So, I know it's been done before, and it isn't the most original idea ever, but... I built a working gameboy for my halloween costume last year.
1. I always thought it would be funny to own a gigantic working gameboy
2. I thought it would be even better if I could wear it.
That being the case, I built a fully working, to-scale version of a gameboy, which (for the most part) is accurate down to about 1/32" of an inch. I think, all told, it took about 70 hours to build, and probably cost about $400 just in wood, plexiglass, vinyl lettering, paint, weird tools and electronics and parts and things like that.
It runs off of a Raspberry Pi with a PiCade X Hat hooked to a decased a computer monitor. The monitor is a widescreen monitor, with big sections of it covered by the body and the bezel... but because of that I can just let a red border show through and light up the "battery" LED area really nicely. The controls work, the games are playable. The whole thing is rechargeable, and has about a 2 hour total run-time on a $90 pan-sized "battery" available from Walmart. It weighs probably over 50 lbs, and is a bear to get in and out of. It is not for the claustrophic as it's tight and inflexible
The shoulder pads are nearly non-existent and really uncomfortable. To be honest, it's a drag to wear, but it is fun nonetheless.
It's 3/8 inch MDF over a frame of 1x1" pine boards. The controls are painted wood backed by plastic (to keep them from falling out), floating over the top of a control panel of push buttons which provide the keypress as well as the button bounce.
The bezel is plexiglass with vinyl reverse lettering and stenciling for the lines and paint. The whole thing was painted with a sprayer and polished until it looks like plastic
The back has a slot for swappable "cartridges" in case I'm feeling extra. The battery compartment looks removable, but I left it solid to give the thing strength.
Around the head area, the top is two breakaway magnetically attached wood panels.
Very happy with the results. The one thing I learned from this experience: having people tap repeatedly on buttons placed in my midsection while staring feverishly at me is disturbing. It'd be a great costume to wear at some crazy adult party though
Here's some pics:
Body Front panel, early cuts
Front panel, early cut of d-pad area
Body, unpainted
Body back being routered
Back routering finished
Back
Curved Bottom Bottom Curve Structure
Bottom Curve Finished
Bottom Curve Kerfed
D-Pad D-Pad being built
D-Pad is mostly one solid piece routered
D-Pad Nearly Done
Controls being sprayed
Controls being built
Back of controls
Control Panel Control Panel
Control Panel Installed
Bezel Bezel Lettered
Bezel Steniled
Bezel Painted
Bezel Completed
Interior (TV)
Completed Completed with Gameboy for Scale
Completed Side Angle
Completed On