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Case Mod - In Progress Project: Fluttershy - Almost Finished!

Discussion in 'Project Logs' started by AK71, 10 Nov 2011.

  1. AK71

    AK71 What's a Dremel?

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    Well, having been a lurker for a while I have decided to post my latest mod, this is my first work log so please be kind to me :)

    I have been a modder for a while now and have completed several in the past. I have done the usual - repainted beige box with window and LED fans, black and green Matrix themed case when that was the fashion and also the clear acrylic case with painted and stealthed interior inspired by Orac3.
    This time however, my mod is based on my own ideas and is themed on my latest love - Friendship Is Magic, the latest iteration of My Little Pony. In particular my favourite and best pony, Fluttershy [​IMG]

    There is bound to be at least one pony hater here on the forum but please remember, love and tolerance! As far as I can determine, this is actually the first casemod based around Friendship Is Magic in any form, or at least I can't find anything on the internet...

    After several weeks of contemplation and cogitation, I have decided to use a Cooler Master Storm Enforcer case as the base. Here is a reference image in case anyone isn't familiar with this case, I forgot to take my own photo as I ripped it apart (I mean carefully dismantled it) as soon as it arrived.

    [​IMG]

    This won't be the most detailed mod ever, I am limited on funds so I am limited to a paint job with custom wiring and lighting. The main colour will be yellow with pink details to match Fluttershy's colour scheme along with both pink and yellow lighting.
    Please don't laugh at the hardware I am using, I can't afford a new rig and as much as I would love a P67 Sabretooth with Sandy Bridge CPU, 560 Ti graphics card and nice fast SSD, I am only able to use the hardware in my current system. If anyone wants to sponsor me though, all donations are gratefully received :)

    Motherboard Asus M4N68T-M LE V2
    CPU AMD Phenom II X4 840
    Memory 4GB Corsair DDR3
    CPU Cooling Arctic Freezer 7 Pro V2
    Graphics Card Gigabyte 7600GT with passive cooler
    Storage 250GB and 1TB Samsung Spinpoint HDDs

    That's enough background for the time being, on to the mod itself. First thing I have done today is to start painting. Along with a couple of small mods.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    First thing to do was to sort out the old power and HDD LED lens. I don't intend to have a power LED, so I am using the old large lens for HDD activity. This meant painting the reverse side of the clear lens with silver paint and filling in the smaller HDD part of the lens and symbol on the outside of the top panel. Then it was on to painting.

    [​IMG]

    The main, stripped case frame is the first patient.

    And the first batch of parts all primered and ready for colour paint.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    May post later if I primer some more parts or start with colour spraying, just waiting for the primer to dry properly.
     
    Last edited: 6 Mar 2012
    boiled_elephant and Malvolio like this.
  2. RedManc

    RedManc What's a Dremel?

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    I couldn't have chosen to more unrelated pictures as the two in the beginning of this post!

    Good Luck with the build and thanks for posting a log its always nice to read them :) Also you can save a fortune on paint and primer by the way, find a car parts shop they can usually order some paint in if they don't stock it and it can be half the price that the one you have there.

    Keep on modding!
     
  3. AK71

    AK71 What's a Dremel?

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    Thanks :) The paint hasn't actually been that expensive for this. I have got really good matches for the yellow and pink and it has only cost me about £40 for everything. Labour at a spray shop would be more than that!
     
  4. AK71

    AK71 What's a Dremel?

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    Update 12th Nov

    Sorry for the continued crappy photos, first batch were taken with my phone but now I have found my digicam and I'm still getting used to it...

    No update yesterday as I was busy working, so here are my latest progress shots before I start working today.

    The case originally has mesh 5.25" bay covers with dust filters. This seemed a little pointless to me, the door will block all the airflow but it gave me an idea... First shots of the colours being used

    [​IMG]

    At the top is the original mesh bay plate, in the middle is a piece of plasticard I cut to fit then painted and at the bottom is the plastic support structure that fits the bay to the front panel.

