what is your fantasy mod?

[lynn's engraving]

if you could build any mod regardless of time, money and ability, what would it be?

as for me, i've never modded a case in my life, but it sure looks like fun and hope to get to it soon (i'm the type that investigates things a lot before getting my hands dirty, so bear with me :)). i've sat down and come up a long list of mod ideas, then went a-searchin' to see if they've been made already. yup, most of 'em have been done! lol. not that i'm arrogant enough to think that i had anything new to offer, but, geesh, sooo much from my list has been hit upon that i'm rather inspired to come up with some rather bizarre, and hopefully original, ideas.

i can't say it's my ultimate mod as *anything* i attempt at this point is new to me, but one of the things i aspire to doing is a tabletop fortune teller stylistically based on penny arcade machines of the 50's. then there are just blatant copyright infringements i'd love to try. :whistler: for example, and i know it's been done, but an updated castle grayskull. one of my favourite toys from the 70's was the star wars death star, and i'd have no idea how i'd want to re-design that, but it's stuck in my head. one of the more out there ideas is what would r2-d2 look like were he an animal and not a robot?

just a lot of ideas, as i'm sure all noobs have... some definitely better than others....

[d_stilgar]

I think a lot of people have a lot of ideas they never get to execute, and that's alright. It's fun to plan and good for the creative mind.

My ultimate mod would be a HAL9000 home server. It would cost a ton of money, but would be totally awesome. I've done a few mock-ups and build prices, but yeah, too much money for me to do right now. My best bet would be to get a case going and working, and then hope that traffic and publicity was enough that I could get sponsorship.

[TheGreatSatan]

I always do my ultimate mods...

including R2-D2.

http://www.pcmodhouse.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/.pond/extremer2-1.jpg.w560h840.jpg

[Okele]

I always do my ultimate mods...

including R2-D2.

http://www.pcmodhouse.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/.pond/extremer2-1.jpg.w560h840.jpg

Ya, but TGS, can anyone argue that you're a freak of nature? No, I think not.

[Fuganater]

I have one of these at my parents. Would be a sweet mod.

http://www.tmnttoys.com/technodrome.jpg

[lynn's engraving]

i'd seen that r2 before, looks great, gs! i'd like to find your worklog on that if you've got one. i would especially like to know how you did the dome. i've seen some worklogs on scratchbuilt models a long time ago (not in a galaxy far, far away), but i don't remember how they did it.

someday i'd would love to do r2, among other things, being a huge star wars fan. of course it would depend on what i'm capable of doing as to what features it would have, although i know mine would have the third leg down and his body tilted back. would that mess with the functionality of running disks if they were spinning on an angle, i wonder? aesthetically, i like the third leg down, but of all the examples i've seen on the net i haven't come across one for some reason.

fug, what *is* that thing? lol. at first blush i wanted to say it's MotU, but looking at the style and the fact it's got a big foot on front, i'm inclined to think it's TMNT. i was too old to play with either toy line, but for awhile i used to sell toys at a flea market on weekends (and on a good weekend i would make more money selling used and vintage toys than i did working at GM for 40 hours), but i'd never come across one of those. it looks somewhat familiar, i just can't place it offhand....

that brings up a question in my mind: while that would make a most excellent mod, what's the collector value on something like that? i don't think i could ruin a rare item like that (assuming it *is* rare) as i have a collector's mentality. i also have a kind of businessguy's mentality, too, so if that's something i could squeeze a couple of hundred of bucks out of, it could fund a good portion of something else.

fortunately, i think in this case, that toy looks like it could be reasonably replicated, and done in a way that's much cooler. that big honkin' eyeball on top just screams 'eye of sauron' to me, meaning it would finally be time for me to break down and actually start playing with some resins. it also screams, 'put some lights in me!' lol. it's got more of an egg shape to it, which would be interesting to do. either way, it would be a great looking mod. :)

any suggestions on how to get my wife onboard with this whole modding thing? :) sometimes she's just too practical, lol. maybe if i built in a coffee maker, that'd do the trick? maybe do a case devoted to just chicks, with a coffee maker, a little screen showing last night's 'dancing with the stars' episode, a tampon dispenser, a vase on top with some flowers, and some kind of subliminal message thing that keeps putting out life-affirming and reassuring statements like 'you are sooo sexy' and 'you are *always* right' (as if a woman needed to hear that last one). paint it her favourite colour....

hm, then i'd have to build my ode to all things male. being a wild child of the late 70's, it's got to have some yellow/orange/puke coloured deep pile shag, a beer tap, some lynda carter tribute (deserving of her own mod anyway), some kind of hot rod thing on there somewhere (side pipes?), and a big cheesy 70's porn mustache on front.

or maybe i just need to get some more sleep?....

[Fuganater]

It is the Technodrome from TMNT. There is a mint condition one still in the box going for $150 on Ebay. Open ones like mine for for like $20-30. I think I'll mail it here while I'm on R&R this summer.

You want your wife to mod? or to want a mod? I made my wife's computer totally pink. I'll update the old tread with the finished pics. I moved before I could put up the final shots.

