Repairing Crushed Big Box Games with the "Retro Hot Plate"

Check out MonsterJoysticks at monsterjoysticks.com/RMC
Squashed, flattened, broken or torn cardboard game boxes can be heart breaking and I appear to own more than most. Often they are included with a donated system, languishing at the bottom of a box. So I thought I'd try to make good some of the examples I have by coming up with a technique to straighten them out. I'm sure we can refine this further in time but I'm pretty happy with the results so far, it just needs a name!
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● Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:24 Testing out some techniques to repair boxes
04:44 Who are MonsterJoysticks.com
05:04 A device to repair squashed big box games
10:15 Repairing Lotus 2 squashed game box
13:34 Fixing lots of squashed big box games
16:26 Conclusion on fixing squashed cardboard boxes
19:07 A 60 second game restoration
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Items used:
Sheet of metal amzn.to/3sowoPW - Mine is 300x300x5mm
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[@RMCRetro]

What are your tips for game box restoration? Do you have a good way to colour in those crease marks? I'd love to hear them all! Neil - RMC

[@theatheisthammer]

Moonstone is my most expensive Amiga game. And have a copy of settlers on pc special edition which I've seen on eBay for a ridiculas price I've got 1000's of Amiga disks to go through that I bought and from my chdhood,

[@senorcapitandiogenes2068]

I suggest naming it the "marvelous decreaseinator"

[@catriona_drummond]

Superglue will destroy the paper over time and you'll end up having to fix them over and over again. wood glue is similiar to what bookbinders use and is mostly acid free and won't eat the paper. Ideally you fold a little 90 degree corner from thin cardboard and glue it into the box, connecting both loose ends to make a good connection that isn't just that thin line where they meet. For holding it well together until set, just use clothespins.

[@peterwarner9572]

I've used lighter fluid to get rid of tape marks on boxes before - similar effect to acetone I'd imagine and it evaporates off quite quickly

[@theatheisthammer]

THE FLATINATOR, THE SMOOTHATRON, THE CRACKBEGONERIZER😂,

[@JeremyRiedel]

Hi, great channel. I've worked for years in preservation sciences and managing museum collections. Here are some hot tips. Avoid using cyanoacrylate ("super glue") on any projects where preservation is a concern. Generally speaking, super glue is not considered archival. Something like PVA (polyvinyl acrylate/acetate) is, though you might have to order the beads in bulk and mix it yourself. Also, there are any number of neutral pH, archival, book-binding tapes on the market. I suggest these for taping box corners. Again, I wouldn't want to apply dyes to creases unless they are from a company producing archival ink like Micron, but even then, color-matching is a concern, and it's not reversible.

[@RMCRetro]

Thanks for sharing your experience. I tried PVA but that just soaks into the card, perhaps there is a higher concentrate you can use and that's where the beads come into it? I'm very happy to evolve these processes and improve them. What are the longer term implications of using super glue vs PVA?

[@JeremyRiedel]

@@RMCRetro Yes, PVA can be mixed at any concentration, it is highly versatile in this regard. What you might find readily, and commercially, may not be best for every application, as per your experience. One downside is cure time, it does require patience. The positives outweigh the negatives however, as it is a reversible adhesive (using acetone), and it can maintain some level of flexibility for many decades. Cyanoacrylate is more brittle and has a higher fail rate on a much shorter time scale and, importantly, it's not reversible.

[@JeremyRiedel]

Ultimately, I think the important thing is that you're proceeding with care and caution, trying different approaches, and heeding advice. Keep up the great work. I hope to speak with you at some point about a project I have going on across the pond.

[@tiemanowo]

@@JeremyRiedel What do you mean that "Cyanoacrylate it's not reversible"? There are products that can de-glue Cyanoacrylate.

[@Ishikabibble]

@@tiemanowo Cyanoacrylate can be softened with the application of harsh solvents like acetone that run the risk of attacking inks/etc. Or heat in excess of 350F. It's practically non-reversible for the purposes of archival work because there's a high risk in trying to remove it. PVA glues meanwhile just take vinegar, or much lower applications of heat.

[@davidhale9730]

Lighter fluid is a lot gentler than acetone for removing old glue and dried on stickers. It also evapourates very quickly which avoids causing any water damage to the artwork.

