Blog Post #2 – A New Arcade Stick

Been doing a lot better since my first blog entry. Things don’t seem as futile, for now at least. Writing to vent works wonders, as opposed to writing for recognition.

I recently got around to modding what will hopefully be my last arcade stick. Originally, I planned to do this right after customizing the one made years prior. That stick featured artwork from Cowboy Bebop.

For my first mod, I was happy with the results, but I was still a little disappointed with how it turned out. Whenever someone chooses their artwork, they have to factor in the sections that will be cut out for the lever and buttons. Some choose to design the art around these, while I liked the picture so much that I kept it as is.

The solution would’ve been to insert the cut portions into the buttons themselves. However, this was my first attempt, and I was scared of accidentally damaging them. As a result, some of the art is obscured and though it still looks nice, I wish I had taken the chance.

I also regret purchasing a different brand of buttons. All of my previous sticks came with Sanwa buttons, which never gave me any problems. Since modding provided me with more options, I chose something different, deciding to purchase Crown buttons.

If had been more in depth regarding my purchase, I would’ve discovered that Crown buttons have a tendency to get stuck. Unfortunately this did happen. With new lessons learned, I had a clear vision for the next stick.

I upgraded from a Mayflash F500 to the F700 elite, which has much more options. I mostly game on Switch, PS5, and the Retroid Pocket 5, and the F700 elite can connect to all three. Dissatisfied with the Crown brand, I decided to go back to Sanwa buttons.

The joystick top would also be swapped out. I’ve used a ball top handle for years, which is rather small for my hands. While, it doesn’t seem as popular, I chose to use a bat top this time around.

Last task was to choose the artwork. Even before my first mod, I already decided that the next project would pay tribute to Mobile Suit Gundam, specifically Zeta Gundam. The only hiccup was that my artwork was too big for the palette and sadly I had to cut off two characters.

I’m very satisfied with the results. After testing it out, I can say that I prefer this stick over my previous one. Maybe I’ll remod my old stick eventually with new buttons, and even better artwork.