I purchased my first VB system a couple weeks ago. Not knowing how expensive and difficult it is to find a stand for these things, I thought I’d be stuck paying more than I paid for my VB for the damn stand. Just seconds before I placed a bid on a stand (currently at $50) I come across a site with a stand for $8 with one crack I could easily fix. Thinking it was too good to be true I almost passed it up but I bit the bullet and bought it for$8 and it’s somewhat local too! I can’t believe how lucky I got.

Here’s my system as of right now (in the process of cleaning it up and all that)

Here’s the stand I bought:

That’s an insanely low price! I have not seen one less then $35.

Edit – But it looks like your missing the front lock plate. 🙁

Dreammary wrote:
That’s an insanely low price! I have not seen one less then $35.

Same here. It was just too damn good to pass up and almost too good to be true. I can fix the broken part of the stand with some moldable plastic pellets and a thing to cast it in (still comes out cheaper than buying an intact one). I’ve been sitting at my mailbox waiting for the postman more than a kid waiting for gifts on xmas.

dreammary is right, that stand is missing the part of the clip that secures the VB. when you said it was cracked, i assumed you were talking about the center medallion. you can mould a new piece for the clip but it will be significantly more work than fixing a center medallion.

center medallion replacement kit: http://www.planetvb.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=4984

there was someone on here who made a new clip piece. i can’t seem to find the thread right now. you may want to search around, if only to get another idea on how best to approach such a fix.

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Why is the “Virtual Boy” text on the controller buffed out?

I have stuff to make a new clip at home already. I’ve done similar fabrications so it shouldn’t be much trouble for me.

This was a used system that I bought for $30 I’m assuming the kid that originally owned it just got bored and scratched it off. I have a new controller and AC adapter and battery pack on the way though.

30$ good find man! 😀 stand for 8$ nice!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Virtual-Boy-Stand-/201107895655?pt=US_Video_Gaming_Replacement_Parts_Tools&hash=item2ed2f6f567

Is nice.. complete stand for 25$

That’s a nice looking stand. Mine was finally shipped out today. In theory, I should have it tomorrow since there’s less than 100 miles distance between the seller and I. I need to figure out how to fix my glitchy right screen. I’ll post some pictures of the stand when it arrives and try to get some after I fix it.

retronintendonerd wrote:
I have stuff to make a new clip at home already. I’ve done similar fabrications so it shouldn’t be much trouble for me.

I’m curious as to how you will make the new clip?

retronintendonerd wrote:
I come across a site with a stand for $8 with one crack I could easily fix.

And how will you fix the crack? Plastic solvent? I posted my repair using steel hardware, very solid and won’t crack in the future. I can’t imagine any repair to the plastic hub that would be immune from future cracks (even solvent-repair, though stronger than glue, would not even be as strong as an uncracked original).

I further modified my stand after I posted pics here, molded an epoxy shell that super-glued over where the original hub would have gone, made it look much more “original”. A spritz of black spray paint completed the fraud.

I have had some luck cinching a zip tie around the legs, just under the medallion. Open the legs to the proper position and close the tie just enough to fit around them. If you try to open the legs further, the zip tie pushes into the medallion and keeps everything in place. Use a black one and cut the “tail” off when you’re done, nobody will even notice it 🙂

vb-fan wrote:

retronintendonerd wrote:
I have stuff to make a new clip at home already. I’ve done similar fabrications so it shouldn’t be much trouble for me.

I’m curious as to how you will make the new clip?

retronintendonerd wrote:
I come across a site with a stand for $8 with one crack I could easily fix.

And how will you fix the crack? Plastic solvent? I posted my repair using steel hardware, very solid and won’t crack in the future. I can’t imagine any repair to the plastic hub that would be immune from future cracks (even solvent-repair, though stronger than glue, would not even be as strong as an uncracked original).

I further modified my stand after I posted pics here, molded an epoxy shell that super-glued over where the original hub would have gone, made it look much more “original”. A spritz of black spray paint completed the fraud.

The crack is the part of the clip. Sorry for not being clear on that. I have clay that I will use to form a mold of the clip on top of the stand since both sides are symmetrical and the other half is intact. Then I will pour my liquid plastic/resin into the mold after it has taken its form. I will then use some strong glue and attach and sand down uneven parts. It’s not a quick job but it should work regardless

HP Lovethrash wrote:
I have had some luck cinching a zip tie around the legs, just under the medallion. Open the legs to the proper position and close the tie just enough to fit around them. If you try to open the legs further, the zip tie pushes into the medallion and keeps everything in place. Use a black one and cut the “tail” off when you’re done, nobody will even notice it 🙂

That’s pretty clever! Anyone who acquires a VB with a working stand is advised to do exactly that — it’s the leg-opening that stresses the hub and cracks it. Your little “zip-tie” should avoid the problem altogether. Though a metal stop would be better, a zip-tie is something anyone can do.

