Wii Hacks

        

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Wii Case Mods - Hands on Review of DecalGirl Wii Skins

I decided to try out these Nintendo Wii Skins from decalgirl.com to make sure that my visitors were not getting ripped off.

I have to say that I'm very impressed with the quality and the simplicity of applying a skin to my Wii.

I took pictures of the process, which reminded me of those things called 'Colorforms' that i used to play with when I was a kid. The decals come printed out on a sheet already precut to fit the wii perfectly. All of the notches lined up without a problem. The decal is sticky but not THAT sticky, meaning if you mess up, you can easily peel it off and start over.
The first time I tried to apply the big decal on the side I was left with a huge air bubble, so i took it completely off and started over. The second time around I applied the decal slowly making sure to press out all of the air bubbles as I applied it. If there are any additional air bubbles left after you install it you can easily press them out with your fingers. There is no smearing, so you will not ruin the decal by rubbing out the air bubbles with your finger.


I applied the pieces one by one to the Wii, then
did the same thing for the Wii-Mote. The wii-mote part was slightly harder to do because of the tiny holes for the LED's and slots for the speaker.





Since it's basically just a big sticker, you do not have to open your wii, or void the warantee to install these. No tools were necessary, just some stable hands and some time.


When all was said and done, the process took me about 20 minutes, and I'm extremely pleased with the results. So much in fact that I just placed another order with DecalGirl for skins as gifts for my friends/family who also have the Wii. Order your Wii Skins Here.

UPDATE: I just noticed they posted some new skins. Check them out:




13 Comments:

Andrew Mitchell said...

Just a piece of advice, you can use soapy water to place it on, then press flat and there will be no air bubbles, also you can move it around before it dries, so it reduces the chance that you'll mess up the alignment.

Z said...

ya if u wanna use soapy water near your wii, go ahead...pfft

Andrew Mitchell said...

I dind't say drench it, just put a light coating on with your fingertips, just enough to allow the decals/whatever to move without sticking. Then press out the water, and let dry. Same process as applying window tint.

Unknown said...

wow, thanks a lot for the review. i was also thinking of the crime skin, but wanted to see what the end product would look like. Satified with your results, will be ordering one as well.

Tricks Uploads said...

i got the ones with the skullz on it. I love it, can upload pics here when i figure out the bluetooth from my phone to work. I installed mine very quickly with no preparation, just kinda did it on my lap. It turned out pretty well.

Tricks Uploads said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Tricks Uploads said...

http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/2338/wii2hg4.jpg

http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/6623/image013eu0.jpg

Couple of photos taken from my phone

raindog469 said...

Whenever the black Wii comes out, that Rosewood skin is so going to be mine.

Atari WiiCS FTW...

Unknown said...

i have this on my wii and i am very impressed also.

you dont need the soapy water if you know how to put it on right the first time.

Unknown said...

I picked up the black skin after reading your review, but admittedly wasn't very happy with the results. I had to stretch it to make it fit on around the edges. Once stretched, certain portions wouldn't fit right anymore. (eg the front panel).

Also, my console has been freezing after a few hours of gameplay with the skin on. I removed the skin, and it hasn't frozen the last 2 weekends of intense play.

LiquidIce said...

Hi Mario, I'm sorry to hear that. I usually leave my Wii on 24/7 to the browser so i can easily access my Wii Home Control flash page. I have never had a problem with my Wii locking up.

Mitchell said...

Awesome. Thank you for posting this review as I was skeptical. Looks like I'll be ordering the retro skin soon.

Unknown said...

they've been coming out with a lot. it's like 2 or 3 per week from what i've noticed.

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