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Scratch Build – In Progress Project Metro Last Light Aug 2014

Discussion in 'Project Logs' started by Bad Fenny, 28 Aug 2014.

  1. Bad Fenny

    Bad Fenny What's a Dremel?

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    Hi all,

    This is my first post here and only my second mod attempt and my first scratch build. I would like to preface this log by letting you know that this was originally begun back in 2013 but due to military deployments and healing of injuries I had to shelf it for over a year. So while some of the log reflects work started a year ago the bulk of what you see reflects work conducted since returning to building this year.

    After completing my first ever mod "Canticle of the Apocalypse" (I would like to post this build here but no sure where I can post it - I do have a work log for it but it is completed) I have to admit I was happy that I finished but also sad that I was finished. I really enjoyed building something with my own personal touch (can't be bought or duplicated . . . well perhaps duplicated but not bought :)). Anyway I digress . . .

    As I had my old computer kicking about, I thought why not put it to use (or at least parts of it) and build something else. I have been playing Metro Last Light ever since I finished Canticle and absolutely love the game with all its post-apocalyptic goodness. So I decided to create a tribute build. But rather than just mod an existing case, I decided this was going to be a scratch build.

    I wanted to incorporate a design which uses elements of the game to make this case. So I hit on the idea of using ammunition cans to create the case. I have seen other ammo can builds, normally a solitary can used for LAN parties. However, I wanted to be able to incorporate my existing parts and have it for a back-up computer.

    My initial plan was to replace the mobo, CPU, cooler and RAM but alas the fickle gods of all things pets rained ruin on my plan. Our one dog tore her ACL and needed surgery which ate my rebuild budget up to the point where I could afford one (1) led green fan :sigh:. So though I was a bit bummed, I decided to just use all the parts from my big box store Gateway computer and have at it. I might not be pretty inside but I really do this for the fun. Besides, as I thought about it, I figured Metro Last Light is all about scavenging technology to build things out of nothing so I figured why not incorporate that into the build :D

    So this is what I started with:

    No excitement here with my Big Box Store stock mobo, Intel i3 cpu, stock cooler and 6 GB or RAM (yup 6GB). The only really good pieces are the PSU (Corsair TX750) and the Zotac 550i GPU. Oh well, you get lemons you make lemonade or in this case a secondary computer.

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    After stripping the case and putting the parts away for safe keeping, this is the salvage I expect to use. Now when I say use, I mean tearing this case apart to incorporate it into the new scratch build a la "Metro Scavenge Style" :thumb:

    [​IMG][/URL][/IMG]

    This is the vision I had planned for the case (sorry not a rendering guru so I will have to make due with description). Two ammo cans will form the main PC case. These will be stacked. The metal at the bottom of the top ammo can will be cut away and the lid of the bottom ammo can will be cut away. This will allow me continuous access to the interior of both ammo cans. The third ammo can will hold the PSU and cabling and will be stacked to the front. My intention was to make the computer look like three stacked ammo cans. I plan on a custom paint job (inside and out) of all ammo cans. Now while the compute build will look like three ammo cans stacked together, I will also be incorporating aspects of the game on the build so there will be additions to the three cans but all in keeping with the post apocalyptic theme.

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    The first cuts - Main Tower Case

    To be honest, I had no clue if a Dremel would push through the lid of an ammo can as there is a double layer of metal :dremel:. In preparation, the rubber water tight seal had to be removed from the lid.

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    So, after some measuring I grabbed the Dremel and had at it:

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    After 3 almost 4 cutting disks, I had the lid of the bottom stacked ammo can cut and the bottom of the top stacked ammo can removed.

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    The concept looking down from the top of the two stacked ammo cans. I now have a continuous surface on one side to mount the mobo tray. I will be using the original tray from the Gateway build. I left a lip on the bottom of the top ammo can so it could be pop riveted to the lid of the bottom ammo can.

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    After some searching through old kit bags . . . look what I found . . .

