ScuzzBlog: Diaries May 2026
Entry 25th May 2026: Post 1: Amiga 1000/C128D - Just in case.
Amiga 1000/C128D - Just in case.
As a follow up to that blog the other day referring to the strange
beast that is the Amiga 1000, I just wanted to clarify the design
of the case origins. I have never really been able to establish
just how much design work had been done on the actual case for the
Amiga 1000 at the time Commodore took over. All I know is that the
case design was the work of Howard Stolz who worked at Commodore.
This all dates from 1985 as you would expect.
One issue that has always interested me about Commodore is the amount
of cross talk that took place between the original Commodore staff
and those now assigned to the Amiga. Take the Commodore C128D both
in plastic and cost reduced versions. The case is attributed to
Bill Herd, who has confirmed as much. Commodore stuff from around
1985 started to develop a distinct 1571 look to it. A clean sleek
more flat/compressed feel with a simple linear slot feature that
played on the use of the 5.25" drive. You could be much mistaken
for thinking the A1000 fell out of the design sketch book for the
plastic version of the C128D.
The C128D plastic has the detachable keyboard, is secured from below
and features the drive to a flat front fascia with curved edges.
The machines just have a feel of the 1571 and even the Amiga 1020.
Whilst times were a changing at Commodore at the birth of the Amiga
1000 I guess the transition was always going to bring into question
the relevance of the C128 range. The machines lasted but a short time
as Commodore focused attention on the C64 and Amiga. It must have
been a pretty sole destroying time working on the C128 given that
it was already being sidelined the minute it arrived. And yet the
design aesthetic appeared to be crossing over to the Amiga at
launch. The C128 wedge also appears to have distinct influences
on the Amiga 500.
In the end the wedge would win the day and 1571 look gave way to
stock PC cases that barely added any design features to the Amiga
2000. The Amiga 3000 including the tower version is again a design
that is grasping at old design ideals whilst injecting some of the
new. The case at least did try to be original. Sadly just like
much of Commodore's efforts of the time were short lived.
And so I am again left reflective of the Amiga 1000 as the strange
beast it was and none the clearer of the design aesthetic for the
case. Very little is actually written about the process. There is
a suggestion that even Japanese designers were involved. Not
something I can back up.
My view of matters is the 1571 and Amiga 1020 were more influential
in the possible design curve the machines may have taken before the
wedge became the primary driver and boxes just became just that,
boxes.
Not forgetting that Atari were also forwarding the wedge and later
so were Acorn.
Amiga 1000/C128D - Just in case.
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