[lynn's engraving]

technodrome... now that sounds familiar. :) i guess at those prices you'd not be damaging some elite piece.

no, i need to figure out a way to convince the wife to let me do modding. i work a day job and we own a convenience store/trophy shop, and by the end of a regular day i *might* have two hours to spend with her, so to take on a hobby requiring a lot of time and money, neither of which we have really, i'll really have to schmooze her because, well, her arguments are legitimate. i hate having to play the 'i'm the man of this castle, woman' card. that's not something i like to do, particularly since we're still new at being back together after an eight month separation. in other words, we both pick our battles carefully.

anyway, i coincidentally happened upon a three-legged r2 made by frenkie (?), which looked grand.

[slaveofconvention]

I have a lian li 343b case for my server - it's seriously huge with 18 5.25" drive bays and it is, give or take an inch, a cube. I'd love to make it into a huge borg cube but I don't have the skillset to do it right, the budget to do it justice, or the cahones to take power tools to a $400 case (yet)

[lynn's engraving]

is it considered cheating to build some skins for it and tape them on? :)

[TheGreatSatan]

i'd seen that r2 before, looks great, gs! i'd like to find your worklog on that if you've got one.

Here you go

http://www.pcmodhouse.com/id21.html

[slaveofconvention]

Debateable - if it was a cheap-ass basic case, then maybe vinyl wrap and stickers would cut it. We have modders here who are willing to settle for "good enough" but I'm not one of them (I painted the top panel for my Antec 900 about 6 times before I was happy with it) - I would want it RIGHT - detailed lattice pipeworks, interior glow, still totally functional etc - so for ME, for THIS case, noooo stickers wouldn't come close :P

[lynn's engraving]

tgs, great build. :) did you go to the smithsonian to see the star wars exhibit, too?

slave, fair 'nuff, lol.

as an aside, some folk are of the mind that making things is the entire point, so material or processes that they could do cheaper and easier is defeating the purpose. while i know of some guys that takes this to an extreme, i certainly see their point. it's an art, and they're artists of sorts. i know that i certainly want everything i do to be done by mine own hand as much as possible.

by the same token, i want it done to the highest possible standards that can reasonably be achieved (which is why i want to do it myself). for example, there's a chrome shop up the road from me. when i need them, i'll take my piece/s there, as i have no way of getting the same quality out of a can, and i'll be damned if i'm going to spend a ton of time and money on a substrate just to have it look cheesy in the end. i'm not looking for whatever i do as being a collaborative effort, per se, but, for me, i have to set my pride aside and do what's best for the final product, if that makes any sense.

i wouldn't be interested in this hobby were i wanting to cheap out at every turn, but i have to wrap my head around the fact that i don't own every skill set in the world. lol. i guess that's all to say that i don't grasp the 'good enough' philosophy in its entirety, but i do admit that i'd have to balance certain things out for the good of the project, meaning outsourcing a thing or two that's just out of my scope. we all have our limitations, but not doing as good a job as you can shouldn't be an excuse for anything.

[Cale_Hagan]

my fantasy mod, thats never been done, and in the works when i get cash, is a pirate ship mod. maybe someone already did one, but i couldn't find it. also, im gonna go a step above when i do it. it will float in mineral oil, which i understand is non conductive, so if it does leak, i won't lose my ship. :facepalm: all jokes aside though, it would float over a fishtank, i would try to make it look like the ocean, and i am planning on running air up with power through the ancor line, so the "cannonballs" fire. ill have led's timed to go off with air charges, and maybe some black airsoft bbs if i really wanted to get technical. alot of money, which i dont have atm, but ive been planning the details out for when i do have extra money to spend.8)

im also considering a firefly mod, and i have kinda planned that one out somewhat.

currently, im modding a lian-li mini itx case to fit a double slot 5870 to complement my i3 8gb setup. i had to flip the harddrive up to the front, and extend the base. mod writeup in works soon. been busy at work.

[slaveofconvention]

There is nothing wrong with outsourcing specialist parts of a job - I have every intention (assuming I ever find all the parts) of sending the window for Lobo out to be laser engraved because I know, without a doubt, that there's NOTHING I can do which will even come close. I've seen dozens of people try hand etching with dremels etc and while some results are better than others, none come close to the standard I want (hell require) for this one aspect of the mod. Every single other part will be 100% done by me, but I'm not afraid to acknowledge my limitations and ask for help when I need it....

[AmEv]

Finish up the stealth vcr mod.

That'll be a sweet day.

