Dungeon mod

[booman]

Lots of progress this weekend. I took monday off and got some painting done. I'm very happy with the results so far...
I have a special masking tool I am using for fine detail. I'm not going to spoil that either because I will be making a tutorial on how to mask for the AOA articles.
I am using my favorite hammered finish spray paint on the bricks. This gives them a special textured glossy look. I even created a mask to paint a few bricks with darker paint. Also, remember the rest is going to be a mirror finished brass/copper color. Hopefully this will be a good contrast to keep an edge on my design instead of all stone (which would have been cool too).


This is the back panel of the case where I plan to have a small window with a stained glass etching. The brick-work came out very well and the paint job enhances the castle look. I can't wait to get the window on there and a red cathode behind it. As allways I drill the holes before I paint so I don't have to worry about chipping the paint away. I'm re-using a window from an older case that I allready etched (by hand). The window fits perfectly because as I am drilling holes I am putting self-tapping screws in each one to keep it in place. I don't screw them all the way in, just enough to hold it down while I drill. This saves major headaches in the future trying to get the screws to fit the holes.

Did some more work last weekend and started painting the copper side.
Here is the work in progress. Fun stuff. Its pretty hard to get a consistant coating so it looks like metal. I did several coats and then later started the laquer clear coat. This case is going to shine!

[booman]

After masking off the bricked side and painting several coats of glossy brass, I finished it off with the clear coat. I'm kinda happy with it because it looks good but not professional. When the light hits it a certain way you can see scratches in the brass coats from my sanding job. I don't know why because I was sanding with 320 grit and it was totally smooth. There are a couple bits of debris in the finish too. So now I'm debating about sanding it down and either adding more coats of glossy brass, or more coats of clear coat.




Otherwise, my masking job worked out very well. I'll be doing a tutorial for the AOA forum, so be expecting it.

Finished my first CD-Rom paint job this weekend. It turned out to be pretty easy. Just take the metal case off and the bezel. Then primer and paint. After that, slap it all back together and there's your custom painted drive.

[Favu]

That is looking really impressive booman!

[weldzilla]

Hey booman your project is coming out nice. Look forward to seeing a system in it!!

WZ

[booman]

I'm finished painting the panels and bezels.
After many hours of re-painting and re-painting, then sanding and polishing. I finally got the finish to be as smooth and shiny as a professional case. I still have more polishing to do but for now here's how it looks.


as you can see, modding on all sides. I still have to paint the Power Supply (when I get it) and the DVD drive.




The drive covers are temporary for now. I will only be able to use one of them and can swap at any time. I still have to add a piece of plexi-glass on the back. Like my fan grill below?


The window and plexi-glass are in. This week I will be done with the bars and glue them in. All that is left is my flames, a custom door (???), feet, and hardware.

[Samuknow]

That is quite sweet.

Great job

[bonesaw]

dude thats crazy!

[weldzilla]

Hey booman you left me hangin. What did you end up installing into the Dungeon mod case? Did you complete it? What is the final chapter?

WZ

[booman]

I left you all hanging because CPU left me hanging.
I'm still waiting for my check from the CPU magazine.
I'm patient though.

The feet for the case are in progress and all that is left is my special flame fans and hanging a skeleton inside.
Of course I'm going to install all the hardware too.
Believe me, I'll post many pictures once its all done.

[booman]

I finally got my check.
Today everything was ordered and now I'm just waiting on shipping.
I plan to start my build this weekend. I may forget to take pictures due to my excitement, but I'll try as hard as I can to take em.
This is going to be a rockin machine.

I also painted some fans and cables to match the interior.
When everything boots and functions I will take out the DVD and powersupply to paint them accordingly.

[booman]

It is finished!
I've spent the last 3 weeks finalizing everything on the case. Then yesterday I took a slew of pictures. I posted some of them but the rest will be on the webpage. Make sure to view it with Internet Explorer.

Final Additions:
5 red fans, two of em have circular cathodes.
Mounted cathode on back side of case.
Painted the DVD, fan controller, and temp monitor.
Added skelleton parts and the skelleton prisoner.
Mounted keys on side of case.
Added rusty old bars.
Mounted and painted wheels.
Installed as many games as possible.

[danrok]

Front page:
http://www.aoaforums.com/frontpage/content/view/3066/1/

Thanks!

[raphael2040]

Sweet!

Are those Thermaltake fans on the bottom of the case? Or are they just round cathodes?

And where's the skeleton hanging from?

Good job!

[booman]

yes, questions!
Those are round cathode fans from Xoxide.com. I guess they make or purchase their own.
I was going to make some material flutter over the top of them to appear as flames, but it didn't work.
The skeleton is hanging from chains that I twisty-tied to the top of the chassi. Simple, but you can't see it.

[cloasters]

Most awesome effort,

[Pitch]

Good going my friend!

[Daniel ~]

Very sweet Booman!

[weldzilla]

Congrats on a beautiful project booman. Isn't it just wonderful what you can do with a case that cost so little!! That was kinda the point of this exercise, to let people know that they need not spend a big chunk or their money on a case. you made the point perfectly!
Now tell me about your temps. And of course I would lve to know if you have OC'd that processor. What is your primary use for this system?
Again I just love it. You have got my juices flowing for another elaborate mod. Bless you for that booman.

WZ

[booman]

I love questions!
Sorry I didn't answer this earlier, for some reason I don't get e-mail notifications for most of my posts. I've tried instant notification and daily notifications but I still don't get many responses...

anyways, on to the subjetc:

Thanks for the encouraging words Weldzilla... I still have 2 mods in store before Christmas.
I completely agree with the purpose of this mod. The case didn't cost me much at all, but I did spend some money on paint & supplies. But thats because I allways go overboard with my goal and it costs me in the end. I did purchase a different case from geeks.com for a friend and it was junk. It was like a tin can that was bent into a cube. I was very unhappy with it and I threw it in the closet. I've never seen such a cheap case. I enjoy modding old cases because they are allways built to last with thick metal but they don't allways have the compatible in/out panel or enough expansion slots, you know, so we have to modd them to fit our needs.
As for my temps: I have this unexpensive Lian Li 3.5 thermosensor that is monitoring my Core 2 Duo and my Evga GeForce 9700 GS. So far my Core 2 Duo is maxing at 34 or 35 Celsius, which is super cool. I put a huge heatsink on it for kicks but I am NOT overclocking. I havn't really played with OC yet because I'm worried about destroying my investments. As for my video card, it maxes at 47 Celsius with the stock cooler while playing Rollercoaster Tycoon 3. With all the other games it stays under 40 Celsius. I read a bunch of reviews on my motherboard Asus P5N 32-E SLI that the chipset gets rather hot but I havn't noticed anything yet. It has a fancy heatpipe system to keep them cool and my 3 fans sucking in cool air should handle those fine. I admit that my computer is a bit noisy, specially when I crank the fans up, but when I'm playing games I don't hear it at all. One of these days I'll work on a silent case with passive heatsinks all over and 120mm fans.

[Daniel ~]

Bump!