Case Mod - In Progress Project: BF2 Black

Hey guys! This is a little mod I have going on a few other sites and I figured I'd throw it up here too to see what you guys think. Any comments/criticism are welcome!!!



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That's right...I am finally starting my first real mod here...
I've been sitting on this old Compaq Presario case for a long time and haven't really been able to decide what to do with it. So after months of being lazy I have finally decided to go with a Battlefield 2 mod. Most of the BF2 mods I've seen out there are desert themed...but I am planning on doing something a little different...I thoroughly enjoy the Special Forces expansion, so that's what I am going to focus on. Sleek, black, plenty of green lights... It should be fun!

Of course I can't find any pictures of it before my handiwork so here's one from google...


Ok...let's get started [smile2]


Ok, so the first thing that HAD to go was the stupid front facia which included a little storage area for CD's. Then it was a simple matter of drilling out a few rivets and....voila! Computer guts!





Since I tore off the old front panel (literally) I went online and ordered a pre-cut piece of aluminum to make a new one. Thank god for the guys in the motor pool at work...they let me use their shop. Unfortunatly I'm not allowed to take a camera to work so here's the finished product. (it still needs a little work with my file)




From here I wasn't sure what I wanted to do...since the front was all nice and shiny, I figured why not sand the whole case down to bare metal and make it nice and shiny too...
















did I mention that I don't have a palm/mouse sander? Thats right...all I have is a sanding block. Needless to say I am not looking forward to sanding the three-sided piece that makes up the rest of the case...


Ok, since I really don't want to do anymore sanding right now...or ever...I moved on to the side panel.









Not too shabby if I do say so myself...

 

My next step is to come up with a solution for the front panel USB... Because the old front panel was so large, the USB port sticks out about an inch and a half...




I need to recess it so that it will sit flush with my new front panel...still working on that one though.

Tomorrow I am going to cut a hole in the front panel for an 80mm intake fan, and maybe knock out some more sanding..............maybe.

Oh yea, it turns out the guys at work have powdercoating gear...SCORE! I'm thinking the whole case (inside and out) will be flat black with some gloss green accents somewhere...still working on that idea though

here's a little Xbox BF action...


[smile21]

Now to take care of the 120mm fan hole...








ok so here's a little update for today...

A few minutes after I posted my question about finding a substitute for modders mesh...I found this on my back door...not sure why I never really noticed it before...



SCORE!!!





Cool...so now to get the case ready...








oh noes! Boo boo!



that's ok...there's no job too big or too small for Barbie...



Plus my favorite modders drink...(Lemonade flavored N.O. Xplode + Tang= AWESOME)



Ok, now back to playing...

With the help of my trusty rubber mallet the "back door mesh" fits perfectly!





So now the issue of attaching it to the case...
I have seen a bunch of you guys use bondo for this job, however I didn't have any sitting around and I hadn't come up with a solid enough justification for my wife...so I dug around and found some Amazing Goop.



I'm not totally confident in this stuff at the moment...



I used a few washers and a bolt to hold the mesh to the case while this stuff sets up...





Has anyone had any luck using Goop on metal? I imagine I am going to have to scrape this stuff off and find something else. We'll see though....any suggestions just in case?

EDIT: Amazing Goop is just that...AMAZING! This stuff holds great! "But Dfigravity, how do you know this!?" you ask...well I didn't think about the fact that this thing was going to have to go into a huge oven after getting its powdercoat. So I had to take the grill out. Rubbing alcohol and one of those paint can/bottle opener did the trick!

Ok, while that dries I decided to play around with the USB port. I found one laying around in my "box o' random computer crap"



Drilled a few holes, added standoffs and a little Goop to hold them (maybe threadlock would be better here...)



And voila!



You'll get the big picture once everything dries and I can take my front panel back into the motorpool shop...need to punch out a square hole...

 

ok, I still have a week to make the decision, but I'm excited and I can't stop thinking about it... The guys at work are going to powdercoat this project for me...or rather, they're going to show me how and then let me do it...but I need to decide on colors...
The whole thing is going to be black for sure...but I can't decide between gloss black and wrinkle black. Wrinkle gives it a flat, textured look/feel, and gloss is obvious. Since I am basing this mod around the Special Forces expansion, green and black are my operational colors. I'll post a few sketchups in a minute...

Here's a rough idea of what I'm thinking



I also have this nifty little fan that I was thinking about trying to incorporate somehow...maybe cut a hole so the housing sticks out of the case...repaint the fan green etc



I also still want to work that analog DC meter in somehow...just need to find a way to get it to read HDD activity or something

ok...here's my update for the day...

sooooooooo, I came home with a little bit of paint today...



I was torn because I had the choice between that green (grass green) and this OTHER green that looked like radioactive craziness...but it was high heat engine paint or something and I wasn't sure how it would do on plastic. ok ok, I'm just making excuses because I wish I would have gotten the other green. But this one is nice too. Anyway...PICTURES!

First step, disassemble...Check!



Second step, Prime.......Check!



Third step, make it colorful..........Check!





that green is after one coat...I think the humidity is right around 100% (it feels like swimming when you step outside) so this painting thing is going to take awhile...I have to bring it inside to dry so we have a stinky house right now. Well I think that's it for today...hopefully I'll get some cutting done for the rear fan tomorrow and I STILL need to decide what to do with that old video card fan... (suggestions are welcome *hint hint*)

OH, almost forgot...I found these wheels lying around the house. Now to attach them somehow...