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    One of my old gas masks :D For those of you who don't know the game, you can't have Metro Last Light without a "gas mask" . . . although I still can't figure out how a gas mask allows the characters to run around a radiated environment :confused: Oh well . . . it's escapism at its best so who am it too argue.

    So that is how this scratch build started. I just wanted to post the beginning to make sure this is okay for posting here before I continue with the log.

    Cheers

    Fen
     
  2. Bad Fenny

    Bad Fenny What's a Dremel?

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    Reserved for final pics :)
     
  3. Bad Fenny

    Bad Fenny What's a Dremel?

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    Ammo Can Dissection

    Back Panel

    With continuous access in the main tower (two stacked ammo cans) created, the next thing to consider was mobo placement and IO plate / GPU access. I decided to salvage the mobo tray from the gateway build but my biggest issue was fitting the GPU and IO shield access. After some careful measuring and cutting, I was able to open an area for salvage from the original case to allow me to mount the IO shield and GPU.

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    Main Tower Case Access

    I thought about this one for awhile. Originally I figured I could easily access the interior of the main tower case through the top ammo can lid. However, during a trial I found that while I could access the top portion of the case quite easily, the bottom half proved difficult. So I thought about a standard access door. The only problem was that I had two ammo cans stacked together with a lid separating the top half from the bottom. So I decided on two separate access panels (top and bottom). For the access panel doors, I decided to salvage the remainder of the old case not already in service.

    First I measure out the openings for dissection then using the trusty Dremel, cut, file and smooth:

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    Salvage from the old case was used to make the access doors. After cutting and filing, high tech bending tools were used to shape the doors to the ammo cans :)

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    This final photo shows the bottom access door in place. Both doors will be held in place by hex nut bolts for removal when required. The pen lines on the door show the original placement of an air intake fan. However due to space requirements this concept had to be changed. In lieu, this will be a large plexi window for viewing into the case. The top door panel will have a smaller plexi winder installed. Air intake fan placement will be discussed later in the log. You can also see where the mobo tray is dry fitted in this picture.

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    Air Exhaust Fan

    The air exhaust fan will be mounted in the top ammo can lid of the main tower case. This presented some challenge as the lid has a double layer of metal and the carrying handle was in the way. After some careful measuring I found I could cut from the bottom of the lid and miss the handle support as well :thumb: . . . so Dremel in hand and three cutting disks later I had the opening.

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    Hope you enjoyed

    Cheers

    Fen
     
  4. Bad Fenny

    Bad Fenny What's a Dremel?

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    Finishing touches on the main tower

    With the main tower component parts cut and ready for assembly, the only thing I had to do was find a place for the USB hub from the Gateway build. There was going to be no way to fit a DVD player into this build so an external would be required. I also wanted the ability to plug a flash drive into the front.

    After some mental decision making I decided to mount the hub in the top of the main tower lid. This took a bit of cutting (the Dremel just does not like this double layer of metal). So after a couple of cutting disks I had an opening.

    The hub plate was mounted into place and I used indoor caulking to smooth over and area between the plate and the case before priming.

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    Priming and assembly of the main case

    With the component pieces finished, I primed all the parts for the main case. I decided on red oxide primer as a base weathering coat but will be returning the cans to their original olive drab. However, the olive drab will be lightly applied so the primer still pokes through. My intent is to use the primer to create a weathered effect . . . rusty. Funny thing about nuclear apocalypses . . . ammo cans tend to rust and weather. ;)

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    Before attaching the two halves of the main tower case, I installed the IO shield plate using pop rivets.

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    To facilitate attachment, when I cut the access holes between the two cans, I left a lip around both access holes (except for the mobo side which had to be flat). I used this lip to rivet the two cans together.

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    Side of main case (with openings for access door panels)

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    Front of main case

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    Other side of main case

    This is where the PSU ammo can will be attached. The hole at the bottom right is for cable management from the PSU to the main case.

