Case Mod - In Progress AzTtec - Added Keyboard and Mouse - Completed!

One of the most beautiful mods I ve ever seen! Congrats on finishing this jawdropping fantastic mod my friend!!!

 

damn.... i cant get over that calendar... truly awesome!

 

A well deserved win. Congrats!

 

I really am humbled by all the praise, and I thank you all for the support.

I am hoping there will be a part two to this build soon, where I get some sponsors (due to my own lack of personal funds) and can pack this thing with some good items.
If I actually get the sponsorships I will be carving their company logos on the lower part of the case below the calendar, along that bottom border, seems like a great place to do it.
So maybe some more carving skills and some neat gear to drool over in the case. Wouldn't that be fun to see?

I think so.

Thanks for looking,


_dan

 

Shouldn't have trouble getting sponsored with eye candy like this .

 

Okay here is the contest schwag I won. Ridiculously amazing case. Couple that with I think the best keyboard on the market and an insanely cool mouse. I already want to clean everything. heheh




Honestly, I can't say enough about the Meka G1 keyboard as well. You can get the specs off their website; but I'll tell youy the key feeling is sharp and accurate, it's as responsive a feel as an old IBM typewriter without feeling at all antiquated. The Meka G1 is more than willing to stand up to you as you to rage pound the keys during a caffeine and cigarette fueled release after you get fragged.



Some KB's seem a little soft, and I constantly feel like I need a lighter touch with them. (That's why my main KB is over 10 years old. They just don't seem to make this kind much, anymore.) But the G1 is suitable for the most heavy handed of tappers, while the people that don't mash keys will still find a keyboard that fits their typing needs. You can game on it, and write a term paper!

The headphones are very comfortable, even on my large cranium. And the ear pieces, instead of mashing on your ears, actually surround them and rest on your skull instead. A key feature when you wear them for extended periods.

And despite the UGK packaging coming to my door looking like it's been involved in a fracas.



I can vouch for all the internals being of sound physical condition and working as intended.

Thanks again to Shannon of:



And Dewayne of:



For organizing and sponsoring this contest. You guys rock!

 

Awesome Swag you got there. Well deserved and I want that case!!!

 

Mechanical keyboards rock really built to last a long time .

 

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blo...wn-based-mayan-calendar-starts-101657134.html




HAHAHAHA at this! I guess it all starts TODAY!


Which is fitting, because I'm slowly designing the package to get it to Thermaltake in time for them to take it to Vegas.

Construction pics for that are coming soon.


As well I hope to be able to make a keyboard and mouse compliment to it in the next 5-6 days, lets hope I can do it in that little of time.


Wish me luck.

 

Was this your delivery guy? (borrowed from Videos of Awesome thread)

 

On to the Keyboard and Mouse!

WOW! That makes me cringe a bit, but I'm glad that's not the normal thing that happens.
I have box mod stuff at the bottom of this post though, hopefully there will be no fences it will need to be tossed over.


I was approached by Shannon (of Thermaltake USA, if you didn't already know, a great guy) who let me know that he'd be happy to provide me with a KB and mouse of my choice to give a shot at making complimentary pieces for my AzTtec mod. I really can't say enough about these companies that sponsor us, they really are taking a chance just on our "ideas" sometimes.

He sent me the Challenger Pro

And the Standard Black mouse


Both of them I have played with and they are of exceptional quality. It's almost a shame to tear them open and mod them... almost.

He gave me the units quite some time ago and I've only just now been able to start in on them. I think it's all going quite well at the moment though and I should have them done in only a few short days. The idea is to have them available at the CES in Vegas which, as many of us know, is only next month!


Taking it apart was fairly easy. The keys popped right off with my fingers, they do provide you with a key puller, but I just pulled them off by hand anyway, it's a tiny bit faster.

The mouse was a bit tricky, but again it's all just press fit together, you just have to work on the thing to pop it apart.



I did some back cutting on the foam to get it to fit the funky contours of the mouse and the KB parts.



And I did the same thing with the keys, but it's all pretty routine to me by now.
the work is flowing and it's like I never stopped using this stuff.



I had to back cut the keys.



Then separate them from each other after the glue dried.



File and shape them, kind of doing that randomly, I don't want it too polished.



And after patching up any minor errors that comes from doing what I just did 104 times... I set them aside for carving time later.



