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View Full Version : Imperial Shuttle Mod



Megatron1977
03-29-2005, 04:24 PM
First let me start off by saying some people might have seen this mod on Yoshi's Forums or PimpRig, but I thought I'd post it here in case anyone has any ideas. Second, this mod probably won't have alot of updates for awhile because the nanoITX board I need to use won't be out until the end of the year. I still plan on doing little things untill then though, but they will be few and far between.
So, here's my idea. I have a 1983 Return of the Jedi Imperial Shuttle that I plan on converting into a PC. Hopefully when it's done the shuttle will have working engine and landing lights and automated wings that lower or raise when the computer turns on or off.
Here's the assorted parts after I took the shuttle apart:
http://img202.exs.cx/img202/1453/parts3yh.th.jpg (http://img202.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img202&image=parts3yh.jpg)
Here's the main body where the mobo and DVD drive will sit:
http://img202.exs.cx/img202/4598/body3hx.th.jpg (http://img202.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img202&image=body3hx.jpg)

Megatron1977
03-29-2005, 04:28 PM
Here's where I cut out a place in the cockpit for the 2.5" HDD:
http://img202.exs.cx/img202/9761/hdd6ix.th.jpg (http://img202.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img202&image=hdd6ix.jpg)
Here's where I cut out a place for the DVD and mobo, I still have to add supports and a mobo tray:
http://img202.exs.cx/img202/6976/cockpit27pu.th.jpg (http://img202.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img202&image=cockpit27pu.jpg)

Megatron1977
03-29-2005, 04:33 PM
This was the hardest mod so far, I couldn't think of anything to use that would somewhat match the look of the fan grill sticker. Wordbiker over at PimpRigs gave me the idea to cut out an old monitor's rear grills. It just so happened that I had an old monitor laying around, so I cut a piece out, painted it silver/grey and cut up some of my wife's black pantyhose to make a filter behind it. I think it looks pretty good, but if someone has a better suggestion, I'd love to hear it.
Before the mod:
http://img203.exs.cx/img203/8297/fan12ex.th.jpg (http://img203.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img203&image=fan12ex.jpg)
After the mod:
http://img203.exs.cx/img203/4725/newgrill8ve.th.jpg (http://img203.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img203&image=newgrill8ve.jpg)

Matthew
03-29-2005, 10:59 PM
Lol I like the fan grill. This is gonna be a great mod. As for another idea of what you can do with the fan grill, I am not sure, but the closer to the original the better.

Frakk
03-29-2005, 11:08 PM
I think it will turn out pretty good, i look forward to it. dont get disencouraged because of the release date of the motherboard, you can still get everything else done :D or if you have a spare itx mobo do it with that. the fangrill looks good, try to put the pantyhose on the outside covering the grill instead of the inside and paint it silver. it will give you a look closer to the original imo

Megatron1977
03-30-2005, 09:03 AM
Thanks for the support guys. :D
I don't have a spare ITX board though, in fact I've never worked with this formfactor before. lol
It wouldn't really matter though, the miniITX boards won't fit unless I cut the pillars that allow the bottom half to screw into the top half. I could do it that way and just glue the to halves together, but it would be really hard to fix any problems after the two parts are fused together.

Bum
03-30-2005, 01:59 PM
I'd say you're going to have to create your own fastening points to put the halves together. From the pictures, it looks like you have a fair amount of area front and back to put some sort of screws from the bottom to the top. You could also use magnets on the corners to keep it in place without sealing it up. It wouldn't be strong enough to pick up from the top but does it really need to be?

