"Inserts" for Neo Mini Box

[6tusBeckmesser]

As I was looking for something smaller than shock boxes to store my MVS carts I immediately fell in love with the Neo Mini Box. Not only was it located in Europe but its feel somehow reminds me of old Game Boy and SNES packages.

The only problem I have with them is that they are missing some artwork. Their spine stickers just don't cut it for me and the front and back of the Neo Mini Boxes seem awfully empty.

That's why I decided to take the best of both worlds and try to resize a Southtown insert to the dimensions of a Neo Mini Box. Below you can see my first try for Last Blade. The insert is from LeGeek and due to the nature of the Neo Mini Box I had to cut it in three.

I only lost very little in the conversion process and if applied, there will only be a small white frame on front, spine and back around the respective stickers. Even better, since the final size is smaller then the source material I'm hoping for even sharper pictures. As of now I'm looking locally to find someone who knows how to print these on high quality decal paper.

What do you guys think? Will the artwork (I love those full sized covers) still work if I split it up? Also do you have some advice on how to handle the conversions a bit quicker? So far depending on the size of the logo on the spine it might bleed into the cover art or be cut off when I shrink it down for the spine (as is clearly visible on the examples below). Thanks already for any advice!

 

[Joneo]

My biggest concern would be aspect ratio distortion from the re-size, but it's not apparent to me, so nicely done!

Now if only the Neo-Mini & Shockbox could combine forces for a Mini-Shock option...

 

[6tusBeckmesser]

My biggest concern would be aspect ratio distortion from the re-size, but it's not apparent to me, so nicely done!

Now if only the Neo-Mini & Shockbox could combine forces for a Mini-Shock option...

Thanks! As for the joint effort of Neo-Mini and Shockbox – that would actually be perfect.

I avoided aspect ration distortion by constraining the proportions and than loosing a bit from the original insert on those sides where it wouldn't matter. It was actually quite time consuming, but now that I have the right size figured out…

What I still have to solve is how to fit more than one spine sticker on one page. So far neither Preview nor Pixelmator seem to have an easy solution for that (other than to create an additional empty document and then reorder multiple spines on it).

 

[theMot]

Now if only the Neo-Mini & Shockbox could combine forces for a Mini-Shock option...

That should have been done years ago, problem now is if someone were to make one most people would be left with a bundle of shock boxes no one would want so they wont buy. Shocks are pretty good anyway.

 

[Joneo]

That should have been done years ago, problem now is if someone were to make one most people would be left with a bundle of shock boxes no one would want so they wont buy. Shocks are pretty good anyway.

True. My only real complaint with Shockboxes is their tendency to crack at the hinges (a few even on the first opening).
The one that completely separated still closes and holds carts though at least.

 

[6tusBeckmesser]

Well when ready I'm going to put up somewhere my fully converted inserts for the Neo Mini Box. That way there will be at least some choice and those interested can download them.

 

[Jibbajaba]

I don't really care for shockboxes because they're too big and they crack easily. I really like the neominibox and would like to order them for all of my games at some point. I actually like that they only have the spine label. It's more reminiscent of the original MVS packaging, but just cleaned up enough to make it look nice on the shelf.

Chris

 

[6tusBeckmesser]

That's true. But since I'm only playing on a CMVS I miss some of the beautiful artwork from the AES releases. I thought this way I might get the best of both worlds.

 

[Loris Biaggi]

Great idea!
If you need any help i can contribute
I have some covers and templates left from the abandoned cover project for neominiboxes

 

[xsq]

certainly looks interesting. Like Jibbajaba I'm going to purchase Neo Mini Boxes for my collection sooner or later. Depending on price and quality these "Inserts" might be a cool option to have. What I would really like though, would be "sheets" to put into the Boxes with the cartridges that include some artwork and tell you the controls - just a quick but classy reminder before you jump in. Having the controls on the back of this "insert"-project would be a nice thing to have. Then also the "sheets" I have in mind could be easily made by combining front and back of the "inserts"...

 

[6tusBeckmesser]

Great idea!
If you need any help i can contribute
I have some covers and templates left from the abandoned cover project for neominiboxes

That would be great. But since I'm going only for those inserts with full sized artwork, a US AES styled template (that's what I have seen from your cover project) wouldn't help. But to verify if I got the dimensions right and everything or for people who prefer a US AES styled insert that would certainly go a long way. Thank you!

Depending on price and quality these "Inserts" might be a cool option to have. What I would really like though, would be "sheets" to put into the Boxes with the cartridges that include some artwork and tell you the controls - just a quick but classy reminder before you jump in. Having the controls on the back of this "insert"-project would be a nice thing to have. Then also the "sheets" I have in mind could be easily made by combining front and back of the "inserts"...

Oh you misunderstood me. I'm most certainly not going to do any business with these. After all I'm reusing inserts from Southtown. I will simply cut these to the right size in the best possible resolution and offer them as a PDF download.

As for the sheets – I thought about it too, especially since Loris used mini marquees as the back for his cover project. Perhaps that would be a good compromise; freshly printed mini marquees (marked as reproductions of course) on glossy paper to put in together with the cart…

 

[xsq]

Oh you misunderstood me. I'm most certainly not going to do any business with these. After all I'm reusing inserts from Southtown. I will simply cut these to the right size in the best possible resolution and offer them as a PDF download.

Even better

As for the sheets – I thought about it too, especially since Loris used mini marquees as the back for his cover project. Perhaps that would be a good compromise; freshly printed mini marquees (marked as reproductions of course) on glossy paper to put in together with the cart…

I'm all for it!

 

[6tusBeckmesser]

With many thanks to Xian Xi (found it in another thread), here's a good starting point: Jamma Nation X: grizz9567

That cuts down the work to only the most recent ones. Only question I have is how to differentiate these from the originals? Perhaps Xian has any ideas? Or are they already substantially different from the originals?

 

[Joneo]

Only question I have is how to differentiate these from the originals?

I think being printed on glossy paper (instead of translucent sheets) would differentiate them pretty well. Or maybe at the bottom where they read "printed in Japan" you could add "RE-Printed in the Netherlands". Or, when you print them, add a frame around the edges that says "REPROREPROREPRO" all the way around.

 

[6tusBeckmesser]

You may be right about the choice of paper. But the internet is a vast space and well, let's say it just never had the best track record…

Hmm Xian, I think the mini marquee pack number 13 is corrupted. I couldn't unzip it, even after redownloading.