[@jasongrimes9305]

Using the metal plate is brilliant. I have done some research into how museums curate their paper objects. I think why most people recommend wood glue is because it's a PVA glue that when dry is still flexible. I think that because you shrinkwrap yours that it should be ok, but over time the very hard super glue could damage the boxes farther and come apart. Most museums use a wheat paste and Japanese rice paper to fix things like the corner tears. The important idea behind this is that you can completely undo it later and use a better technique if one is discovered. I'm still on the fence with re-painting or covering up the box/crease wear. I just haven't seen very good solutions for that yet. Very nice job, the boxes look great.

[@willrobinson7599]

Cracking video on how to get them back into a condition that can be displayed. Brilliant idea to shrink wrap it after

[@edition-deluxe]

I'm a professional book restoration artist, and had never seen your hot plate method, and absolutely love it!

[@no-one3795]

Beautiful. From a something that looks like trash to a collectors treasure, these are truly amazing.

[@davedobbs]

Its really nice to see the the games themselves being restored as they are every bit as much a part of the experience as the hardware itself, and for the most part forgotten about. Like the idea of the hotplate. Was expecting you just to bring out a travel iron for the smaller boxes, but I guess you've invented the game box "trouser press".

[@chris_hertford]

It's funny how the more pristine they look the more they take you back to that era. Like when you opened then as a kid, nostalgia feels good!

[@DubiousEngineering]

I’d end up with a steamy box glued to my hands! Great work uncle Neil!

[@waldnew]

Nice to see the Zool box restored! Unfortunately it did get damp with others up in my loft! I think it was part of an instruction manual that got stuck to the front of it! Edit :- thanks to another comment I believe it's part of the back of the box from steg the slug! It's fab that it can be part of the cave and give joy to others! It was just sitting in my loft and then my man cupboard under the stairs. Apologies that it was in worse condition than I thought but in a way it's helped to learn the art of restoring.

[@waldnew]

Edit after another commentator down below, I believe the mark was from steg the slug! On the back of my box of steg the slug a large part of the picture is missing!

[@serpentza]

Surprisingly satisfying! Fantastic job

[@tomleech9753]

Travel. Iron. I use it on lots of board game boxes. For tape like that, I use "goo gone" which you can find in more places for only a dollar or so. When I have black boxes like this, I use a dry erase black market to fill in the cracks, then wipe away the excess quickly. It doesn't leave a mark and it can fill it some of the micro cracks and even retain the shine. Just something you might want to try. For the dented boxes, I'd be concerned the shrink wrap will just put that dent back in the box. This is why later games came with a box inside the box, ensuring the weak outer box would be completely supported. I also used gummed tape on the inside to rebuild the corners, but I can see how using 65lb to 100lb cover stock tabs cut to size with wood glue would work as well. Also use a lot of magnets to hold things while they dry, big square ones for nice tight corners. Hope some of this helps.,

[@The8BitGuy]

I'm surprised how well that worked. But I think there are probably better ways to apply heat to the smaller boxes. For example, I have seen tiny irons. That might work. Alternatively, I'd probably make some sort of tall structure that is just small enough that the box will fit over it, then iron the box from the top side, instead of the inside.

[@dh2032]

travel Irons

[@Eduardo_Espinoza]

Same

[@RetroRecipes]

Thank you Hot PL8-Bit Guy.

[@DerekPeldo]

@@RetroRecipes I love seeing everyone I follow commenting in the same videos. Well, almost. Clint probably snuck off to Computer Reset again.

[@Doan84]

RC plane heat sealing tool

[@mtubr]

When you shrink wrap make sure you dried a LOT, or the moisture will turn into mold. You can buy some small silica gels packs to avoid that too. I do that to some of my products that stay long time inside a drawer. Gotta love these restoration videos.

[@LowlyEidolon]

Gotta throw a small silica packet in each sealed box for sure

[@archive3do769]

I was thinking the same.

[@glyph2011]

Well colour me surprised. I never thought in a million years I’d spend 20 minutes watching someone repairing cardboard boxes. But it was ruddy riveting. I remember those games and the big boxes. 👍👍 And the comment section is a tutorial on archiving processes in itself!! 👍👍

[@wimwiddershins]

We used to buy/trade used games from a shop that repaired & shrink wrapped their game boxes. The results here, really reminds me of that great little games shop..

