Cutting a Colecovision in half

[Master Phruby]

I'm sitting here looking at my Colecovision and thinking that it would be better if it was half the size. I know half the case is empty air. The power connector is just wired to the left and could easily be moved to the right. Has anyone ever modified their case for a smaller version of it?

[ColecoNoob]

Reducing the size of the console itself should be the minor problem. But where do you store the controllers afterall?

[Murph74]

i presume you mean like this: http://arcarc.xmission.com/Web%20Archives/Deathskull%20(May-2006)/games/museum/cvjr.html

 

I did it to one of my cases about 15 years ago-- my results with a Dremel and JB Weld were not quite as pretty.

[cimerians]

I hate the size too but I like the storage on top for the controllers. They kind of stick out a bit for me since I have cable extensions but I'm thankful for it.

[Crazy Climber]

The size fits the era, you can make it look more like a NES if you want but the Coleco era was the HUGE system era

[Ikrananka]

i presume you mean like this: http://arcarc.xmission.com/Web%20Archives/Deathskull%20(May-2006)/games/museum/cvjr.html

 

 

Also, don't forget the superb work by doubledown, i.e. second picture here and also this : http://atariage.com/forums/topic/216756-pac-man-controllers/?p=2830979

[Murph74]

 

Also, don't forget the superb work by doubledown, i.e. second picture here and also this : http://atariage.com/forums/topic/216756-pac-man-controllers/?p=2830979

I agree he did an great job on his hacks/mods, but I wouldn't have really considered that here as he uses a completely different case and input structure.

[7800fan]

If controller storage is an issue, make it like Intellivision II and move it to the top!

[ValkerieSilk]

The default in 1982 was Go Big

[ColecoNoob]

Interesting mod shown above but that would be +1 to much for me as "size matters" as ValkerieSilk mentioned.

It destroys the typical look of the original console IMHO.

One other thing to mention is that you could not do this to an unmodded European ColecoVision as the RF modulator components are installed on the left hand side right in front of the controller storage.

[NIAD]

There have been a number of people over the years that have cut the CV case in half to eliminate the controller wells (and shared pics in these forums), but the end result never looked good. I would say going with a new hobby case like DoubleDown did would be a better option.

[Master Phruby]

I actually have three Colecovisions so sacrificing one for a jr. version isn't a big deal. I like the look of the halved version. I've already moded the video. I've made plastic castings of large items in the past so casting the left half could be fun.

[7800fan]

The default in 1982 was Go Big

 

Still was the default in late 80s. When NEC redesigned their PC Engine for USA release, they made it more than twice as wide as it needed to be. PC Engine was tiny and still remains to this day the smallest non-portable launch day console. Yet TG-16 was redesigned to be much bigger so there is a lot of wasted PCB space. I'm sure NEC would have saved maybe $10 per console if they kept the PCB same size and just made it into mostly empty shell same size as TG16.