chebe | Quick Project; upgrading my console controller

I've taken to playing a few games recently. Others seem keen to encourage this behaviour. But look at this controller, how plain, how uninteresting.

Before; xbox 360 controller
Photo by chebe

What I want is something more unusual, something more purple, and chrometastic. The closest I can get is in kit form. *cue montage music*

xbox 360 controller cover kit
Photo by chebe

The kit comes with everything you need, except;
- the rubber pads under the plastic buttons that connect with the receptors on the board,
- the springs under the top trigger buttons,
- and annoyingly enough the four a/b/x/y buttons are all one colour and unmarked

There are six screws on the back of the controller, plus a seventh under the battery pack. Remove them and the back comes off with a little nudging.

controller with back removed
Photo by chebe

The board and motors aren't attached, so they slide out easily, revealing the rubber pads you'll need to reuse. Under these are the plastic bits of the buttons. Grab whatever you want to reuse.

controller with back and board removed
Photo by chebe

The kit includes the entire assembly for the trigger buttons, but these things are latched on very tightly to the board. I settled for just changing the buttons themselves (that would be visible from the outside). It's a bit tricky to ease them out, but it's doable.

board with top trigger buttons replaced
Photo by chebe

And then you just have to reassemble the whole thing in the new case. The d-pad has two screws attaching the front bit to the back bit, and the two toggle sticks just pull off/push on straight up from the mechanism on the front of the board. All rather straight-forward actually.

After; new case and buttons in place
Photo by chebe