[@MatSpeedle]

I've had massive success fixing snes/nes/n64 boxes using simply an Iron. Cover with a plain uncoloured cotton tea towel, gently iron with the steam on. Never had to add water to dampen the cardboard. Decent steam iron will do that for you. Works incredbly well with care and patience. Recently did this on a squished Battletanx n64 box and it's perfectly squared once again. Great tips here Neil.

[@studioviper3016]

I'm genuinely glad that I have absolutely zero desire to own big box versions of retrogames. Those eBay prices are beyond ridiculous.

[@Edman_79]

Thank you so much for taking the time and inventing ways to save this stuff! Very well done!

[@petemc4190]

It's been a good few months since we've enjoyed a solid "Neil cleans things video" 😁

[@WickedGamerCollector]

Great video did not know you could fix the boxes like that 😅

[@catriona_drummond]

Retro Pixels are quite the Ebay scalper. I once saw that they were the only Ebay seller in the world to have a copy of Millennium 2.2 for the Amiga. And they had not only one they had 5. between 129 and 169 pounds. buy low, sell high I guess.

[@DKTronics70]

They are among a few that are the worst of the worst, and make retro collecting really a waste of time. I once got to 2-3 seconds from winning one of the Amiga classics, the original Lotus Turbo boxed, not the budget version, the original. I bid £20, and RetroPixels beat me by those 2 seconds. I knew it was them because you can still see the winning bidder's feedback number, in brackets, and it matched theirs. A week later, that same game was back on their eBay store for £100, they won it for £21. And it's crap like this that just annoys the hell out of me, because these people, like you said, are simply there to scalp retro collectors - especially those new to collecting, who think this is normal prices. I sent them a message, just saying they are not collectors, or respect of retro, they are there purely to profit off of it. They only reported me, and I got a week's ban from eBay. Total, tossers, wouldn't touch them with a barge pole.

[@thefishwillbearmed7391]

I spent countless hours playing Millennium 2.2 on Amiga as a teenager, very addictive and helped me learn all the moons of the solar system. That and Zak McKracken were my faves, it's mind boggling that they're worth so much decades later!

[@catriona_drummond]

@@thefishwillbearmed7391 Me as well. as I had no manual or any clues it took me quite some time to figure out how to get copper. XD

[@boardgamegeek.salatiga]

Sooo satisfying! As a boardgamer I tend to buy a bad box boardgames to restore it and here we are you did a great job with card boards! Thanks for the video! 🤩

[@GadgetUK164]

Wow, some absolute strokes of genius there! Acetone on the label, wow! Hot plate - gob smacked at how well that worked!

[@shmoostead5419]

It was nail varnish remover which is Acetone and an oil like castor or lanolin, I would be careful trying actual acetone.

[@CommodoreGreg]

Great job Neil! I love how they came out!

[@RetroHackShack]

Love the retro-mag-plate idea, Neil! I will be trying this one out.

[@tdub8719]

Let's not trivialise this, it is genius Neil. You can tell when you get serious when the jacket comes off. Thanks for the amazing tip. Domestic goddess here I come.

[@retrojb101]

Thank you so much for sharing your techniques. When I saw you do this briefly in a previous video I was so intrigued and this has answered many of my questions. I have several games console boxes that could benefit from these techniques so will defo be trying them out. Keep up the stella work Neil!

[@kimdomingo1015]

Hi. This is very informative. I have a suggestion in removing the sticky thing. I am using a lighter fluid in removing sticky substances. It will not hurt the cardboard. I’m also using it to clean the electronic boards.

[@maltronik]

Amazing just simply amazing restoration work on the boxes... you are the true knights guardian of the retro realm...

[@Cassandra_Johnson]

You might want to drop some of those silica water absorber packs inside the boxes to keep any residual moisture from causing mold befor eyou shrink wrap them.

[@bigchewdb]

Neil, your efforts towards game preservation is appreciated, in a time where the big game companies seem happy to allow their own products to grow old and dissapear you put them to shame with your passion and commitment to preserving these gems of our childhood. Much respect.

[@MrButtonpresser]

So neat, so effective and such great results. Marvellous!

[@SuperDerek]

Brilliant! Maybe I could use some of these techniques to fix up some boxes in my collection. Thanks a bunch for the techniques and inspiration!