    [​IMG]

    The assembled face plate. I only made two of these, the case has four slots but the other two will be for the optical drive and a fan controller. With the case using 200mm and 120mm fans there are only three in total but I always like to be able to control the fans for the best compromise of noise and airflow.

    [​IMG]

    The completed front panel with painted lower mesh reinstalled and door hinges along with the painted bay covers. Just waiting for the lacquer on the reset switch to dry and the front door to be painted.

    [​IMG]

    And a close up of the front panel showing the colours, even if it's a bit out of focus :waah: I'm happy with the colours so far, they seem to be a reasonably good match for the ones I wanted without going to the expense of getting aerosols matched to the proper Pantone colours or paying for a professional paint job. Besides, I like doing this stuff myself!

    While waiting for various coats of paint to dry, I managed to part sleeve my Antec PSU.

    [​IMG]

    I only part sleeved it for a reason! The PSU and wiring will be totally hidden when I'm finished, I will be making a painted cover for the PSU and the bit of wiring seen before it disappears behind the motherboard tray. I have a cunning plan for the wiring that will be seen plugging into the motherboard and optical drive :) Also with the rest of the wiring not being sleeved saves space and makes it easier to move around in the space available behind the motherboard.

    [​IMG]

    Also sleeved the ends of the cables for the two switches and HDD LED. Again, only the ends will be seen and I want to save as much space as I can for when it comes time to finally wire this thing up!

    Well, time to get back to work I think. Plan for today is more painting (sigh...) and I will also be starting on some soldering. I need to replace all the LEDs in my two 200mm fans. There's no room for red in this mod!
     
  5. adidan

    adidan Guesswork is still work

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    This is the last thing I ever expected to see on this forum....:eeek:

    That said, to each there own, some tidy work going on there. Keep on posting the progress. :thumb:
     
  6. AK71

    AK71 What's a Dremel?

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    Painting for 12th Nov

    Here's a quick update of the painting I've managed to get done today.

    [​IMG]

    The main shell of the case just about done. I haven't sprayed much of the rear of the motherboard tray or the parts that won't be visible. I want to retain parts of the original finish in these areas if I need to move my cable tie bases. This case has an excellent cable management with lots of points throughout the case where cable ties can be attached but I may need more.
    I have already stuck a few in place but until I come to actual cable management I'm not 100% convinced they are in the right place.

    [​IMG]

    A close up of the upper rear fan mount showing the paint finish. The pale yellow actually covers quite well and I am very happy with the shade. Now I can't wait for the lacquer to dry so I can start putting stuff back in this thing!

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Shots of the PCI slot covers and tool-free 5.25" retention thingies. I'm sticking with the theme here of yellow with as many detail pieces in pink as I can get away with without overpowering things... Also in these pictures are the 24 pin and 4 pin motherboard connectors. I couldn't even get yellow ones, let alone pink so they were painted. Unless I get donations or can somehow get money for better hardware, these plus the SATA connector for the optical drive are the only power connectors that will be visible.
    Just waiting for my order of ATX pins before I can get to work with the power cables using,

    [​IMG]

    this! 16AWG OFC cable, it's also much better than using standard PC power cable as it's extremely flexible.

    Light is going here now so time to break out the soldering iron!
     
  7. AK71

    AK71 What's a Dremel?

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    Update 13th Nov

    No comments?? I'm surprised if I'm the only brony on this forum...

    Just a quick update as I've finished painting the case shell. This shows the colour scheme coming together, really happy with this so far. Looks like I'm the only person who likes it but at least it's different!

    [​IMG]

    Pink feet! Also reinstalled all the little bits and pieces like rubber PSU supports and dust filter, grommets on rear panel and a PCI slot cover on the storm guard slot. I never take my PC anywhere so this is a feature I will never be using.

    [​IMG]

    Tool-free 5.25" thingies and finally a couple of full shots

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Now I'm waiting for a couple more things to arrive in the post, then I can install the fans, PSU, front and top panels plus fan controller. Hopefully the postman will bring them tomorrow :)
     
    yassarikhan786 likes this.
  8. adidan

    adidan Guesswork is still work

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    I had to look that up. That may answer your question. :lol:
     
  9. KidMod-Southpaw

    KidMod-Southpaw Super Spamming Saiyan

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    You make me sick :D
    May I ask in all due respect what is so great about the show for there to be "bronys" all over the internet?