[lynn's engraving]

man, i wish i had a laser engraver. :) there are sooo many things i could do with one, but honestly, the trend isn't with laser engraving as much as it is with printed plaques. it's easy to see why: for the customer, lasered pieces can be expensive depending on where you go. it's not so much the quality is better with a laser as opposed to a rotary engraver, it's just the expense of a laser is passed on to the customer. for the business, a decent entry level laser will start at $10K. compare that to, say, $2000 for printing (a printer, special ink/toner, special paper and heat press). quite a bit of savings and you're also saving a huge technical hassle. of course, a laser can do a *lot* more than just engraving, but you really have to weigh the pros and cons.

alternately, as far as engraving goes, you can essentially get the same effect with photo resist 'paper' and a sand blaster. depending on your needs, that may be the way to go. if you have a sandblaster, check into the photo resist stuff ~ it may open up a wide range of possibilities. :) as an aside, i'd love a graphic transfer tool, those look sweet.

i recently bought a hand engraver and played around with it on scrap metal. i've come to the conclusion that it might be best for artwork, and probably better still to use on plastic. i couldn't even get a decent straight line using a ruler with it, not one i was happy with at any rate.

cale: arrr, a man after me own heart! i've always wanted to make a large pirate ship (our city mascot is the pirates) and donate it to the school or library or somewhere. would *love* doing a mod (would love to do any mod, lol) of that. i'd checked into what it'd take to make a plank-on-frame model, and, ouch ~ not easy if you do it right! the main difference between yours and mine would be i'd probably put it on an acrylic base made to look like it's riding the waves, with some LEDs inside the 'water,' and, of course, for lanterns and such. i've given it some thought from time to time, and for cannons i thought about some LEDs and poofs of train engine 'steam,' though i'm not sure if it would work the way i want (though i want to say i've seen engines that 'chug' 'smoke', if that makes sense to you).

it would be quite an impressive project. :)

[Cale_Hagan]

cale: arrr, a man after me own heart! i've always wanted to make a large pirate ship (our city mascot is the pirates) and donate it to the school or library or somewhere. would *love* doing a mod (would love to do any mod, lol) of that. i'd checked into what it'd take to make a plank-on-frame model, and, ouch ~ not easy if you do it right! the main difference between yours and mine would be i'd probably put it on an acrylic base made to look like it's riding the waves, with some LEDs inside the 'water,' and, of course, for lanterns and such. i've given it some thought from time to time, and for cannons i thought about some LEDs and poofs of train engine 'steam,' though i'm not sure if it would work the way i want (though i want to say i've seen engines that 'chug' 'smoke', if that makes sense to you).

it would be quite an impressive project. :)

:think:ya know, that acrylic isnt suck a bad idea. at least if i had to move it, i wouldn't risk mineral oil everywhere. :rolleyes:

[knowledgegranted]

Megatron PC

[AmEv]

I've got a Portal-based mod in mind.

Not willing to say it right now; someone might take it.

[xr4man]

i've always wanted to do a WOPR mod, but it's been done quite a few times already. blah!

[Twigsoffury]

24k solid gold chassis studded in diamonds.

[AmEv]

And you thought Level 10 was expensive...!

[lynn's engraving]

afraid someone might gank your idea? :) i don't blame ya. as for me, if ever i had an idea worth stealing, have at it and enjoy. my idea on ideas is if i wanted to protect 'em *that* bad, i wouldn't share them with the world, lol. that and the idea that i can come up with more ideas. my attitude towards something that's been done to death, r2-d2 for example, is that it hasn't been done by *me* and it would have my own spin on it. maybe rodin's 'the thinker' ~ pimp style.

do things float in mineral oil?

[Cale_Hagan]

afraid someone might gank your idea? :) i don't blame ya. as for me, if ever i had an idea worth stealing, have at it and enjoy. my idea on ideas is if i wanted to protect 'em *that* bad, i wouldn't share them with the world, lol. that and the idea that i can come up with more ideas. my attitude towards something that's been done to death, r2-d2 for example, is that it hasn't been done by *me* and it would have my own spin on it. maybe rodin's 'the thinker' ~ pimp style.

do things float in mineral oil?
i don't know, im looking into that. as for the taking ideas, i was reluctant to say, cause i havent seen the pirate ship or serenity done before, and i hate idea takers. everyone always does stargate, or.... yada yada... but i havent seen those two. :banana:

[lynn's engraving]

if anyone wants one of my ideas, it's always appreciated to be asked first. just say, 'hey, i'm gonna steal that! lol!' and i'm fine with it as a rule. in this case, i'd rather someone build their take on one of my ideas if i'm not going to do it myself.

based on the vids i've seen, i'd guess that a pirate ship won't float in mineral oil any more than it should in regular water. i say that because the bubble action i'd seen didn't seem to be phased in the least by the thicker liquid. i'd think you'd still want some kind of anchoring so it doesn't tip over, no? still, and correct me if i'm wrong, wouldn't water float on top of the oil? so if you coloured the water, would it have a nice blue top surface? or would the water just 'clump' together in spots? it's my understanding that you still want a fan to disperse the heated oil around.

she ship itself shouldn't be overly difficult, i imagine, depending on the level of detail and sculpting ability you want to toss in. by casting the bottom in fibreglass, you'd get the airtightness for floating, eh? i'd say that and the shape of the ship could be a challenge. i'd recently gone to several ship modelling sites, and they have some amazing things and tons of inspiration can be had, along with some handy guides and material recommendations, for example how to make your 'ropes' for the rigging look real and what fabric works best for the sails.

then again, maybe i would just do it more as an abstract sculpture. :)

[halcyonforever]

I guess for me, I've fallen away from my design aesthetics and sought out more practical applications and a desire for physical computing. Most of my computers live in the closet but are starting to get fingers in to other pies, such as my home alarm and Heating.