[@fluxoff]

At some point you'll have to resort to bookbinding techniques: to repair long tears, apply adhesiveless fabric "tape" with archival grade adhesive applied. I really like your channel and your shrink-wrap technique for literally preserving the boxes against future handling damage!

[@EsbenH]

Wonderful wonderful video, and great results to boot. Very well done!

[@superstarichiban]

I am so proud to be a subscriber of this channel ❤️. I'm quite certain that this video will save many games that most would consider junk. Bless you, my friend 🙏

[@HolgerNestmann]

Love it. Great Video, lots of nostalgia and really nice seeing someone handling a piece of childhood with care

[@KODAKTIFVIDEOEGITIM]

That was a vlog containing whole 20 minutes of relax therapy

[@snadwichbcuzyes3359]

this is really dope- The sheer amount of love for this stuff-

[@DisruptedSinner]

Well done and great inventiveness! They look amazing.

[@jamieparkes4043]

Wow amazing results well done 👏

[@Groglor]

Video concept is right up my alley. Awesome. I want to fix a few of my trashed boxes.

[@broonage]

Great vid! One of the most original and useful yet!

[@TebzGo]

I just discovered your channel from this video. It was immensely satisfying to watch. Thanks.

[@claymoreland1946]

This video was really satisfying. Thank you!

[@Rhole]

Blown away by the results. Nice!

[@JenniferinIllinois]

Absolutely amazing!!! To think of all the beat up boxes I've thrown away over the years.

[@noisygeorge]

Looking forward to the RMC - Baumgartner Restoration KZbin Colab ;)

[@mryon314159]

That was arguably the single most satisfying restore video I've ever seen. Brilliant work that.

[@mopkrayz]

INCREDIBLE work

[@GORF_EMPIRE]

Well done sir! They came out lovely!

[@hapepunktpunktpunkt8196]

The best tips for restaurations you got from Hot Wheels Community. There are a lot of cool and stunning restauration vids online

[@audreywinter4553]

Absolutely brilliant! I don't have any old video game boxes, but I do have tabletop RPG boxes that this technique would be perfect for!

[@thebelow9117]

Not the same subject matter, but retro toy related. Just recently moved house & found all of my old Transformers, all boxed, but obviously with wear. This method is the one I'll be using to bring the boxes back to life. This was a great vid & it's just majestic to see how yourself, this channel & the crowd of us that follow, have grown over the years. Your never ending pursuit & sheer determination of giving absolutely everything to this, is the reason we are all where we are now 👍 As always, outstanding, Neil 👍

[@dempup-gaming]

Great tips. I'm am definitely going to try that out

[@JesperSevel]

So satisfying to look at..nice job! 👍

[@DigitalDirigibles]

Archival paper tape works wonders, better than glue imo. Been using it to repair magazines/dust jackets, vintage/antique toy boxes etc. for years.

[@lolzman2539]

Hello RMC, Mr.LED here, freakin nice video man! I can try to fix some of my boxes with these techniques, thanks man!😁

[@dennisf1973]

"Retro Board" is a nice method naming next to retro bright.. 🤗 Nice job! Saved them fully👍🏻

[@wynandboshoff8953]

Great video and tips from others - thank you!

[@Owazrim]

I am really surprised with how well these worked. Wonderfully done.

[@OidHunter]

Amazing stuff, thanks

[@videogamebookreviews]

Some good tips in this video. Cheers!

[@dakotazimmerman1228]

Amazing work! This is great information and very out of the box thinking to repair the boxes. Would have never thought to make a custom hotplate let alone break out the spray bottle and iron. I've been experimenting with making my own reproduction boxes for my personal collection and this is great info to have and expand upon to preserve these old games and their packaging.

[@Ironlord2015]

Welcome to the Retro Repair Shop 😀 Great video, those boxes turned out great with that method, very well done!! Many others would've just binned them...glad you didn't!!

[@HAGSLAB]

I think the results were awesome and any big box game/software that is saved from the trash is a win to me. Great job! I liked your FlatBoxHotBlock™ invention as well, worked perfectly.

[@rojovision]

The results seem pretty good. I'll have to give this a try on some of my old boxes that are in rough shape one of these days.

[@graalcloud]

Life changing and informative

[@BarrowZigger]

Great work!

[@LDdrums20]

Obsession level is off the roof. Which is a good thing. Good work!

