Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Creating your very own Game Boy micro faceplate

If you were like me and excited to see some really sweet Game Boy micro faceplates from Nintendo after the micro released, you too are no doubt disappointed. But don't despair any longer for I am going to show you how to create your own awesome homemade micro faceplates.



First off, this will cost you money. Don't expect to just find this stuff around your house, unless you are super lucky.

Things you will need:

1. Some kind of sticker paper. Any sort of A4 paper will do. Something like this.

Now your best bet might be to head to either a paper supply store or Office Max or ever a crafts store. Call around and try and find some for cheap.

NOTE: You will need to have the entire sheet(minus the non-printable area of course) for this. You will probably find some cheap sheets but those might be for specific printing. Like small labels or stuff like that. Those will not work for what we need, so don't buy them. This is why I suggest going to an actual store.

2. Box cutter or X-Acto knife. You might have something like this around the house. If not, they are super cheap at hardware stores.

3. One-sided sticky laminate. This you will probably need to go to a crafts store for. Now I suppose you don't need this, but it adds a nice clear protective coating on your printed image so you won't scratch, tear or scuff it. Also, it will make it super easy to put on the faceplate. A ton easier. Believe me.

4. Extra faceplate. I have a black micro so for my Metroid faceplate, I just used my silver faceplate because just a plain silver faceplate is dumb looking. For my Fire Emblem one, I used the camo faceplate. I suggest just using a faceplate you don't use or don't like. If you don't have any extra faceplates, you can buy some extras from Nintendo here.

Directions:

First off, you will need to download this template.

Then either add your images or image that you want printed. Remember to have your image a little larger then what it shows to give yourself some room to play with. I'm going to assume that you have a little knowledge of Photoshop and know how to work with layers and use the Magic Wand and cut that out to a new layer.

Make sure when you are ready to print, that you have the pink line print also and only the pink line for. You will need to cut that out before you laminate it and before you place it. Otherwise you will have a huge pain on your hands trying to cut that out on your faceplate guessing where the screen is.

When printing, print about 4-5 on a sheet. That way if you mess one up with either laminating or putting it on the faceplate, you have extras available immediately.

NOTE: Don't cut out where your D-pad or A and B buttons are. Otherwise you will have a pain trying to exactly line them up.



Now you have that printed and have cut out where the screen goes. Now time for the laminating. Cut a chunk of the laminate that is bigger then you printed image. Try to keep bubbles from forming when applying it. Might be hard, but you should get it after a try or two.



After applying your laminate, trim up your image so you have about half an inch all around. Now it is time to apply.

Peel off the backing and line up your printed image where your screen is, as close as possible. Once lined up, apply the rest of the sticker and try to push out any bubbles that form or appear.



Now flip over the faceplate and cut out where your D-Pad and A and B buttons are. Now use your knife and poke into where the speaker holes are and just twist your knife a little just to make a small little opening where the speaker is, otherwise your sound will be a a little muffled.

Now flip over your faceplate and cut out the laminate that is covering your screen.



Congratulations, you have now created, printed and applied your very own Game Boy micro skin.



If you make your own, take pictures and send them to me so I can post them here. Any questions or comments, put them in the comments.

10 comments:

Ana said...

Thanks for the awesome little guide! I was sad that there were so few micro faceplates too, so I'm definitely gonna give this a try.

Kiranova said...

wow, nice tutorial, I'm gonna try it with some Zelda and Earthbound images. Thanks for the guide.

Unknown said...
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Unknown said...
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Unknown said...

im just not a lucky kind of guy i stuffed my faceplate up. can you make it for me i will give you picture and i will be happy to pay you for it

AlecFaulkner said...

The template is down. PLEEEASE reupload, I'm looking to make an earthbound one :), since I can't afford the Mother 3 Edition GBM :P.

Unknown said...

LOL ^ I'm doing the same thing.. I really want to make a EB Skin xD

Unknown said...

Awesome job! can you post a link to a template? the old one is gone.

Allstarsafari said...

Put the template back up:(

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