Maximum PC

Hey guys, this is one of my next projects, a Borderlands 2 Case Mod, based on Thermaltake's Armor Revo case.

This will be one of three case mods I'll be doing for Thermaltake, to be on show at Computex in June. I've been doing a lot of prep work, designing panels, templates, pre-vis in Google Sketchup, getting parts cut, and panels sent out to paint. Here are the initial concept renderings...







Since I only have about a month to do 3 cases now, this design is purposely simple. Not much fabrication, and mostly paint and vinyl lol.

Updates will be posted as time allows.

Got a bit more work done last night. CL4P-TP, the robot character in BL2, will adorn the left side of the case. I designed the acrylic parts to fit the shape of the side panel.



I did a little heat-bending to the arms, to add some depth. Had it more time, I would bring him out with more layers and make his front drawer functional. We'll see if I even have time to put a light behind his eye lens.


I mounted the body using 6-32 screws from behind the panel.


Here's a closeup shot of the other arm curving around the front of the case.


I should be getting the vinyl prints today, for the right side panel, so I can get that on over the weekend.

More progress! Got the vinyl mural back from the printer and spent the better part of yesterday prepping the panel and applying it.

I found this really high resolution graphic of all the BL2 heroes together, so I thought it would be perfect for the back side of this case. After sizing it to the panel, I separated the characters from the background in Photoshop. Cutting them out took a bit of time, but what was really arduous was recreating the background behind them. Once that was done, I ended up with two separate prints with which to create my layered image.


The side panel has a center geometric shape that is raised, and I need to cut out the heroes silhouette. So after cutting the white areas out of the vinyl, I taped it onto the panel and traced the remaining shape.




This is where it gets fun! Hacking the panel up. I used the jigsaw where ever I could, starting the cuts with the dremel.


Once the main parts were cut out, I went back with the dremel and got the tighter spots.


I kept working the panel until I couldn't see any more blue lines. Then I proceeded to file and sand all the edges. Talk about tedious!


Finally done and cleaned up, here's a shot of it with the background behind it.


Same shot, but with the heroes print layed over it.


And a close up shot.


Looked good enough, so I stuck it down. I then cut a sheet of aluminum to fit behind the panel, and applied the background print to that. I had made the graphic oversized so I had some extra vinyl to continue onto the front, top, and bottom panel edges. Otherwise it would have looked weird once the panel was on the case.


Another angle, showing the vinyl continuing around the back lip.


Turned out pretty well. Next will be to add some backlighting behind the heroes so they will really pop off the background. I got some led strips coming in this week, so that will be the next update.

For the front of this case, I came up with the idea for an acid-eaten panel that would reveal the BL2 logo, and doubling as the fan grill. So I dove back into Illustrator and drew up a nice splatter and had it laser cut out of 1/8" acrylic.

Prepping the front bezel to cut away the hexagon mesh area.


With that removed I could set my acid panel in place.


I painted the panel with some hammered silver from Rustoleum, to give it a hand-forged look. It will provide a good base for the weathering I'll be doing later.


With that panel gluing up, I started on the front doors. I painted them with the same hammered paint...


Masked off the areas I didn't want yellow...


And now I have stripes! Looks so nice I almost hate to add weathering and scratches... almost.


With that done, I could move on to the top add-ons. More hammered panels will cover most of the top. Here's the main piece, with a slotted grate that will go next to the fan opening.


Gluing the grate on.


And on the case for fit.


Looks better with the hammered paint.


I'll be securing this down with carriage bolts.


Here are the parts for the fan tube, which will be mounted onto the above hammered panel.


I want to sort of mimic the jet engines seen in this BL2 reference pic.


I took the 200mm exhaust fan from the case and cut off its mounting tabs, so it would fit inside the bucket.


Adding some styrene sheet for armor paneling to the outside...


I added some holes for the wiring and leds, and once I swap out the blue leds for yellow ones, I will cover them up with more armor paneling.

And the work goes on...

Ok, HUGE update! Got the case pretty much finished over the weekend, barring a few bolt-on items and logos.

Lets start with one of the armor plates. I cut out a shape from 1/4" acrylic to match the pattern on the side panel.