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    The rear of the main case (IO shield installed)

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    Top of main case (the lid is still fully functional)

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    Hope you enjoyed . . . any feedback is greatly appreciated.

    Cheers

    Fen
     
  5. Shoe14

    Shoe14 What's a Dremel?

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    Cool concept!

    I'm looking forward to the end result!
     
  6. Bad Fenny

    Bad Fenny What's a Dremel?

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    Hey Shoe,

    Thanks for the comment . . . much appreciated.

    Cheers

    Fen
     
  7. Bad Fenny

    Bad Fenny What's a Dremel?

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    PSU Case and PSU Modding

    The as there is limited room in an ammo can, the intent of the build was to use two stacked ammo cans for the main tower (mobo, heatsink, HD, GPU) and a separate ammo can to house the PSU. An access hole in the PSU ammo can and the main tower ammo cans will allow cable access between.

    The PSU I was using (Corsair 750 HX) took up most of the ammo can.

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    First thing I needed was an access opening to mount the PSU to. So once again trusty Dremel in hand and voila . . . one opening.

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    The PSU ammo can will also have an access panel door so I cut that into the ammo can. Final dry fitting with ammo can in place on the build. The top lid is still fully functional.

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    One of the reasons I wanted an access door in the PSU ammo can is I wanted venting as it would get quite warm in a sealed ammo can once teh PSU gets going. My concept was a meshed access panel incorporating some graphics from the game.

    For the mesh door I salvaged some mesh from the original Gateway case

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    I wanted to incorporate the iconic "M" from the game on the door and decided on the graphic below. But painting the M over mesh would have lost the depth of the colour. So I cut the "M" out of sheet alluminium

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    To age the mesh panel in line with the graphic I used a combination of sponging, brushing and rubbing various colours and textures to create the effect.

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    The "M" was painted and aged and affixed to the mesh door panel as a final step.

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    PSU Aging it METRO Style

    I started with an old Corsair HX750 PSU and stripped it apart.

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    I wanted to give it a complete paint job so I taped off everything and started with a "ruddy brown" primer which was going to provide the base rust appearance of something that has been used extensively and give it a post apocalyptic feel. Afterall what is an apocalypse without rust and wear? :thumb:

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    The final paint job consisted of a light spray of olive drab to mix in with the rusted look and some weathering using aluminum brushed feathering along the edges. I wanted it to look well used. I kind of wimped out on the attached CPU power cords and rather than doing individual para-cording (I never have luck with Corsair double cables), I gave the existing a cords a spraying of paint and weathering effects to give them a used and worn look. Hey what the heck . . . it is an apocalypse after all . . . make due with what you have . . . Right? :D

    Finally, I added some decals in keeping with the METRO Last Light theme (Communist Faction) and just to make things a little less boring :hip: The graphic reads Corsair 750HX in Russian (or least it is according to Google Translate.

    (Before / After)

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    Hope you enjoyed and thanks for taking to time to check out my log.

    Cheers

    Fen
     
  8. Bad Fenny

    Bad Fenny What's a Dremel?

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    Some cable management snags . . . with a solution

    With the case concept completed (three ammo cans) I turned my attention to cabling. My original concept was PSU cables out one corner of the PSU ammo can through to the main tower case via another access port.

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    Because of the orientation of the ammo cans the mobo would be inverted and as such the 24 pin cable would have to exit the bottom port and turn up and in to the mobo connector and the PCI-E cables would have to exit out and travel up to the top of the mobo. The problem was I was floor mounting my HD (the only place it would fit) right beside the port opening and mobility of cables was hampered. The 8 pin cable was not an issue as it could exit travel along the floor and plug into the mobo. So what to do :confused:

    So after some thought, I figured the only way around this was to feed the 24 pin and PCI-E cables out of the top lid of the PSU ammo case and into another access port at the top of the main case. This way the 24 pin cable could travel straight down to the mobo and the PCI-E cables could go straight into the GPU. The only problem with this concept would be that the cables would be on the outside of the case in plain view :duh:

    So how to hide the cables in a way that is in keeping with the theme build? As luck would have it, I was already incorporating a gas mask into the build (central piece of kit to the game) and a clip of ammunition (killing things - no need for explanation of why I incorporated that :hip:). The one central piece of kit missing was a medical kit (also central to the game - healing yourself). So I though why not make a wire shroud which looks like a medical kit and use that to hide the wires.

