Project Om custom case and computer in 8 days

[BlackCat]

About a week ago one of my friends approached me needing a computer for school. Being that this is what I do I said no problem and we started planning. to begin with he wanted a cheap computer that could do a lot more than he could afford but I worked with him and we worked out a good happy medium. At this point he then looked at me and said "I want an original piece from you" to begin with I thought he just meant the computer but then we got to talking and he had seen some of my mods and wanted me to create something unique for him. So after configuring the insides I went over to his house to collect money and ideas...
After talking a little bit about it he finally came to the idea of a Tibetan temple.... now with the budget he gave me a complete fabrication wasn't really an option money wise... or time wise.. so I sat in my car waiting for my wife to come back out from visiting a friend of hers and started sketching... this piece had to be unique both for him and for me... had to be something I could do in time, on budget, and that would just blow his socks off when he got it...

Day 1 ....
SHOPPING! funny that I can go to the store with my wife and moan and groan the entire time but when it comes to computers I can spend days looking for just the right thing (while she moans and groans the entire time..ok so not really) Day 1 consisted of finalizing and putting in orders for all the parts.... insides and a few mod pieces, lights and such. then running around town picking up various pieces of the mod such as plexi, wiresleeving (kinda) wood and other various items... And lets not forget the case it's self the base of this piece.... ran to C0mpUS@ and started looking. I know I could find cheaper cases online but two problems Time and Money By the time I paid shipping on one of those cheap cases and got it I would be spending about the same money besides the fact I don't have the time because I need to be modding while things are being shipped. so I visit 2 stores and the first one doesn't have the one I'm looking for the second has it... Yes... so I end up walking out with the cheapest case in the place total coming to just over 27 bucks. I know I can do better than that but hey 27 isn't bad and frankly it doesn't matter what it looks like because I'm going to be altering it so much it won't matter. Without further ado... enough of my blabbering... on with the good stuff.... the pictures.
Don't Mind my horrible hand sketch but it gives an idea.

Some inspirational pictures

Some pictures of the case and the first thing i do with every new case... Pull it completely apart and firure out what ideas work and what dont.
the main structure

Side Panels

Little bit of work on the front panel basically smoothing it out and prepairing for the next step of the mod

Ok back to work i'll try and post more tonight

 

[pilotman2004]

Awesome, will watch to see how this turns out. Especially since it is guarenteed to be done soon! The tibetan temple theme is very interesting, should be cool.

 

[spidy]

I've been following your High Octane & Diesel project, and I must say it is very impressive. I expect nothing less in this project. Although I'm sad to see the project taking away from diesel Can't wait to see how this turns out.

 

[BlackCat]

trust me i want to finish up the high octane mod but this one is paying me and is a really good word of mouth move

 

[pilotman2004]

but this one is paying me and is a really good word of mouth move

And without money, nothing else can be done. I know, I'm broke, so any major mods are waiting for this summer when I will have a job. Curse you college! 

 

[BlackCat]

So day 2 went fairly well but a lot of things didn't fall into place like they should have. mostly a lot of lost or borrowed tools. The design is coming along fairly well these are just some pictures of what progress i got yesterday Theres a bit more done but i forgot to take pictures of it so i will try and post those later on when i get a few moments

Quick project:
LED Change. The LEDs that came with the case were green for power and orange for the HDD indicators That just won't work with the color scheme i have in mind so... say goodbye

Pull out a couple yellow and a red...

Poof colors are correct now nice red and yellow theme. They won't be in the place they are now as the front is going to be mostly smoothed out and redesigned.

Next a few shots f the side panels sketched out and ready for cutting as well as the basic form of the additional wind and water designs for the left panel.

Wind and water rough shapes to give basic placement ignore the line in the center of the panel

The right side panel sketched and waiting the window will actually be frosted and made to look like a traditional asian sceen since there won't be much to see on that side it will act as a nice "mood lighting" kinda effect

Back to work update you all later

 

[pilotman2004]

You should use rice paper in the window. Get two thin pieces of plexi, and sandwitch the rice paper between them That way the paper will be protected, but you will still get the look of the paper, and the yellowish "mood lighting" effect.

 

[gigglebyte]

You should use rice paper in the window. Get two thin pieces of plexi, and sandwitch the rice paper between them That way the paper will be protected, but you will still get the look of the paper, and the yellowish "mood lighting" effect.

I like that idea...but you don't need two peices of plexi for it if you secure at the edges on the inside since nobody should be touching it there

 

[twyztyr]

I like that idea...but you don't need two peices of plexi for it if you secure at the edges on the inside since nobody should be touching it there

But the inside will eventually build up with dust, and trying to clean it would suck. No case is ever completely dust free.

