Project: Steampunk'd TJ11

[Fuganater]

Time for a good Steampunk mod. And what better case to use than the awesome Silverstone TJ11!

Big shutout to my sponsors!!

Performance-PCs is providing me with the BP mod kits, 240 and 360 rads and the Silverstone slim DVD bay.


EKWB is providing me with a EK-Multioption 250 Res and 90 degree fittings.

Hardware
Mobo: Asus Sabertooth P67
CPU: Intel i5 2500K
GPU: Unknown
RAM: 16GB Corsair Dominator 1333
SSD: Curcial M4 128 GB
PSU: Silverstone Strider 1200W
Fan Controller: Lamptron FC10

Cooling
XSPC EX480
EK-CoolStream 360
Another 360 rad
EK-Multioption 150 or 250
EK-RAM Dominator
EK-MOSFET Sabertooth P67
EK-Supreme LTX
2x XSPC 120mm radiator stand

Misc
Sleeving: MDPC-X
Yellow SMD LED Strips
Yellow LED bulbs
Sophisticated Finishes Rust Effect Kit
Old Vacuum Tubes


Lets start working! The first thing I did was do some testing with LEDs in the Vacuum tubes. Here is what they look like with an Orange LED in them. Orange is not the final color, yellow is but at the time I didn't have the Yellow LEDs in yet.

Next up was to see how the rust effect paint would workout. First lets try some fan grills.

The Paint

The Grills

Primer and Iron paint

Rust Paint

Since that test was successful I thought I should try an actual piece of the case. The dual PSU bracket seemed like a good test subject.

And the result

I am very confident in the results so I started doing more, but that's in the next update. Stay tuned by subscribing so you can see all the updates!

Cheers till then,

Fuga

 

[Thermonuclear]

Most excellent sir. I am very anxious to see the result of your work!

 

[Fuganater]

Most excellent sir. I am very anxious to see the result of your work!

Thanks!

 

[leeleatherwood]

Poor TJ11

 

[Peder]

Sub'd. I like where this is going.

 

[Fuganater]

Since testing is over its time to start on the case.

Its actually a good thing I'm modding this case because I got it used for pretty cheap. You would never get a good looking build out of this beatup case unless you paint/modify it. There are several screws missing, HDD bays missing and the front bezel was bent. I was able to fix the front bezel mostly and I ordered lots of new screws.

First thing to do is remove all of the buttons, connectors and cables.

Remove the mobo try and fans. I was going to not use the fans but I decided to make a midplate to hide them and that has cutouts for the fans. There will also be some Bitspower passthrough fittings for the tubing.

5.25" bays gone and mobo tray rails are out.

And here it is in pieces.

The first thing to do before you paint is get a nice coat of primer on the parts.

Next I started painting all the parts with the Iron base coat. This actually has iron particles in it which react with the Rust paint.

All the small bits.

And the large ones.

Next is the Rust paint. Its actually not paint. Its a chemical which looks more like blue water but you get the picture.

Just after 1 coat you can see it starting to work.

2-3 coats

5ish coats

And the first coat on the 5.25" bays

It starts the reaction only after maybe 5 minutes after being applied.

Lastly I'll leave you with some of my grill plans. I have a friend who does my laser cutting and he will do up a sick CAD drawing for me and I'll share it with all of you.

I'm going to install the 50mm fan on the motherboard so I need a grill to make it look nice. Also since I am keeping the internal 180mm fans I have to keep the side panel vents. I want to dress them up some otherwise they just look funny.

His will obviously look better than what I can draw


Cheers till next time,

Fuga

 

[haunter]

cant wait to see this unfold!

 

[mundivalur]

Interesting

 

[Fuganater]

cant wait to see this unfold!

Interesting

Thanks guys!

 

[HeavensCloud]

Cool build. Love the steampunk theme.

 

[Fuganater]

Cool build. Love the steampunk theme.

Thanks. Stay tuned!

 

[Fuganater]

I'm super siked to announce that Performance-PCs.com is sponsoring me with some gear.

Now for the unexpected results. I needed to put a clear coat on the rust because it would rub off just like real rust. In doing so the color of the rust went from a orange/red/brown to more of a dark brown. I actually like this color because it looks more like leather. Let me know what you guys think.

Mid plate with clear on it and the mobo tray under it.

