It’s not Vintage. It’s OLD! The ugliest naturally.

Written by Nicola on 16th November, 2007

The last post about the modded 360 promted me me to perform a ratherdifferent and quite opposite search.
You can easily find modded systems. Many of them are very well done, like this seller's custom NES systems...

...or this cool airbrushed 360-Halo style.

Sometimes the customization may time consuming, but effort can't fix no skill, or a bad idea. Check this custom Superman 360 out for example.

Sometimes the result can even bequite disturbing, like this custom DS. The seller would have been much better off leaving it alone. Hell, I'll bid NOT to buy it.

You can mod your own system by yourself too. For example I took a NES, cracked it open and made it universal by cutting a pin with a pair of scissors, closed it with a rubber band and wrote "THE WARRIOR" on the case.

But sometimes, the strongest unstoppable and original modder is ... time.

Just leave a console in your cave or attic and check the result. Then put it on eBay!
Bentely Compuvision - Sahara's Fashion

This broken Genesis brings to my mind the day that one of my friend puked on my SNES while playing Super Mario Kart. Good times.

Dust, cracks, label peeling. All dangers to your collection, but there is something much more dangerous and inevitable.....

Yellowing.

This evil color spreads from nowhere, ready to infect your beloved system! Luckily this sickness seems to affect just white cases.

Check this Intellivision 2

Sega has been able to protect systems thanks to a wise choice: all the main products are black. Well, 8 and 16 bit generations for sure. But what about white Saturn systems?

Check this poor yellowed Saturn or this Saturn Memory cart, half white, half bronzed!

Nintendo has always chosen a different target, with a less aggressive product line...and white cases.
You know where am I heading to.

Ladies & gentlemen, may I present you 4 levels of Super Nintendo bakery!

First level : sunny day

Second level: ready to be eaten

Third level: browner than bread

Fourth level: grey burnt. You can't eat it anymore. Nor play.

This post was just a joke, but may help to understand how not to sell a dirty item and that the more you protect your system from sunlight, smoke, temperature changes, water and other damaging elements, the better your system will survive in time.

Add Your Comments

5 Responses to “It’s not Vintage. It’s OLD! The ugliest naturally.”

Larry Anderson on November 16th, 2007 11:16 am

Actually, the yellowing is caused by a chemical reaction in the plastic; I have systems that have been stored in their box since they were purchased new, and 10 years later come out looking like some of your fine specimens above… unfortunately it seemed to be mostly random; two items from the same manufacturer may yellow differently (one really bad, one not at all).

In some cases, mild abrasive cleaners (i.e. Comet) can take it out, but be aware that you’re actually removing a small layer of plastic, so don’t do it with stickers or silkscreened labels.
Nicola on November 16th, 2007 11:38 am

Indeed it depends mostly on the kind of plastic used. Different SNES may be made by different plastic so they may yellow in very different and fashioned way. The sunlight helps for sure.
Armandino on November 16th, 2007 2:33 pm

hardly ever laughed like this going thru a gaming site…. kudos to Nicolas….
Nicola on November 16th, 2007 3:15 pm

I’m glad you’ve loved this.

If you like this kind of posts, I may add them sometimes.
DeeKayFry on August 24th, 2008 1:18 pm

The coloring can be due to a host of variables that is inevitable in any production operation.

Resins that are used for the casing can vary even within one lot, having impurities, mishandling, and improper batch recipe.

The pressing equipment can vary as well where there is differential heating, improper curing time, or delays due to machine issues. These can cause batches that are subject to different temperatures upon heat-up or cool down.

Also, believe it or not the weather and the immediate ambient environment can change the nature of the material. Factors like differing ambient temperature and humidity affect the molded part (some operations have air conditioning and humidity control just for this reason).

Finally, two operators on one equipment can tweak their machines and go down two wildly different paths that end up with the same conclusion of a quality part. Minor variations can vast effect on the product.

This is true for all production operations where there are multiple known and unknown variables with various levels of control that lead to major or minor undesirables effects.