[@kidrobot.]

thanks for the tips. ive been meaning to get rid of my "junk" on ebay and this will help me make those sales much easier

[@HoZKiNZ]

Absolutely Fantastic.

[@randy7894]

A treat to watch you saving game boxes.

[@Rossbrian1]

Impressive and very helpful

[@thesixth2330]

This is also great for us Avalon Hill/Classic Board War Games Collectors!!! Great Video!

[@djm9937]

Wow, great job !

[@Carpetcleanerman]

I looked into the hot plate method and thought it is worth a shot. Got some other magnets and a 300x400x5 mm steel plate. Tried it out last night and still amazed about the results in levelling bent cardboard. The results are fantastic. Thank you! P.S.: If there is anything I do differently is to add a sheet a baking paper between the cardboard box and the hot plate. Magnets still strong enough and there is no direct contact between the printed and somewhat delicate surface of the box and the steel plate. It means less stress on the cardboard but still produdes great results. P.P.S: in the meantime I looked into the shrinkwrapping part. Some comments here suggests that the shrinkwrap might do more damage over the years than it does good. This refers mostly to hollow boxes with a thin cardboard used as for most computer games. As I am more into restoring into board games and TTRPG I am thankfully dealing with thicker cardboard that might withstand the shrinkwrapp better.

[@zZiL341yRj736]

Need more of this.

[@beansoup1088]

this channel is just great

[@JapaneseModernist]

This is unbelievable!

[@Vendetti]

amazing! i definetly need such an shring wrap machine

[@GoranObal]

This was so satisfying to watch! :)

[@dorkultra]

nice work mate!

[@langam7017]

For the creases, you could go to a paint shop and get a color matched touch-up paint pen made. Like the thing you can buy for car scratches.

[@NeverlandSystemZor]

Love this dedication and work. I really hope I get to the UK some day to visit your cave. :)

[@luke9511]

thanks for this awesome video! i repair nes boxes using special archival glue for books etc and gum tape and so far so good!

[@Bekon241]

Nice very nice restoration i love retro art i still wait for list all Your games and boxcover art databese :) Thanks. Cheers from Poland!

[@msand2396]

Just rewatched your Trash to Treasure on the Amiga 500. Wow you have come a long a way.

[@CoalCoalJames]

Great stuff, here's to all the potential saved pieces of history out there~

[@K1NGARTH3R]

Nice job, very creative! I just bought a travel iron which fits in all boxes :D

[@dant5464]

Hi Neil, regarding re-shrink wrapping to keep the boxes in the shop looking neat, you might want to check out VWestlife's recent upload "Don't keep your vinyl records sealed!" - it turns out shrink wrap continues to shrink and it can even squash boxes! You probably have a good number of years, but it seems like something to keep half an eye on.

[@RMCRetro]

Thanks! I'll keep a close eye on this. The plastic cassette boxes will be fine, the card boxes I'll monitor. This is not how they are stored in the main store room but is very much a display/exhibition for visitors, so like all displays they will need to be cleaned, rewrapped and kept in good condition or people won't enjoy them.

[@EffendiChung]

Used the ironing method, except I use a small portable iron. Its small enough to fit most game boxes. Also, try to do some edges at first, some boxes has plastic film on top, and hot ironing it will ruin the art. In that case, I borrow cloth steamer, steam it from behind the art and leave heavy books on it for a few hours. For torn up boxes, I usually just made an inner shell from a card stock. for torn up edges, I usually reinforced the edges with card stock paper and thin glue. Much stronger that way.

[@marksumner5879]

Excellent episode Neil, got to be honest I would never have thought of doing what you did here.

[@yannisgk]

very good video!!!thanks!!!

[@coffeecuparcade]

Well done mate! That worked out better than I was expecting it. Community came through in spades here!

[@LordHorst]

This is so nice. I have some very beat up boxes (F-19 Stealth Fighter for example). This should come in very handy.

[@gojohnniegogo]

Great work, Neil. Those look so much better. Agree with your thoughts on markers etc to cover the creases

[@jeroenklaassen4078]

Awesome restorations, i need to do some of my old msdos games this way 😀

[@ArcadeDude44]

What great ideas, thank you much for sharing them👍 If I ever get a chance to visit the UK, I would love to experience the retro store exhibition.