had any issues yet. But if everything goes according to plan its well worth the risk to give your games a nice clean place to rest.
Sam’s Scores: Gameboy Edition!
Today’s Sam’s Scores is yet another special edition. I had enough to do a special Gameboy Sam’s Scores, enjoy!
8) – Turn and Burn
Turn and Burn is much like Top Gun for the NES, to a point. It isn’t bad, but its far from great. I picked it up at a Goodwill just because it was cheap and it was a video game.
7) – Rechargeable Gameboy Battery
Sifting through bric-a-brac sometimes yields interesting results, and this is one such case. The Gameboy logo is worn off, but its pretty clear what this is. I’ve actually had this for a long time, avoiding adding it to a scores article because I don’t even know if it works. Even so, its a pretty cool little piece.
6) – Gameboy/GBC AC Adapter
Another thing that I find myself doing quite a bit in thrift stores is sifting through the cables and power adapters. Sometimes I come out a winner, like this time, but mostly I find myself trying to untangle a rat’s nest of stuff to come up empty handed. This thing works with both GBC and Gameboy, with a switch on the unit to get the right power to which device you need to power. Although the case is broken, it still works and with a little super glue it will be good as used.
5) – Castlevania: The Adventure
I found this one at Half Price Books, during a strange mark it at a single price and sell it period. This game, to be honest, sucks! I like Castlevania, but Konami really screwed up a good thing with this one.
4) – Pokemon Red
Way back when this game originally came out, I bought it. I loved playing this game because of it’s RPG style gameplay. I ended up loaning this game, and sadly the box and manual, to someone and never saw it again. I had always kept my eyes open for a loose copy of it and never found one less than $7, until Half Price Books got one in.
3) – Pokemon Silver
Yet another tag it and sell it score, brought to you by Half Price Books! The Pokemon Red above was exactly a week before I bought this one, so prices went down. Sadly the battery inside this one doesn’t work, but I did swap the battery in the Pokemon Gold I had, which will become a tutorial at some point.
2) – Zelda 1 and 2 for the GBA
I personally don’t think the Gameboy Advance is a vintage system, but these games certainly are. Even though they’re remakes for the system, they’re still vintage gaming classics. I must note that I bought these with another Gameboy Game (Dr. Mario, not pictured) at a Goodwill and had to wait 15 minutes for someone to go unlock the case!
1) – Green Gameboy Color
In a previous Sam’s Scores I showed you a Green GBC that I picked up off Craigslist for $10, so when I saw how cheap this one was I didn’t care whether it worked or not. I figured at the very least it would give me a matching green battery cover for my other one. When I took it home it didn’t want to work, but after shaking it, it sprang to life! The screen was scratched and it only works on batteries, later I decided to buy a new case and swap it out, so its no longer green.
Sam’s Scores VI
4) – Yellow N64 controller
Sadly this isn’t the DK edition controller, but the yellow sure is bright. When I found it, it needed a lot of cleaning, but that is something I do to all my scores anyway. The joystick is pretty loose on this one but its overall completely functional.
3) – Gameboy Color w/ games
Over a year ago now, I passed up a Gameboy color in a thrift store because I didn’t know whether or not it worked, and to this day I wish I had bought it. I’ve been keeping my eyes open for another one at a reasonable price when I saw a Craigslist posting. The ad was a few weeks old but I took the chance. 2 days later I became the owner of a lime green GBC with Galaga/Galaxian and Yoshi’s Cookie, beside the atomic purple battery cover (at least it had one!) everything was in great shape!
2) – Beeshu Zinger
Every once in a while I will come across something so wild, I have to buy it and this is such an occasion. I own a Beeshu Zipper, so I have a little background with Beeshu’s products. I was checking out a Goodwill I had never been to before when the box (and the bright colors!) caught my eye. I picked it up and checked inside, everything but the instruction manual, if there even was one, was inside the box. This thing is a bright pink with a white cable, very strange for an NES joystick, but everything works and its just a fun piece to own.
1) – Casino Kid 2
If you’re an NES game collector, you may know Casino Kid 2 is one of the harder to find games. I’ve only seen 2 of them and this is 50% of that equation, the other was $20 or $30 at a local Disc Replay store. This particular copy had been sitting in a bin at a flea market, I knew the game was harder to find and I knew it might get snatched up at the $5 they were wanting for it. Week after week the game was still there, so I decided to take a chance and buy it, but when I got to the cash register they had a surprise for me..
