1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

Case Mod - In Progress Project BMW Mpower Level 10 - update

Discussion in 'Project Logs' started by rchiileea, 17 Oct 2010.

  1. rchiileea

    rchiileea Minimodder

    Joined:
    11 Jan 2008
    Posts:
    328
    Likes Received:
    57
    My latest Project – Project BMW M-Power was born from the day Thermaltake released the Level 10 Case onto the world, as soon as I saw the tie in with BMW design works (even though they are a design house and not BMW themselves). For quite I few years I have always had in the back of my mind a Mod in dedication to one of my old rides, A 1998 BMW M3. Ok the car is long gone and is a bit out dated, but still I thought why the hell not, A M3 case Mod on a Level 10 from Thermaltake would still look nice, especially if I kept to my old cars paint scheme, white body work, red and black interior.

    My plan was to do the case white, with some airbrush work with Mpower logo and BMW logo as well as a M3 airbrushed into the case, as my old ride was from the 90s and the case from the 10s I decided to go with a theme based on the modern M3.

    So my plan was born and yes it was finally time to get it onto action, before I move on anymore I must first give Kudos to all the companies involved for making this possible the sponsors, who without which this mod would not be possible. Despite it taking me since the release of the Level 10 case for me to get it altogether went above and beyond the call of duty.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    First Up – The hardware involved and what I am planning

    [​IMG]

    Yes that is indeed a lot of Thermaltake product and I have to thank them a lot for supporting this mod, anyway here is a rundown of the specs and pieces of this mod.

    Specs
    • CPU - AMD Phenom II X6 1055T
    • Mobo – Gigabyte 890FXA-UD7
    • Memory – Patriot G series 1600mhz 4 gig AMD kit
    • GPU – Ati Radeon HD 5850
    • Main HDD – Patriot 120GB Inferno SSD
    • Secondary HDD - 2 X WD RE3 Greens 1TB
    • PSU – Thermaltake Tough Power Grand 750W
    • Case - Thermaltake Level 10
    That is basically the System specs of the rig, also in the picture is the Thermaltake Esports products this includes.

    • Thermaltake Esports Black Gaming mouse
    • Thermaltake Esports Challenger Pro Keyboard
    • Thermaltake Esports Shock Gaming headset
    • Thermaltake Esports Dasher Mouse Pad
    I will show some more pictures of these products as and when I get to taking apart and them, well that just about sums up the specs and hardware of what I currently have (a few little tid bits and stuff is on route and I will add accordingly to log once products are here).

    Next up my rough plans via photoshop airbrushing.
     
    Last edited: 30 Jun 2011
  2. rchiileea

    rchiileea Minimodder

    Joined:
    11 Jan 2008
    Posts:
    328
    Likes Received:
    57
    I will not never claim I am a expert when it comes to photoshop, so please don’t flame me, these are rough mock ups what I plan to do with this mod and just to give a rough idea to those who are reading this of what my plans are.

    [​IMG]

    With the mouse I want it to match the theme and colours of the case, I don’t want to go overboard with it, but a nice airbrush on the mouse, with the TT glowing logo on the rear coming through the paint rather than being visible.

    [​IMG]

    The same with the keyboard, which I want to keep tied in with the rest of the theme

    [​IMG]

    The graphics card I also want to tie in with the white theme of the case, I especially want this done as the insides of the case will be white too.

    I was also planning to do the headset white, and mocked up one of them in white, but when it came for it to be sent out it I noticed a press release for the shock headset and it came in white as well... phew, that saved some time already :p what about the case? Well here is the plan for that.

    [​IMG]

    My plan is to get the whole case in white with a little BMW logo down the bottom of the front, on the HDD slots I plan to leave these white to break up the case a bit.

    The motherboard section, I plan to remove the stock metal plates (areas in red) and replace these with some red UV acrylic with some etchings, then covered by black tinted acrylic (2 layers of acrylic) with the black on the outer, the reason for this is so that with the lights of, the windows will just look plain black, but with the lights on, the etchings Edges will pop out.