    Other than that, I really like this so far, nice work on the painting and I'm looking forward to more of this "controversial" mod.
     
  10. AK71

    AK71 What's a Dremel?

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    Lol, that may explain it. I'm not saying there should be bronies everywhere, just that there seem to be a lot of them...

    I just like everything about it really; the animation, characters, humour, stories... I haven't enjoyed an animated show this much since the 80s. Plus the creativity of the fandom in general. It has inspired me to be an artist too, before I discovered it my artistic outlets were limited to wargames miniature painting and case modding.

    And thanks for the compliment, this is definitely a controversial mod. Especially with the colours I've chosen to use :lol:
     
  11. yassarikhan786

    yassarikhan786 Ultramodder(Not)

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    Nice paint job :).
     
  12. AK71

    AK71 What's a Dremel?

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    Thanks! Just have to make sure I can get as good a finish on the side panels and door as I've got on the other panels...
     
  13. KidMod-Southpaw

    KidMod-Southpaw Super Spamming Saiyan

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    I'll let you off this time then :thumb
    If I can pick one, it's thunderbirds.
     
  14. Sutura

    Sutura What's a Dremel?

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    What....uhhh...let me put my glasses back on....what...uhh....Am I seeing the correct colours- pink and yellow....what have you done to one of my favourite cases? This is madness. This is bit-tech modding forum. :D

    Joke aside I support you for stepping up and making a mod, but...uhh..its really hard believe me :). Tell me you have a small daughter and she has a birthday and I will be fine :)
     
  15. Hazda

    Hazda What's a Dremel?

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    The colour is totally not my thing but the quality of it is really good. More ponies.
     
  16. xXSebaSXx

    xXSebaSXx Minimodder

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    I'm one of those that doesn't understand the whole "Brony" thing, or why it is that so many grown men/women are so attracted to that show. But to each their own; if it makes you happy and want to be a better person... I say go with it. :D

    As for the mod... Certainly unusual, but so far the paint job has been well executed. The yellow and pink go well together. This mod will certainly keep people talking for sure. :thumb:

    PS: You may already know this. There is a big community of Bronys over at overclock.net. You may want to go put this work log up on their modding section.
     
  17. AK71

    AK71 What's a Dremel?

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    @Sutura No daughter, no birthday. This mod is entirely for me and will be my main rig. I have plans for my next mod already but this current one will still be my main rig :D

    @xXSebaSXx Thanks for the compliments! It's certainly an unusual mod alright, I wanted my first worklog on Bit-Tech to be something that stands out from the norm without being a mega budget, all-the-best-current-hardware super scratch build. All props to the modders who make them though, I always learn something from reading their logs.
    I'll have to investigate overclock.net too. Thanks for the heads-up on that one.
     
  18. Malvolio

    Malvolio .

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    You're not alone on this forum, I assure you. /)(\ Brohoof!

    Very well done so far, though I do wonder if you'll do something with her cuitie mark at all? Even if you just grab some sticker paper and print them off it would look well nice and add just that little bit more to differentiate it from just being another pink and yellow case.

    Edit: oh, and Derpy is best pony.
     
  19. AK71

    AK71 What's a Dremel?

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    Thanks and *Brohoof*! This is definitely going to have pictures of Fluttershy and/or her cutie mark! I have lots of flat surfaces I can add designs and details to. There will be two covers inside, one covering the PSU and another filling the area between the motherboard tray and drive bays at the front. Then I also have a nice flat right side panel to play with too.
    Luckily I can draw the vectors myself then get them printed by a graphics company at a later date. I'll be deciding what is going where when I've got a bit further along and have more of an idea how it's all going to look.

    Oh, and Derpy is second best pony. At least in my opinion...
     
  20. adidan

    adidan Guesswork is still work

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    Seriously, I must have gone mental or something.

    :confused::confused::confused::lol::lol::lol:
     

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