[Project] Birth of a reptilian kind of thing..?

MrGuvernment

MrGuvernment

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Joined
Aug 3, 2004
Messages
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[UPDATE Oct 16th 2008 ] See last post

here is a start to a project.. maybe this one i will finish!, so far it is mainly ideas and the time may take a while as i am limited on funds right now....


Hardware
  • Q6600
  • DFI DK x38-TR2 mobo
  • 4G Corsair Dominator 1066 2 x 2G
  • Visiontek 4850
  • Corsair 620
  • various HD's.
  • Dell 20' Ultra Sharp | Dell 19' Sony Trinitron CRT


[May 12th 2008]

okay, forget everything past this, i should start a new thread, but new project idea coming.. revolves around the same mascot i was going to do on this old project


I am looking for other "tribalish" looking lizards, i want a lizard / gecko as i am in costa rica.. so if you see any you think i may like, send em over!
gecko.JPG



So far all i can think of is


All white case, nice glossy white outside....

since i got the DFI x38 TR2 mobo, which has organge, i want to cut out the design above, use an orange frosted plexy glass behind it, and surround it with light so it "glows" from the case, why i think white would look good...

inside of the case not sure yet... if white or another color....

i want to get the case anodized orange but it may be more headaches to try and find someone to do it then it is worth.





The case that i am using for now, and will really be best, as it can be my "trial and error" case is an older Antec, looks the same as this cheiftec

directron_2001_1020398395



i need to sand it down to get the first layer of paint off, but i am not sure if i should take it right down to the metal or not? i was thinking of trying to a "white" mirror finish almost, and most guides say take it down to the metal for that.... thoughts?
 
mm, vicious lizard... now i am thinking if i should just stick to one specific lizard / gecko, or use various ones, 2 or 3 on diff places on the case?



F133-dragon-lizard.gif
 
I searched google images last night over 300 pages for tribal gecko / tribal lizard / lizard tattoo / gecko tattooi found those words to give me the best images to work with but found few i really liked.//


[UPDATE - May 14th 2008]

DFi x38 board arrived, along with my Zalman s9700 and green SATA cables, so now going to do i think green and orange as primary colors, with white as the background.....

Need to make a list today of things i need to get the case started on.. anyone have any good links to sites for stripping down and painting a case? i have read so many and so many vary in what to do and such
 
busy week so no progress yet, this weekend i am going to try to do some concept pics in google sketch.
 
this log isnt showing on the forum, only if i search for it... weird

[EDIT] showing now.. interesting!
 
okay making this more complex, decided i am going to do my monitor and keyboard as well to match the monitor is just an older 19" CRT, i have one that died which i can disasemble and paint that case, actuallly i have 2 i can screw around with.

So the monitor will probably get done first, i now cant find my drill to take my case apart! more money to spend i dont have.
 
[UPDATE May 22nd 2008]



So trying out a test keyboard right now to see how my painting skills are:

Victim #1 - none working dell keyboard (but if this works i will use the keyboard switch it in for a working one at work)

P1010462.JPG


Keys removed (technique and was dam fast)
P1010466.JPG


i taped off the top black gloss LED section and best i could the dell letters, turns out i dont have any sharp cutting tools at home so i had to use a kitchen knife this time, glad it is only a test victim!
P1010467.JPG


so far 1 coat of grey primer, i did this since the KB was black, i thought it may help so i wont need as many white coats to cover the black.... did i guess right or is it a waste to prime plastics parts? i assume not?

P1010468.JPG


The other crappy part is the hardware store barely has any spray paint selection, so going to have to look around, they had no white primer, light grey was best i could do :(
 
Check automotive stores for more paint selections, also try Wal*Mart (evil company, good selection).
 
no walmart here, but walmart does own Hypermas here in costa rica,, mmm never thought to check there!

tomorrow i conqor the monitor now that i see where i can improve :)
 
the result of the keyboard

stupid me i didnt let the paint harden enough when i put the keys back on so i have some nail marks..lol

some parts are smooth, some are a little rough looking when looking up very close... but for a first time it wasnt as bad as i thought....

you can tell the using a kitchen knife to cut thae tape to cover the dell logo didnt work too well! (and yes i cant find my Q key..lol good thing this is a dead spare keyboard)

P1010477.JPG
 
Some Questions?​
​
​

  • Should i do the inside of the case the same as the outside - white / glossy ?
  • Should i go with a green lighting / plexi scheme, since most lizards are green.? or orange? or a combo of both...?
  • Should i do more then one lizard? one on the side, one on the top?
\

here is the mobo and colors..

LP-DK-X38-T2RS.jpg
 
Now of course everyone has their little helpers, here is mine, about the only good thing he can help at is covering my floor with hair and keeping my lap warm


sammy01.jpg




did someone say case mod!

sammy02.jpg
 
Now of course everyone has their little helpers, here is mine, about the only good thing he can help at is covering my floor with hair and keeping my lap warm


sammy01.jpg




did someone say case mod!

sammy02.jpg
 
* Should i do the inside of the case the same as the outside - white / glossy ? It's not a good idea, white outside and glossy inside sounds more cool.

