Hello Sudomod community,
So my first GBZ is complete, aside from a few small details I might add in the future. Lots of thanks to everyone here who's made one and shared their tips and tricks and how-to's, and their innovations, and paved the way so that other people could build one without too much of a headache. And thanks to TheHappiestBug for building me a GBZ so I could get hands on experience with one, and of course to play games on when I was frustrated with my build (and so that I could have one in my house and one in my RV
![Mr. Green :mrgreen:](./images/smilies/icon_mrgreen.gif)
) I was able to find all the information I needed to complete my GBZ right here, which is awesome. I have quite a bit of experience building models (mostly car/plane kits, and a lot of WH40k) so I was able to approach my build in a similar sort of fashion. I got a lot of inspiration from Veteran Gamer's third build, and from erik_gee's WIP. Holders for the Pi, USB, volume pot, etc were made with layers of plasticard (old fashioned 3d prints!) Having two separable halves was a bit of a challenge, but after some trial and error and some couple do-overs I got everything to close up nicely. As far as future additions go, I think I might wire the LEDs on the powerboost to the cartridge reader as well, and have a set of power/charging/full/low LEDs inside of the cartridge.
Here is my parts list:
-Ebay DMG shell/misc parts/bits
-Raspberry Pi Zero W
-Concave NES style buttons from kitsch-bent
-Gearbest screen
-Adafruit powerboost 1000c
-Wermy's button wells/screen bracket/power switch brace
-Cartridge label printed by Thursday Customs
-Camble's safe shutdown
-Dextech 5000mah battery
-PRS-Tech sd card board
-Hand Held Legend screen cover
-26awg 16 strand pvc coated ribbon wire (way too fat! but wanted to use what I had on hand)
-Ebay AIO (ckliang)
I became interested in building a GBZ right after Christmas this past year, and with my bank account slightly swollen post holiday, I went on a small shopping spree collecting parts for my build. Being a first time builder I opted for an AIO, and turned to Ebay, where I found one. Fast forward a few weeks, browsing the forums, I found out about the controversy regarding these boards. But this is what I bought, I can't justify/afford to not use it. So I've made my peace with it, I hope you can too. I did my best to support honest people here on Sudomod when it came to parts for my build.
![Image](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4699/39393011935_3ec9d15cf5_n.jpg)
I decided to do my own spin on the "Colorway" buttons, haha
![Mr. Green :mrgreen:](./images/smilies/icon_mrgreen.gif)
I used plastic welder/epoxy/and "Plastic Surgery" super glue to fix my plasticard/misc bits into place. The hdmi port is accessible via the old contrast hole, and with the usb port this GBZ can also function as a console (although with my inverted screen any TV/monitor connected to it has to be rotated with it's EDID tag. I also tried a script I found to rotate just the composite but couldn't get it to work right) I misplaced my white link port cover, which I will swap out the yellow one for (provided I can find it) I also used a black oil based Sharpie paint marker to color the inside edge of where I cut out the screen area, so no evidence of it can be seen when viewing at an angle. I will also be swapping out the green cartridge for a white one (I have a Tamagotchi cart on it's way from Japan) at which point I will be using that Metroid cart for my planned second build, which will be entirely Metroid themed (still in the brainstorming phase, other than the cartridge) I'm going to aim at making it fully loaded but with a common ground board. With everything I've learned here in the past few months I think I should be able to pull it off. I hope you like it, I'm happy to answer any questions if anyone has any. Thanks for checking out my first GBZ. Happy building!
-CrogDog