This looks really neat.

 

[Wuffiman]

Build in a fan filter who keeps the dust outside ;]
a PC won't be all the time clean the best solution is to clean it up every month so the case won't be dirty ;] just take your vacuum cleaner and clean it up and the pc will live long enough :>

Wuffiman

 

[CrimandEvil]

Very cool idea, hope there an update soon and it's great to see another guy in Colorado here.

 

[BlackCat]

Day 3 went actually very well got my tools and the supplies i was missing early and got strait to work.
First task cutting some plexi for the window.
All messured up and drawn up...

Cut the top piece there is for another idea that i'm not sure will work with the space i have

At which point one of my orders arived the motherboard CPU and HDD

Time to work on the front planel now that i have the hardener for the bondo again:
Screened in from behind to support the bondo going in...

First coat drying

While thats hardening time to work on roughing in the wind and water a little more

Back to the front panel no that it's nice and hard
Sanded down looking much better if you didn't catch it yes i'm deleting the outside 3.5 bays mainly because first off i have nothing that will be going there and second because floppy drives are pretty much a thing of the past and if he ever wants somthing to go in those bays he will come back to me to do it anyhow and then i will figure out how to put one in.

Second coat goes on thick..

second coat sanded down

The right side panel is now cut out and the window just placed to see fit looks good
If you were wondering yes it's frosted and yes that light spot is frost from sitting outside to long. got a bit cold.

Left side panel cut and on the box

Right one on the box

Time to start on earth crystals
I'm just going to say that basically the process evolved as i went and yes i will be fixing some of the minor divots

Then i roughed in the fire without even thinking of taking any pics sorry (friend came over and chatted with me while i did this so i got a bit distracted.)

 

[R!P13y]

Just one ? why do you have a window on the backside of the case? looks good though

 

[BlackCat]

there are going to be windows on both sides

 

[xhx]

this 8-day build concept is cool! it's like the car/bike/whatever shows discovery and TLC are so nuts about right now...someone call the marketing types and sell the idea!

 

[corebreach]

I can't wait to see more of this. The pics of the blue foam alone are very enticing.

 

[BlackCat]

day 4 went honestly badly i didn't get a lot of sleep so i was a bit slow but i got a lot of little detail work done fire and earth are nearly ready for paint and wind got overhauled and is coming along nicly now water i've been having a few issues with but that will be day 5 mostly. on with the pictures...
To start out to m suprise the ordered parts actually came earlier than i had expected..

So now most of the componenets are ready for instalation but the case isn't...

Only waiting on the lights, DVDRW, and some rounded cables..

Fire more detailed which took a while considering every piece was hand sanded

Wind is being a major issue i started detailing it but wasn't happy with the outcome the over all depth isn't working for me. heres where i got before overhauling

A few shots of the right side panel laid out ...

Wind overhauled and cut apart to add more depth this is a roughing phase of it but gives the idea.

Not happy with the relativly strait angle on the tips of the fire i worked on the tips some to alter that heres the outcome...

Now that all the pieces are in i need to focus on at least getting the inside cages and such ready for assembly so i tear it apart more and get it ready for paint. Heres a picture of it sitting waiting but unfortunatly it was to cold to paint not to mention getting dark that will have to wait for day 5.

So over all honestly i'm dissapointed with the progress as it "needs to go to paint" but it's coming along well.
Back to work...

 

[BlackCat]

Let me begin by saying day 5 dissappeared not sure what happened to the pictures but honestly not a lot got done on day 5 because i had a business meeting to attend and that took forever. but general jist of the work done on day 5 is got wind a lot more complete (you will see the pics from day 6) and got a supply of paint for the elements overall thats about it minus a little more detail work. so on with the big update of day 6

We start out giving the fire and earth a little bit of a protective coating so that i can spray paint them when the time comes

Giving water a little more detail basically ended up layering it and dropping the layers down to give it more depth

Finally starting on the temple front facade here are some pics of the begingings to the front tiers

Shapping them down to get a rough form

side shot

One more coat of bondo put on to get ride of more minor imperfections

Sanded down

The guy i'm building this for goes by Wind pretty much everyone knows him by this name and frankly it's very fitting so i looked up the Japanese symbol for wind and it will become the front fan grill and a sort of badge for his box. Kind of a signature.

