New to modding, new to the site

[Nox]

Ok, howdy everyone - new modder-in-training here that found the site looking for ideas.
I saw a bunch of the stuff that Crimson sky did and was blown away by his use of everyday stuff I never thought of using and it gave me an idea for a mod for my computer using the FPS Mechwarrior 3 for a base. Also, I have been looking around the forums for tricks and tips so I think I can get all my inspiration for what tweaks to use or little problems that may arise.

I was just wondering about a few things though: (here come the annoying newb questions, I'll keep them as brief as possible)

Where do you find some of the plastruct hobby stuff, and where would you be able to find the flat hobby plastic? (for panels and such)

In those panels, how do you put the riveted look into it? (the small indentations)

In those panels, could a hot knife or soldering iron be ideal for making battle or blast damage?

Thanks for any and all tips, and this forum is one of the best i've found for modding tips and ideas, thanks for having it around!

EDIT: Thought I would give my actual idea as to what I was looking to mod...
I was thinking that I would mod the bottom side of my case to be the control panel of the cockpit inside a Battlemech, maybe put a missle control switch with momentary 2way toggle to start up and shut down the computer, some LED's and other necessary buttons on the panel (reset, HDD LED's and such) and also maybe put some fan controller dials or switches in it.
Not sure what to do to the top end (upper 2/3's of the case) but I was thinking of borrowing on Crimson's idea of the Doom 3 box, but make it into the upper half of a Battlemech's body.
Not sure, but I'm just shooting ideas around.

[Rankenphile]

Plastic sheeting can be found most easily at local railroad and hobby shops. If you don't have one in your area, look online - Evergreen is a major distributor, and you can find tons of plastic and other cool bits and tools at Micromark.com, among others.

For indented rivets, you can use an awl, or even an icepick, and a hammer to put in your dents.

A soldering iron is good for making some battle damage, but it tends to curl and gather when heated. I recommend scratching away your area with a sharp hobby blade, or cutting your hole and diggin in grooves, then heating with a heat gun (or a lighter, if you are so inclined and very very careful) and bending them with a pair of wide tweezers, gently - you don't want to leave the prints from the tweezers in the plastic, but it will be too hot to use your fingers. Bend it into the shape you want, then use a hobby blade and a needle file to creat the damage and scrapes you want.

There are a lot of great sites that can show you tips - look around at some of the wargamer terrain sites, like http://www.terragenesis.co.uk/. You'll often find good inspiration and techniques from them.

[b4i7]

sounds like a great place to start modding....i used to play lots of MW4....ill be watchin to see where you go with it...sounds interesting

[Nox]

thanks for the replies fellas, I look forward to starting this as soon as I get my parts and ideas together - the new box will house an AMD 64 3400+ 2.4ghz, with 1Gig of Corsair RAM, 80 gig hard drive, and ATI Radeon 9200 vid card, plus other standard goodies - a far cry better than the 1.4 ghz im running right now.
Im tearing down a mid case right now for the idea, but Im debating on going to a full case for the project.
Which in your opinion is the best to run with? I know if I want more mods, the larger case is preferable, and I have no real room issues for a larger box, but is it the way to go or should I stick with the mid tower case?

EDIT: ARGH! Cant find a decently priced missile toggle switch out there! Does anyone have an idea where I can find one? I tried ebay but they just have automotive switches that are always on. Im looking for switches that are always (center) off, with a toggle up, and a toggle down.

[Nox]

Update on the modding idea - instead of recreating the upper body of a Mech, I am going to turn the full case into a 'mech bay' where they go to get repairs and servicing. I have some ideas for lighting, along with cable sleeving that is UV reactive to give the impression of glowing cables inside the bay.
I am also going to mimic some ideas from this site and forums regarding the "holographic" dual plexi windows. Hope Im not being too much of a poser, lol