Scratch Build – Complete ⭐ Light Blade "It's still cool to air cool !

Light Blade by Defyant

*I finally decided to give this project a proper name..

Recently i did a workshop make over added in some new work tops some RGB sickness a few new toys and a splash of white paint. The last thing i added was some sexy white DIY speakers i made a while back and a triple monitor setup to amuse while i spend long sessions modding head and tail lights.

One thing that was really playing with my modder's OCD was the computers framing the ends of the monitors.

I wanted something that stands out more..

So totally inspired my Gnomes amazing Deep blue (formerly G-Frame) mod i decided to do a quickee and mod some thing i could repeat easy enough for the other side in time. Hoping this won't drag on like disco and be done in a few Sundays. ( not ! )







Like all Defyant mods of late this one starts with a pile of scrap white plex!



Then it's time to start making a mess in my new office and cut 7 equal size panels.



The design is pretty randomly chosen cause it fits in the spot and i always want to do a D shaped PC mod.







Decided to add a little more shape to keep it interesting.



And then just because this is a sickness make 6 more of em!





All that work just to throw away the middle.....



Profiling is a simple job of making your template and then using that to make copies.
The ruff cut has straight edges double sided to the clean cut lines.



Process is repeated 6 more times but using the first as the template,



Last but not least is to profile the outer as well.



This gives me 7 pretty exact copies.



Next is to cut up what will be the case... simple 4 wall box.
I was going to use the same white plex but decided to try some frosted to get a bit of contrast.



And just a qik mock up to show where this is all going.





I may add an extra outer blade or 2 yet... looks a bit "chunky" with just the six.



Plenty of room for 140mm fans too



Cheers mtc.

 

Damn, I'm jealous of your workspace. Is that in your loft or your shed?

 

Are you taking the 'safe' route too, Or will you be open to crazy suggestions?
I know it will be trippy either way.

 

Disco was a great project IMO, I loved the scorpion shape and all the lighting effects, I was hoping to see it completed with hardware...but anyway, I'm so glad you came back on the modding scene, with all your magical ideas and your awesome "dream modding workshop"

 

Anytime ya wanna rock over and mod your more than wlecome
the work space is one of my sheds

I would love to go nuts man But that's Disco! and now i have got my hands on another 100kg of white plex i can start back into her soon

I'm trying to make this one as "generic" as possible. So making another will be easy. Really basic idea's and construction.

Cheers mate this won't be that kinda mod soz mate but i'll try and update with some more workshop pics soon!

Cheers kim tyvm mate

Disco is still one the table! literally ! you see it in the background of most the shots The ideas and parts i need were adding up plus i just plain ran out of white plex..... plex is sorted once this mod is out of the way workshop is finished and can knock over a couple sets of tail light mods you will start to see some updates.

 

Just a small update tonight, got home late from work so only had an hour before dinna.

I took my own advice.... and added an extra blade to the outer total of 7 now and i much prefer the look and may knock up a 8th.

Next I'm still toying with ideas for the motherboard backplate/psu cover... wanna try and keep the blade theme on the inside as well initially i was going to bend one up but getting it to work with the extra blades was looking to be a pain, so ive made it in section.

The sides and inner vents are cut and profiled.





Next is the add a top, this will act as the PSU cover and the mother board tray.






Adding in the vents, i think like the outer blades i may cut a couple more as it looks a bit gappy....






The MB template is a 170 x 170 cut out, so you can see it fit with plenty of room around the sides.




All that white is starting to loose contrast..... i'm hoping to add some basic highlights. But im really liking the supa clean sterile look

 

You do realise BitFenix likely hate you about now and Thermaltake are probably planning to raid your shed or install surveillance equipment to monitor your work progress don't you...?

The design is spot on fella, black with carbon/stainless accents would be my preference but white always has a certain clinical feel when done right - it looks so so right

 

Generic!?! Boo!

You need a power button spot, right?

Yeah, I'm stuck babysitting an update. Thought I'd sh*t out a rough model.

