Scratch Build – In Progress The Hikari Project - Full aluminium ATX case

Lovely work man!

 

Thank you mates!

Got some flows in the painting job, not really visible by anyone but I can't take my eyes of it.
So I'll have to redo it!

Time to sand it once again.

 

Update time!

Let's start with the introduction of my new sponsor, Corsair (special thanks to Jon and Joseph)!



First part of the package they sent me!



A Corsair Neutron XT 960GB!



It looks gorgeous! But I guess it won't be red for too long.



6 SP120 fans for the radiators. Should I paint them too?

Still waiting for the last watercooling parts to come then I'll start the assembly of the loop!

Oh, and something came back from painting booth.

Some preview shots.




The assembly was flawless! Very happy with the result and with a nice paint this time!



Some preview of the rear of the case. Really love the ventilations! I still have to figure a little problem with the I/O bracket but should be ready soon.



I tried to fit the side panels for a preview. Working on a new way to attach them more easily, I hope I'll be able to show you more soon!

 

Wow, hanshin. The case is really clean and elegant.

That's powder coat? The matte black is beautiful

 

Thank you, SG!

Yes, it's powder coating. Really love the result!

 

This is still alive?

 

Yes, it is!

I just had some health problems coupled to a change of sponsor, but every is looking good.

New updates coming soon!

 

Hope you feel better, Hanshin!

Sent from a parallel universe

 

The dreaded Japanese cold! Stay healthy and post soon.

Build is looking great.

 

Been so long since the last update!

A lot happened but back to the build: I will move back to France next year so I will try to finish this project really soon.

Some parts took really a long time to come and some changes occured with the sponsors, so here we go!

A big thanks to Pexon PCs for all the cables!



The sleeving job is astonishing! I made quite a lot of cables myself until now but I must recognize James is on another level when it comes to sleeving.





There was a PSU tester in the package too!


New sponsors of the project: Hardware Labs and Cooling Lab, who have provided two gorgeous Black Ice Nemesis 360 GTX!





A very big thanks to Wilbert and Hide for the support!







I also changed my plans concerning the reservoir since a change of sponsor, and I will go with the reservoir/pump combo from EKWB.
Still need to do some work because of size compability but I will be be able to show more soon.
I also buyed a Silhouette portrait. I can't wait to start working on the stickers!

This was the last update on the hardware that will be used in this build. Next one will be about the install of the hardware and the tubing I will do next week end.

Stay tuned and thanks for all the nice words!

 

Great progress, Hanshin!

The sleeve job is with Teleios?

I'm waiting for more

 

Thank you!

Yes, all Teleios sleeving. James/Pexon did an amazing work!

I will start this update with a thought for my country and the city I come from after what happened Friday evening.
Thank you to those who sent me messages to know if my relatives were fine. Hope tomorrow will be a better day for all of us!

So today I had some time to work on the build.

I was able to do the radiator mount system in the bottom chamber after some package arrived.




I really love those bracket. They are very solid and do the job!




The left radiator on the picture seems to not be straight, it is just because I didn't tune the height yet .
It is perfectly mounted now.
I have enough space between the rads to mount the Silverstone CPF04 (fan hub) I have ordered. I will take more pictures once I have it!


Next, I had some old HDD trays in my closet. I found I could do something with them. After some cutting:




Yes, I will use them as guide rails for the radiator plate.
Need to glue , sand and paint them but doing some fit testing here.



So far so good!



Once the plate is mounted, just have to screw it to secure it.

Today, I took the motherboard off the bench and put it for the first time in her new home!



I couldn't resist and did a preview of what it looks like with the cables.




I also had the time to attach the reservoir mount to the case.
My first plans were to have the pump mounted in the bottom chamber, but I went with the reservoir/pump combo from EKWB instead.



As you can see, the mount is upside down. It is because there's not enough clearance if I mount the reservoir the traditional way.



I love the look of it. I think it will look better once I finished the middle plate (but that's for a future update)..

Also had some time to play with my Silhouette Portrait. Can you guess what it is?

 

The couple of radiators looks amazing, fits perfectly in this awesome scratch case!

Sent from a parallel universe

 

Thank you mate!

They perform exceptionally well too, I can't wait to use them!

Today, I had some time to work on the middle plate of the case.

I bought some acrylic sheets and got it cutted.


Mirror acrylic, clear acrylic and some milk acrylic.



I assembled the walls of the plate with acrylic cement. Crazy stuff!



