Two Eggplants Co.

Whilst searching for some stills of Doctor Octoroc's 8-bit artwork (see link in the right hand column) I stumbled onto some very creative soap.  Turns out the Two Eggplants Co. makes all kinds of amazing soap products not limited to just video game nostalgia.  This Game Boy bar of soap is even reported wieght about the same as the real deal.  Definitely worth checking them out!


-Game Boy Soap info-The good old days when you can just sit and play on your Game Boy (after homework, of course!) and have nothing to worry about. Let's take your friends and family down memory lane and delight them with this very realistic Game Boy Soap! One of the most challenging soap projects I have experimented with, this Game Boy soap with a Tetris screen makes cleaning fun while allowing a little childhood nostalgia.

Like most of my soap creations, this Game Boy Soap is the same size as the actual Game Boy. It was a tremendous amount of work and it shows in its very realistic details that were painstakingly created - from the buttons, the letters, the screen, and the colors. 

This super cool soap weighs about 6.5-7 oz and this particular one is scented with a Dulce de Leche fragrance but I'm happy to customize the scent to suit your recipient (the fragrance list is quite long, feel free to contact me for the complete list.). It is made with vegetable-based glycerin soap, shea butter, fragrance oil, and cosmetics-grade colorants, all vegan-friendly!

It will arrive in a clear gift box with a fun confetti ribbon to wow your recipient. Please note that this soap due to its size will only be shipped via priority mail for domestic purchases. If you purchase other items along with this soap, I will refund extra shipping charges via paypal afterwards. I am happy to ship internationally - about $8 US to ship via first class international, the price listed on etsy is for shipping priority international. A larger inventory is available at www.twoeggplants.com.-kaokensho

WTF Mod Showdown

-kaokensho

Sega Dreamcast VMU Meets IPod Nano

Originally posted by Nic on September 30th, 2010.  While the Dreamcast’s controller was large it was to accommodate one of the best ideas in gaming, a memory card that could be played all by itself away from the console and the controller. I think about all the cool stuff that could be done with it as is but this dude called Goteking has me wishing the Dreamcast and it’s VMU came out yesterday.

Goteking made a iPod touch nano case out of a VMU, I guess so he doesn’t lose it. I look at this and it just seems so right, like that’s how it was supposed to be all along. By the looks of this mod the iPod and VMU belong together because the most important skill needed in making this looks like Dremel skills. Check out more pics and details at Goteking’s website (translated).  If that picture was a reality people would have paid more attention and people would have played VMU games. I and countless others have said the Dreamcast was before it’s time and if Sega busted out tomorrow with a Dreamcast 2 that was a DC with updated tech I’d be saving my pennies to get it.  Here is the VMU mod in action.

-kaokensho.

Super Sega Genesis Mini

Some have complained that I haven't paid any attention to other systems such as the line of quality Sega products.  That's true mostly due to the fact that I do not yet own the 5.8mm inverted hex security bit for the cartridges.  Nonetheless I do love me some Sega.  So I do keep my eyes open to the wacky world of modders' and their Sega projects.  Which if any of you are Master System fans and you haven't checked out SMS Power then you're really just a poser.  This Genesis Mini is a great example of a good idea that turns out awesome when completed.  I had considered this same idea with the 10-in-1 Atari joystick still sold in stores today.  Hands down this is way sweeter.  This particular post is back from 2006.  Sadly, I remember these 6-in-1 Sega games came out for a Christmas season and then were holiday priced and vanished (pictured in the top right) before I snagged one.  They weren't a bad selection of six games either and of course from the front on the "mini" unit is a three button controller in classic Genesis style.  For someone to take this novel retail idea and turn it into a fully functional Sega Genesis is a great testiment to the Modding philosophy.  If you build it, I will post it!  Below is a direct cut'n'paste from TechEBlog.
Kotomi took one of those 6-in-1 Sega TV game devices and turned it into a Genesis/Mega Drive mini, complete with cartridge slot. One potential drawback, he doesn't mention if the cartridge slot is functional -- it's an interesting project none the less. 

-kaokensho

NES Restoration/MOD Part 2

So back in April I posted about dusting off the old NES, sanding off the spray paint, changing the power light color and other fun things of that nature.  With regards to "restoration" after studying the sanded down NES shell I decided to buy a broken NES and steal the plastic shell for my old NES.  Remember back in the "NES Toaster MOD" post we talked about the main design flaw of the original NES was the 72 pin cartridge reader.  Thankfully these 72 pin cart readers can be purchased new on the net for about five to ten dollars.  To the left are some pictures showing the removal of the 72 pin cart reader from the NES motherboard and cleaning.  Back in the day, they sold cleaning kits to take care of this, but those things are dried and gone. All you need to do is find something that’s 1/16” thick (like a scrap of engraving plastic or the edge

of a circuit board) that you can cover with a thin, tough cloth (like a baby wipe or a shirt you don’t like), soak it with some rubbing alcohol and cram it between the connectors. In this case I used an extremely small jewelers' screwdriver which I personally do NOT recommend because it may scratch and damage the contacts. Rub back and forth, and you’ll pick up a lot of dirt and grime.  Also, these pins do stretch out over time and don't fit as snugly on the game cartridge as they used too.  This problem is the second leading cause of the blinking power light /solid yellow screen / console not working issue.  To resolve this either replace the 72 pin cartridge reader as mentioned before or perform a little maintenance.  Simply stick a pin or extremely small jewelers' screwdriver under each pin and pry it up a ways. Do this for the entire bottom row.  It should fit very tightly and be quite firm.

 -kaokensho

Nintendo M82 Demonstration Unit

The most common in-store demonstration unit was the Nintendo M82.  It allowed customers to try games in-store before purchasing them. The full title on the machine was the M82 Game Selectable Working Product Display. 

The machine was different from the more arcade orientated PlayChoice, fundamentally because it used consumer NES carts instead of proprietary ROM chips.  The M82 could hold up to 12 games, which were visible (on end) through small windows and were numbered 1 - 12, starting in the upper left-hand slot. Unlike the Japanese Famicom Box, a similar demo unit that demanded specially-made cartridges, the M82 accepted any standard NTSC game cartridge. The games were selected by pressing a red button on the front of the unit. Up to two controllers and one Zapper could be connected and were held on small shelves on the lower front of the unit. The play time could be set by the store via a knob on the back of the unit; this could be 30 seconds, 3 minutes, 6 minutes or 128 minutes. -kaokensho

Rack Mounted NES

I have seen this "rack" modded NES image pop up on a few  various places on the web.  I'd like to provide more of the history and even a few construction specs.  However, all I am able to find is a caption which I have copied below.  All be it a messy sight, it's still a sweet idea.
"I don’t know what possessed me to build this other than the fact I have some fascination with rack mount gear. It’s my goal to rack mount the first ever nintendo console made.”  By Nintendude

-kaokensho