The “Brag Yak”: A rigid, rollable, fish measuring mat

Having struggled for years with using traditional floppy vinyl “brag mats” to measure my fish while out kayaking, i started looking for a reasonable alternative. The goal was to buy something which could provide a solid, flat measuring surface, but which didn’t take up mountains of room when not in use. Nothing existed... until now.

How to make a proper Neo Geo Mini

The Neo Geo is one of my favourite consoles, stocked with games which pushed the limits of pixel art so far that they’ve stood the test of time. In their prime they were basically the Disney of pixels, and that expensive workflow is reflected in how far beyond the reach of the most modern indie studios their games still are in terms of animation.

The Flat-Stick - Full build with the basic Pika case

One of my earliest commissions is this Tekken-themed stick. The customer had a tight budget, but for  the same price as the sub-par Venom stick he ended up with a full suite of Sanwa hardware, double-sided art, and a very solid little PC/PS3/PS4 (legacy) stick!

The Flat-Stick - Assembling the Sanwa JLF Joystick

When i ship a fully-built stick, i tend to take the shaft out of the stick to protect it in transit. It only takes a couple of minutes to reassemble with no tools required, and it's far less work than the alternative of installing the entire unit.

These are the parts required to put it together.

The Flat-Stick - Neutrik USB adapter vs. "Pass-under"

There are two ways to handle the USB cable for the Flat-Stick; either hardwired end-to-end and passed under the frame, or a two-piece solution which connects at a Neutrik connector.

The Flat-Stick - Laser-etched button inserts

I was popping some buttons apart recently and noticed that the Seimitsu PS-14-K has an enormous internal capacity, enough to possibly fit a small circle of plywood inside!

So with the latest run of laser-cut parts, i threw in some button inserts.

The Flat-Stick - Etchings and Acrylics

A new lot just came back from the laser cutter today, and on top of a couple of regular cases came a slew of experimental bits and bobs!

Here's a commission for a guy in Perth:

The Flat-Stick - Painting, and introducing the "Bigly" 400x300 stick

Bamboo plywood has many redeeming qualities; It's cheap, strong, looks good, and cuts really well. But it's literally impossible to sand, so painting it can be tricky.

If you just blow a bit of paint over the untouched wood you get quite visible grain. This can be used to good effect, and in flat black it tends to look like burnt wood. It helps that the pieces are all cut with respect to the visible grain, with the top panels having vertical grain and the side pieces horizontal.

Flat-Pack Fightstick - An affordable pre-cut kit which makes a kickass controller!

With Mad Catz going out of business, the lack of retail arcade sticks in Australia can only get worse. The cheapest option is still the PS4 Venom from JB HiFi; a gross, cheaply equipped stick which still carries a $200 asking price. For Xbox owners, the situation is even more dire.

I've posted a few how-to guides covering the DIY building of a cheaper, more solid case, but the power tools required still put it beyond the reach of many people. So finally, here's a mailable case which legitimately takes five minutes to assemble, requires absolutely no tools, and looks better than ever.

Nintendo Switch meets Gamecube

The Nintendo Switch is a good console, and a great handheld. The option to swap coloured controllers out is a great move towards customisation, and that also opens the door for custom painting hues not available via retail.

My favourite Nintendo colour of all time is known as "Spice Orange", so in lieu of living with the blue/red or grey options available at launch i went with a third option.