Tie P5 Advanced

[imfaceroll]

Thermaltake Case Mod Invitational Build: [Australia] Corey Gregory - 2016 Thermaltake CaseMOD Invitational Season 1

Hello everyone and welcome to my build log. Firstly I would love to start by introducing myself. My Name is Corey Gregory and I go by the modding name 'Imfaceroll Gaming'.

I am 22 years old from Australia. By day I work in the engineering fields of Surveying. My main hobby's are obviously PC Modding as well as Sports and Gaming.

I like to think of myself as being an average Joe trying to achieve his goals. My PC Modding life started 18 months ago with my first pc being a desk pc. Since then I have gone on to build a number of builds for displays at events like PAX.
My PC building grew into a passion and having no access to 3D printers, Lathe and CNC machines has really helped me develop skills which have all been self taught with basic hand tools.

'If you do not give it ago you will not achieve' I live by this philosophy, something may look difficult to do but I encourage people to have ago and strive to achieve.

As you can see from the banner I am heading towards the SI-FI side of things and in particular Star Wars. I didn't want to revile too much to begin with so I feel a teaser banner is certainly fitting for this PC. Please feel free to have a guess =)

It is a privilege to work along side these top modders and I thank Thermaltake and all Partners for making this event possible.

I will be video logging Progress here: www.youtube.com/imfacerollpcgaming
and posting photos on Facebook as well as this thread www.facebook.com/imfacerollgaming

Specs:

Asus ROG Maximus VIII Forumla Motherboard
Intel Core i5 6600K
Asus GeForce GTX 980 Strix x2
Samsung 950 Pro M.2 256gb
Avexir Red Tesla 16gb 2666mhz
Thermaltake Toughpower DPS RGB 1250w
Thermaltake Liquid Cooling
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[imfaceroll]

We just received our first shipment from thermaltake, the two Core P5 Cases that we will be working with.
I got a great opportunity today to look at these cases a little closer and I am very happy with the design.
The case is a very simple sturdy design that I am very excited to work with.

I Plan on using the two Core P5's in a Star Wars themed build and in particular a TIE Fighter Advanced (Hence the name TIE P5 Advanced).

Core P5 Highlights Video:



Here are a few starter images for everyone to check out.

 

[imfaceroll]

Welcome back everyone and happy easter to all. We just received our power supply for the build, the Thermaltake Toughpower DPS G RGB 1250W Titanium Power Supply and this power supply is quite unique as you can monitor is via an app to view different information about the power supply.

I Hope you all enjoy this small highlights video and images.

 

[imfaceroll]

Another quick update for everyone, we received another surprise package in the mail recently containing some Tt eSPORTS goodies to go with our Star Wars TIE Fighter PC. Check this awesome gear out below.

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I hope you are all enjoying the progress so far, stick around to see our beginning progress shortly.
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[imfaceroll]

Here is some liquid cooling goodies from thermaltake that will be going into our TIE P5 Advanced.

More Photos shortly I hope you are enjoying the hardware goodies so far.​

 

[imfaceroll]

I managed to find some spare time today to get a few photos of the lighting that will be in the build. The Thermaltake Riing fans as well as the Lumi Color 256c magnetic LED Strips. Build progress shortly.

I hope you are all enjoying the hardware so far.​

 

[imfaceroll]

Here is the last of our hardware updates before we get into the modding. Got to take a few photos of the fittings today after work so here are a few pictures.

Sorry, got a bit creative xD

Next updates will be the build progress.​

 

[imfaceroll]

Hello my good friends! today we start showing our build and our vision of building a Star Wars TIE Fighter Advanced. I will be using all major features of the core p5 case within this build however each feature may not function as it is intended for . Lets get into our first progress.

Its funny but the idea of building a TIE Fighter didn't hit me until my wonderful fiancé wanted to go buy some plants. Hanging there right in front of us was this cool looking plant pot

But what got me was when you remove the material you are left with a quarter of a ball, and it is steel (easy to weld off and a strong base frame for what we need).

So of course instead of her getting plant pots i ended up getting some instead. however I did offer here the material inside.

