Pixelboy Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 Hello all. Earlier today, I finally managed to deliver opcode's metal mold - used to make new ColecoVision cartridge casings - at a plastic manufacturer's building. My contact at that company is the boss' daughter, who was not present when I dropped by with the mold, so I could not discuss my needs with her. So I left the mold there, so she can have a look at it when she gets back, and she will probably call me early next week. Before I can start discussing quantities versus price, I need to have the mold repaired, and a replacement for a missing piece of the mold needs to be manufactured, so I won't be able to sell any casings for a few weeks still. In the mean time, I would like to know how many of you here would be interested in purchasing cartridge casings for their current and future CV homebrew projects. Now before you ask, no, I don't have a price point per cart yet, but I will post prices in this thread as soon as I can. All I can say for now is that I'm not looking to make any kind of profit from this, I'm just doing it to help out the CV homebrew community. However, I'm not willing to lose a ton of money either, so I can tell you right now that the end price will be set according to my expenses, no more, no less: For example, I rented the mold from Eduardo for 1000$US, so if I were to produce 2000 casings, 50 cents from the per-cart price would help pay for the renting fees. The more orders I get from CV homebrewers, the more carts I produce, the lower the per-cart price gets. If you have any ColecoVision titles from Opcode Games at home, then you'll know what to expect in terms of cartridge casings, because all cartridges made by Opcode Games came from Eduardo's mold. The only difference will be that the embossed Opcode logo on the back of the cart will not be present in the casings I will be selling. If you have any questions, or if you just want to voice your interest in purchasing casings from me, please do it in this thread. Please do not send me a PM to ask a specific question or to place a private reservation, because I'm not in a position to honor any pre-orders yet, and the answers to whatever questions you may have will benefit everyone if they are posted here. I'm only gauging interest for now, but when the proper time comes, I will make an announcement in this thread, and that's when you can start to send me PMs (or e-mails) and place your orders. P.S.: Here's one question I can answer right now: The casings I will be selling will not have any compartment in the back for storing overlays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 I'm interested and I would likely buy a large quantity of cases. I've bought these cases from Eduardo several times in the past.. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelboy Posted December 6, 2008 Author Share Posted December 6, 2008 I'm interested and I would likely buy a large quantity of cases. I've bought these cases from Eduardo several times in the past.. Well, that was quick! One thing I forgot to mention is that buying these casings from me will likely be a little more expensive, compared to what some may have paid with Eduardo in the past. The main reason is that manufacturing such casings in Canada is more expensive than in Brazil. I honestly can't wait to see how much money this plastic manufacturer will charge me for making these casings, assuming they won't have any problem using the mold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 I honestly can't wait to see how much money this plastic manufacturer will charge me for making these casings, assuming they won't have any problem using the mold. I'm curious as well.. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelboy Posted December 6, 2008 Author Share Posted December 6, 2008 I just tried to send e-mail to Mark Mazure (of GameConsoles.com) to let him know about this CV cart casing opportunity, but any e-mail I send him bounces back to me. Also, he apparently hasn't updated his web site since last February... Not good... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newcoleco Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 I can't purchase new casings right now, but first thing I will do after finding a job will be to contact you about new casings. Meanwhile, I will try to contact Dale Wick. Please, keep up informed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retroillucid Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 As I said you before.. I'll take a bunch Can't wait to see how it'll cost to make those in Canada... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubledown Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 Will these have the "Opcode" logo on the back? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelboy Posted December 9, 2008 Author Share Posted December 9, 2008 Will these have the "Opcode" logo on the back? Quote taken from the first post in this thread: If you have any ColecoVision titles from Opcode Games at home, then you'll know what to expect in terms of cartridge casings, because all cartridges made by Opcode Games came from Eduardo's mold. The only difference will be that the embossed Opcode logo on the back of the cart will not be present in the casings I will be selling. My contact at the plastic company (the boss' daughter) currently has a bad case of the flu, but I've been told that she will come in to work tomorrow morning, and will call me to discuss my needs with the mold. Stay tuned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelboy Posted December 11, 2008 Author Share Posted December 11, 2008 Small news update: I just got off the phone with my contact at the plastics company, and she said that she would take a look at the mold today, to see exactly what needs to be done to replace the missing removable piece (which makes it possible to produce casings without the Opcode logo). She also said that, from the cartridge samples I gave her, she's pretty sure the plastic type is ABS, not polystyrene, and ABS is more expensive. I asked her if it was possible to have a few samples made with each plastic type, just for the sake of comparison, and she said she could do it for a small price. So she's going to have a serious look at the mold today, and she's going to call me back this after-noon (or probably tomorrow) and continue discussions. We'll get there... eventually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 She also said that, from the cartridge samples I gave her, she's pretty sure the plastic type is ABS, not polystyrene, and ABS is more expensive. I asked her if it was possible to have a few samples made with each plastic type, just for the sake of comparison, and she said she could do it for a small price. Hmmm, ABS is tougher than Polystyrene, and what I assume most cart shells are made from. I'd definitely want to make sure that carts made from polystyrene (which is the same material used to make CD Jewel cases) would be able to stand up to abuse.. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeybastard Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 Hmmm, ABS is tougher than Polystyrene, and what I assume most cart shells are made from. I'd definitely want to make sure that carts made from polystyrene (which is the same material used to make CD Jewel cases) would be able to stand up to abuse.. ..Al That sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. Brittle cart cases breaking into tiny pieces that get stuck in the cart slot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelboy Posted December 11, 2008 Author Share Posted December 11, 2008 Hmmm, ABS is tougher than Polystyrene, and what I assume most cart shells are made from. I'd definitely want to make sure that carts made from polystyrene (which is the same material used to make CD Jewel cases) would be able to stand up to abuse. That sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. Brittle cart cases breaking into tiny pieces that get stuck in the cart slot. And polystyrene probably doesn't stand up to heat very well either. We wouldn't want the casing to get warped out of shape after a few hours of play, now would we? Alright, so ABS is confirmed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retroillucid Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 I would go for ABS too, much more durable than polystyrene Can't wait to get those casings in my hands Luc, Thanks for all efforts put in this to get those cases made, really well appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newcoleco Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 If there is any chance to make cartridges without any color (transparent), let me know. I think I finally find enough money to purchase a few. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelboy Posted December 12, 2008 Author Share Posted December 12, 2008 If there is any chance to make cartridges without any color (transparent), let me know. I think I finally find enough money to purchase a few. I talked to my contact about it, and she said that there are certain types of transparent plastic that could be used. She mentioned one that is semi-transparent, as in "milky", like the semi-transparent milky first-model GBA that came out in the first year of the GBA's life cycle. My meeting with her will happen next Monday after-noon. I'll be sure to fully discuss plastic color options with her, among many other things. Let's just hope it's not overly expensive, and that I can have casings other than black done in small quantities, if needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the.golden.ax Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 I'd be interested in color variations as well. I'd love to get the ball rolling on more 2600 / 7800 shells as well... that's another whole deal though, but it's good to have a company that is doing something simular (CV), that could be used in the future for such a thing. AX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+5-11under Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 Hi Pixelboy, I'm interested in obtaining some cases. Thanks, 5-11under Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelboy Posted December 16, 2008 Author Share Posted December 16, 2008 (edited) Alright, I met my contact at the plastics company today, and we spent two hours talking about every preliminary detail I could think of. Right now, I have several key issues to discuss with Eduardo, and I want to wait for his answers before going further ahead. For now, I would just like to ask all interested parties how many black casings they would order from me if the price was set around 2$ to 2.20$ per casing. Note that I did discuss different casing colors (including transparent, semi-transparent and colored transparent variations) with my contact at the plastics company, but there are certain "complications" (that I will explain later) that will likely drive up the per-casing price. Such colored casings will have to be ordered in lots of 100 at least, and will likely cost around 3.50$ to 4$ per shell, depending on color and type of plastic used. My personal goal is to have 2000 black casings made, and I hope I can have enough orders to sell off that many. Message to newcoleco: Please let Dale Wick know about this post ASAP! EDIT: By the way, prices above are in canadian dollars. 2$CAN = 1.62$US at current exchange rates. Edited December 16, 2008 by Pixelboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelboy Posted December 16, 2008 Author Share Posted December 16, 2008 Um... anybody...? Like I said above, that's 2$CAN per cart, which is around 1.62$US. Not too bad, I'd say. I was expecting worse, personally... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retroillucid Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 Um... anybody...? Like I said above, that's 2$CAN per cart, which is around 1.62$US. Not too bad, I'd say. I was expecting worse, personally... Yeah... As you said, I was expecting more... not bad at all I'll take 200 cases at least... but maybe more... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cd-w Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 It would be nice if it was possible to make a cart case that would fit both the Colecovision and 2600 (with a different PCB inside). They look superficially similar, but I've no idea about the dimensions? Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelboy Posted December 16, 2008 Author Share Posted December 16, 2008 It would be nice if it was possible to make a cart case that would fit both the Colecovision and 2600 (with a different PCB inside). They look superficially similar, but I've no idea about the dimensions? CV and A2600 carts are not the same shape. Coleco made a casing alteration specifically to prevent people from putting a 2600 cart in a CV console by mistake. I'm not sure if a CV cart would fit in a 2600 console though. Is the pinout the same? I never stopped to compare... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubledown Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 I'm sure it's not the big order you're looking for, but I'd be interested in 25 of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelboy Posted December 16, 2008 Author Share Posted December 16, 2008 I'm sure it's not the big order you're looking for, but I'd be interested in 25 of them. Every bit helps. . o O (Gosh, I feel like I'm running a telethon...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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