    So after some Dremel cutting:

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    Final concept with cables on the outside. Oh the cable coming through the small hole is the power switch and power LED . . . I have plans for that which will incorporate the gas mask part of the theme :thumb:

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    Anatomy of a wire shroud

    Firstly I used metal as the shell and fit it to the build where the wires will need to be covered.

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    Shroud dry fitted over the access hole (no cables showing so GTG :))

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    My first thought was to paint the shroud to make it look like a medical kit but a trial run had it looking like a piece of painted metal which I did not like at all :grr:

    Since I wanted it to appear as a medical pouch (the kind you might find attached to web gear) I wanted to cover it in a material which emulated webbing but was light enough to work with and more importantly easily glued down to the metal shroud. It took some searching until I ran across a field dressing at the bottom of on of my old kit bags. The packaging is plastic with a cloth texture not unlike webbing. Not to mention a "Field Dressing" how perfect is that? :D

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    The material was affixed to the shell using contact cement

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    Now because pouches tend to have flaps, I fashioned one out of sheet metal, covered and affixed the same material to it.

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    Colouring and aging was used to give the pouch a worn look (two colours of camo paint and of course a charcoal briquette to dirty things up). The red cross symbol was spray painted on once the material aging was completed.

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    The one thing missing was a strap. So I liberated one from an old backpack, gave it a quick blast of paint and used a pop riveter to attach it and the flap to the shroud. Following that one more aging session et voila . . . a medical pouch / wire shroud. The shroud will be bolted down via a hex bolt on the inside of the main case for easy removal.

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    Thanks for taking time to read my log and any feedback is appreciated.

    Cheers

    Fen
     
  9. Raiden

    Raiden Portuguese reviewer

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    this one looks promising mate!
     
  10. Bad Fenny

    Bad Fenny What's a Dremel?

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    Thanks for taking time to read and for the comment. I am glad you enjoyed it so far.

    Cheers

    Fen
     
  11. Bad Fenny

    Bad Fenny What's a Dremel?

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    Aging the interior components

    For those who are not familiar with the Metro Last Light games, it takes place post nuclear apocalypse. As such, everything is old worn, reused, repurposed and just plain nasty. So in keeping with the game theme, I decided to also age the component parts.

    Aging the MOBO

    As some of you may recall this was a low budget build and in keeping with the theme of the game . . . scrounge, scrounge, scrounge . . . well that and my dog tore her ACL when I started and ate up my real budget. But as I got going there seemed to be something apropos about cannibalizing old to make something that can still be of use. Well at least that is my story and I am sticking to it. :D

    Anyway, as I continued with my build I was looking at my MOBO (stock in the big box Gateway build I was cannibalizing) and all that bright green PCB was mocking me and my attempt to get a gritty look. :miffed: So after reading Snef's how-to about plasti-dipping the mobo I thought why not give it a try?

    Now my intent was not to do a perfect job but apply enough black to darken the mobo so it is not 100% black . . . just rough looking . . . kind of like it has been scorched during the nuclear holocaust.

    Step 1

    Started with the clean MOBO - yup she's an oldie but still has some good play in her (an Intel i3 dual core) . . . beggars can't be choosers in the post apocalyptic world n'est pas. :D

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    Step 2

    The taping - everything that needed connection or could not be coated - notice my shiny new can of Plasti-Dip (black flat)

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    Step 3

    The painting - first of two light coats. I only wanted to give is scorched looks so I was not overly concerned if some of the PCB green came through.