* Should i go with a green lighting / plexi scheme, since most lizards are green.? or orange? or a combo of both...? In this case, more lizards are green than orange :p, green lighting ftw.

* The side of my case has a window on it... is there an easy way to replace this with metal and maybe body filler to make a solid flat panel again? Or should i keep the window and put the larger lizard on the other side of the case? you can keep the window and make an engraving with a little lizzard, and of course put the large one in the other side.

* Should i do more then one lizard? one on the side, one on the top? In the top :)
 
So today going to try and hit up a place here that may have more paint options for me

i got my speakers taped off for painting and my CRT spare body taped up ready for the design, but still need to buy a new dremel as i cant find mine still! argh!
 
June 30th, i am back from Vacation and putting aside some cash for this project, i need to get my gear off my desk, takes up too much room

I now have my new 40D camera dn gear so plenty of pics to come!

Be patient, this will eventually be something interesting, i promise!
 
thank loststorm

while i have some paint this week i am going to try and get my speakers done with what i have until i can buy my new Dremel and get the design cut out of my CRt extra case to get that done ready for paint :)
 
WOW...been a while!! no i hadn't forgotten about this project, just things came up in real life that didnt let me have the time or money to do what i wanted at the time i wanted, so thanks for being patient with me!!!

things that happened:

Mothers funeral and flying me and my g/f to Canada
while in Canada buying $3k in camera gear which i am slowly paying off..lol to replace my gear that was stolen :(


but anyways, as of about Aug 15th, my cash flow will be back to normal, meaning as of the 15th i will have about $1000 of free cash to spend on this project and about $1000 monthly to dispose as i wish (i am trying to save to buy a house) meaning

  • i can buy my Dremel, my old one died + needed attachments
  • i can buy proper items to do the case in the idea i had (sandpaper, primers, paint, little items, details et cetera ***
  • I can order a new case!!! *******
  • I can look into water cooling for this rig!!! since my hardware has changed!! ********************


i now have a q6600 + 4850 + 4G Corsair Dominator and a 20" Dell UltraSharp (ya crap TN)


*** Does anyone know if paint can be shipped via courier or over sea's? as Costa Rica has paint, but most places i go to have the same "crap" it seems...



******************** Water cooling!!! i don't know anything about it these days, so what is what, what is hot, what is not,what would cool a q6600 say overclocked as high as i could,a 4850 (possibly Xfire soon) as well as the Mobo NBand SB on a DFI...


i hope i can order from FrozenCPU, but i may be limited, mentioned parts will do my best to find places for them......


All input is appreciated, now that i got some time money i really want to get this project done and complete something in my life for once so HELP ME OUT!!!
 
Sorry to hear about your troubles, as for a case, I worked with the Kandalf LCS not long ago and it is a very big case and accommodates water cooling very well.

Here is a flickr gallery of my build with it:
http://flickr.com/photos/longfellow110/sets/72157600711310456/

Newegg Link:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133024

I know its not white like you were looking for but the case is a really great case. My only problem with it is you have to be the hulk to move it around so if you plan to take it to LAN parties and what not, either avoid the case or be prepared to build some serious muscle. Although I liked it like that because it was harder to steal. (I used to work at a LAN center and would just leave it there because none of the kids that would come there could even pick it up.)
 
nah color doesn't matter as i plan to paint the case white to get it how i like since i will be cutting into it. :)

checking out your pics :)

[EDIT] nice place for the rad!
 
So i finally got my new dremel! and some re-inforced cut off wheels, and other goodies, leaving me official flat broke (i hate rent and other bills) until the 15th, so need to find things to do until that time, i can try to do the design on the CRT case, even though i have an LCD now, can use it as a 2nd monitor i guess, can also work on my speakers too.
 
i got a case! , one i got from work, it is simple and should be fun to mod, and bets part it was free, so no worries about cutting up an expensive nice case!

So now i have everything i need for this mod! now i just need to get decent paint, but tomorrow if work doesnt bug me i am going to try cutting up the case a little and designing some layouts for harddrives.
 
This is the case, an intel server case, got 2 from work so one will hold my rig for now while the other becomes the one to get hacked to bits!

directron_2023_101864167


One problem is this thing has some thick panels, any suggestions for cutting out shapes besides re-inforced cut off wheels for my dremel?
 
This was the original lizard design i was going to do on a past case, the idea was to have the gecko / lizard hugging the case almost, as in his head would be on the top, body on side panel and tail on an angle to go around the back / bottom.....

gecko.JPG
 
Here is a pic of the Rig in all it's glory - untouched- one of my new Enermax Cluster fans on the back, should go nicely once the rig is complete, i also have a 2nd one for my Thermaleright 120 cooler to replace my Zalman s9700 which will go to cool my e4400 in my HTPC

system01.jpg



And this is the side panel, which will be my first victim this week once i get my stencil drawn onto it

panel%2001%20before.jpg


Just getting started on marking out where i can cut to.


