GBA Best quality buttons for GBA

[Tiut596]

Hello,
I am considering changing the shell and buttons to my gba.
I would like to know, if possible, who do you think sells the best plastic buttons and shells in terms of build quality from the various online sellers, according to your experiences?
I know there are a lot of vendors, such as Retrosix, Funnyplaying, Bluishsquirrel, AliExpress, etc…, and I’m a bit confused….

Thank you

 

[Takokeshi]

The retromodding buttons and transparent shells for the SP are of *extremely* high quality, especially the ones thay were specially molded to accomodate for aftermarket screens. They are so professionally-made that you'd mistake them for genuine ones. I hear the non-transparent ones were far worse though, but that was years ago, and maybe their manufacturing proccess is better now.

I can't imagine their original GBA stuff would be any worse than their SP stuff, in any case. For Europe though I'm not sure if retromodding is a good option (shipping might be expensive.)

 

[FAST6191]

If you are that invested you could probably make something better than you can buy for around (maybe less, maybe more) what you can buy something in for.

Button feel for my purposes has four main components
1) The underlying switch. There is a reason microswitches are still the gold standard (once you go clack you will not go back and all that). Domed and carbon film... they work and can do the distance but are never as good. Not seen much in the way of replacements for anything on the GBA yet, but have seen it for other devices. Switches are not complicated devices though so could build a replacement board or replace the switches wholesale.
2) The mass and stiffness of the switch column possibly combined with the force of actuation for the switch. Compare say the average might as well be jelly TV remote to a stiff arcade button or console.
3) The geometry of the face, domed vs convex for the basic debate. This can be personal preference as well. Also could extend to placement of the buttons (hard for an original, easier for a replacement daughter board for the controls).
4) The feel of the material on the surfaces involved. Different plastics and different metals do feel different.

Some of this is user defined as well -- the GBA was designed as a portable console down to a price, that lasts the time (thermoplastic overmoulding/TPE, think the average modern power tool with rubbery overlay, will not do here for various reasons) that had to work for kids. Several compromises in that one.
Courtesy of modern rapid fabrication methods (read 3d printers and CNC milling) I have enough money to do a custom shell that feels comfortable, even if it never fits in as small a space, and to do so for my giant adult hands that works on a building site from time to time and workshop when not.
To that end you can probably fake a lot of it with key caps and maybe an overlay for the front if the extra width is going to make a difference when sliding around the keypad (assuming you care to play those sorts of games -- international track and field plays very differently to a visual novel most of the time).

 

[Tiut596]

The retromodding buttons and transparent shells for the SP are of *extremely* high quality, especially the ones thay were specially molded to accomodate for aftermarket screens. They are so professionally-made that you'd mistake them for genuine ones. I hear the non-transparent ones were far worse though, but that was years ago, and maybe their manufacturing proccess is better now.

I can't imagine their original GBA stuff would be any worse than their SP stuff, in any case. For Europe though I'm not sure if retromodding is a good option (shipping might be expensive.)

Thank you for the answer, unfortunately yes, I’m European, retromodding’s shipping would be really expensive…