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    Once I removed the tape I added a few decals related the game to the mobo and aged it a bit with red oxide paint sponged on to different areas I knew were safe.

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    Ugly Heatsink Issue

    After achieving a more gritty looking mobo (I also plasti-dipped my RAM), I realized I could not just slap my old Intel heatsink back on the mobo unless it got a working over as well. :thumb:

    First thing I did was take the heatsink apart . . . HOLY DUST BUNNIES BATMAN! :jawdrop:

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    I really wanted the heatsink to pop when sitting in the case so I decided against any matt dark colours. So I figured I would go with an industrial yellow which has aged and rusted over the course the nuclear holocaust. First coat of paint was a red oxide, followed but light dusting of bright yellow and then another light dusting of red oxide. This gave me the base look to weather.

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    Final weathering was brushed aluminum feathering at the edges followed by dry rubbing charcoal dust over the finish. Finally I added a radioactive sticker to the fan . . . it is Metro Last Light after all . . . with all it nuclear goodness. :D

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    I couldn't just leave those black/red/yellow and blue fan wires haunting the look so I dug out my trusty old para cord and had at it.

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    Last thing I wanted to do was age the mounting bracket to match the top finish. So I used the same painting method.

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    Et voila the finished product

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    Now of course after all this dismantling, plasti-dipping and painting the question was . . . will it all work? :worried:

    So . . . I got everything together including the two fans I was going to use

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    Crossed my fingers and said three Hail Marys . . .

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    . . . I still worked :rock: I let it run for 40 minutes with no issues.

    Thanks for taking time to read my log any feedback is greatly appreciated as I am new to all this.

    Cheers

    Fen
     
  12. Sanjaya

    Sanjaya Minimodder

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    can't load some pics :\

    I guess now it does. maybe too big
     
  13. shinji2k

    shinji2k Minimodder

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    Very cool, I like the weathering you've done with the paint!
     
  14. Sanjaya

    Sanjaya Minimodder

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    awesome work mate. u've put a lot of effort n it's paying off
     
  15. Bad Fenny

    Bad Fenny What's a Dremel?

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    Thanks much for your comments . . . I do love gritty and grimy. Glad you enjoyed.

    Cheers

    Fen
     
  16. Bad Fenny

    Bad Fenny What's a Dremel?

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    Venting - the problem with fans in a scratch build

    The original concept was to have two fans (one intake and one exhaust). The exhaust fan would vent out the top of the main tower case via an access hole in ammo can lid. The intake fan was going to be placed in the access door of the bottom ammo case (even had the opening cut)

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    Now the exhaust fan was no problem. The intake fan was a bit more of a challenge. Now if you have ever seen the inside of an ammo can it is small and as I dry fitted my components I soon discovered the only place to put and HD was on the floor of the ammo can which meant the fan would not fit :wallbash:

    So I had to come up with an alternative placement. I thought about a fan on the floor of the primary case but ran into the same lack of space issue. I wanted the "air intake" fan low in the case as the exhaust would be at the top. So after some design renderings and a lot of soul searching, I decided to put the intake fan on the outside of the case on the front bottom ammo case.

    I was a bit concerned that I was loosing the look of three ammo cans stacked together but when I thought about it, this is a tribute build to the game and while the ammo cans are central, the build is also incorporating items and aspects of the actual game. In the game there are several big fans (I guess air intake/exhaust fans for the Metro) so I figured that placement on the build would still be in keeping with the intent of the tribute to this great game.

    I first had to cut the access port so with trusty Dremel :dremel: I got started.

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    The case is still in its basic primer state so that is not the final colour (it will be more of a rusty green). I decided to go with the same colour scheme as the heatsink fan (industrial yellow, aged and rusted).

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    The next step was to make a shroud to surround the fan to make it look like something you might find underground in a post apocalyptic Metro :naughty:

    First thing was to build the holding frame for the fan. I used sheet aluminum which I cut, bent and pop riveted to the desired shape.

