Nintendo Lunchbox

Intro: Nintendo Lunchbox

I had a broken NES, a rotary tool, two small hinges, some glue and Alpha Flight's Sasquatch. What I ended up with was a lunchbox that gets all kinds of funny looks.

This is my first project, and kinda sloppy. I only had about two hours to do the whole thing. I'm sure I'll improve it over time (add a latch and file down the rough edges some more) but for now, it holds my lunch admirably.

STEP 1: Remove the Guts

Opening the NES case and pulling out it's guts is pretty easy. Take out all the screws you can find and lift the parts out gently one at a time. The wires can be unplugged from the motherboard pretty easily. I had to use pliers to get a decent grip on them though.

STEP 2: Remove the Wires

Removing the wires from the controller ports is a little more tricky. They will pop out with some effort, but you may just want to clip them off and file the sharper ends down.

STEP 3: Power and Reset Buttons

Once you unscrew the circuit board that these are attached to, they pop off really easily. Save these so that you can glue them back into place later.

STEP 4: The Plastic Posts

I wasn't ready for all these little plastic posts that are inside the bottom part of the case. I couldn't even fit a bag of chips in there like that.

STEP 5: Rotary Tool Action

The best way I could think to deal with the posts was with gratuitously unsound use of a rotary tool and a a couple of cutting wheels. This was by far the longest part of the process.

STEP 6: Better

Once the posts were cut off, I ground the nubs down with the rotary's sanding attachment. Now it's nice and roomy in there. I left the 6 larger posts intact since they were originally intended to hold the case together. I thought they might help to add some stability.

STEP 7: Add Hinges

Adding hinges was pretty simple. Just mark where the holes should go and drill carefully with your smallest bit. The plastic is very pliable and the screws go in very neatly and hold well. I opted to put the hinges on the side so I could add a latch on the opposite side someday, but you might prefer to put them along the back.

STEP 8: Test the Hinges

Test it to make sure that it opens and closes smoothly. Mine didn't the first time and I had to reposition the hinges.

Also, notice the white boarder around the Power and Reset buttons. When I glued them into place, I used a glue that dries white. I later repainted the while flecks with gray model paint, but you can avoid this by using a clear epoxy.

STEP 9: Pack It

Now put some lunch in there! You could be really silly and try to feed your sandwich through the old cartridge slot.

STEP 10: Enjoy

Finally, put your new lunchbox in the office fridge (into which it fits nicely) and wait for your coworkers' reactions.

Comments

[T0BY]

Great idea! Nice Instructable!

[Millyyosmar]

Cool I wanna do this but...my NES is working and I also have a mega drive.i wonder what I can do whith a mega drive:?(

[rotinaj]

If you had put the hinges on the back, you could incorporate the power and reset buttons and possibly the controller port into the latch.

[Re-design]

Great idea. Just yesterday I pulled my old unit out of the back of the closet to try and come up with an idea like this one. I don't need a lunch box but you can always use it for SOME kind of box.

[Dragonknight]

Got a Gameboy and games that need a carrying case? How about a really cool case for holding your Wii or Gamecube games? That's be neat: A retro Nintendo system storing the newest generations...

[cormac3050]

might do that with sega megadrive......

[johnnpikachu]

 Yeah, because no one uses those things now.

[macbookacer.acerbook]

i collect them :)

[eluwak]

i still have my NES and MegaDrive(both fully functional).... i would only gut it if it wasnt working

[braven]

ninception....
or gameception.... :O

[fllynt]

thats not a bad idea, although i would add a handle so you can carry it around, and i would add the latch. that would be a really good idea!!! :D

[11010010110]

make the handle retractable into the card slot

[loki233]

yeah, if you attach the power and reset buttons to a thin piece of metal and then attach that to the top part of the case, you could use them as a latch

[popeye1231]

sandvich

[Alphabeta44]

this is fantastic. i can actually MAKE this! well, i mean, if i had the system.....

[gothicpretzel]

In the process of making this as a birthday gift for my boyfriend, just about to add the hinges. This is a great instructable! :D

[Numbuh1Nerd]

This would be so cool if I had the nerve to kill my precious NES.

[amandaggogo]

Been needing a good project to do with my sad broken NES. I think this one will do nicely.

[vulcan24]

I am going to make a gameboy sandwich case XD

[AppalachiaAngel]

If the posts are not too thick, a good way to get rid of them would to cut them out with some small tin snips, just an idea... love this 'ible! !!!!