    I am in 2 minds on the mobo section on either a clear just tinted section on the top (to give a nice view of the inside as UV acrylic sort of blurs the view) and AMD game logo actually airbrushed onto the mobo section in to right corner, or as picture with logo etched in the CPU area window. I have not decided on that yet.

    On the rear of the case the plan is to do a nice M power logo, with the actual M3 car airbrushed there...

    Ill post some more soon.
     
  3. DeadP1xels

    DeadP1xels Social distancing since 92

    Joined:
    30 Nov 2009
    Posts:
    6,114
    Likes Received:
    1,052
    Wow you are a lucky man getting all that awesome stuff

    i look forward to see what you do with it
     
  4. JimmyTheHand

    JimmyTheHand What does this button do?

    Joined:
    20 Aug 2010
    Posts:
    24
    Likes Received:
    0
    The design looks good- Also keen to see how the build goes...
     
  5. rchiileea

    rchiileea Minimodder

    Joined:
    11 Jan 2008
    Posts:
    328
    Likes Received:
    57
    Just a quick update, not much really, but taking a few bits apart, first up was the graphics card.

    [​IMG][​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    The Graphics card I just had to separate the top cover from the block itself, I decided to just re attach the main block and plate after doing this to insure the board was not just left lying around bare. The next item was the keyboard.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG][​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Striping the keyboard down was a pretty straight forward apart from having to make sure I had enough separate bags for the 25+ screws, especially the really tiny ones. now the main face plate is separated I can put that in the pile with the Graphic cards cooler cover, on to the mouse now.

    [​IMG]

    I am 100% sure Thermaltake mad this mouse so it should never come apart as it took me an hour or so to get the side sections off without breaking the clip, the main problem was the final screw was under the weight tray, which was glued or just solidly in, so I had to play and pull and twist (eww that don’t sound right ;P) for a while just to get these off.

    [​IMG]

    Taking the top layer off (palm rest section) was a lot easier and only took 5 minutes with gentle pulling, one bad thing though, was the centre section I had done red in photoshop was part of the main body, so I will be looking at something else to get that red.

    That is all I have for today I will hopefully get down to stripping down and making a few mounts (for radiators) this weekend.
     
  6. rchiileea

    rchiileea Minimodder

    Joined:
    11 Jan 2008
    Posts:
    328
    Likes Received:
    57
    Just i little update of what i done last night, this was just to get a rough idea of how it would really look with some of the plans.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Of course there will be a uv etch added to the lower window as well the tint over it, still mulling over a few things to do, but i thought i would share what in general i am hoping for.
     
    Last edited: 21 Oct 2010
  7. Paradox42

    Paradox42 What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    15 Oct 2010
    Posts:
    61
    Likes Received:
    1
    Lots of potential, the Level 10 = :jawdrop:, and modding it can only improve it!:D
     
  8. perkins teh modder

    perkins teh modder What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    8 Dec 2007
    Posts:
    222
    Likes Received:
    0
    i love car themed mods, theyre always so clean. this project looks promising so dont disappoint ;)
     
  9. rehk

    rehk What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    21 Feb 2010
    Posts:
    48
    Likes Received:
    2
    Those renders look great. Very nice set of kit you have to work with there.
     
  10. rchiileea

    rchiileea Minimodder

    Joined:
    11 Jan 2008
    Posts:
    328
    Likes Received:
    57
    Just another little quick update, a couple more parts arrived during the week,

    [​IMG]

    As you can see I got the CPU block with red mounting plate to match the White red and black theme, also in the above picture is the mounting plates, while these are designed for mounting a pump to the radiator, I will be using them for mounting the radiators.

    Another thing I have been playing with is the finish idea, these are a couple of renders of what I would say is the final plan give or take a few tweaks.. also planning to replace as many of the stock screws and bolts with red ones, depends on what I can source really.

    [​IMG]

    This is defo the route I am going down, as I have already said I will be adding a few nit bits but this is the route I am planning for the main side.