I liked it so I keep putting clear coat on the rest of the parts. Here is the mobo tray painted and assembled.

Still has a rust look to it.

And compared to the PSU bracket.

So while I was painting the rest of the parts I decided to start modding the "Thermal Armor" of the mobo.

Tape applied

And marked

And here are the final results. Not sure I'm going to keep the skinny piece between the MOS block and the CPU, it isn't perfectly straight and looks in like its in the way of the design. Not sure yet what I will do.

Not sure how I will paint it but here are a few things I figured out recently.

I'm going to paint all the water blocks gold!
I will paint the 2 ribbed parts of the exterior gold.
The front bezel, back side of the case and side panels will have wood grain vinyl applied.
The Thermal Armor will either be rusted, wood grain or covered in leather!
GPU back plates will be the same as the Thermal Armor.


Things I have ordered:
50mm fan for mobo
EX360 rad
EX240 rad
2x BP MCP655 mod kits
Silverstone Slim DVD Drive bay
Acrylic

Things I need to order
BP Dual D5 Pump top
more Turbine Master fans
EK Uni Brackets for RES
250 Res

Questions, Comments and Recommendations are welcome!

Cheers till next time,

Fuga

 

[Fuganater]

I have been debating on weather or not I would paint the radiators or not for a while now. Here is what the unpainted rad looks like with the fans and painted grills.

I didn't like the look so I decided to give the rad a make over.

I'm glad the letters are still legible.

With the fan grills on. These outside ones are just for looks and to protect the fins.

Fans attached.

Black fan grills on the inside fans. I was debating on painting the fans and inside grills but it would be a waste. By not painting them I can easily replace them and not worry about having to repaint them at a later time.

Got my MDPC-X sleeving in. I have no idea what the combo will be yet but I have lots of time to think about it.

The Yellow LEDs finally came in along with the 47 Ohm resistors for them.

I pulled one out right away and started testing with the vacuum tubes.

I know they still look a little bit orange in the photos but they are a really nice amber yellow in person. They will look great with the other LED strips I have.


Now for a bit of sponsor news. I was talking to Bitspower several months ago and all of a sudden, they stopped replying to me. Well just a few days ago they finally wrote back and we are in talks again for parts. I hope to get all my fittings and the pump top from them.

I also finally got EK to bite. I started talking shop with them. Not sure all what they will be providing but I'm hoping for at least GPU blocks since PPCs took care of my radiators.



What's coming next?

I'm going to finish modding the "thermal armor" on the mobo this weekend. I want to get a nice clean fit.

I ordered a few sheets of aluminium to make a sturdy midplate. (There will probably be acrylic on top of it. I have not decided yet)

I need to do more research into "wood veneer". Someone suggested that instead of using vinyl to give the case a more natural look. After looking at the prices, its not much more than the vinyl so I'm thinking hard about it. Here are 2 that I am looking at.

This one is already finished.
http://www.veneersupplies.com/products/Paper-Backed-Teak-Veneer-Quartersawn-4-x-8.html

This one requires a finish.
http://wiusa.com/curvwood/Library-Files/teak__flat_cut.htm


That's it for today. Hopefully I can get some more done this weekend since its a long weekend but there isn't much left to do on the inside. I need to decide/figure out the veneer situation so I can get the outside done. Oh and I'm waiting for gold paint to arrive. Once I get that I can do the water blocks and some of the case exterior.


Cheers till next time,

Fuga

 

[DraginDime]

Awesome work so far, can't wait to see more! Keep up the good work.

 

[pwrusr]

in for updates...

Looks really nice so far

 

[dremic]

subscribed... cant wait to see this one complete. so far so good man keep it up!

 

[mannyman]

Looks incredible. Steampunk is always cool.

 

[shadowlord]

looks interesting! I'm looking forward to the next update.

are you using the tubes for some sort of amplification ?

 

[Fuganater]

Awesome work so far, can't wait to see more! Keep up the good work.

Thanks! More coming!

in for updates...

Looks really nice so far

Thanks!

subscribed... cant wait to see this one complete. so far so good man keep it up!

Hopefully I can finish this fastish... depends on the sponsors. Thanks!

Looks incredible. Steampunk is always cool.

Only the coolest!

looks interesting! I'm looking forward to the next update.

are you using the tubes for some sort of amplification ?