I needed the inside of the ball to be hollow obviously so i can fit components inside so it was time for some dremel work to remove a few steel rods

then I had to clean up the cuts with a file

and then lastly smoothen it all out with the grinding stone

so we are left with 4 quarters looking like this

I hope you are enjoying progress so far, more updates shortly.​

 

[imfaceroll]

Welcome back guys, today we managed to get some more progress done. Now that we have the 4 plant pot quarters all cleaned up I needed to create a rough base on it using some aluminium to it gives me a surface to work off of when I do some fibre glassing and bog filling.

As a temporary way to attach the aluminium to the ball I just drilled a few holes around the frame and into the metal sheet so I could wrap it around.

A few nuts and bolts to temporarily keep it in place makes it a lot easier for me to work with.

next step I just used the dremel to take off the excess metal for the next quarter

and here is a few of the sections joined together. As you can see to bend the aluminium I had to cut slots in the metal. These were only rough and don't need to be neat because of the next step we will be doing.

I hope you guys are enjoying the progress, more updates shortly.​

 

[imfaceroll]

Here is a quick video of my progress so far =)

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[imfaceroll]

Welcome back guys, got a bit of progress done to show you all, I managed to find time to start filling in the frame work with some bog, this bog has fibre glass through it so it acts the same way as fibre glass does.

Applies pretty messy but well worth the extra strength that I need in this ball for later on.

Got it applied to the outside as well, so lets get the orbital sander going!

A few higher bits that I went over with the file as well.

I even decided to paint myself and the shed while I was at it.

And the hardest part of it all was trying to sand down that inside. Due to the concave shape of the inside the orbital sander was very difficult to use so we ended up using our delta sander.

This took ages to complete as I am only showing you one quarter of the ball. So each process was repeated 4 times over. However the end result will certainly be worth it =)

I hope you are all enjoying the progress so far.​

 

[imfaceroll]

Hey guys, here is another update for you all, I got the ball nice and smooth and I also found some sort of mushroom vent thing that I took apart to use in the build. I am not 100% sure if i will be using it but it is all part of the progress so I will show it to you guys =) I have since used some acrylic and it has worked much better so there is another spot i am thinking of using this part in =).

Just found this for really cheap at the local hardware store, thought it might make a good lip to build the window off of.

Time to shred this vent into what we need. Firstly I had to remove a few rivets holding it together

next a bit of jigsaw work to remove the bottom half.

After drilling a hole to get the jigsaw blade in, we cut the centre piece out as well

next comes the cleaning up part, a bit of file work

Some use of the grinding stone to remove any rough edges

And lastly the sanding wheel to polish it all off nice and smooth.

As I said before, I will be using this piece somewhere else now but its all apart of the progress so I wanted to show you all =)

 

[imfaceroll]

Here is progress 2 video of our TIE fighter advanced PC.


More progress soon.​

 

[imfaceroll]

Small update today, I joined two quarters together to create half of the TIE Fighter sphere.

I just used some of the left over bog that i had

I made sure i got the bog right in the gap inside and out for maximum strength

And here is always the fun part, sanding as always

I need to add a bit more bog to the sides to round it up a bit more but here is what it looks like now

 

[imfaceroll]

Hey guys, welcome back. Over the weekend I was able to get a lot of work done. I started working on the frame work that comes off the sides of the ball and holds the wings in place. The frame will be made from Aluminium channels and welded together because we have access to aluminium welding. This will keep it light. We spent many man hours cutting these channels however i will keep it nice and short and just show you a few.

I decided to get my artistic side on today and draw up a diagram with the to scale measurements from my 3d render.

Using a pen/pencil i measured out my cutting positions.

Loads of hours spend cutting frame work, no need for gym for a while.

a bit of file work and using the dremel sanding disk to clean those edges right up.

I also cut out some tabs so that the aluminium channels can slide right into each other for an easy weld.

And here is where the wings are at so far. Next I will add some width to these sections to bring it some shape.

 

[imfaceroll]

Progress three video update, I hope you guys enjoy =)

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[imfaceroll]

Hey guys, time for some more progress, today I started some cut outs for the top and bottom of the ball.

Taking measurements before I start the cuts. I want to make sure it is centred correctly.

A nice guide line to follow always helps when cutting

Using the jigsaw to cut this section of the ball out.

