How to Give Your Old Game Boy Advance SP a Facelift by Installing a New Case!

In this video, we show you how to add a level of personalization to your Game Boy Advance SP by installing a custom case.

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See Show Me Retro's conversion video by visiting https://youtu.be/fdkxXxa_Jqk

While some consider it to be sacrilegious, I love modding retro video game systems. Whether it's installing an HDMI mod, retrofitting components for use with HD Retrovision Component Cables or Insurrection Industries SCART Cables, I just think it's great fun to give a fresh look to a classic system.

I recently saw Pat from Show Me Retro had posted a tutorial on how to install and retrofit a Game Boy Advance SP with a glow in the dark case. This got me thinking, and after a quick search of eBay, I found my next custom project. I was going to take my daughter's pink Game Boy Advance SP and turn it into a Spice Orange one. I impatiently waited for the kit to arrive, and when it did, it was time to go to town.

The case kit actually includes more than just the spice orange shells. Also included are both phillips and triwing screwdrivers, replacement screws should you need one, and a new screen protector. The quality of the new case seems to be on-par with what I'd expect, not quite as robust as the OEM case, but not too far off either.

Before you get started, make sure you're working on a clean, well lit, and organized workspace. You should have some sort of container to keep track of screws and parts as you disassemble your system. In addition to the components in the kit, it would be helpful to have a can of compressed air handy to de-fuzz and clean out your system, a dental pick, and an X-Acto knife.

From start to finish, the process should take less than an hour. The only time I had any issues was regarding popping out the original hinges to transplant into the new case; those suckers just did not want to come out easily! You can find replacement hinges on eBay for a few dollars, something looking back I should have just done, to be honest. Beyond that, removing the plugs that held the screen in-place was also a bit of a struggle. Whether I used my dental pick or X-Acto knife, getting these plugs out was definitely a challenge. I managed to get them out eventually by using my X-Acto blade.

The end results were nothing short of awesome. The look of the case is virtually identical to my Game Boy, which I bought at the 2018 MoGameCon pre-Modded. I did not install an IPS screen at this time, as the system I modded here was an AGS-101, meaning it had the brighter LCD in the first place. If it was an AGS-001, I would have considered it.

Is this a mod that most can perform? I'd say so. But at the same time, if this is something that you are not comfortable doing yourself, I can perform the mod for you. Simply contact me, and we can work on making this happen!

#GameBoyAdvanceSP #GBAMods #HowTo

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The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.
(Pub. L. 94–553, title I, § 101, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2546; Pub. L. 101–650, title VI, § 607, Dec. 1, 1990, 104 Stat. 5132; Pub. L. 102–492, Oct. 24, 1992, 106 Stat. 3145.)