 

Cheaps always pokin' us with the 'do something crazy' stick, LOL! We'll get around to being artsy soon enough!

I like the look, especially with that frosted interior. I know you're just looking for quick, but I bet given some time and some LED's you could have this thing looking crazy. Glad I could be some inspiration, I know if I ever do it again, I'm going the 'all panels the same size' way.

Can't wait to see what you wind up doing with it!

 

Cheers man TYVM those case makers have been steelin our ideas for years but it's still feels good to see an idea implemented by them and i really like the idea of carbon and steel

Could you imagine the renders Cheaps did below in carbon and steel !

Jeeeesus i wish i could just crap out 3d models like that that's amazing work Cheaps and I like both those ideas mate you know this case is 1 of 2?

He is a poker! but hes got some amazing ideas and we all benefit from him sharing and caring

Cheers mate and thanks again for the inspiration i hoping that the 4 x 140 RGB fans will do most of the heavy RGB work for me

 

Agreed, InWin, Silverstone and Lian Li spring to mind - even Cougar have their moments to.

@Cheapskate is just in a league of his own when it comes to CAD, he conjures up CAD images the way the rest of us sketch freehand.

 

Agreed

Well it's my turn to steel one back from them !

Had a spare few hours today so got to work on some hole making... 8 of em... i did these in pairs to have 2 x matching sets.


With the holes done i can finally glue the inner housing and add the first slider panel to the front fans..


All this white is making it bit tricky to photo but if you look close there is a channel to hold the fan panel in place.


This will allow for easy fan changes and keep the front of the case clean by hiding the screws.





Next is to glue in the second channel for the top this will allow for the quick install/swap of the Rad fan combo.







Then to add the rad for a test fit.






Mesh will be shaped and added to the top between the rad and slider mount plate.



Adding 7 for a quick look ..... i may cut 2 more and try 9

 

Thanks guys should have an update soon

 

wahooo, discooo , you're the master of light

 

Sweet little work space you got there man, and likin' where this is going for your case mod bookends! I need to check back here more often now so I dont miss out on the updates.

 

Hehe cheers mate i wish there was a place here i could post my head and tail light mods and really show off some cool light mods

Ty Ty mate you just reminded me i have to start a second one !

Just a small update today ,

The same is done for the VGA card and once again the edges are 45 degree cut...... hard to believe such a nice small board has sag.... I'll add a rubber mount.







Hopefully a big update tomorrow

 

I'm interested to see what you do with the fins where they block the I/O.
Tail lights: I've wanted to see them too. Just post them here. Who's going to stop you? It's still a computer case log.

 

They will just be cut away on a 45 degree angle leaving the most outer ones complete.

Maybe an "Other Mods" section? just for Defyant When i stop and think about case modding it's prolly less then a tenth of my creative time nowadays.

 

Still a ways to go on the back panel !

And now that have fully decided that " It's still cool to air cool " i'll be adding a rear exhaust port as well

Actually i was toying around with the idea of adding some LL120's to the existing cpu air cooler and after seeing it sitting in the orig housing i was 100% sold !

Air cool it will be


Back to the Back panel...

I'll be using the low profile SFX-L 700 for power duties and for this will need to add a custom size opening for the rear.



The easiest way to transfer this is with some scrap clear plex....







This can be used as a template and transferred to the back panel. A ruff cut is done on the jigsaw




Then, again over to the router







The template is labelled and can be put away in the "templates" bin for later use.



Next is to allow the PSU some breathable air

For this a simple 120mm hole is added to the floor panel of the case.

A small lip or edge, this is to allow some good old fashioned mesh to be inlaid... This is 15year old MNPC mesh ! sent over to me from Bill back in the old HP modding days...

It's sentimental to me from special mod i never finished and for that reason i'm leaving it orange........


A trim and a test fit before some glue is added to hold the grill in place



Then some foam strip is stuck down around the edges to help seal and vibration.





Im hoping the LL-140's will show up tomorrow and i can finish the inner casing.