After this picture i began cutting it out and had a lot of problems with it since i couldn't find a bit small enough to cut out to the points you will see the outcome a little later. i forgot to take pics
Mounting the window... drilling a few holes for bolts that will be covered up

Now some fun pictures of the entire thing together basically a general overall seeing how far it has progressed and looking at how the pieces all come together

Then i went on to start creating the top temple roof basic roughing in but it gives a feel so... You can also see the beginings of the handles for the case

On the right side window (the one to become a asain screen) i used a frosting effect hopeing it would give me enough blocking of light but unfortunately it's more transparent than i would have liked so we move on for some paper instead and of course end up going back to the original method used

So overall things are coming together but i wished i had gotten more of day 5 to actually work because now we are running into crunch time to get it all completed. I can pull it off but it's not going to be easy so bare with my updates they may be the only down time i get.

Back to work....

 

[BlackCat]

Just a really quick note...

Help me out here people give me the push of inspiration and encouragement i need to get this done.

 

[laserdemon]

Just a really quick note...

Help me out here people give me the push of inspiration and encouragement i need to get this done.

here I go...lets see if this works....

Get it done or we will have to get some new pics of Steve in a bra or teddy in this thread.

I hope thats enough encouragement.

I love what youve done so far, looks very nice and a great concept.

 

[Morphes]

3 days to go, and spray paint on foam doesnt work so well, just heads up it desolves the foam.

 

[derrick1623]

i am unaware of the effect of "pvc" glue on styro, but when that stuff cures, its slick, and hardened., and can be painted over. try it out, see what happens

 

[Drucifer]

Man, the stuff you are doing there inspires me to break out the bondo and modelling clay again. Get 'R Done... I need to see it!

 

[BlackCat]

already know about the paint and spray paint not mixing thats why all the styro has to be coated time consuming but it's gotta be done so.

 

[derrick1623]

blackcat, like i said try pvc glue, if it doesnt eat the stryo, itll leave you a good surface to finish however you'd like.

 

[Muttsta]

This is awesome, can't wait to see it done

 

[Morphes]

oh okay i must have read over that, good thinking just didnt wanna see your whole project in the trashcan cuz that would suck alot. Cant wait to see the ending

 

[rogue_jedi]

very interesting concept. how well is the styrofoam going to hold up?

 

[corebreach]

very interesting concept. how well is the styrofoam going to hold up?

I imagine painted foam is like crème brûlée. Hard on the top, and then crack! soft past the outer shell. Ok I'll shut up now.

 

[BlackCat]

given the proper coatings it can hold up well.

 

[scott77]

what coatings?

 

[BlackCat]

One word.... disaster.... i think i can still pull it off but it means i don't have time to update right now. will post as soon as i can.

 

[corebreach]

One word.... disaster.... i think i can still pull it off but it means i don't have time to update right now. will post as soon as i can.

You have the support of all of us in meeting your deadline!

 

[AaronP]

Very nice, I look forward to your next update .

 

[BlackCat]

So aparentlymy days were a little scewed Originally i had planned for the build in 8 days from parts to finish so technically the first day of shopping was not suposed to be day one on the work log so basically take each day and move it back one in other words what i'm posting now is from day 6 not 7

On with the good stuff

First we test with some base coats of paint

Next the top coat that will go on the elements (specifically Fire)

Now the top temple facade

Next we have to take care of a few imperfections of the side panels before paint just some holes for ventalation that must be taken out with some bondo

With the bondo in

Water and Air finally getting close to paint...

Top temple facade with bondo...

Front panel one more time with the bondo

After a good sanding on all of the bondo pieces

Next we need to work out the arches and rock garden on the top of the case (behind the temple)
first we start out with the basic arches

Adfter some rough shapping with the jigsaw

After a good sanding on all the sharp edges

Drilling piolet holes for the futre screws

Put together and looking pretty good

Put ontop of the case and the walls cut for the rock garden

The screen facade much further along

And finally some paint goes on
Side panels...

Fire and earth..

Top

And because i could resist one shoot of the side panel in place

Still a lot to do but i'll be putting in some late hours

Just a quick note if you hadn't guessed by now all the days are usually posted the day after so i have a full day of progress to show you guys...

Well i'm finally off to bed for tonight to wake up early and bust some ass...

 

[CoRPS]

You got a lot done, and damn quick.. Nice.

 

[pilotman2004]

Looks great! I like how the fire turned out. Might I suggest using some orange to add some highlights to the fire? Can't wait to see some pics of how you paint the rest of the "elements".

 

[Drucifer]

[

And because i could resist one shoot of the side panel in place

That is freakin' gorgeous!

Great job so far!

 

[Morphes]

lookin good, are you gonna keep the black like it is or are you gonna go for super shiney look? just curious

 

[DarkMonkey]

Lookin' good, can't wait to see it finished How much is this mod costing?