Endtroducing: The Hemp-Mote
Because Hemp Makes Everything Better‽
Full body Wii-Mote & Nunchuk modification. First in a series.
The Hemp-Mote & Nunchuk
Need tiny people to
make tiny patterns.
100% natural hemp string on the outside (while remaining 100% functional on the inside).
A stark contrast to the original Nintendo Wii-Mote & Nunchuk; what was once a sleek, white and hard plastic controller has now become a slightly fuzzy, natural and textured concoction. No more bland, branded & boring but mottled, flawfull, rough and just a tad absorbing.
The Hemp-Mote is absolutely playable, all buttons, accelerometers and the infrared camera accounted for. Unfortunately its exterior is also quite fragile and prone to degeneration (as far as game controllers go), and being in this raw state makes it more of a show-case piece than a daily replacement.
»» Update: I’ve posted a tutorial where I show how I made the basic smaller Wii-Mote that’s underneath all this Hemp. See Wii-Mote Tutorial – part 1 & part 2 if you want to know how to build your own. ««
Made?
First the original Mote & Nunchuk needed to be whittled down to make a smaller form factor (so I wouldn’t end up with a very stocky mote).
Full Frontal.
Using saws and files I removed most of the hard plastic shelling, then rebuild the underlying shapes using modeling putty. After Smoothing out the results I gave the whole a quick coating of black paint ensuring eventual gaps wouldn’t stand out too much.
Tadaa, a base to wrap stuff around.
I then took out my ball of string and started wrapping. Unfortunately, to keep the string from unraveling /shifting, you have to rather painstakingly glue everything into place as you go… Oh joy.
First up was the wire connecting the Wii-mote to the Nunchuk, then any large areas lying below others. Round and round. And round. After these long unbroken string sections were done it was onto the detail work. Buttons, ridge guards, connectors, shaping each to fit the whole (all the while making sure the underlying mechanisms function smoothly. Test often).
Finally, In a move that might have severely altered the here shown pictures, I used a lighter to remove any fuzz and somewhat seal the hemp string closed. /caution
coincidentally, the thick wound wire connecting the controllers is now ideally suited to permanently alleviate the same boredom that inspired its existence.
Hemp-mote side shot.
Nunchuk wire connector.Now What
As mentioned before, the unprotected hemp is too sensitive to moisture and stress to handle normal/daily playing conditions (with anything but latex gloves). And taking into account that wearing gloves while playing would make the whole endeavour rather retarded, the Hemp-Mote will mostly enjoy a long life as a showcase model with the occasional demo game.
Battery Insertion. The front part of the battery lid is now connected to the main body, allowing the lid to remain attached.
Whats Next?:
Coming up (as far as Wii-Mote mods are concerned) is a tutorial with accompanying “basics” mod. It goes into more detail about how this was done, and maybe help along some other modders. After that I’ll be playing with texture and looks for another mote or 2, before losing the plot a little later on.
For now though: more pics:
As a wii owner and a supporter of industrial hemp, I just have to smile.
Very detailed. I’m sure that took a long time. I had my steering wheel wrapped in a larger size hemp in high school. I had a large gauge wrapped about three times around the entire wheel then a smaller gauge wrapped tightly over it. That took a while so I can only imagine. Came undone after too many turns. Is this just for show or will you attempt to show it off? Looks great and time consuming.
Is there some kind of seal you could put around it that would keep it from absorbing sweat? As an artist I’ve used some spray seals on paints and pastels before to keep them from falling off; is there anything similar for hemp, or would it be too dangerous for the wiring and such?
That is exactly what I’m about to test. I didn’t yet because I wanted to make sure that I got good pictures and a post out of it before taking the risk. If the experiment is not a total loss the mote will probably get a small update post in the future.
Thanks to you and others for the comments BTW. Love what you’ve done to the place.
Very cool. Looks really good. Props for actually showcasing it correctly on a nice page and photographing it in a light box.
Amazing!
Loving every single detail, and the idea itself..
Pure naturalist!
Taking Wii to the jungle!!
I love and I want one!
we linked your invention on our canabis culture blog in brazil.
check it out.
smoke it.
I’m wondering if you can still hear the sounds from the wii remote clearly.
Yup. It is even slightly louder (no more plastic & holes but only a tightly strung layers of string).
is it coincidence that this was originally posted at 4:20?
haha, nice catch, how appropriate.
(smoke tweed)
Congratulations !
I love it ! The cats must love it too ^^
link to French repost
You are my frickin’ hero.
one thing you might try as a sealant is shellac. It comes in flakes and is a natural sealant keeping the organic look of it. mind you it might tint the hemp a golden or blondish color.
Love this! I had to blog about it.
Magnifica paranoia!!!
this was in the ngamer magazine!
Hemp wrist strap?
This is definitely going to take my gaming experience to the next level!
WOW! I can only imagine the time and energy this took! MAJOR PROPS!
Wow, that’s a very creative work you have over there.. Stumbled!
yeah very cool. Looks really good. Props for actually showcasing it
Nintendo Wii just not want not LOL
fantastic points altogether, you just gained a new reader. What could you suggest about your
post that you simply made a few days ago? Any positive?
May I simply just say what a comfort to find
somebody that actually knows what they are discussing online.
You certainly realize how to bring an issue to light and make it
important. More people should look at this and understand this side of your story.
It’s surprising you aren’t more popular given that you certainly have the gift.
We absolutely love your blog and find almost all
of your post’s to be just what I’m looking for.
can you offer guest writers to write content for you? I wouldn’t mind composing a post or elaborating on many of the subjects you write concerning here. Again, awesome weblog!
Appreciation to my father who shared with me on the topic of this web site, this web site
is in fact remarkable.