Downing's Basement

It’s been 10 years since I first got into the hobby of console modding and for a long time now, I’ve wanted to go to an event like MGC or PAX East. Never really had the time or money to make it happen though, but this year things seem to have fallen into place and I will be attending the 2018 Midwest Gaming Classic, April 13th – 15th in Milwaukee, WI. It’ll be my first time ever making a trip to the Mid-West and I will be meeting up with several other modders from the BitBuilt Forums who will be showcasing some very cool projects!

I don’t really know what to expect or how the process works when it comes to doing a showcase, but I will be bringing a small 3D display I’ve been working on that shows off all the details of the new Portable Nintendo 64 Kits I hope to make available. This will allow those who might have interest to get a better look at how the project would go together and also serve as an interest gauge so I can find out what level of actual interest there really is. But if nothing else, the experience of being able to “Geek Out” with others in person for a change will be a fun experience.

Building The Display

The display itself was actually quite the project in its own right. Basically just a sliding frame that holds each of the 4 case components which have all the parts already mounted in place. Made up entirely of custom designed and 3D printed parts and #4-40 hardware. There are 8 knobs on 4 sliding carriages, mounted on 2 rails supported by 3 legs. This holds each case component so they can be rotated and moved back and forth so everything on the inside can be seen.

The Completed Display Frame

The first version of the “duck” clamp before I realized I needed a bigger bill. These were two separate parts joined together with #4-40 nuts and machine screws.

The duck army grew!

The rails were then attached to the legs and the duck clamps attached to the rails. The rails also ended up being changed out for a version that had 4 slots (one for each duck) instead of 1 big slot because it was too flimsy.

The duck was also modified with a larger bill and a nut trap to make single handed loosening/tightening possible.

The last step was printing 8 knobs and gluing in a #4-40 hex bolt in place to use for the tension knobs. This worked surprisingly well.

When it was time for it all to come together, I was very happy with the results! For getting a general idea of what goes into these systems, a 3D Exploded View lets people get a very good idea of what goes into the process.

Leaving as little to the imagination as possible in this case is a key feature.

I’ll still be making tweaks to this before April arrives but for the most part I’m happy with it.

Building A Finished Version of The Kit on Display

That being said, I’m also about 80% complete of another N64 Portable which I hope to show off right next to this as an example of what the finished product can look like. This one also includes some of the biggest revisions to the design that have been done yet, including a new power system which ditches the 2 power ports and utilizes a custom battery charger/adapter as well as a new version of the Mini Controller board which has a built in memory card!

Yes it’s stuff that most people aren’t going to see or know about, but when it comes to building one, these improvements take tons of time and wiring out of the equation. And this one happens to be one of the prettiest finishing jobs I’ve done so far. Can’t believe I’d never done any kind of wet sanding before and here it makes all the difference! It’s a beautiful thing! Hopefully in the next few weeks I’ll have a video of both side by side as a glimpse of what MGC may look like at the BitBuilt table in April!

The Front Face Assembly looking sharp!