Silversliver116
03-31-2005, 02:54 PM
HOLY CRAP, thats awsome, what did u use

Aegypticus
03-31-2005, 09:47 PM
This is too cool. Anything Star Wars owns the show. "Shuttle Tyderium, requesting deactivation of the deflector shield."

zapperfish
04-01-2005, 08:39 AM
no flames please, im not astarwars fan but this mod looks very very nice

Crimson Sky
04-01-2005, 11:49 AM
Love it so far!--one of my fave SW models, next to the speeder bikes. The placement of the HDD is really slick!--keep it up! 8)

Megatron1977
04-01-2005, 02:50 PM
Thanks for the support everyone. I'm expecially glad that you like it CrimsonSky. Since seeing your Doom3 pc over at Yoshi's forums I've been a big fan of your mods, I even got your book. =)

Silversliver116, I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "What did you use?", if you could clarify, I'd be glad to give as much detail as possible.

dreath3
04-01-2005, 03:42 PM
how bib is that thing?

dreath3
04-01-2005, 03:43 PM
i mean how big is that thing? (wasn't paying attention :) )

Megatron1977
04-01-2005, 04:21 PM
Without the wings it's 18" long, 10.5" wide, and 6" tall. With wings attached it's 10" long, 35" wide, and 19" tall. It's pretty big, but I still wish it was a little bigger so I could cram some bigger equipment inside. lol

Whisp
04-03-2005, 04:01 PM
Nice start man definetly going to be nice when its done.

Savi
04-04-2005, 06:03 AM
wow cant wait to see it when its done, anything starwars is good :D

FX
04-04-2005, 12:37 PM
I'm not sure of the size of the opening you've got there, but, you might want to look into the grill covers that are used over bathroom or kitchen vents. They look like they're the right pattern, I'm just not sure if they're too big or not.

Should be able to pick one of them up at your local hardware store cheap and modify it so it works with your design.

Nice work so far though, I'm looking forward to seeing more from this one.

Megatron1977
04-04-2005, 02:27 PM
I'm not sure of the size of the opening you've got there, but, you might want to look into the grill covers that are used over bathroom or kitchen vents. They look like they're the right pattern, I'm just not sure if they're too big or not.

Should be able to pick one of them up at your local hardware store cheap and modify it so it works with your design.

Nice work so far though, I'm looking forward to seeing more from this one.

I've looked into the grill covers you mentioned, but I'm afraid they would be too big. Since I haven't glued anything into place, I can still change my plan if I find something that looks better. I'll probably go out to Lowes in a few days, and see what all I can find.

Megatron1977
07-15-2005, 05:35 PM
Just so everyone knows, I'm back to work on this project. Nothing major, just working out the placement of the LED's, and I added a rockerswitch for the on/off button (although I might try to change it to a pushbutton style). Tomorrow I'm going to try to build the HDD bracers, and try to plan out the DVD placement. I can't do too much at this point since the nanoITX boards are supposed to be out till the end of the year, but I'm doing all I can until then. I do have two questions. First, where can I get the plugs that connect the on/off switch to the mobo? Second, I'm going to need some servos to raise and lower the wings, but I need some that will move very, very slowly, any suggestions on what type I can use, or if there is an easy, and I mean REALLY easy way to modify a servo to move slowly, please let me know.

weirdguy
07-15-2005, 06:10 PM
Next someone has to do a death star
http://www.starwarz.com/modelshop/make/deathstar.htm

MisterChief
07-16-2005, 12:01 AM
Nice Lambda-Class shuttle. If you've ever played X-Wing/TIE Fighter/X-Wing Alliance, you can get a really good and accurate 3D view of the shuttle.

Megatron1977
07-16-2005, 12:18 AM
I have all those games. =)
Mostly I'll rely on web based photos of the shuttle from the movies to get a realistic look, but I'm open to other sources as well.
I got bored and decided to cut out the area for the DVD. I had to cut out the rear landing gear, but I was going to replace those anyways. I'll have to fill in the holes in the bottom where the landing gear went, I was thinking of using Bondo. I'll try to post some pics tomorrow after I clean up my cuts a bit.

hungrych
07-16-2005, 11:09 AM
Yay Megatron!

Now finish it!!!!

Megatron1977
07-16-2005, 02:44 PM
LOL, I'm doing my best, it's been hard because of everything that's been going on, plus the fact that the nanoITX still isn't out...but it's nice to get back to work on it. =)