That is one quarter done, 3 more to go.

and here is the final result

More progress shortly =)​

 

[imfaceroll]

Joined the last two quarters of the ball together and made use of the new top and bottom cut outs.

With the top and bottom cut outs complete in the ball it gives me more room to fit the delta sander in there to give it a nice sand back.

I also took the time to start sanding out the window

While i have the sanding equipment out i used my orbital sander to sand the join down until smooth.

And lastly, a bit of filler in the small holes around the ball to make a smooth surface.

 

[imfaceroll]

Hey guys, got some more progress complete on the frame work of the sections coming off the sides of the ball. Added a few channels to try to create some shape and add some more strength to the build.

Here is where we left off from last time, we got the general shape but now i want to add a bit of width and further complete the required shape

So back to cutting up some aluminium channels

The channel is pretty hot after cutting with the hand saw and dremel so i used a few tools to remove these tabs

Lots of file and dremel work to get the channels nice and smooth

simply slides in like so

the side pieces are thinner so they simply slide into place as well

and that is the frame work for the side pieces complete.

More updates soon.​

 

[imfaceroll]

Here is progress 4 video guys, i hope you enjoy.

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[imfaceroll]

Back with another update guys, lots of cutting involved, today I am showing you guys the back section frame work of the TIE Fighter Advanced PC.

Of course starting off by measuring my cuts to scale from my 3D render.

and after a lot of cutting and file work

we are left with a hole lot of channels to weld together.

I cut out a few tabs so that the channels just slot into place for a cleaner look.

and so now we start applying some tape to hold it in place for the mean time.

and here is the final result of the back section.

More progress shortly.​

 

[imfaceroll]

Hey guys! got a lot of cutting done, I finished a lot of the back frame work as well at the wings.

Of course there was a lot of cutting involved, lots more Aluminium channels hand sawed to size.

And the clean up work with the file so I do not get cut.

Lots and lots of cuts complete.

Here is the side frame work that i raised off of the ground just to make sure that i cut the joining tabs in the correct positions.

And here is the frame work from 3 different angles.

We also managed to join the wings together as well, they will be given their angle once they are welded.

I hope you are all enjoying the progress so far =)​

 

[imfaceroll]

Hey guys =) here is progress 5 video of our TIE Advanced PC build. I hope you all enjoy.

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[imfaceroll]

Hey guys, more updates for you all =) we started cutting into the core p5 cases today and our idea with this build is to use all of the main features of the core p5 within this TIE fighter PC.

I cut out the back section of the ball also which the cables will be running through and also provides access into the back of the build.

I also cut out the metal bar running across the 4 quarters because I will be installing some metal rods to act as mounting points and to give strength.

Here is the wonderful Thermaltake Core P5 case that I am about to tear apart (sorry Thermaltake). I lines it with painters tape and marked out where i want to cut the motherboard tray out.

The 4 corners of the P5 have braces helping it to keep its strength and shape. I drilled out the rivets and unscrewed them and i will be using these later on.

The motherboard tray if now cut out and ready to be shaped to fit within the ball.

A quick test fit before we start cleaning up those edges

Time to clean up those edges with the file and grinding stone.

We also got to cut out the radiator mounts and clean it all up using the same process as the motherboard tray.

And here is where we are at with the build so far.

I hope you are all enjoying the progress guys =)​

 

[imfaceroll]

For this update i ended up working on a mounting section for the PSU. As always I like to use weird things or things laying around to build with. Well I just happened to have a brick vent and some drawer sliders, lets create something.

here are the drawer sliders that i will be using.

here is the brick vent that I am using, I am temporarily using some nuts bolts to hold it in place before it gets welded.

I will be using the Thermaltake Core P5 PSU mounting system and welding it to the brick vent.

and this is where i will be seating the PSU within the build.

The PSU slides in and out and locks VIA magnets. The cables i have are 90cm long so there is lots of slack on them to safely open and close the sliders.

 

[imfaceroll]

Progress 6 video guys =) it is starting to take shape!

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[imfaceroll]

Hey guys, got quite a bit done over the last couple of days, the whole frame is all welded and we now have some steel rods in for extra support.

