After the succes of my mini-project Hovermax (fan mod for Enermax) I got the irresistible urge to make a complete mod with the same look-n-feel. The inspiration for Hovermax and this mod I got from the F117 - Nighthawk to mod a case from the swedish Fractal Design company http://fractal-design.com/ to give it a whole new look. For the specs of this case, I can point you to the log of my collegue Jos a.k.a. Agressions, who just so happens to have started a mod with the same case. I made in SketchUp a few rough designs and showed them to the guys at Fractal Design. They were unanimous to pick this one;
You got the youtube-embed wrong, but here's the url for the time being: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTRLojg2mUY&hl=en&fs=1 Looking forward to see just how on earth is that going to work
The guys at Fractal Design liked the first sketches, so lets start modding ! Started with disassembling the case and also applying the first cut lines. Nice doors that hold the dust filters.... ..but i'm not using these in my design, I need a solid front. Sorry guys ! BTW; this front/top panel is very nice ! But it s also NOT included in my design hehehe Very nice multifunctional switch ( would be a waste NOT to use it right ? ) The chassis underneath the front needs to be cut in the same way.
The toppanel also gets a sharp point. This is how the sides look like. Disassembling the drive tower, maybe I can use it still, or at least part of it. Aktion shots, yes with my fav plaid work outfit. This piece is going out. Talk about a lean design.... for the garbage.
Man we also did a review of this Fractal case ! This case is speechless, it really is a must have ! I will be folowing this .. I loved the theme ... Keep this updated ...
Ya can't make an omelet, withour breaking some eggs.... and i've seen too many eggs-over-easy here, I'm not afraid of a bit of a a challenge.
Sawed the frontpanel. Mounted both sidepanels. To determine the right lines; this measurement from the sidepanel to midpoint. Transferred to the X-axis. And the Y-axis. Gives a nice 45 degree angled line. This line goes in the middle of that 45 degree line. And here I made a mistake, I toke the middle of the sidepanel as reference. Which looked like this. But in the end I choose for the original mobo-chassis, which you can see here. Here ones more the wrong and the right line. Cutted. And mounted back to the case.
To give you a better insight, here a paint-preview These are the lines of the black sheets of Forex hardfoam and the transparant polystyreen. There all triangles. This would represent some sort of a F117 cockpit look.
Ya know, this would be an absolutely great tribute idea for a Veterans Memorial Club or something of the like. In america we have a lot of places dedicated to men and women that served in a war in planes as bombers. Awesome idea btw. Subscribed.
Here is my latest toy. Anyway, I riveted the motherboard back to the case. Now what motherboard will we choose for this mod... this one is from the FiFo mod, but its way too big. This Asus P5KPL mobo, is a lot smaller. Or this Sapphire moederbord ( Here with a Spire cooler still on it.) But thanks to my friends at Gigabyte I'm getting a Core I5 GA-P55A-UD5 mobo. And the people at Coolermaster provided me with a fat V10 ! On the last pix it looked like the boards wont fit, but I measurered it; And enlarged. It fits, but only JUST. ( pfffewww lucky me ) The sawed off front .... This is where the first Forex plate is coming.
Showing off my new sawmachine. Guide Aiming Laser Cheesecake! Im building the case up from the rear to the front. Piece of cardboard to test my idea Then reproduced it in Forex. As added bonus I gave this edge a 45 degree bevel. Using black construction kit, I added the first piece to the case, After it hardened, i noticed that the strength was coming back to the case. Just like i planned it would. Now I can determine the exact measuerments for the second piece. Three lengths, Three angles, One plate of Forex. And there it is. The second piece is added.
The next piece will be one of the cockpit windows. For this I use smoked-plexi. This is with protecting foil on both sides. Here one corner without the foil. Cutting it also gives a lot of mess ! Here it will come. I will spraypaint case and the edges in silky-matblack. So I will leave the protecting foil where it is. It has no use to remove it and mask the same piece again later. And here come the bevels again. This is what holds it all together; Power Fix kit and liquid soap to smooth out the edges. There, another piece is done. It is not going too fast, I deliberatly wait every time untill the glue has hardened. Also I have limited spare time. We'll get there, I just ask you have patience with me.