Maximum PC

Ok, here's two more mods I'm working on for Thermaltake, based on their Chaser MK-1 and Armor Revo case.
Theme obviously is Star Wars Old Republic, with the Chaser case as the Dark Side, and the Armor Revo case the Republic. The cases are very similar in style (both use the same chassis), and were perfect candidates for the two-sided theme.









Light sabers will be modified 12" CCFL's and will protrude out of the panel to enhance the 3D look and feel of the imagery.
The front hologram effect will be achieved by employing 3D etched crystals that will be lit from below. This will be the first time I've attempted to incorporate this into a mod, so hopefully it turns out as good as it looks above!

Artwork will be supplied by Steve Nunez. Case panels have already been sent off to him, so stay tuned for pics of his airbrushing magic!

Finally getting visible progress on these cases.

Working on the Trooper helmet for the side panel. Cutting some acrylic pieces to make up the frame.


Here they are assembled and glued together.


Using expandable foam to fill the spaces in between.


Once cured, I trimmed it down to the framing.


A quick trip to the hardware store to pick up some helmet parts lol.


I cut up the washer drain hose and fit the pvc elbows and barbs on each end to create the air supply lines.


Next I'll be covering the whole thing with plastic resin to bring the whole thing together. Hopefully take care of that this weekend.

I also got started on the holo emitter that will be mounted on the front of the cases. I designed it up in Illustrator, then had the parts cut.


I was happy to find that my measuring was good and all the pieces fit together. woot!


And it actually fit perfectly into the front bays.


Now here's the cool part, covered in awesome sauce: In order to re-create the holograms as seen in the game, I knew that mere 2D etching wouldn't be enough, so I had these 3D etches made up. And they turned out awesome! The images are not etched on the surface. They are actually inside the blocks.


You can see the characters a lot better lit up, but it still doesn't do it justice. I will have to take some video and pan around them so you can see the depth.


I had to see how they looked in the case on the holo emitter. I'll be wiring up some leds to light these things from below which should complete the effect I was going for.

ZOMG Progress pics from Steve:

More airbrushing goodness:

Our friendly neighborhood UPS man dropped off a box yesterday, and it's claiming to have life-altering properties...



Upon opening the box and extracting its contents, it looks to be two differently hued vessels with some sort of malleable substance inside each one. With the box's ominous inscription echoing in my head, I felt compelled to carefully bring the two substances together...


Well, nothing happened. Eventually getting over my thorough disappointment, I decided to continue modding. And that's when I realized I could use this stuff to form the masks that will adorn the side of the SWTOR cases.

I flattened it out to a consistent thickness of 1/4" on wax paper, then laid it over my foam structure.


After some shaping, molding, and general sculpting, I ended up with something that resembled a storm trooper mask.


Once it cures, I'll need to go over it with sand paper to smooth it out, then I'll hit it with some gloss white paint.

But I still don't feel any different than I did before opening the box. Perhaps they want me to file a million dollar lawsuit for false advertising. THAT would change my life!

With the Borderlands case pretty much complete, I could focus more on the Star Wars cases this weekend. I should be getting the airbrushed panels back from Steve this week, and I'm hoping to have everything ready to go on the cases by then. So I got the Sith mask made, as well as some work done on the front logos.

Making the frame, I started with the base and center spine.


Then added the ribs.


Filled the cavities with expandable foam.


While that was setting up, I started building the air inlets and other accoutrements.




After the foam cured, I shaved it down to the shape I wanted and glued the inlets on. For the red lights, I added two acrylic tubes with trim rings that will be lit from behind.


Mixed more epoxy putty up, then rolled it out to 1/4" thickness.


I took some time applying the putty, adding details and lines. Once cured, I'll go back and smooth things out. Then it will be ready for paint.

Got some lighting behind the front Jedi logo...

Using a 12" blue led strip underneath the outer ring. I added an 1/8" styrene stick around the edge for the led strip.



I removed the black mesh to show the white hex pattern below it, which fits the theme better. However, the logo is hard to see over it.


So I added a white circle cut from styrene sheet to give it a solid background.


Testing the lights. The led strip is so bright, it was bleeding through the 1/8" acrylic (!) so I painted the bottom.


Looks good to me! Time to glue everything down.


Also got word from Steve Nunez that the case panels are done and being sent back this week! I should have them by Friday. Can't wait to check them out!

Less than a week to go, and still got a lot of work to do on these cases. I got all the airbrushed panels back from Steve, so I went straight to work assembling them. They look amazing!

Here's a shot of the Jedi mural on the case.


And now with the light saber in place.


And here's the Sith mural with light saber. Steve painted the background light sabers with a luminescent red by House of Kolor, so they pop out a lot more.



I also got some work done on the front of the Jedi case, mounting the crystal and wiring the lights.


I've got some black cloth behind the crystal so you can't see through to the inside.


And finally an overall shot. Coming together!


I really gotta get going on the masks next. They are taking the longest to complete. I still have to clean them up and get them painted, then mounted to the panel.

Cases have been shipped off to Tt this morning! I was scrambling to get them all done by today's deadline, so I couldn't stop and take pics, but there was mostly just small details and painting to take care of anyway. I did manage to snap a couple final shots before boxing them up so here ya go!








Here are some closer up shots of the masks I made for the window panel.








And here's a shot of all three cases together...


I didn't have time to get PSU's in and power them up, so we'll have to wait until Thermaltake sets them up at their booth at Computex to see how they look all lit up. I'll post those pics when I get them (or find them online somewhere).

Here are some shots of the cases on display at Computex:

Would you ever consider selling the Sith Case or making another one to sell? I really love The Old Republic and Its time for me to do some major PC upgrades, including getting a new case. I haven't been able to find any Old Republic cases for sale. I'm serious about buying this, thanks!