🙂

[vb-fan]

retronintendonerd wrote:

The crack is the part of the clip. Sorry for not being clear on that. I have clay that I will use to form a mold of the clip on top of the stand since both sides are symmetrical and the other half is intact. Then I will pour my liquid plastic/resin into the mold after it has taken its form. I will then use some strong glue and attach and sand down uneven parts. It’s not a quick job but it should work regardless

If the clip is cracked, or even broken, solvent would be a good fix. I have in my hand a can of “Weld-On”, by IPS corporation in Gardena Ca (www.ipscorp.com). It’s thinner than water, and aggressively dissolves the plastic. You put just a drop or two on a crack (or hold a completely broken piece together), and the plastic bonds in seconds. Full strength in a few hours. That should be fine for the clip, if you lay the clip piece down on something flat and push the “solvent-welded pieces” together & allow to dry, should be plenty strong enough.

Solvent likes to run under one’s fingers if you’re not careful, leaving a very nice detailed finger-print in the plastic!

RE “making a mold” and using resin (polyester resin? With black pigment?) — resin is pretty strong. I use paraffin for molds; but the resin has to be popped out when it’s gelled, LONG before it hardens. Pull the resin as soon as it gels (and lay on waxed paper to harden), it pops out of the wax easily. Wait for it to fully harden, and the only way it separates from the wax is by melting the wax!

I don’t have experience with clay molds. Is it the “sculpy” kind that you catalyze in the oven (turning it into something like rubber)? You might consider making some cuts into the remaining clip piece (“stump”), forming fingers. Then put the broken clip in the mold — the resin will form matching fingers, and bond to the plastic clip (no glue needed). A glue-bond on the old break line won’t be as strong as the original plastic (and THAT broke!). If the connection between the new material and the old is made with “fingers”, it would be much stronger…

If ya’ don’t have the broken-off piece it’s kinda moot, the only approach is to make a new piece.

There’s a post on PVB about having a new clip “3D-printed”; that would be ideal, and fillets can be added so it won’t break again.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 4 months ago by vb-fan.

vb-fan wrote:

retronintendonerd wrote:

The crack is the part of the clip. Sorry for not being clear on that. I have clay that I will use to form a mold of the clip on top of the stand since both sides are symmetrical and the other half is intact. Then I will pour my liquid plastic/resin into the mold after it has taken its form. I will then use some strong glue and attach and sand down uneven parts. It’s not a quick job but it should work regardless

If the clip is cracked, or even broken, solvent would be a good fix. I have in my hand a can of “Weld-On”, by IPS corporation in Gardena Ca (www.ipscorp.com). It’s thinner than water, and aggressively dissolves the plastic. You put just a drop or two on a crack (or hold a completely broken piece together), and the plastic bonds in seconds. Full strength in a few hours. That should be fine for the clip, if you lay the clip piece down on something flat and push the “solvent-welded pieces” together & allow to dry, should be plenty strong enough.

Solvent likes to run under one’s fingers if you’re not careful, leaving a very nice detailed finger-print in the plastic!

RE “making a mold” and using resin (polyester resin? With black pigment?) — resin is pretty strong. I use paraffin for molds; but the resin has to be popped out when it’s gelled, LONG before it hardens. Pull the resin as soon as it gels (and lay on waxed paper to harden), it pops out of the wax easily. Wait for it to fully harden, and the only way it separates from the wax is by melting the wax!

I don’t have experience with clay molds. Is it the “sculpy” kind that you catalyze in the oven (turning it into something like rubber)? You might consider making some cuts into the remaining clip piece (“stump”), forming fingers. Then put the broken clip in the mold — the resin will form matching fingers, and bond to the plastic clip (no glue needed). A glue-bond on the old break line won’t be as strong as the original plastic (and THAT broke!). If the connection between the new material and the old is made with “fingers”, it would be much stronger…

If ya’ don’t have the broken-off piece it’s kinda moot, the only approach is to make a new piece.

There’s a post on PVB about having a new clip “3D-printed”; that would be ideal, and fillets can be added so it won’t break again.

