u/Opening-Success9053

I’ve been quietly working away on something over the last few months: reproducing GameCube jewels.
The whole thing started with a simple question: “Could I actually remake these?”
Anyone who restores or customises GameCubes will know exactly why I asked. It feels like every donor console I get arrives with a jewel that’s been cleaned with sandpaper, polished with rocks, or attacked with a Brillo pad at some point in its life. I genuinely dread getting the headlight restoration kit out and spending ages trying to bring them back.
So I decided to see if I could make my own.
After a lot of trial and error, measuring, redesigning and tweaking, I’ve ended up with something I’m genuinely proud of. The finished jewel comes in within 0.01mm of an original OEM jewel and the fit is spot on.
The construction is a little different from what people might expect. These aren’t stickers stuck onto plastic blanks. The base is 3D printed in PETG, the top layer is laser-cut acrylic, and the artwork is applied in reverse on the underside before being backed with multiple coats of paint and clear coat. The whole assembly is then bonded together into a completely new jewel.
I’ve ended up making a few different styles along the way. There’s an OEM-style range for restorations, some custom designs, holographic versions, and even a few colour-matched experiments to complement different shell colours.
I’d love to hear what the community thinks. Are there any designs you’d like to see? Any colours or themes that would be an instant buy for your collection?
A few photos below.

One of my latest controller restorations from the Pixel Forge workshop.

This build started life as a genuine Japanese OEM White Nintendo GameCube controller — a colourway I’ve always felt deserved more attention outside Japan.

The original white shell has been preserved and paired with contrasting black controls for a cleaner, more modern look while still retaining the unmistakable GameCube aesthetic.

Personally, I think the black-on-white combination looks like something Nintendo could have released themselves.

I’m currently restoring and customising GameCube consoles and controllers as part of my Pixel Forge collection. If you’re interested in something similar, feel free to send me a message.

🌍 Worldwide shipping available

Would you have kept the original white buttons or gone with the blacked-out look?

Finished up another Signature Series GameCube build today and this one might genuinely be one of my favourites so far.

The idea behind this build was to create something that felt less like a “modded retro console” and more like a modern boutique hardware redesign while still preserving the original GameCube identity.

Specs on this one:

• Japanese import GameCube
• PicoBoot installed
• USB-C power conversion
• SD2SP2 support
• Region free
• Exhaust and controller port lighting
• Full white respray
• Black controller panel for contrast
• Matching controller build with black buttons + black paracord

The interesting part is the lighting setup — the exhausts and controller ports are tied into programmable LEDs, so the whole mood of the console changes depending on what colours you run.

I kept the shell itself neutral white intentionally so the lighting becomes part of the atmosphere rather than the entire identity of the build.

Feels somewhere between retro Nintendo hardware and a futuristic early-2000s concept console 😄

Started experimenting with something a little different on this GameCube shell.

The goal wasn’t to paint it solid red — I wanted something closer to an anodized or candy-coated metal look while still keeping the original OEM texture and proportions intact.

This shell actually started life as a standard silver GameCube.
Instead of burying the metallic underneath with opaque paint, I used a translucent red headlight tint over the original silver base, followed by clear coat layers to build depth while still allowing the metallic to shine through underneath.

The result changes quite a bit depending on lighting and viewing angle. In some light it almost looks powder coated or anodized rather than painted plastic.

Still early stages on this one, but the current plan is:

• PicoBoot
• USB-C power conversion
• HDMI output
• Subtle internal lighting
• Black controller panel + matching accents
• Matching controller build

Pretty happy with how the finish came out honestly — especially considering this started as an experiment after a few failed dye attempts 😄