I received a led strip earlier this week, based on 5630 SMD modules. Power hungry compared to other modules but very bright and perfect for what I need.




I stick the led strip on the walls I glued earlier and then put the clear acrylic part inside.




I sanded the upper face of the clear acrylic sheet. Some people find that letting it clear or doing a check pattern is the best for light diffusion, but I obtained the best result by sanding it with some sanding paper (the picture have been taken after the first pass).

After a few more passes of sanding and some testing, I put the milk acrylic sheet on top.
I used some matte black vinyl paper on the upper part to hide the modules brightness you can see through when the lightbox is powered.



Time to do some testing!





I'm very happy with the result!

Now I have to do some sleeving and finish the I/O bracket, then I will start installing the hardware inside.

But that will be for the next updates.

 

Been busy between work and preparing for our moving next month, but I have been able to do some progress today.

First of all, I have finally finished the I/O bracket. Had some issues to figure but very happy with the result!



I have also received the fan controller/hub I was waiting for, the Silverstone CPF04.





It is very compact and it fits perfectly between the two radiators.



Painted, sleeved and Sata Power connector replaced by 4 pin Molex connector.

Next on list was the superb SSD Corsair provided me. First of all, take off the sticker.



SSD pr0n time!



After giving several matte black paint coats and putting on the stickers I cutted, here it is!




You can't really notice it but the Corsair logo and the H of HKR are silver painted, but I can't really catch it on camera.

Finally, I had time to work on the drain line of the loop.





The rest of the loop will be made in rigid tubing, but I chose to go the flexible way for the drain line, as it will easier when I'll need to do some maintenance.
I will just have to double check there is no leak from the valve, or it could a real problem.



I also got the fan rings of the SP120 painted in matte black. I'm still wondering if I should paint the central fan in white or if it is good with only the ring ring.

I actually been able to do more progress, but you'll have to wait for the next update!

 

Today's update will surely be the last before the final pics, so here we go!

We are moving in two weeks so I took some time to work on the build, because I'll have to send the case to France then (and won't be able to touch it until next summer when we'll move to Paris...).
So let me show you the progress I made last weekend.

First of all, A big thank you to all my sponsors: Corsair, EKWB, Hardware Labs, Cooling Lab and Pexon PCs!




I started by putting those sexy water blocks on the M6F. They look amazing!




As the MB shield was off, I had some time to work on something I previewed in a previous updates, the motherboard logo.

Despite of the new M8F that has RGB capabilities, the Maximus VI Formula only offer red LED color for the central logo.
Well, until now.





I cut the logo using my Silhouette Cameo, and cut a small LED stripe that should fit perfectly.



Perfect length! Now need to cut the rear of the shield to let the LED stripe cable some space.




I really love the result. Can't wait to see it in action!

Now, time to put the shield back on the motherboard.





Next on the list what the GPU block.


I really love the black stock cooler, but something better is coming.








EKWB goodness!

The rest of the day consisted in this:




The bends from the radiator chamber to the upper chamber was a PITA to do, but I really love the result.

That's all for today, but as I'm a nice person, I'll give you a preview of what is coming in the next update.

 

Time has come for the final update guys!



I would love to start by saying a big thank you to my sponsors: Corsair, EKWB, Hardware Labs, Cooling Lab and Pexon PCs! . It have been a fantastic project to work on, and I couldn't have been able to do it without your support!

So after many hours working on the Hikari Project, the build is finally finished! Like I said in previous updates, I had a very short time left to finish the build, but I was finally able to do it (minus the power switch, but I have been waiting for Dimastech to send it to me for more than 2 monthes....).

But more than words, let me show final pictures of the HKR Project.

Let there be light!

































And, in bonus, my setup before we move.



Corsair Strafe RGB keyboard, Corsair Scimitar RGB mouse, Corsair Void Wireless headset and Dell U3415w monitor (I will make some more screenshots of those awesome peripherals soon).

I'm really happy with the result. It's very close to what I had in mind the first time I imagined the Hikari project.
There will surely be a V2 (and maybe a mATX version) though!

Thank you too guys for following the project!

 

One of the best scratch cases that I saw. The quality of this build is absolutely awesome, top job, top hardware, top photography.

Congratulations for this build log

 

Awesome!

 

Thank you for your nice words!

It have been a really funny but challenging project.
It took more time than I thought, but I'm really satisfied with the final product.

Now, I'll have to start thinking of my next project, hoping you'll like it too.