Few things are as satisfying to watch as a good retrocomputer restoration project – we’re always happy to see someone bring a rusty old Commodore, Apple or Atari back to life. The goal is typically to get the machine as close to its original state as possible, except for perhaps a few non-intrusive mods like memory upgrades. [Drygol] however, had already done this so many times that he thought it was time to take a different route for once, and apply some creativity to an old Amiga 500 case. Originalists may shudder, but we quite like his funky blue-and-yellow A500 mod.
To be fair, [Drygol] wasn’t the first one to modify this specific Amiga’s case: one of its previous owners had already applied a rather shoddy blue paint job and defaced it with some stickers. [Drygol] decided to stick with the basic idea, but do it right this time. First he removed the old paint using concentrated lye, then gave it a fresh coat of blue. He also applied glow-in-the-dark paint to the Amiga logo embossed in the case and added a fluorescent yellow laser-cut circuit board ornament. It took a bit of experimenting to get all these elements just right, but the end result definitely looks the part.
The insides of the Amiga also needed some TLC: [Drygol] competely cleaned and lubricated the floppy drive, gave the motherboard a good ultrasonic scrub, and replaced dodgy capacitors all over. He expanded the RAM from 512 kB to 1 MB and added a Gotek floppy emulator, which can work in parallel with the original disk drive. To make the Gotek easy to operate, [Drygol] placed its OLED screen and a pair of touch-sensitive buttons in a cutout on the front of the case.
A matching blue mouse and gamepad, both connected through the MouSTer adapter, complete the setup. The result is a good-looking A500 with some modern conveniences that’s perfect for exploring the Amiga’s extensive software library. If custom colors aren’t your thing, you’ll be happy to know that the original shade of grey or beige might be available for your retro console, too.
The link to the paint article isn’t usable anymore. The shop couldn’t get worldwideshipping to work for spraycans and seized to sell them.
Unfortunately as i have a couple of Amiga 2000’s which need some painting.
I’d say, fortunately you have a couple of Amiga 2000’s which need some painting. :)
I always wanted an Amiga 2000 (or a 500) back in the day.
Back in the day (thanks to the so called “death of amiga”) I had every model ‘cept for the A1000 and the CDTV.
And given current prices I regret selling them all back then.
This goes for legacy computers, cars, lego and a lot of other 90’s stuff I regret selling with hindsight.
I’m sure I have an A500/+ stashed somewhere, I just have yet to find it.
Amiga 2000’s are relatively to obtain, the keyboards are a bit harder. Love to get a complete A1000 (anyone want to swap? :))
Beware of ultrasonic cleaning of electronics!
The standard 40kHz cleaners can be a bit too rough. Crystals or wirebonds or other sensitive components can be damaged. I killed a 74HCsomething chip that way.
For extra-sensitive things, higher-frequency ultrasound (100kHz give or take something) is usually suggested. (Conversely, 20kHz is for rough jobs like handling cast iron. More power, more force on the surfaces, lower “resolution” for little nooks and crannies. More damage, the cavitation bubbles can even make tiny little dents on aluminium.)
I wonder if megahertz-range ultrasonic mister transducers would do some job for cleaning…