    Initial bending and shaping

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    Fancy bending tool

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    Frame finished

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    The next thing I had to do was to create the top cover which would fit over the frame and be used to mount the fan to. The frame will be pop riveted to the ammo cases so I need a way to the get the fan in and out of the build.

    The template

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    Final cut finished

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    Fancy bending tool back in action

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    Naturally, I would need some sort of mesh grill for effect and I just happen to have some old wire mesh lying around in my basement (scrounge, scrounge, scrounge :D) Now since this had to look worn, aged, knocked about, etc . . . I did not spare the banging, knocking and scratching while putting it together. Weathering was achieved using a mix of red oxide, grey primer (industrial look)and my favorite weathering medium (charcoal briquette - just crush and rub).


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    The frame would be pop riveted to the ammo cases over the existing fan opening in order to allow air flow in. The fan would be placed in the frame with the cover secured to the fan (mesh in place).

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    Thanks for taking time to read my log.

    Cheers

    Fen
     
  17. Bad Fenny

    Bad Fenny What's a Dremel?

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    What to do with the hard drive?

    As I move this build along, I am quickly discovering that room in an ammunition case is limited. I was hoping to place my HD along one side but discovered that the mobo / ram prevented that plan :grr:. So I decided to move it to the bottom of the case.

    How to mount the HD so it would not be mucking up the theme with all its shiny was an issue. I thought about painting but decided against it in the end. Instead I thought I would hide it below a what would look like a venting grate. For those familiar with the game, there are plenty of air/heating ducts in the Metro and outlets have a venting grate over it.

    So to create this, I took the old HD cage and split it apart so I would have a base to mount the HD in. This will be attached to the bottom of the case with a thumb screw so it can be removed if required . . . concept below.

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    I needed something to create a venting grate (slatted type) and luckily had an extra eaves venting plate lying about which I cut apart and using my high tech bending tool (2x4 and a mallet :)) created the top piece.

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    As I wanted it to have a gritty industrial look, I did a bit of painting using oxide red and grey as well as some weathering detail and of course I have to have some warning signs on the venting cap (Russian in keeping with the theme)

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    So you might be asking what is up with the broken slats? Well for those of you who have played the game, there are all sorts of nasty mutants in the Metro and they tend to burst out of ducts at you. One nasty mutant . . . the giant spider tends to nest in/over warm air intakes . . . so I thought why not incorporate a bit more of the game? :thumb:

    Creating the Spider Lair

    I wanted to place a spider nest over the broken out slats and turned to interior silicone caulking to create the effect. For the eggs I needed a shell to place the silicone over so I used a merrete and paper to create the basic shape. This was then covered in mixture of while silicone and make-up foundation.

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    I wanted a spider coming out the hatched egg so I rummaged around our Halloween trunk and found

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    The silicone itself was too shiny so I started with a flat grey primer over the three pieces I was going to use. This was followed by three sponge coatings of "chic peach" interior latex (try explaining the paint person at Home Depot you are looking to paint a spider lair :eyebrow:). Finally, some highlighting with dark brown and an assortment of oranges, yellows and reds to add detail.

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    The other thing I decided to do was to cover the hole over which the front intake fan was mounted. I used the same material I used for the HD cage cover (eaves ventilation screen) aged it, pop riveted it to the case. This provided a continuous industrial venting look.

    The finished spider lair pieces were glued to the vent covers and everything was dry fitted into the case. I decided to add a few more spiders. Cobwebs will be added once everything is completed.

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    Hope you enjoyed and thanks for looking at my log . . . any feedback would be appreciated.

    Cheers

    Fen
     
  18. Bad Fenny

    Bad Fenny What's a Dremel?

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    Constructing the Case

    With the main tower and PSU can completed it was time to combine the two halves to complete the case. Because the lid of the PSU ammo can needed to remain functional, I had to ensure a gap was maintained between the main tower and PSU cans. This was achieved by using felt padding which had the added benefit of reducing vibration.