Here are the internal to the case

internals%2001.jpg


front view of case

frontcase01.jpg




WHat i had thought, is i want to ditch this harddrive holder, since i now have an HTPC i can move 1 more drive out of this system leaving me with 5, i could rake my raid 0 array down to 2 drives, but i like 3, and i have a 2 x 640 WD drives in raid 1 for pic and stuf.

i was thinking, move the harddrive down to the bottom of the case, build custom mounts them, this would then open up the entire front for me, for likely water cooling in the future to hold a 2 x120mm rad if needed...

Thoughts?
 
Great idea on wrapping the graphic cutout around the case. Good luck on it. You should get the Hotswap sata array unit for that case, it goes in place of that removable hard drive carrier. I also think it holds six drives. Make it real easy to add more drives to the system without having to do alot of work.
 
i hate Epson! because i am out of light megenta i cant even print in grayscale! HOW gay is that! a color i am not even using but this printer wont print when 1 cartridge is completely empty!

So now i cant print out my design template to stencil onto the panel :(
 
So i got part of the case taken apart, which opened it up ALOT, but the crap part is part of what i took out and planned to keep out, housed the section to hold 5.25 drives! but i may just use an external dvd drive anyways, and use the entire front for a rad for water cooling, will get some pics up shortly, also got one speaker done! looks good, one part some paint dripped but i don't notice it since it is on the bottom, so possibly tomorrow i will start on the other speakers!
 
okay those pics i was promising, not a whole lot but you can see some progress and plans.

this is the case before, with everything in the front and a nice mess (pics little blurry, had some beers before trying to take pics)

IMG_3087.jpg


I then decided to remove all of the crap in the front of the case,

Before:
IMG_3163.jpg

IMG_3166.jpg


After:
IMG_3168.jpg




As you can see i now have a ton more room at the front, the frame work was nice to tuck in wires and such but it took up So much room.

I have put my system back in the case, but i only noticed after that some of that front frame work held in the 5.25 drives, so now i cant put my DVD back in for now, so i either figure i will make a custom bracket to hold my DVD Drive, but then i thought i may just get an external 5.25 drive holder and that way i can just use that and leave more room in the case for the water cooling.
 
I then put the pieces back in as i dont want to leave it all on my desk since it gets so dust here, I have to draw out the designs on the side panels still anways and the top if the case and finalize other design plans.

i tried using google sketch but i just cant put out what is in my head!..lol

I also installed my 120 to replace my Zalman S9700 that is going into my HTPC, too bad it seems my q6600 sucks hard, as i cant get stable over 3.150Ghz even with 1.4 volts!
IMG_3172.jpg

IMG_3170.jpg



I am only temporarily using the harddrive bay for this case as i plan to put a 2 or 3x 120mm rad on the front, i "think a 3 x 120 will fit but have to measure first....
IMG_3174.jpg
 
okay! sweet, finally got the missing ink cartridge i needed to use m y printer (have an epson r270 photo that has 6 cartridges) so now i can start to print out templates for cutting out on panels! see how this goes tonight!
 

Todays project!​


my monitor! i have a 19' Dell Sony Trinitron to which i use, still going strong after 5 years, i had always planned to paint the case of the monitor all white as well to match everything else, possibly some green lights from the inside out.

i decided my original lizard would go perfect on the side, i plan to do one on each side... so tonight may be my first cutting of anything so far :D

i moved it down from the front a bit as near that front it is all metal and i couldnt fit anything in between the frame and the internals so i moved it back a bit.

i plan to fill the cut with a thick mesh material and paint that, possible black, which will match my speakers and then have a green light inside to make it glow.

Monitor%20side%2001.jpg
 
some progress, i figure it will take maybe another 45mins to finish this, minus beer stops :D

Monitor%20side%2002.jpg
 
okay,, one side done, BUT STUPID me, instead of saving the paper io jsut cut out i tor it as above then when i was done i ripped it off INSTEAD of saving it for the other side... but now i am not sure..

Should i do the same design on the other side? keep it the same on both side...? or leave one side normal?


Monitor%20side%2003.jpg



and just in time, beer refill!

and then perhaps try some cutting out!
 
well, progress. (this is more rough cut out, afterwards i will go back and smooth it all out)

seems this bit works well on the dremel and i have some smaller ones i can use to round off the smaller corners better and it does it pretty quick as well, so that is good news.

it is kind of loud though so may have to hold off doing this tomorrow as neighbors just got home and it has a bit of a high pitch sound when cutting.


dremelbit01.jpg


Monitor%20side%2004.jpg


and CONGRATS! to me, this is official furthers on my case mod then the last attempt!
 
MrGuvernment said:
I searched google images last night over 300 pages for tribal gecko / tribal lizard / lizard tattoo / gecko tattooi found those words to give me the best images to work with but found few i really liked.//
Click to expand...

speaking as somebody who's seen thousands of tattoos over last few years, it looks a hell of a lot better on a case than i imagine it ever could on a person. kudos!
 
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