I also back cut the mouse, it's curves are more pronounced and I'm going back to angular/block style to make another
Quetzalcoatl type head.









***Also I'll drop in some boxing procedure pics of the AzTtec mod. I did use the original box, but heavily modified. ***





My mod does fit, but the front and sides rub on the cardboard so I started by cutting the box down it's corners to "flower" open it so to speak.

Then I could extend the bits apart a couple inches to allot for new packaging foam. This is a combination of original foam bits, saved molded packing foam bits from other things (I don't throw them away), and some soft and easily compressible "furniture" type foam. It all looks and feels pretty tight and secure now. It should arrive in one piece!









I used the pullover idea (it's my old LCD TV cover bag). Thermaltake's cover that came on it originally still fit; but the material gets caught up in the foam, they aren't compatible.





My local UPS store had a box big enough to house the modified Tt box easily, and with room at the top left over.

Plenty of room to fit the keyboard and mouse!


I'll post more tomorrow, I will not be working on it on Christmas, we have guests or something and I need to clean up my mess... oh well, It should be done before the new year anyway. Hopefully before my next project arrives fr me to start on on Tuesday the 27th (haha).


Thanks for looking, and Happy Holidays to all!

 

Love it! Can't wait to see more!

 

Really can't wait to see how the mouse and keyboard look .

 

Okay, here's the mouse. I'm hoping that on painting and details I can cover any defects I created. It's tough covering something with so many compound curves with a straight board-hard material.



But I still have all 5 buttons covered and working.



The keyboard I'm kind of at odds with. I carved every key, and some bas-relief stuff along the hand rest area. But I kinda like the upper part plain. I may just make a brick/block pattern on the upper area, but I don't think I'll go carve-crazy.



The stuff I've found, that works right out of a can seems to be a type of thinned down varnish. It does in one coat exactly what I needed it to.



I tested it out on a piece of scrap, there's no melting/warpage at all. I have 4 places on the test board. The top is uncoated, and then each level there is from one to three coats. I tested every one afterward with a finger nail scratch test. The second and third coats do add a marginal increase in protection over a single coat, but then you begin to fill in the foam structure itself and it loses it's stone-like texturing. So it looks like one coat is going to be sufficient.




That's all for the moment, I'll sit and look at it for about a day and decide if I want to do more carving or just get into paint and detail to finish it soon.


Thanks for looking,

Dan

 

Wow, they both look amazing, but I think you should carve the top of the keyboard as well .

 

I would venture and say that you have the best artistic skills on this forum by a fair stretch.

There are a lot of good modders on here, a few exceptional ones, but you're an artist.

Well done on the win, I just luv your mod - always like to read/watch documentaries on the Aztecs, this is my favorite mod of all time, to be honest.

Well done on the win, good luck going forward, will be a travesty if you don't win more with this :flowers:

 

Real artist work ...WOW

 

OMG that keyboard is ridiculously badass & will fit the case perfectly, you've got awesome tallent sheesh . rep all day for you mate .

 

@ yassarikhan786 - I agree with you. It needed something up there.

Okay folks!

I DID end up scratching out a few more designs along the top bar. It just didn't feel right looking so plain up there. (And I missed the UPS guy dropping off another case project (COMING SOON!), so I got to spend a bit of extra time on it.

It looks better. I didn't get around to attaching the little nifty keyboard fan. So I left it alone. No biggie, it's not missed.















And then the same painting techniques I used during the creation of the case, dark basecoat, and yellow ochre drybrushing.
Not to mention the moss additions in tiny spots. It helps cover mistakes and it really rounds out the authentic look.







The keyboard pics were a bit out of focus, but such is life shooting indoors in San Francisco when it's super foggy outside.
The mouse pics came out a lot better.




It looked really cool lit up too, Alas those pictures must come later, as I already boxed up the whole package and shipped it off to Shannon @ Thermaltake. It still gets a trip to be featured at the CES Vegas show and I ws cutting the deadline kinda close.

Again, I have had such a pleasure doing this whole project, and all your wonderfully positive comments on it, guys and gals.

I hope that I can recreate the same fun and enthusiasm in my future modding ventures.


**Thus endeth the next chapter of AzTtec - The Mod **

Thanks for looking!


_dan

 

Cannot believe I've only just found this!
Incredible work