When I started this blog, someone I know donated a Gameboy Color to be added to my collection. I had already tried (and failed) a frontlight mod once before, so I decided to try something different. I loved the looks of the brighter, more colorful custom Gameboy Colors that people have modded, so I wanted to try something like that. Here’s how it turned out!
The Gameboy Color started as a common yellow system with many scratches on the screen. I knew that painting the outside plastic of systems can end in disaster, so I decided to buy a transparent shell, and paint the inside instead. Here’s the transparent shell that I used:
Clear White Crystal Full Housing Shell for Nintendo Gameboy Color
And here is the paint that I used:
Transparent Blue Enamel Paint 3oz Spray Can
FX Fluorescent Green Spray, 3oz
And the buttons I used were from Kitsch Bent. I bought the clear blue, and the clear green.
I started by laying out the front, back, and battery cover of the shell. I sprayed the transparent blue over the bottom of the inside, and the fluorescent green over the top. Coat by coat I started working my way towards the middle, about where the buttons will be.









I used rechargeable batteries with the Gameboy Color so that I don’t have to worry about burning through AAs. I use Panasonic Eneloops because they tend to last for a longer number of charge cycles, and they keep their higher voltage longer, which is good for handheld gaming systems. Also, they look good in transparent game systems like this Gameboy Color!
Panasonic Eneloop AA Batteries – Amazon
And here’s the finished product!

What kind of transparent paint did you use?
Sorry about that, it looks like my Amazon links died. I replaced them on this post. For the blue I used Testers Transparent Blue, and for the green I used Testers Fluorescent Green (non-transparent).