Red Dragon Case Idea - Need help.

[Mr.Geno]

I am just about to upgrade my pc and have been looking around for a case to suit... obviously there's no good 'psycho' looking cases out there so i'm going to model one from scratch.

THE idea:
I'm thinking a "Red Dragon" case, project titled "Project Beast", with the whole case made to look like a Red Dragon and the side of the case having a liver shaped redish window like it's the insides of teh dragon all UV red, with watercooling tubes only to the cpu making it look like The Heart. Woohoo!

Anyone drewling yet? ...

I wanna do the head and all with the eyes glowing when it starts up and some nice sound effects, smoke or something from the nose...

Only one problem... I dunno where to start with this one... i'll draw up some sketches but I need a pro to tell me what's best to model the head etc. eg. model it out of plastic and make it hollow or...

Anyway, thanks in advance, I look foward to the pro's hitting me with suggestion city.

[CompChopper]

If you're just starting out I'd suggest not going so 3D'ish with the dragon. Get a couple of acrylic cutouts of a dragon from the side. Place them like 6" apart and fill in the rest. The filling in part might be complicated but it's a hundred times easier than fiberglassing a real dragon (unless you have experience and know how).

[Mr.Geno]

Aww, come on, I got this whole year to work on it. I dun wanna hear "don't do it, it's gonna be too hard!" I wanna hear stuff like "Well, it's gonna be hard but... you'll need to draw up some sketches and depending on how big you want it, latex moulding might be the go..." or as you just said "Fiberglass 3D models would be too hard...

What's stopping me? If I screw up i'll just start again and again until it turns out 100% perfect.

All I need is someone with experience to help me think of the best way to do it, before I blow $200 on fiberglass or latex and find out it isn't quite the best way to tackle it.

Anyway... before you all throw in mega suggestions i'll post some sketches. Gimme a few days or so. :D

[sXenoG]

i just reccomend against fiberglass theres other methods you might want to take a look at silicon rising. Fiberglass from what i kno is a terrible thing to use with detail. and VERY hard to sand down/ It only what ive heard ive never personally used the stuff.

[slaveofconvention]

It isn't just hard to work with - the dust generated when you sand it is nothing short of lethal..... Be VERY careful if you go this route - make sure you have a GOOD dust mask - not some 99c disposable thing

[Mr.Geno]

I'll probably go for plastic moulding or something that I can add a heap of detail to. That way I can use the moulds again if others want to buy a case like mine. :D

I don't think fiberglass is the way to go at all.

Has anyone ever worked with plastic moulding and knows where to look for tools and supplies?

[Dark-hobo]

I am sorry to be cynical but... molds are very hard to make well. You have to have them perfect, every single imperfection shows through no matter how small. After you finish, which will be awhile, you will need to go over it with bondo/lots of primer. Also, remember when making molds and surface that folds over CANNOT be molded on the same peice. For every peice that folds under you have to make a new mold, keep that in mind. I have made a few molds in my lifetime, very short so far :P, all of them aluminum and none came out the way I wanted :/. I wish you luck and hope your fortunes are better than mine.

Personally I would suggest hand crafting it without the molder. I allows for more flexibilty, it is less complicated, takes less time, and you can see what you are working on. With molds it is hard to get a good visual of how you are doing. Just try to find a plastic dragon head somewhere that fits your size requirements. Then just add the body on by using fiberglass with a foam core or building some sort of material up.

[Mr.Geno]

I'm thinking of making a clay model of the head then casting the mould from the clay model? Any better ideas?

[Dark-hobo]

You would have to make it hollow. The entire thing would have to have a wall size of max .25" otherwise the clay will most likely crack, due to excessive shrinking. It would be difiicult.

[crazybillybob]

Here is a How to on Molds and Plastic resin Casting. Smooth-On Plastic CO. How To. (http://www.smooth-on.com/howto.htm) Depending on how elaborate you go with your design your probably not going to get it in one mold. Your best bet is to make you clay model of the whole dragon. Then make several molds (one of the head, the wing, body, tail each as there own) Once you cast the plastic you can glue them together.

The other thing is your going to have to use mold release to get the plastic out of the silicone mold and you'll probably kill the mold on the first pull (rough jagged undercuts are rough on molds IE. Fangs talons, scales,) I'll say it's going to be rough to get this to come out right, and it's not going to be cheap (just a little shot of reality) but if you have the time and some talent (the pull is only going to be as good as the mold....which is only as good as your model!) you could pull this off........But I'd agree with the others you may want to try building another case with plex and first start pouring resin (plastic) details for it. Once you get comfortable with that tackle the pour a case one.

Using resin and molding plastics isn't hard but making a good mold and learning where to vent, how much to vent etc. takes Time and Practice.

Good luck to you sir!

Crazybillybob

Oh, Smooth-On makes a good quality product that's why I linked them!

[Mr.Geno]

Thankyou to Crazybillybob, the first to explain a good detailed approach to what I wish to achieve. I salute you sir and i'll be looking into it!

[Chapel]

weave it out of basket material...

But i think the coolist look (if done right) woudl be pounded metal, that would look wicked, this gaint red dragon all one piece of metal! \m/

[amberella]

just ran across this - didn't know if this was the sort of thing you were going for: Dragon Case (http://www.bluesmoke.net/case_gallery_47.html)
It's case #693.