As I said earlier I wanted to save the core p5 support brackets to use later on in the build and this is what I needed them for. To prevent any flex in the rod etc, I used these brackets to square up the nut and bolt so it didn't screw into the ball on an angle. The hollow inside of the bracket also means i can route a small LED bulb through and light up the gun. The rod will be cut short in future progress.

The whole aluminium frame has been spot welded, all that is left to do is clean up the welds with the grinder.

The steel support rods also acted as a great support for welding the motherboard tray to.

The Core P5 PSU mounting system has been welded in place on the brick vent and this was then welded to the sliders.

I started shaping up some body work using this mould-able aluminium, was a very easy cut for the dremel.

I put some expandable foam on the Aluminium channel and carved it out so that it had a nice defined point instead of a flat surface. This helped me to mould the aluminium to the wing shape i needed.

I used a bit of araldite adhesive to hold the aluminium in place and just taped it up for extra support while i filled in the gaps with some expandable foam.

Once again the carving starts, fairly easy light weight stuff to work with. My aim is to make a smooth transition from the ball to the wings.

Once again filling in the gaps with the foam on the underside.

Then using my hands pushing it into those gaps and giving it a bit of shape.

I hope you are all enjoying the progress so far. More shortly.​

 

[imfaceroll]

Here is progress 7 video guys, i hope you enjoy =)

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[imfaceroll]

In Today's progress i fill out the back section with the mouldable aluminium and work out mounting the radiator mounts.

Lots of dremel cutting today, don't have the grinder until later so it will have to do

A bit of Araldite 2 part adhesive to hold the aluminium sheets in place for now.

One sheet moulded into shape

now the second is applied and everything is taped down so it can dry and i can continue working.

Time to shape up some of that foam, i just used a cheap knife to carve at it

Nice and square now, gives me a base height of where i need to start the body from.

Time to play around with the radiator positioning.

Grinding down the lips on the Core P5 Radiator mount so that it sits flush with my frame work

And of course a bit of clean up

Now i am drilling some holes and riviting the radiator mount to the frame work.

Using the grinder to remove some of the excess aluminium on the ends

In order for me to route the tubes i need to face the radiator ports down, so i had to cut part of the radiator mounts wider in order to fit the fittings in.

A nice easy test fit

I hope you are all enjoying the progress.​

 

[imfaceroll]

Lots to get done in a short amount of time! Just started on the last section of the body using the mould-able aluminium.

Finally got our hands on the grinder to cut this aluminium out faster!

Used some tape to hold the sheets in place while i am working with the build.

Got the grinder out to cut the curve shape into the back end.

Turned out nicely if i do say so myself =)

Flipped the build over to repeat the same process

To keep that nice even edge i put some foam in between the top and bottom pieces

Then added a bit of tape to keep it all in place while the foam dries

All dry now so time to carve out the excess foam and clean the edges up!

I hope you guys like the progress so far!​

 

[KazeoHin]

This is notgetting the recognition it deserves. Great job!

 

[imfaceroll]

Progress 8 video guys =) I hope you are all enjoying these progress videos, it helps me to show you all a little extra that you may miss and helps to give you all an understanding of where i am heading with this build. =)

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[imfaceroll]

Time to get some strength into the build guys! This build is going to have some weight but who cares =) it is only going to be a display build, so lets get stuck into it!

Starting to fibre glass the body everyone, i started by coating the body with the resin before applying the first layer

As i add the layers i brush more of the resin stuff over it to make sure there are no dry patches.

Three layers later and this is what it looks like

All dry now and cured so its time to cut off the excess fibre glass.

On to the windows of the TIE fighter now everyone, I got the vinyl plotter out to stick some vinyl down to use as a cutting guide

weeding the bits of vinyl off that we do not need

Now i am sticking the vinyl down on some application tape so i can apply it easier

cutting it to shape

Sticking it onto the acrylic, there are a couple of rough spots but lucky this is only a guide =)

Time to Jigsaw the acrylic with our plastic cutting blade

Final result!

A bit of sanding to clean up the jigsaw marks

Here are some other windows we cut out using the same process.

Anyone want some BBQ acrylic?

