If You’re Going To Get A SNES Classic, You Should Get One From Robert S Dunn
You remember Robert don’t you? He’s the guy who made that super cool, pint sized Astro City candy cab. And what you see above is his latest creation, something that looks exactly like the SNES Classic Edition that we’ve all been dreaming of (and is something that we all know Nintendo is gonna eventually make happen).
I came across the image above while scoping out Instagram, for the next (and long overdue) batch of Game Culture Snapshots, which I hope to have out tomorrow or early next week. Was originally going to include it in that, but then realized that it might deserve an extra bit of the spotlight.
The passion project is something Robert first revealed a little less than a month ago, and ever since he’s been sharing work in progress pics. Here we have it in its earliest state, which is simply a rendering via CAD…
As you probably already guessed, Robert’s half scale SNES is basically a very fancy looking Raspberry Pi 3…
I’m not even going to bother doing a search; I’m assuming that there’s tons of similar shells out there, just like how there’s a bunch based upon the original NES, meant to emulate the impossible to find real deal NES Classic. But I’m also pretty sure they all pale in comparison to Robert’s craftsmanship. As you’ll see in just a bit.
The above featured a test print of the bottom half, and here we have both the top and bottom, after its second coat of primer after a spot fill. Though the buttons still need to be filed and the ribs around the based still need to be sanded as well. Yet it still looks far more polished than the aforementioned janky NES cases that even Amazon dares to list…
As one might have already assumed as well, it’s 3D printed, which still a relatively new innovation. Here’s a video of Robert explaining how something that may seem perfect right out of the oven might not end up being so, after the plastic has gotten a chance to cool down. Yet when a shell comes out right, and has been given the proper treatment afterward, it looks right. Here’s a comparison with his take on the SNES Classic and the real thing…
Some decals being printed up…
Robert notes…
“Well I didn’t have any color ink for my decal so I had to make due with a black halftone. The greys on the SNES are quite purple especially the logo. You can see how purple the logo is when compared to a neutral grey.”
Okay, now we have Robert truly getting down to business, with the flourishes that demonstrates why he’s so damn good at what he does…
“Sprayed the grey parts with a misted light coat of Acrylic Enamel clear coat to give everything some texture and protect the primer and decal. Still need to mask and paint the eject button. I wanted to protect everything first before doing that.”
Behold the ultimate proof this isn’t just some ordinary case that Robert’s making. Here we see that he has de-soldered and removed one of the USB ports to wire his own USB PCB. That’s why all those other cases don’t work, cuz the Pi’s default placement of its USB simply doesn’t accommodate the design of the NES and SNES…
So here we have it, the finished product, which Robert has dubbed the MGS Mini. Just look at it…
A close examination of the topmost image shows that not only has a LED light been installed, the power switch also works as it does on the real thing (there’s no on/off switch on the Pi, you have to add that functionality yourself, which involves extra hardware, hence why most people skip it).
And from the looks of the other pics posted on his Instagram page, this first batch includes four; two of which are already accounted for, and the rest are going on eBay. No word on what the price will be, but whatever it is, keep in mind all the hard work involved, as evidenced above.
Though no matter what it is, the cost will no doubt be on par with (or might even be less than) the asking price for the genuine article (if one does materialize) among scummy eBay hoarders.
Originally published at blog.attractmo.de.