Thanks for the advice and tips. Much appreciated. Are there really places that 3D print these parts? If you happen to know a link, could you share? Hell if I don’t have to go through the work of making my own, I definitely won’t lol. I haven’t decided which material I am using for the replacement piece yet since I haven’t yet received the stand. I want to get an actual feel for the plastic/material before I start this.

vb-fan wrote:
You might consider making some cuts into the remaining clip piece (“stump”), forming fingers. Then put the broken clip in the mold — the resin will form matching fingers, and bond to the plastic clip (no glue needed). A glue-bond on the old break line won’t be as strong as the original plastic (and THAT broke!). If the connection between the new material and the old is made with “fingers”, it would be much stronger…

I would even cut an inch off of the “stump”. If you just cut “fingers”, every other finger will join on the stress line (where the old fracture occurred). Better to have the fingers happen on the side of the clip, and the right-angle (fracture-line) made with solid resin. Carve out the mold a little, and the resin will form a “fillet” rather than a sharp angle at the fracture-line, much stronger…

vb-fan wrote:

vb-fan wrote:
You might consider making some cuts into the remaining clip piece (“stump”), forming fingers. Then put the broken clip in the mold — the resin will form matching fingers, and bond to the plastic clip (no glue needed). A glue-bond on the old break line won’t be as strong as the original plastic (and THAT broke!). If the connection between the new material and the old is made with “fingers”, it would be much stronger…

I would even cut an inch off of the “stump”. If you just cut “fingers”, every other finger will join on the stress line (where the old fracture occurred). Better to have the fingers happen on the side of the clip, and the right-angle (fracture-line) made with solid resin. Carve out the mold a little, and the resin will form a “fillet” rather than a sharp angle at the fracture-line, much stronger…

Oh I completely agree.

retronintendonerd wrote:

Thanks for the advice and tips. Much appreciated. Are there really places that 3D print these parts? If you happen to know a link, could you share? Hell if I don’t have to go through the work of making my own, I definitely won’t lol. I haven’t decided which material I am using for the replacement piece yet since I haven’t yet received the stand. I want to get an actual feel for the plastic/material before I start this.

Minestorm (the genius making the “Flashboy” carts!) posted a computer model for printed clips, post 16:
http://www.planetvb.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?post_id=20783#forumpost20783

Someone made a clip:
http://www.planetvb.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?post_id=24674#forumpost24674

There are places you can go to have a part printed, often ABS (a denser and stronger variant of styrene). The original is likely made of it. I bet if a fab shop has minimums, you could have several parts printed and people here would buy some. I could use a couple myself!

🙂

vb-fan wrote:

retronintendonerd wrote:

Thanks for the advice and tips. Much appreciated. Are there really places that 3D print these parts? If you happen to know a link, could you share? Hell if I don’t have to go through the work of making my own, I definitely won’t lol. I haven’t decided which material I am using for the replacement piece yet since I haven’t yet received the stand. I want to get an actual feel for the plastic/material before I start this.

Minestorm (the genius making the “Flashboy” carts!) posted a computer model for printed clips, post 16:
http://www.planetvb.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?post_id=20783#forumpost20783

Someone made a clip:
http://www.planetvb.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?post_id=24674#forumpost24674

There are places you can go to have a part printed, often ABS (a denser and stronger variant of styrene). The original is likely made of it. I bet if a fab shop has minimums, you could have several parts printed and people here would buy some. I could use a couple myself!

🙂

I wanna kiss you right now! (don’t worry, I’m a woman lol) Screw making my own if I can get these printed now.

retronintendonerd wrote:

I wanna kiss you right now! (don’t worry, I’m a woman lol) Screw making my own if I can get these printed now.

Very cool — I wonder how many other fans of “Virtual Boy” are girls! 🙂

You reminded me —I took a laser class in college; a couple classmates were also in the “computer design” class (I wanted to take that one!). They actually built a single 8080 computer board, had a serial port on it (nowadays the design has a USB port). Abdul from Saudi Arabia was trying to build his — I have never seen such horrible soldering! Cold joints, beads on leads not connected to the PCB pads, it was awful. I said, “Abdul, let me solder that for you.”

He said, “You’d do that for me?” I said, “Sure — I do that all day every day!” He said, “Oh if you would do that, I would kiss you!”

I said, “Tell you what; you promise not to kiss me, and I’ll do it!” The next class I handed him a fully assembled computer, all shiny and good solder joints! He was very happy.

Not to brag, two out of twenty two students’ boards worked the first time, with no trouble-shooting; his was one of them! 🙂

Please keep me posted if you have some printed, I would like a couple. And I guarantee you’d sell several others here!

vb-fan wrote:

Minestorm (the genius making the “Flashboy” carts!) posted a computer model for printed clips, post 16:
http://www.planetvb.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?post_id=20783#forumpost20783

Someone made a clip:
http://www.planetvb.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?post_id=24674#forumpost24674

🙂

If you dig a little deeper in the forum posts you would find the 3D CAD model was made by me, by all means print some for yourself but, vb-fan, not a good call to recommend selling them, its my work you’d be selling, not too cool.

if anyone does get more printed post some pics always good to see how these things turn out as 3D printing is improving all the time

I wouldn’t worry about me selling them. I’m farrrr too lazy to even bother. However, I may use your 3D rendering of it to have one printed for myself. Thanks for putting in the time and effort on it.