artoodeeto
01-19-2010, 06:01 AM
Similar to the "when did you start with the internet" thread, I thought this might be fun. I was about to post this as a reply to that one, then thought, hell, this is an entire thread by itself. So here goes:
I built my first non-functioning computer in 1995, right after I graduated from high school. I'd gone to a computer show and bought various parts, although now I don't remember what they were. I had no idea what I was doing, and the silly thing didn't work. I ended up upgrading my Tandy 486 25MHz to a 50MHz processor. Probably upgraded the RAM in it too, and took that machine to college in 1996.
In 1997, second year of college, I built a Pentium (I think), that was the first machine I put together that 1) worked and 2) I actually used. It went through various uprades to the point that it was probably 3 or 4 separate computers over the years.
It wasn't til late 2001 that the thought of building a custom case crossed my mind. I've been a model builder since I was 10; to date I've built well over 200 plastic models, mostly airplanes. Back in 1995 I'd completed my first attempt at a model built from scratch: a 4 foot long Star Destroyer. So 6 years later, I thought it'd be cool to do another large Star Wars model, but to help justify its existence, I thought hey, I should make it my computer case. I was totaly clueless on the concept of modding at the time, didn't really know that anyone else out there did it. I debated between a Sandcrawer and AT-AT, as those were the only two vehicles boxy enough to plausibly house computer parts, and then decided on the Sandcrawler since the AT-AT would have been HUGE to keep it in scale.
And there you have it. I built Sandcrawler #1 in '01, didn't know what I was doing really but figured it out as I went. I pulled a motherboard tray out of an old case (I'm still using that tray) and hacksawed out the drive bays (dumped those years ago).
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Crawlers%201%20and%202/02--02-03Right3-4View.jpg
It started falling apart as soon as I finished it , and so I built a sturdier Sandcrawler #2 in 2004, finished it in 2006. Most interesting feature is that it opened like a car hood. I was going to do that on Crawler #3 as well, but the back section where the hinges would have attached was far too weak to hold all the weight, so Crawler 3's top lifts completely off, same as Crawler 1.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Crawlers%201%20and%202/06--08-03PICT0070.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Crawlers%201%20and%202/06--08-03openedupleftside.jpg
I then decided that I hated the way it turned out, very inaccurate to the film model, and started work on Crawler #3 in 2007 after getting much better reference material. I'm nearly done with it now.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/09--11-12DSC_0023.jpg
oh yes, and I built but didn't finish an 8-foot tall Orthanc model around 2003 or so. Made it out of plywood, and it housed 2 computers, but it was huge, SUPER heavy, and unwieldy, and I eventually dumped it. I've since redesigned it and will built another someday, but likely shorter and very much lighter weight.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Orthanc/orthanc1.jpg
So that's me. Technically I've built 4 computer case mods, but 3 of them are the same design. Rivendell for my girlfriend's computer is next on the list. :D
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Rivendell/rivendell_model_aicn.jpg
I built my first non-functioning computer in 1995, right after I graduated from high school. I'd gone to a computer show and bought various parts, although now I don't remember what they were. I had no idea what I was doing, and the silly thing didn't work. I ended up upgrading my Tandy 486 25MHz to a 50MHz processor. Probably upgraded the RAM in it too, and took that machine to college in 1996.
In 1997, second year of college, I built a Pentium (I think), that was the first machine I put together that 1) worked and 2) I actually used. It went through various uprades to the point that it was probably 3 or 4 separate computers over the years.
It wasn't til late 2001 that the thought of building a custom case crossed my mind. I've been a model builder since I was 10; to date I've built well over 200 plastic models, mostly airplanes. Back in 1995 I'd completed my first attempt at a model built from scratch: a 4 foot long Star Destroyer. So 6 years later, I thought it'd be cool to do another large Star Wars model, but to help justify its existence, I thought hey, I should make it my computer case. I was totaly clueless on the concept of modding at the time, didn't really know that anyone else out there did it. I debated between a Sandcrawer and AT-AT, as those were the only two vehicles boxy enough to plausibly house computer parts, and then decided on the Sandcrawler since the AT-AT would have been HUGE to keep it in scale.
And there you have it. I built Sandcrawler #1 in '01, didn't know what I was doing really but figured it out as I went. I pulled a motherboard tray out of an old case (I'm still using that tray) and hacksawed out the drive bays (dumped those years ago).
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Crawlers%201%20and%202/02--02-03Right3-4View.jpg
It started falling apart as soon as I finished it , and so I built a sturdier Sandcrawler #2 in 2004, finished it in 2006. Most interesting feature is that it opened like a car hood. I was going to do that on Crawler #3 as well, but the back section where the hinges would have attached was far too weak to hold all the weight, so Crawler 3's top lifts completely off, same as Crawler 1.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Crawlers%201%20and%202/06--08-03PICT0070.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Crawlers%201%20and%202/06--08-03openedupleftside.jpg
I then decided that I hated the way it turned out, very inaccurate to the film model, and started work on Crawler #3 in 2007 after getting much better reference material. I'm nearly done with it now.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/09--11-12DSC_0023.jpg
oh yes, and I built but didn't finish an 8-foot tall Orthanc model around 2003 or so. Made it out of plywood, and it housed 2 computers, but it was huge, SUPER heavy, and unwieldy, and I eventually dumped it. I've since redesigned it and will built another someday, but likely shorter and very much lighter weight.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Orthanc/orthanc1.jpg
So that's me. Technically I've built 4 computer case mods, but 3 of them are the same design. Rivendell for my girlfriend's computer is next on the list. :D
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Rivendell/rivendell_model_aicn.jpg