Suggestions for materials

[DeathPrincess]

Ive never made a custom case before, but ive done lots of other "creative" things, such as scultpting (horror/cyborg minatures not sculptures). So i'd like to use that experience. I'm fine with sculpting, but not so fine with other DIY things (maily because I don't own a saw or drill, but I could use one if I had to). SO i'm going to be sculpting the whole outside based on a prebuilt case. (lazy?)

Anyway design!

It did it in 10 minutes with a purple pen! bwhaha. I zoomed in lots to make it clearer. (ignore the doodles and that I don't have a ruler)

I'm purple and green obsessed. So thats the color scheme, with black as a main.

To fix the face on the front i'm using a hinged front door. (i'll fix the tubes on with magnets). So the driives can be opened. (practical). I have a lexa s case that shall do fine (and its cheap)

But here is the problem. I'm used to working on smaller things. maximum of about 12 inches. Covering a whole case in the usual materials would be very costly (8$ for about 300g). So my question is, is there any easily availible sculpting material thats durable enough to cover a case in. (im clumsy) and can be painted filed etc, and is cheap? I've heard of something called milliput, but i'm not sure how strong that is.
I've got a load of tubes and wiring from various other things I do, so they wont have to be done,mainly just the face and detailing.

 

[Olle P]

My instant gut feeling says "polyurethane".
That's a stiff foam that can be cut and filed.
Normally used for insulation in houses. Purchased either in the shape of slabs, about 2" thick, or as a sticky expanding filler in spray cans. I'd recommend going for a slab.

On top of that a layer of plaster to get a smooth finish.
(Miliput is great for tiny details, but not for big jobs like this.)

Don't forget to make holes for the ventilation of the case!

 

[DeathPrincess]

Thanks for the advice! When you say plaster what kind to you mean, for example? How thick would it have to be not to crack?

I'm definately going to look into the insulation foam, I didn't think of that! I was going to use various bit of plastic tubing (like sewer pipes) etc. to bulk out the underneath and cut down on weight.

The top of the case is grilled, but has a radiator sitting on it. It's not very clear from the drawing but the side is a black window with a fan, and theres a intake/outtake att the front 140mm/back 120mm/top 2x 140mm (i'm using 120's because of the RAD)/bottom (PSU) Their well hidden! Even though im using fermi, I am hoping it wont be a problem. Do you think it shall need more?