Custom framed 1985 Nintendo Zapper

Having a look through my cupboards a few weeks ago, I discovered an old friend, the 1985 Nintendo Zapper.

This particular item was bundled in with Super Mario world and Duck Hunt when I received the NES console one Christmas. Mario is something I’ve already covered in my gaming history but I haven’t mentioned Duck Hunt.

The game was as basic as they come, you, the player, must use the Nintendo zapper to shoot and kill ducks. It’s not so much of a hunt as there is no real tracking or baiting involved. Your only companion is a giggling dog, who jumps into the bushes and ducks fly out from the undergrowth, to meet their lead filled demise.

For those who found the game rather too graphic there was a ‘Type B’ game where by you shot at imaginary clay pigeons but I much preferred the flapping panic of the ducks, right before I gave them all three rounds. This always annoyed me, having three rounds for two ducks but then again the game was about accuracy and not a Doom style murder spree. 

Instead of throwing out the piece of history, I decided to mount it in my bedroom. You could do this with most peripherals, so hopefully this might inspire you to waste an afternoon doing something.

First you’ll need to choose a theme. My idea was to paint the frame with the similar grey colour that Nintendo used for the console…luckily for me, primer grey was cheap and I didn’t even have to lacquer it. You’ll need a ‘3D’ frame deep enough for your item, looking back now I should have taken some more measurements (I’ll get to that later).

 

Once you have the original frame sanded down and cleaned, it’s ready for spraying.

I recommend hanging the item up or putting on a surface you don’t mind ruining.

Doom view

Next you’ll want some sort of backing for your item. I wanted a very deep black effect so decided to buy some material to stick to inside board of the frame.

  

With the mounting position figured out, I decided it would be best to minimise the weight, so it would actually stay on the back board. Interesting to see where the magic happens.

I did stick the material down onto the board using doubled sided tape, if you don’t do this it’ll hang off the material and you’re gonna have a bad day.

The finishing touch was the Nintendo fabric patch, nowadays you can get a patch of almost anything so it can be a nice addition to the final thing you’re making.

A retro looking snap.

 And the finished result mounted on my wall.

Leave a Comment