Hi guys. This is the beginning of my second mod, and my first worklog on bit-tech. Say hello to Project: Thriced. This mod will be centered around Thrice - one of my favorite bands - and their logo. I prefer a clean, sleek look, so there won't be anything over the top with this project. My main focus will be implementing the logo, especially on the back side panel. Let's get down to it: First thing's first - here are some pictures of the Skyhawk case I ordered from Dealsonic. For $40 shipped, not to shabby. By the way, sorry if the picture quality isn't up to par, I really have to clean my lens soon. One of the first things I wanted to do was cut the blowholes. I decided to use 92mm fans all around for this case - one on top, one in the rear, and two in front of the drive cage (there might be another one later). I salvaged a 92mm fan and its fan guard from an old power supply and began to lay out the cut. After the cut: Here's a picture of the exhaust blowhole I cut. It still needs to be sanded. As I was drilling the pilot hole, I realized that it was a bit off-center . It was too risky to rework the pilot hole, so I went ahead and drilled anyways. With a fan mounted, there is a very small amount of space between the edge of the fan and the edge of the blowhole. So, what do we do with mistakes, kids? That's right, cover them up! Using an old case for scrap metal, I drew up a fan grill that would cover up the that small amount of empty space, and look cool in the process. Pictures: Some cutting. Some more cutting. In the meanwhile, here is the window panel, masked off, lines drawn, ready to be cut. Because of the position of the fan grills, I didn't really have many options with window design, so I decided to go with a plain square window. I have plans for the window, anyways. That's all for now, kids. This week I'm going to work on cutting the window, finishing the fan grill, starting another one, cutting out the grill in front of the intake fans and replacing it with mesh, and perhaps drilling holes for the toggle switches that'll control the cathodes. I leave for williamsburg on friday, so painting will have to wait until I return. I haven't decided on a color yet, anyways (i'm open to suggestions). ~ HitMan
Ooooh interesting I was going to get that case awhile ago but decided not to because i basically had no money So what are your overall plans? Hardware?
My Plans: - Cut the top blowhole. - Cut the exhaust blowhole. - Cut the window. - Cut the fan grilles. - Cut out the front grille and replace with mesh (to be painted later). - Drill and install toggle switches (next to the audio/mic ports). - Create a fan controller (need suggestions on this one). Painting: - Paint the entire case (I'm still undecided on the color). - Mask off (or reverse mask) and paint the logo on the back panel. - Mask off (or reverse masK) and paint the logo on the drive bays (perhaps). - Stealth my optical drives. - Etch, or frost, a special something on the window. I have some decisions to make. The lower drive bay in front of the intake fans can hold only 3 hard drives. I have a 36gb raptor and two 200GB storage drives that I plan to put in there. What would you guys say about putting all three hard drives in there, in front of a pair of 92mm intake fans? I also need to decide on a color. I know that it will be complemented with white (the logo, etc). Any suggestions, guys? As for hardware, I'm going to wait until this case is finished to upgrade. That way I'll have my machine ready to go before I go to college. I'll have my final decisions made about hardware by the time this project is wrapping up.
The HDD's should be fine there - my 200gb maxtor and 80gb samsung (old ide drives in 2nd rig) are fine with just a single 80mm over them i think you should paint the case Gloss black, with a nice clearcoat, with white plexi glass would look nice
all is going well sofar, you seem to know what your doing the lian li replica is..... but its a project case so it doesnt matter, good luck
ive never heard of that band but they certainly have a nice logo, reminds me of wipeout 2097. Looks cool, i think you shoulda made it huge tho
I like Thrice too; I'm actually going to see them at the Austin City Limits this September, them and alot of other great bands like them. Anyway, great mod so far, keep us updated.
Small Update 6/23/05 I decided to cut a new fan grille, here it is cut out and sanded down a bit. I'm not really satisfied with how it turned out - there are some nicks and rough cuts i cant seem to smooth out. As you can see, it doesn't evenly cover the blowhole. My mistakes a lot more difficult to cover up than I anticipated . I'm not too concerned right now, I can always think of something else while the case is being painted. Anyways, I'm going to try to cut the window tomorrow morning. If so, that'll be the last update until next week - I'm heading to Williamsburg. Hope you guys enjoy, and keep the suggestions rollin'.
what about if yuo stuck it in the inside. That way it would be cleaner because you couldnt see the edges (which im sry to tell you aernt to straight) and would cover up the not covering all the blowhole thing. Well atleast i think it would fix it i cant really tell.
Thanks, that's a great idea. Yeah, I realize the edges aren't straight. I was planning on sanding it down some more, but I was probably going to end up doing another one.
7/30/05 - Big Update This worklog died about a month ago, and I've been working on the case on and off. Now, I'm on the home stretch. To pick up where I left off... Here's a picture of everything wetsanded after a coat of primer. I cut out the grill on the faceplate. Here it is, after filing and priming. An asston of sanding and priming later.. And everything's ready for color. I was originally planning on some sort of blue, but decided to go with this deep jewel green metallic instead. I didn't like it at first, but it's grown on me. Sorry for the crappy pictures, I still need to clean my camera. These pictures do a somewhat decent job of showing the true color. The fan controller and mouse: Here's what the grille will look like mounted on the inside of the case. It will be painted white. Then it was time to paint the logo. I laid down masking tape (I ended up going with 3M Blue Painter's Tape, because it's very low tack) on the kitchen counter, drew the logo, and cut it out with an Xacto knife, and had a big masking tape stencil. It was a bitch to lay down. Here's the logo, with the edges somewhat cleaned up. I laid masking tape straight along the edges, masked everything else off, and sprayed another coat of white along the edges to help straighten them out. It's not perfect, but I guess I'm satifised. I used touch-up paint in some of the areas. The drive bays: And here's everything, ready to clearcoat, with the exception of two drive bays that are drying from a coat of paint. I still need to drill a couple of holes in the case for wire routing, and I'll take a picture of everything clearcoated tomorrow. Expect much better pictures after everything is put together. Hardware-wise, this is what's on the way: - Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe - Athlon64 3700+ - 2GB (1 x 2GB) Patriot PC-3200 (2-3-2-5) - Connect3D X850XT PE - Enermax 485W NoiseTaker - Western Digital 320GB SATA (in addition to the raptor and 200GB seagate I have for this) - Sony DualLayer DVD Burner - Sony DVD/CD-RW Combo - Audigy2 ZS - Logitech Z-5500 - The 1905FP is already here. ~ HitMan
looking a good project so far, but why have an sli mobo with an ati card? makes it totally redundant, and would be cheaper to buy a non sli board. (unless you plan to upgrade to two 7800gtxs at the same time, if so please ignore this rant) lol, c.u.later
