Case Mod - In Progress Project: STORMTRUPER (Update July 11, 2010)

Looking good!

 

Star Wars!

 

Cheers guys, I appreciate your kind words.

Just a quick update this evening, I was looking for an excuse to play with my mnpctech toys that came in a few weeks ago.



So I messed around figuring out how to mount the modders mesh to the fiberglass piece. After laying the mesh over the grill area and marking the cut lines, I brandished my +5 tinsnips of awesome and went to work.



Then I used a few small strips of two sided adhesive to hold the mesh in place. I will probably use epoxy to permanently mount it once the painting is done.



I forgot to mention this in my last update, but you can see here I have removed most of the foam. This was necessary to properly sand the tighter spaces, and to avoid seeing the foam from the front. Here it is mocked up.



Okay now we're done looking at the bezel for a while, hopefully I haven't bored you to death with it. Next time we'll move on to the side window, here's one of my rough sketches of the window to give you an idea of where we're headed.



Until next time, thanks again for looking.

 

It's been a long time, but I have an update. Let's get right to it- since we left off last time, I began work on the side window. I began by drawing a template, then using a hobby knife cut out the areas to be marked on the panel.



Then used a sharpie to mark my cuts and got the Dremel and friends ready to party.



For the tighter cuts where Jigsaw and Dremel cutting wheel would be difficult, I set up the router attachment, and used the same tungsten carbide bit as I used for cutting the foam for the bezel.



I stopped to take a break, and realized that I had placed the template sideways!



This is the reason for the delay in updating. I had to come up with a design around the cuts that were already made- luckily not many. I came up with this, sort of a positive/negative space design. I started the Dremel cuts, to set up the jigsaw and router cuts.



And here we have the cuts made, as well as the tools used.



Then there was plenty of filing, grinding, and sanding to do. I won't be using u-channel, so I want to keep the edges as smooth as possible. There were some tight spots that were tough to get at, I had to get creative with the mouse sander and bits of sandpaper to get everything smooth.



And a closer look.



Since I had the sanding stuff out, I figured I would sand the surface for priming. The thin strip that runs above the eyes is a bit uneven, but I think i can even that out with filler putty.

Next up I need to order a power button and figure out where I'm going to put it. I don't think I'm going to go with the traditional spot on the bezel- feel free to chime in with any ideas on this, and thanks for looking

 

Window looks even better than the original design I think, really shows off the shape of the helmet, not just the eye nose and mouth holes.

 

I definately dig it, especially the side panel! I did get distracted by your bruce lee lunchbox, though.

 

Looks awesome! But are you going to paint the mesh black or something?

 

Thanks, at first I wasn't sure about the second window design, but now that it's cut I like it better as well.

Thanks for the kind words Mr. Wizard, and ToB1- I do plan to paint the mesh black. I get a bit OCD when modding and want to mock stuff up after every step

 

You are not alone!

 

Good evening all. I've found many modding adventures this last week and a half. Before I paint, I wanted to mock up everything and give it the old check it twice. After mounting the Scout Trooper grill to the the bezel (using the same two part epoxy found earlier in the log), I wanted to see how the optical drive lined up. ZOMG a new gap between the drive and bezel!



It looked about the right size for some of this split flex tubing I had laying around...



Good enough for me, I'm calling the bezel ready for primer. Next I decided to cut my window out of the smoked acrylic I'd ordered a while back.



I also made a new mounting bracket for the 140mm intake out of the acrylic. Upon further review the mesh one I'd made earlier seemed too flimsy. Behold the new bracket of scum and villainy.



Shown here mounted with socket caps, and drilling mounting holes.



I also dremeled out the bottom of the bracket for maximum airflows, no pics of that sorry. I just couldn't stop myself until I had the fan mounted- I'm silly like that.



In the spirit of missing pics in a log, I'd also dremelled out the middle of the power supply/optical/hdd bracket thingy to allow air to pass through it. No worries, it will show up in the paint section. Finally we get to the sort-of completed mock up.




The lighting makes the cut edges look much rougher than they are. To me they feel pretty smooth and even after some spot filler putty and sanding. Before paint I still need to drill out the floor, for the power button as well as the feet. That's all I have so far folks, thanks for looking

 

This is going to be a sweet mod

 

I totally agree!

 

Very cool

Your definately on the right track with this one when i saw the first idea i thought it would be something quite difficult but you seem to have made easy work of it

Love it!

 

Side panel looks insane.

 

I agree, that side panel is an awesome example of turning a mistake into something even better than what you planned for. It's spot-on.

 

sweet . . . .something similar: http://outoftheboxmods.com/my-mods-and-builds/order-66/

 

Fantastic idea and execution my friend! Have some rep !

 

Maximum sweetness!! Good stuff! I love that sidepanel.
Aren't you happy that you messed up?

 

That mod is 100% win, and an inspiration for sure.

To everyone else, thanks for the feedback guys, it's truly appreciated.

@ Bad_cancer: lol yes, I can now say I'm glad I made such a noob mistake

 

Great work so far... love the window desing; and the front has a lot of potencial...