Scratch Build – In Progress Red, White, and Blackie...

I'll be buying a new Core 2 Quad computer. I'll have a 2-computer setup in my room, and since my current mod project, aptly named "Violet Reaction"(I wont be posting a link, for fear of being blacklisted from this site ), will cause me to do a makeover on my room(aside from the casing), I decided to go all the way and mod the old Core 2 Duo computer that I'm currently using.

I've now named this certain project "Red, White, and Blackie", based on the age old fact that most Filipinos in the provinces often name their dogs "Blackie"(regardless if its even the dog's actual color), I decided to go with that tradition. Besides, I went for a Black, Red, and White color theme.

My funding is running a bit low thanks to my "Violet" project(and with an intense desire to build something), "Blackie" is gonna be a scratch build. And I went for one of the cheapest materials that a modder could think to use... PAPER PRODUCTS.

No, it wont be made of paper, just somewhat like it. I'm constructing this with 3% Bainbridge Cold Press Illustration boards, 20% BestBuy(a local brand) illustration boards, 12% transparent acrylic panels, 10 percent aluminum, 5% assorted plastic, and 50% FOAM BOARDS. Probably unwise right? But then, I plan to let everyone know that it's worth it.

So wish me luck, or a miracle. Suggestions are welcome.


This is my current control center. Yes, I know... it aint much, and it's real messy, but that will soon change. That red, green, and yellow thing that's glowing on top of the monitor is an old amplifier. Decided to use it since it was just gathering dust here at home, because of this amp, it was possible to use.......



.... the Sony speakers that used to be hooked up to my Dad's stereo component. He gave us the stereo Hi-Fi component, but nobody here uses it. So I decided to use the speakers on my pc instead. Now I got myself a 5.1 setup. hehehe. That's my old Core 2 Duo right next to the sub.

Unfortunately, I dont have any 3d plans of my designs. Just following what's in my head.


Acrylic, courtesy of a friend...




Preparing the fans, and trying to assess how many I'll be using for this build. Researched on foam board's material-reaction in relation to heat. And like a certain dumb Filipino celebrity once said... "you can never have too many fans."



9mm thick acrylic, will serve as the flooring of the case.



Aluminum L-beams... will provide support.


I dismantled my computer table, and I'll be building it into a much more ergonomic workplace.

This is what my room looks like now, after devastating my computer table. Everything will be nice and dandy in a few weeks. And my control center will be better.


Made some test cuts for the design that I'll be going for. These in particular will be used for the HDD enclosure.


Primered the mouse. This used to be white with a gray bottom. Doesnt match the color scheme. Gonna paint this black and red.



Testing, to see how it looks.



Measuring... designating where the screws will be.


This is the bottom part of the mouse done.



I changed the LED bulb from ordinary red, to superbright red. Though I'm not sure if the resistors on the PCB would even let this bulb shine to it's fullest, but what the heck, I changed it anyway.


First time I painted something that came out nice...

 

Glued the fans together... these will serve as the lower level front intake fans. And yes, I do plan to take off those warranty stickers. I hate that they have to put it on the fan blades.


As I promised, used foam boards to make the fan bracket... dual purpose actually. Will be able to hide the fan wires, and at the same time, the foam will suppress any vibration or noise the fans will make.


I'll have a cover on the top to hide the wires... to make things a bit neat.


Painted the knobs on the amplifier to match the color theme. "DIGIRAL" hahaha, this amp must've come from Japan. Thinking of covering that front plate. I hate the flashing red, green, and yellow light on it too, so I think I'll be soldering new LEDs on it.


Making the HDD enclosure...


Cutting with my X-acto knife. I feel like Hannibal Lecter...


I hate it when this happens... it would be nice to have a car when I transport stuff from the store to my house. Unfortunately, I dont.


But then, a damaged foam board doesnt really stop me... cutting with my trusty utility knife.



Tired of working on the HDD enclosure, but I aint gonna stop. I decided to work on something else... and here you see a glimpse of the design I'm going for.

 

Yup, like I said... my room's gonna be modded too.


Decided to work on the intake fans. Painted this one. Weird, thanks to the lighting, it doesnt look white.


The inner fan bracket labels are ugly as hell. I decided to do something about it...


Gonna use this to make little circles...


Off they go. It just hit me, what if I took Band-aids the same way?


After placing the fans... the O-rings are next. These buggers can be a bit tricky.


Those are the circles I was talking about. Shame that some of them arent even perfect circles.

Playing "3 Libras" in the background.


4-intake-fan bracket and the fans themselves are now done.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8w2vIpksB0

Yup, they work.

 

I cut up a plastic folder... the kind you can purchase from your local bookstore.


and glued it to my foamboard cutout...


HDD enclosure not yet done...


Gonna take the label off, but of course, I still plan to let everyone know that I've got a Seagate HDD in my system. I'll be polishing this too.


Glimpse of things to come...


Another glimpse...


Still deciding if I should use this...


Had some decals made from Decal Republic...


Came out really nice....


After that, went to work on my LG optical drive...


Warranty? What warranty?


The operation begins... I think you all know what I plan to do.

 

Aluminum L-support beams with fully cured paint.





And this is what the optical drive looks after a rotary tool cut, and a paint job... always wanted to see the DVD disc go round and round and round...





Hell yeah!

 

success!

 

Nice start. Looks good so far.

 

Not yet Jelle46... I still need a few more weeks, since I go to school. School kills modding time.

 

Thanks so much...

 

AMAZING start

 

Thanks. I'll do my best not to disappoint everyone.... especially myself.

 

Don't tell me about school I don't hate school, but it just kills your spare time, especially if you lose 40 minutes of transportation time, twice

 

Nice work on the fans and I like the DVD drive

Is that a little bit of paint bleed on the red/white fan? Maybe some better masking tape or a bit of pin striping to cover it up :thumbsup:

 

Well, i dont hate school either. But yeah, it does kill a lot of what is now my favorite time... "modding" time.

 

I'm glad you all like it. I'm really being careful not to make a mistake.

The paint didnt bleed on the fan, but there was little hair-like paint particles when I pulled off the masking tape. Nothing a pair of tweezers couldnt handle. But then, like I mentioned, I'm still deciding if I would use it. Since it would deviate from the design of the rest of the fans.

 

Really cool start, I will be watching this one.

 

Let's see what you'll do with your room

Nice start...

 

Thanks so much everyone. Wasnt able to do much today, school work got in the way.

I knew, that with my plan of having 9 fans running in Blackie... leaving the optical drive exposed would be very unwise. So I made the necessary mod since this would be the easiest to do(I still need to sleep, early class tomorrow).

I cut up the remaining textured plastic folder for this, and painted illustration board, cut into strips for the border of the plastic.



I made it a point that it would still have the "see-through" effect that I wanted.


Here we can see the lens(sorry for the quality of the shot).


From this angle, it looks like a flatbed scanner.

 

Nicely done.

 

That DVD drive window looks great! Good job so far, really nice attention to detail.