    [​IMG]

    The rear I have a cunning plan for and will be kind of like this, except the M power will be replaced with the BMW Mpower logo as on the other side (same as on engine head) and the 3 stripe logo with the M will be going on the top right. The car you see at the bottom left will be airbrushed (hopefully) as seen bellow.

    [​IMG]

    And I have the exact opposite picture of the front of the car that will be etched into the lower window.

    [​IMG]

    As you can see this is the opposite image of the one above (just have to mess with logos) and I will try to place both so they line up (as if car is going through case)..

    Hopefully I will get most of the prep done this week for the paint and get the red bolts that I want to use... until next time ;)
     
  11. Skorchio

    Skorchio What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    16 Oct 2009
    Posts:
    336
    Likes Received:
    15
    This looks like it going to be really nice, be keeping an eye on this one :)
     
  12. Kovoet

    Kovoet What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    26 Aug 2009
    Posts:
    7,128
    Likes Received:
    348
    Can't wait to see the end result as its my favourite but can't have case and car.
     
  13. cool_dude

    cool_dude Minimodder

    Joined:
    26 Aug 2004
    Posts:
    2,687
    Likes Received:
    22
    Nice mod will be watching.

    *Looks at avatar* *looks at project* *looks at profile picture* *smiles* :D
     
  14. The_Beast

    The_Beast I like wood ಠ_ಠ

    Joined:
    21 Apr 2007
    Posts:
    7,379
    Likes Received:
    164
    Very cool concept, now go and make it, now



    :hehe:
     
  15. rchiileea

    rchiileea Minimodder

    Joined:
    11 Jan 2008
    Posts:
    328
    Likes Received:
    57
    lol still waiting for pump to turn up before i start stripping down, I need the pump to plan out the spacing of stuff and to ensure I have placements right for second radiator.. As soon as it arrives I will be able to get cracking.
     
  16. rchiileea

    rchiileea Minimodder

    Joined:
    11 Jan 2008
    Posts:
    328
    Likes Received:
    57
    Still on this guys, but Last couple of weeks i have had bad sinutis, headache and blurred vision, its still not 100% but I am hopeful it clears up over the next week, it seems to be clearing now.. first time i have ever had it and i hope it will go soon.
     
  17. rchiileea

    rchiileea Minimodder

    Joined:
    11 Jan 2008
    Posts:
    328
    Likes Received:
    57
    Hi all back for another little instalment of my mod project, sorry it has been a while, but I have had some family things to deal with. Anyway more to the point I have got the keyboard, mouse and graphics card cover back.

    [​IMG]

    They have turned out really well, the Varnished finish is showing up superbly and makes the products look a lot better with the white. Let us start with the mouse.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    One thing you may notice, is the middle black section is different than the renders (I had them in red) but it was impossible to separate that part of the mouse from the body. But still I think the mouse came out really well, I also like the way it is white, with black and then the red lighted wheel and red DPI indicators.

    [​IMG]

    The keyboard come out too match the mouse, of course with the added M logo to tie in with the case, I wanted a proper matched feel with this project and I think this achieves it.

    [​IMG]

    I like the way the keyboard looks and the finish, I just am hoping the case turns out just as well.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    The theme of white black and red is carried on with the card as you can see I think the red white and black theme going through out the mod is a good combination, I think the ATI (now AMD) brand should go down this route.. Here are some more shots of the card.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    I love the finished effect on the card (oops I mentioned that already didn’t I :p) Ill have another update for you next week, this time it should be the case  as it arrives back from paint. Stay tuned.
     
    KidMod-Southpaw likes this.
  18. Guest-23315

    Guest-23315 Guest

    That GPU looks amazing.
     
  19. rchiileea

    rchiileea Minimodder

    Joined:
    11 Jan 2008
    Posts:
    328
    Likes Received:
    57
    I know, out of all the other parts it is my fav at the moment, makes me wonder why ATI never colour coded this way
     
  20. KidMod-Southpaw

    KidMod-Southpaw Super Spamming Saiyan

    Joined:
    28 Sep 2010
    Posts:
    12,592
    Likes Received:
    558
    OOh I love the colour scheme, and the logos are a great idea for the BMW. +1
     

Share This Page