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    Over the bottom right hand opening you will notice a scrap of material. I decided I wanted to prevent light from leaking out of the openings so I made some home made grommets out of the same material I used to cover the medical kit wire shroud.

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    To attach the two halves I used bolts which went through the mobo tray / main tower through to the PSU ammo can.

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    Naturally a computer case needs feet and I just happened to have some old furniture feet inserts lying about. So after some drilling I had feet on my case.

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    Once the bolts were in place and feet attached the case was structurally sound. The two visible ammo can lids were still fully functional and the added benefit was that the two lid handles could be used as carrying handles.

    Case Aging - Metro Style :thumb:

    Stage 1 - Basic Wear and Tear

    Once the case was together I did some initial painting and aging. The theme is post apocalyptic so the ammo cans needed to look worn and used. I achieved basic wear and tear by applying a light coat of olive drab followed by a very light spraying of red oxide to emulate more signs of metal wear. As a final step, silver paint was feathered along edges to give the look of paint worn to the base metal.

    Some concept pictures of Stage 1 - pictures also show gas mask placement for the build (purpose to be discussed later):

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    Stage 2 - Extreme Wear: The Anatomy of Rust

    While the basic wear was sufficient there was one thing that did bother me about three ammo cans that had been sitting around exposed for 20 plus years . . . Oh yeah . . . no rust :confused:. I figured if people were using old ammo cans found after the apocalypse it is logical to assume that after 20 plus years of being exposed to the elements (not to mention nuclear fallout) they would have accumulated some amount of rust (being made of steel as they are) :thumb:

    My normal method of aging and rusting is red oxide paint, mixes of oranges and brown, some charcoal dust for texture, mix and spread. While that works well for light surface rust, it did not give me the deep type of texture you would see in extreme 20 years of rust in a nuclear fallout zone. So I tried a new approach. :idea:

    I took white indoor caulking, mixed in orange and brown to give it a rusty brown look and sprinkled in some charcoal dust to give it grit. Then I just spread it thickly over surface areas I wanted to have this deep rust. As the caulking began to set, I used a sponge to work up texture.

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    Once the caulking set into a tacky feel, I ground in large bits of wood charcoal (from my fireplace) to provide flaking metal effects seen in heavy rust. This also provided the added benefit of black areas you would see in extreme oxidization. It may not look pretty but we are only half way there.

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    Side note - if you plan to try this I would recommend an latex glove for working in the charcoal bits as it can be quite messy and hard to remove from your skin.

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    Once the charcoal bits were ground in, I let the case sit for 48 hours to cure. After 48 hours this stuff is rock hard and the only way it is coming off is with a grinder. The final rusting colour was achieved by sponging light coats of brown/orange mix to achieve different levels of rust. I also left plenty of black charcoal visible to give the illusion of deep oxidization.

    Sorry the finish seems a bit more orange than it really is . . . darn camera flash :grr:

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    Thanks for checking out my log . . . hope you enjoyed my aging process.

    Cheers

    Fen
     
  19. Mockingbird

    Mockingbird What's a Dremel?

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    Ha, I didn't pop by for a little while and then HUGE updates.

    Really like the case overall so far. (really really like it). Not so sure I'm keen on the spiders - the one-pose-flat shapes don't seem as nice as the rest of the build - if the plastic's flexible, could you bend the legs to the surface and spot-glue them in place? I think it might reinforce the sinister look (especially once the light ing's on).

    Gas mask - on/off/reset switches and HDD activity lights in the eyes??
     
  20. Bad Fenny

    Bad Fenny What's a Dremel?

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    Hi Mockingbird:

    Thanks much for the comments, I was beginning to think this was bust when it came to appeal . . . I guess aged and grimy is an acquired taste.

    I just experiment with one of the spiders and with strategic lighter placement, I can get the legs to bend. You were right they look more animated when posed . . . Thanks :thumb:

    WRT to the gas mask . . . you must have read my mind as my next post deals with that exact subject. :D

    Cheers

    Fen
     

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