Midieval Mods!

[captaincurran]

nuqneH petaQs! err... i should be saying g'day milords and ladies... Being inspired by the Boo-ster with his dungeon mod, and the fact i don't have anything holding my hard drive in nor protecting it in my laptop i've decided to mod my laptop! and since i'm an avid/crazy chainmailler who's just stepped into the foray of plate armour i'm gonna armourize my poor laptop. rivets, thin sheet metal, chainmaille... poor laptop's already had a run in with a sword already... got a small knick in the screen from the tip.

so a brief rundown of the game plan... take a Dell Inspiron 2650 minus the faceplate for the harddrive enclosure... plus a dozen if not more empty cans of pop/beer/energy drink plus aviation snips plus a good helping of 17 gauge galvanized steel wire precut into 1/4inch rings and pliers will equal the middleages laptop, suitable for any SCA related event.

i'll be making a covering basically, the only place this will be riveted to the computer will be a solitary hole in the space where the screw for the hard drive enclosure front is. i'm debating to do it in a scale style, or do small plates of aluminum riveted in a neat pattern. i'll be leaving the keyboard area uncovered as well as the floppy drive bay, though the metal will be bent inwards and edged to prevent injury. i'm contemplating some sort of cd-rom hiding thingy. i'm thinking of getting some grey paint to cover the keys in, and then redoing the letters after with abit of calligraphy. that's only if i think it'll look better grey instead of black. and if i can find someone who can do calligraphy. i'll be covering the lil info button near the screen permanently cuz i've never had it work and i don't know what it does. i'll do tiny holes to let the light of the lock keys shine through.

Even though i think i've got everything covered right now, it's almost 2am here, and i might miss an idea, so give me your thoughts ladies and gents.

attached are pics from another site of the same model. mind you mine has a small nick on the screen commonly mistaken as a spec of dirt, and the front bay covering is gone. it's marked on the bmp pic.

[bonesaw]

can't wait to see this finished. and can you make me some chainmail?

[captaincurran]

depends on what you want made. i've only got galvanized steel, some blackened steel in stock. i do some small finger rings for $10, bracelets for $15, and i've done a demi-bracer for $20. plus shipping costs which i don't know the price of. it might be easier for you to seek out your nearest SCA group and see if they've got a chainmailler. he/she may be able to armour you up just finished a quick google and i found a shire for Chicago for ya. http://grey-gargoyles.uchicago.edu/ try contacting them, or look on www.SCA.org for group near ya.

[Favu]

Sounds like it could be a very interesting mod! I don't suppose you where planning on actually using it on your lap though - all that metal has got to be heavy!

[captaincurran]

okay. i'm getting frustrated. i'm trying to make a CGI representation of my mod, but i've tried Google Sketch, Autocad, and just now Maya. they've all frustrated me. i just want to make a crude representation of my laptop. and the placement of rivets and metal

[captaincurran]

okay, i've decided on a style of plate for it. i'm gonna do rows of 2.5" thick (up and down wise) strips of metal, each with a bit of gothic feel to it. they'll over lap by .5".

they'll be done so the points will kind of have a valley upwards. it'll amuse me and look a bit cooler than just flat stuff. it shouldn't put too much height on it.

the graphic is a bit from a website on plate armour, more specifically a cropped peice of graphic on Gothic Plate armour design notes.

[Favu]

Looking good there captain!

I can't wait to see how this turns out - will you be painting the metal or leaving it as-is?

[captaincurran]

i'll be leaving it as is, and just polishing it so it's nice and shiney. or at least as shiney as pop cans can be on the inside.

[booman]

Awsome idea! have you modded a laptop before?
I'm to scared to try it, so many small parts.
Take as many pics as possible, I want to see every step of the process.
here is a pic of my chain mail sleeveless shirt


It was a present for my Mom. I spent about 10 months putting together 9000 stainless steel jump rings. Fun and repetative. I can't imagine doing a whole sleeved shirt.

[captaincurran]

lol, yeah the shirts take a LONG LONG time. it wouldn't seem as long if you condensed the time but including times for mistakes, school, sleep, life.. it takes alot longer.

[booman]

Any more progress yet on the mod?

[captaincurran]

just been cutting up old beer cans into strips of 1.5 inches wide, on a slight angle so the strips are longer than just the circumfrance of the can. i need to get more though.

[booman]

Keep at it, or as the robinsons would say,
Keep moving forward!