Using my square drill bit, I drilled five square holes for the carriage bolts.


And used the same hammered paint on it.


Another item on my list was backlighting for the vinyl cutout. I got some yellow ledstrips from Moddersmart and glued them onto the back of it, spacing them out.


I then powered them up to see how they looked.


With the smoke test passed, I finished up the wiring with some sleeving, got the back panel on and did a final test. Here's the panel off...


...and with the leds on. Nice even glow around the whole thing.


I also finished up the top turbine. Got the leds switched out for yellow ones.


Then I proceeded to add styrene pieces around the sides, including these covers for the leds and wires.


Leaving the bottoms open allows the wires to run down through the top panel out of sight.


After the armor paneling was done, I got some hammered paint on it as well.


For a finishing touch, I added an RC propeller nose cone.


Overall shot of the top panel.


Now that everything is painted and on the case and looking perfect, it's time for some fun! Weathering and rust! To create the rust effect, I used a two-part product called "Sophisticated Finishes" that consists of a metallic base and an antiquing solution. First step was to apply the base surfacer where I wanted the rust to be. So I went all around the case, thinking of how water might stand in some areas, and where the paint would be worn or chipped off from use.
You can also see where I did some tests prior to doing the whole case, just to see how this stuff works.


Here's the top panel with one coat of antiquing solution. The directions said to wait 24 hours after applying the surfacer, but if I wanted a more orange rust look, I could apply the antiquing solution sooner. So I waited about an hour and did the first coat, and about 30 minutes between each subsequent coat.


After 3 coats...


And after about 6 coats. By this time it wasn't getting any more orange so I stopped.



Here's the front acid panel after applying the base:


1 coat of antiquing solution:


3 coats:


And 6 coats:


Came out pretty good I think.

That pretty much wraps it up for this case, with the exception of a few more bolt-on pieces (the CL4P-TP robot I'm having painted locally, logo behind the acid panel, and a last-minute rusted mesh panel for the 5 1/4 drive bay opening).

I'm also wondering what to do with the case feet. Trying to think of something industrial, like from a scrap heap that would work. Any ideas?

Work continues on the front of the case. I needed something to replace the drive bay covers because I didn't they would look right, even if they were weathered and rusty as well. So as I was looking around the garage, I found the perfect thing... A semi-rusted piece of mesh! I cut it to size and fit it into the opening. Then I printed the Tt buzzsaw logo onto label paper and cut it out. Time for more rust!


Applying the iron surfacer...


I removed the mask and applied the first coat of antiquing solution, but then realized it was having a reaction to the bare metal around the logo as well, which actually made it better.


I placed the mask back on and continued applying the solution just on the logo parts.


After 6 coats I removed the mask and found that the single coat on the bare metal created a nice orange outline around the logo, giving it a more realistic look. I love it!


Front bezel back on the case. While the doors were off, I worked them a bit more, roughing up the stripes so they don't look so crisp. I also added the BL2 logo behind the acid panel.






Just have to add the back-lighting behind the acid panel now.

Wrapping up the BL2 build! Got CL4P-TP painted on the acrylic, and the arms mounted.

Had a local illustrator paint CL4P-TP for me from a reference pic I gave him. Came out awesome!


For the right arm, I added another piece of 1/4" acrylic to the back and sandwiched two flush mount screws in between.


Drilled mounting holes in the door panel,


and fastened the arm to the panel with cap nuts.


Making the arms removable will make it easier to ship the case, as it will still fit in its original box, with the arms packed safely inside.


The left arm is held on by a small metal bracket at the tip, and velcro where it joins the body.






Final pics coming soon!

Found a shot of the case on display at Computex...

Congratulations, that looks awesome, man! Flipping great.

B

This is an incredible mod job! Congrats! Are you gonna dirty it up or scratch it more?

Thanks vistageek. This case is now in the hands of the customer, so any additional weathering/distressing will be up to them.

Hey there. I was interested in if you could make another one of those cases. I know it may be asking a lot, but I am a real Borderlands fanboy, and love all the merchandise and just so happens to be getting a new computer. Thank you.

One of your best mods ever!

Thanks man!

@ CaptainBron3y... PM'ed.