 

All done!



grr...waiting for payday sucks...good news though, tomorrow I will be a Staff Sergeant so that means more money (hooray money!), more rank (hooray rank!) and more responsibility (boo responsibility!). Hopefully more updates by the weekend!

ok, here's a little update for today... I decided last night that I wanted to cut something with my dremel....and a fancy new jigsaw I got my hands on.......so the top of the case became my victim. Here's the damage









TADA! Ok, seriously I am going to order my plexi today...I can't WAIT to move on with this!! Have a nice Saturday everyone!

Ok, here's a little update for today...

I FINALLY ordered my plexi...should be in on Friday...schweet.

So I started prep for painting today...and that included sandblasting my case. :banana: Sandblasting. So if everything goes well tomorrow at lunch I should have the whole thing powdercoated. Here's a pic of the sandblasted goodness...



I also picked up a couple of goodies from Brantleys yesterday...


Then I got to use some machine called "Thor" to punch that square hole in the front panel for my USB...awesome. (And I couldn't resist a test mount of the switch) My overall goal is to keep the front panel simple and sleek...



So that's it for today...more updates to come tomorrow...paint, then (hopefully) a few side panel updates Fri. night.

 

small update for today...work was busy, so I didn't get to the painting, but the sandblasting was finished up. I wish I had pictures of the shop to show you guys, but I'm not allowed to have camera's or cell phones at work. Damn. Anywho, painting is on deck for tomorrow...for real this time.

 

update time!!

Ok, so I actually acomplished a few things in the last two days...First off...I got the powdercoating done...



Now, the only problem is that we didn't understand just HOW important it was to clean the metal before you powdercoat it...now there's fingerprints everywhere. Hmm. The worst part is that I'm heading up to Rochester, NY for two weeks for training so I have to wait that long to fix it. grr. I am going to take it back in and put a second coat on it...hopefully that'll fix it!

Ok, moving on...today I painted the green stripe and the fan grills...





And my plexi showed up in the mail! Schweet!



That's my modding buddy Sam...I think he just likes the way plex smells when you cut it with a dremel... [smile20]

So there it is so far...hopefully I'll have time to do a little tomorrow, but we'll see. If not I'm going to have to put this to the side for a few weeks because of training. Thats all for now!

 

So I got to play with my plexi a little today...nothing huge, but at least it's something!
So I cut the pieces I'll need for the windows, and I also decided to to make a faceplate just for fun.









Unfortunatley I should have measured three times and cut once for the mounting of the faceplate...it's only about 1/16" of an inch off...but damn. Oh well, this was sort of a last minute thing anyway...I'll rework it when I get back. I promise it'll look much better [smile23]


so this is where my mod stands right now...I am currently out of town for another week so progress won't pick back up until next weekend most likely. Please let me know what you think though, any comments or criticism are welcome!!!

 

Did you just do that all in 1 day o_o...... annyway nice mod =)

 

Good job with the cuts!

 

Looking cool duder

 

Nooby- Yup....and I finished it all BEFORE LUNCH!

Thanks for the votes of confidence guys...it still has a ways to go and I'm a little nervous about some of the ideas that I have, but we'll see. THanks again!

 

ok...I'm FINALLY back! New York was nice...went on a few hikes up in the Adirondacks (sp?) and I tried to go whitewater rafting, but apparently the big season up there is the spring. bummer. Anywho, here's a teaser for later...

I just got back from a trip to our local A.C. Moore...



What could those be for!?!? Ha ha! We'll find out a little later. First things first, I have to take my girls to the pool because this is the last weekend it's open...

 

looking good, brave man sanding all that with just a sanding block What dremmel are you using? I am gonna get one myself soon, just wondering as your one seems easily capable of cuting trough a steel case, can they all do this?

 

Yea, sanding that case sucked @$$. Thank god for the sandblaster at work...it made quick work of the rest of the case As far as I know, all dremel's should be able to. You should use the fiberglass reinforced cutoff wheels for the straight cuts, and the brown emery cutoff wheels for everything else. The dremel that I use is this one...

 

UPDATE:
so I got a little more done today and heeeeeeeere it is!

Started by taping off the panel to be drilled




and drilled...



A little duct tape and the plex is fixed to the back so I can drill through it...




TADA!



More time spent with my arch-nemesis...




Before...




And after...




That's it for now...more updates before bed...but it's bath time for the kiddos!

 

here's a quick question...I am using socket head bolts (small ones) to attach the window to the side panel. I also have brushed aluminum handles that I will be bolting to the top of the case. SHould I leave them silver, or paint them green?

 

Silver

looks good so far

 

cool...that's sort of what I was thinking...plus it's less work that I have to do

 

anywho, here's a little more I was able to knockout tonight...

Let the madness begin!!!! HAHAHAHA! So here's where those paints come into play...I have to thank Crimson and his awesome book for this idea. Hopefully it'll turn out as good as his did...







That's just the back side...once it dries I am going to stiple with black and green only on the plex just past the edge of the side panel. I can see it in my mind, I just hope it comes out the way I see it... *crosses fingers*

 

Very nice! I like it, keep modding!