Thanks and nope. The tubes are not powered at all. They are just for looks.

 

[mannyman]

Needs MOAR Nixies

 

[Fuganater]

Needs MOAR Nixies

haha! Hopefully I can get the Lamptron FC10. That will look nice.

 

[mannyman]

Dude! I haven't seen that yet.
Its incredible.

 

[Fuganater]

Performance-PCs.com will go down as the fastest company to ship sponsor gear ever! I placed my order and got it not even a week later.

Here is the gear!

XSPC EX360 Multi Port and EX240 Multi Port

I like these rads because they have such a high FPI.

6 ports on each rad!

Up next is 2 Bitspower D5/655 mod kits

Installed on the stock pump tops. Temporary setup because I will be using a Bitspower Dual D5/655 pump top in the mod.

Finally the Silverstone Slim ODD and SSD/HDD bay. I really like this because I can fit my Slim ODD and up to 4 SSD/2.5" HDDs in it.

Thats all from them. More modding in the next update.

Cheers till then,

Fuga

 

[Fuganater]

Now I need your opinion! I got 3 different types of Leather fabric and I'm not sure which one to use. I'm going to post a few pictures of each and I'd like to hear what you have to say!


Option 1:

On the door

Close up

On the mobo

Option 2:

On the door

Close up

On the mobo

Option 3:

On the door

Close up

On the mobo

Please leave your feedback! I really want to know what you guys thing. The leather will cover the door panels, the front bezel and the motherboard's "thermal armor". Hope to hear from you guys!!

Cheers till next time,

Fuga

 

[hammerforged]

Im digging 1 or 2.

I think 2 works better with the color of the rads.

 

[pwrusr]

I'm thinking 1 would look the best overall. Looks perfect match next to the rads

 

[baldrik]

#3. The first 2 look too nice. #3 looks more worn and used.

 

[pwrusr]

#3. The first 2 look too nice. #3 looks more worn and used.

Good point!

I think I'll change my vote to #3 as well.

 

[ekuest]

#3. The first 2 look too nice. #3 looks more worn and used.

yeah i think #3 looks awesome. the first two are nice and classy, but the third looks worn and i think would look great with the rusty paint.

 

[TotalEclipse]

3 looks good but maybe there is a way to make it look more realistically worn?

I like 1 the most but if you could age/wear 3 a little more it would look great.

 

[rastaban]

Sweet build! I like the first leather look. Are you going to go with one leather for the entire build or change it up depending on location? Which parts will be leather?

 

[Fuganater]

Im digging 1 or 2.

I think 2 works better with the color of the rads.

2 is deff out. Looks too much like a football.

I'm thinking 1 would look the best overall. Looks perfect match next to the rads

#3. The first 2 look too nice. #3 looks more worn and used.

Thanks for voting!

Good point!

I think I'll change my vote to #3 as well.

Thanks. I may try to age #1 some. We will have to see.

yeah i think #3 looks awesome. the first two are nice and classy, but the third looks worn and i think would look great with the rusty paint.

Thanks for voting!

3 looks good but maybe there is a way to make it look more realistically worn?

I like 1 the most but if you could age/wear 3 a little more it would look great.

I'm gonna age #1, #3 has too much red in it I think and will pull away from the accent pieces of the mod.

Sweet build! I like the first leather look. Are you going to go with one leather for the entire build or change it up depending on location? Which parts will be leather?

I'm going to use the same leather on the whole build. I will only be applying it to the doors, back panel and the front bezel.

Thank you everyone for taking the time to vote!! Its pretty much come down to 1 and 3 where where the 2 that I liked to begin with. I'm going to go with option 1 because it is a bit more subtle and it won't take your attention away from the accent parts that I'll be painting. Some people have expressed concern with putting leather on the armor as it would heat up the mobo too much. The Sabertooth P67 is already a hot mobo to begin with and adding another layer of insulation might not be the best idea so I'm painting it to match the interior of the case.

A modding update is coming very soon!

 

[pwrusr]

Thanks. I may try to age #1 some. We will have to see.

I'm gonna age #1, #3 has too much red in it I think and will pull away from the accent pieces of the mod.