The heat of the BBQ heats up the acrylic evenly where as the heat gun is good for maintaining heat in areas. I used the cut outs of the ball i had left over as a mould to get the curve in the acrylic. After that any waves left in the acrylic i can hit with the heat gun.

I plan on etching panel details into the build so today i am layering a 3mm thick layer of body filler over the body. The body filler is also a good surface for me to paint when smooth.

I hope you are all enjoying the progress =)​

 

[imfaceroll]

Progress 9 video! i hope you are all enjoying the progress, i need to get moving on the build, only 9-10 days left!

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[spugm1r3]

Slick work with the windows!

 

[imfaceroll]

You guys know how much i love the sanding so i have more for you today and a nice looking TIE Advanced body.

Starting off with the orbital sander to bring the body filler down nice and smooth, was a very fast process with the 80 grit paper.

Finishing off the side sections with the delta sander as it is much smaller.

Also took the time to get the join of the two sections nice and sharp

And here is the shaped up body

Will need to add a bit of grease back into the sliders

Time to start some detailing! Firstly with the front cut outs. I need to wipe down the wings to apply some vinyl as a cutting guide

Now that the vinyl is applied it is time to get the grinder out

A bit of hammering and using the flat head screw driver and we get it out.

Just a bit of dremel work to clean it all up

Now to install a back piece in there to work off of. I cut out some acrylic pieces and sanded them to side

A bit of araldite will hold it in place

Now i am using our foam again to fill in the edges

I also removed some of the steel rod on the guns so that i could foam around them to form up the guns.

This bigger piece that i put on the BBQ was a bit too big for the mould so it got a couple of waves around the outside. I concentrated the heat gun on each individual wave to get them all flat.

As you can see, the front half has been fixed, time for the second half of waves.

Here is what the TIE Fighter looks like with the windows on

Foam is finally dry! time to carve!

I hope you are all enjoying the progress, more shortly.​

 

[imfaceroll]

Here is progress video 10 =) i hope you all enjoy

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[imfaceroll]

Mundi a good friend from ICEMODZ.COM Has provided the build with some custom sized cables made from quality MDPC-X, these cables are longer than standard lengths to create some loose cable for the sliding PSU tray. The colours also suit the star wars theme a lot better!

 

[imfaceroll]

Lots of progress here guys! Some custom reservoirs, starting the details of the build, priming the build and working on the wings.

To kick things off, i measured up the mesh and used some painters tape to mark my cuts out for the wings

This is only one layer of mesh, there will be one layer on the inside and on the outside

Welded some legs to the steel rods inside the ball. The core P5 feet are made from steel so then have been welded to the legs and the plastic core p5 feet slide right over them

Starting to put a couple layers of prime on

Had an old reservoir so i decided to create two of my own custom reservoirs out of it. Removed the threaded part, sanded it down, and cut the tube in half.

I then cut out a bottom section for the two halves.

Time to Tap a G1/4 threading through the acrylic panels.

And now for the end caps, I also put a threaded hole in the end caps for an easy fill port.

Time to mend it all together and clean it up

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[imfaceroll]

Now what would a TIE Advanced be without Darth Vader himself? So I decided to vinyl our reservoirs

The vinyl will be getting peeled off later on. Time to prime the reservoirs!

A really old dead motherboard comes in handy for some detail parts, I have sourced all kinds of junk from the shed to use for details.

As you can see, by sanding the motherboard a tad, it reviles the copper circuit inside, i think its a nice touch to that inside area, also got some small pipes to add in.

Printed out an image of a TIE Advanced to i can circle the detail bits i have complete as i progress through.

Working on some of the ball detail so i need to get that curved shape into the detail so it sits flush with the ball.

Lots of hours later and we have some details all glued and ready to go. I used a few old capacitors/caps for some of the details.

Time to work on the top section of the ball. Measured out where i want my cuts to go.

Some more details heated up and formed into the dome shape, that mould i kept really comes in handy.

A bit of acrylic cement and this becomes a permanent fixture =)

The glue marks will not matter as this will all be painted =)

Added a couple more details so fill in the empty gaps.

And taped some mesh down to show you guys what i want to do tomorrow.

This mesh will be glued in place with a strong adhesive.

I hope you all enjoyed the progress.​