Thank you everyone for taking the time to vote!! Its pretty much come down to 1 and 3 where where the 2 that I liked to begin with. I'm going to go with option 1 because it is a bit more subtle and it won't take your attention away from the accent parts that I'll be painting. Some people have expressed concern with putting leather on the armor as it would heat up the mobo too much. The Sabertooth P67 is already a hot mobo to begin with and adding another layer of insulation might not be the best idea so I'm painting it to match the interior of the case.

A modding update is coming very soon!

Good point on #1 vs #3. I like both for different reasons. #1 Looks like it has some interesting color variations (can't tell for sure with the somewhat crappy pics (please get a better camera )). #3 has alot, perhaps too much, of rusty color pop that compliments the color pallet you're working with... Then again so does #1 in a much more subdued fashion which I think might be a better looking fit overall.

#2 is simply too plain looking. Might work well for another project, but it just doesn't seem to fit in to the steampunk theme you're seem to be going for.

 

[Fuganater]

Good point on #1 vs #3. I like both for different reasons. #1 Looks like it has some interesting color variations (can't tell for sure with the somewhat crappy pics (please get a better camera )). #3 has alot, perhaps too much, of rusty color pop that compliments the color pallet you're working with... Then again so does #1 in a much more subdued fashion which I think might be a better looking fit overall.

#2 is simply too plain looking. Might work well for another project, but it just doesn't seem to fit in to the steampunk theme you're seem to be going for.

LOL @ crappy camera comment. I don't claim to be a pro and I only have a Sony A350 so its not a very good DSLR.

 

[Fuganater]

I got tons of work done so this update might be a bit big.... sorry but at least it has lots of pictures for you

Up first is the 50mm assist fan for the mobo.

You can see that the cable is quite long. So I need to fix that.

After I got it to the correct length I plugged it in and the wire instantly broke at the connector.

So I did it again thinking I screwed up but it happened again! So the fan is in the trash now and I ordered a new one from Xoxide and hopefully it will be better quality.


I cut and straightened out the part of the thermal armor by the MOS block. Looks good now.

Here is a shot of the RAM. Nice Corsair Dominator!

I wanted to do a test fit so here are all the blocks on the mobo.

Time for some sleeving so I got out my trusty box of MDPC-X sleeving and went to work. This color works best I think to kinda match the rust.

Next I painted the 360 and 240 rad, mounted the grills and fans on them and sleeved the fans. I'm short a few fans and fan grills so the 240 does not have them on it yet.

I also painted the XSPC rad brackets.

I've heard good things about the LutroO sleeving tool so I figured I'd pick one up and try it out. I'll be using it for the PSU sleeving.

Since I decided to paint the thermal armor to match the interior of the case I wanted to remove some of the little indentations on it. So I got out the Bondo and lathered it on.

Next I sanded it down just a little bit because I wanted to keep some of the imperfections.

I then coated it with primer and the iron paint.

And here it is after a few coats of the rust solution stuff.

Put some clear coat on and put it back on the mobo.

That's all for this update.

Here is what I'm currently waiting for to arrive:
Gold paint
Spray adhesive
50mm Fan
120mm Fan grills
Lamptron FC10

I'm sure there is more but that's all I can think of right now. I'm travelling for the next few days so I probably won't have any work done till next weekend. Hope your enjoying the mod.

Cheers till next time,

Fuga

 

[pwrusr]

LOL @ crappy camera comment. I don't claim to be a pro and I only have a Sony A350 so its not a very good DSLR.

Something is amiss... I thought some of these pictures were taken with a cell phone camera from the noise in the photos. I just downloaded one of the pictures and found the cause. ISO is set to 3200. That explains where the noise is coming from. Lower ISO and increase the light in the room for better pix. Tripod for ultra steady pix too

Ok, nuff about the picture quality... I really dig the rusty paint job!! It's looking GREAT on the motherboard. Will you be doing anything paint/finish wise to the waterblocks?

 

[rastaban]

Looks incredible! What will you do for the blue on the dominators?

 

[XXshadowwaterXX]

umm isnt it a bad idea to put rust on the motherboard shield?

 

[ekuest]

umm isnt it a bad idea to put rust on the motherboard shield?

it would be bad on basically the whole computer. its not rust though, its a paint designed to look like rust.

 

[pwrusr]

umm isnt it a bad idea to put rust on the motherboard shield?

Not really, even it if was iron the top of the motherboard shield isn't touching the motherboards surface