Project: PacMod

[MajorPest]

Hi there, I've recently resumed a project I started nearly two years ago, this time around I intend on finishing it. This is my first case mod, or any mod for that matter (besides painting my xbox).

Here are some old pics of when i first cut/painted it (kinda big so i made em links)
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y242/majorpest/Other/DCP_0024.jpg
And the power button(actually came this shape, I diddnt mod it!)
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y242/majorpest/Other/DCP_0003.jpg

The power button was my inspiration for this case. Below is a rough mock-up of what I intend on acheiving.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y242/majorpest/design02.jpg

Im going to get some colored acrylic for the pac-man shaped side, and sand it opaque and light it with yellow LED's (ive heard they're nigh impossible to come across, if anyone knows where i can get em, lemme know!) To get an effect of the whole window glowing, rather than it being transparent.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y242/majorpest/design01.jpg

The front is all plastic right now - but i want to cut out the area below the front panel and replace it with a mesh for better airflow, then cut a pac-man shaped fan grill and affix it somehow (havent thought that far ahead) The reset button and power button are already painted yellow, but i would like to replace the power and hdd led's with yellow leds to match the rest of the case. I was thinking of painting one of the fruits from the game on the usb cover door, but i may just get a vinyl sticker made for it.

I bought up a bunch of Krylon Fusion spraypaint as it was the only stuff the nearby hardware store carried other than their no-name stuff which I diddn't trust. Is this good for using on metal? The first time i painted the case, my end result had it chipping and peeling. To repaint it, so far ive sanded it and primed it, as I diddnt prime it the first time.

Well, there ya have it - my first project worklog...lets see if i can keep up with it. Im looking forward to hearing any comments/suggestions you guys may have! I also started a blog for the project, which you can find here - http://pacmod.blogspot.com

[d_stilgar]

I liek the idea. Retro is always 'in' in my book. Can't wait to see it done.

[silverdemon]

yeah, great idea. pacman rulez :p

one little thing that I don't really like...
The pacman-window shows only the drivebay :( If you had put it the other way around you would have seen the mobo, which I like more...
On the other hand, if you did that you would have to place the fan thingie somewhere else...

great job though

[MajorPest]

I may just cut a new side for it - as im not satisfied with it the way it is, the fan hole is really rough and not a perfect circle. Im gonna grab some more scrap cases from work tonight and play around with some ideas.

[Rankenphile]

ahaha, that's brilliant. I dig it.

[chedabob]

you should get a relay and a sound circuit so when you turn it on, it goes "Wacca Wacca Wacca Wacca".

[aericdavens]

That would be so sweet, you could put a level with some "flowing" led's on the oposing side of the case that the big pacman is on, hehe, maybe to ambitious but would be sweet to see as you turn it on

[tybrenis]

I seem to be the only one that read your past fully. (*Growls at other members*)

Do NOT paint metal with Krylon Fusion! Fusion is meant for plastics only! If it even adheres, it'll be an awful finish, resulting in peeling chipping, cracking, etc. I don't even recomend that stuff for plastic, I have only had problems with it.

Also, yellow LEDs are easy to find when you know what you need. You need "amber" LEDs.

http://business.search.ebay.com/amber-LED_Business-Industrial_W0QQcatrefZC12QQfromZR8QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1 QQsacatZ12576

http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=amber+LEDs&hl=en&btnG=Search&lmode=online&scoring=p

eBay has always been good to me. However, if you don't have any electrical background or are unsure about soldering LEDs, you could get something like this:

http://www.bestbyteinc.com/LIG-LED-ALL.html

If you want, I think I sell those in my store so let me know if you can't find any. Should be easy, though.



EDIT:

It'd be pretty cool if you made the window out of yellow tinted acrylic.

http://www.delviesplastics.com/

http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/default.asp

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?sofocus=bs&sbrftog=1&catref=C6&from=R10&satitle=acrylic+yellow+sheet&sacat=-1%26catref%3DC6&sargn=-1%26saslc%3D2&sadis=200&fpos=18901&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=&fsop=1%26fsoo%3D1&coaction=compare&copagenum=1&coentrypage=search&fgtp=

[MajorPest]

Lol, good thing you posted! Anything you would reccomend for metal? I bought like 40$ worth of this stuff (i guess i could paint my arcade cabinet with it)

Im fairly sure i could figure out the LED's, ive been around electronics all my life so it shouldnt be too hard.

Thanks for the info!

[MajorPest]

Okay, I started taking out the hdd bay, as I want to rotate it 90 degrees to make cable management easier. I need proper tools, getting these rivets out with a dremel is a pain. Ordered some blue led feet for the case, as I lost the rubber ones over the two years that the case was spread across my garage. They're the sunbeamtech ones, dont know how nice they'll look (bad experiences with other sunbeam products) But in the pic they looked pretty good.

http://www.sunbeamtech.com/PRODUCTS/images/B%20DSC04893%20big.JPG

Well, back to it! Ill post pics when im done!

[MajorPest]

I'm pretty proud of myself now - did all this cutting and only broke one dremel disk!

Cut the hole in the front of the case for the fan, for airflow.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y242/majorpest/fanhole.jpg

Cut the hole in the front panel for the mesh/fangrill.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y242/majorpest/casefrontcut.jpg

And removed the hdd bay for some modifications, and my new rivitter(sp?)
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y242/majorpest/newriviter.jpg

Tomorrow im going to pick up some bondo to fill in some of the damage i did to the sides of the case, sand it down and get it ready to be painted. Anyone know a good place to get mesh, or perforated metal? whatever its called.

And I absolutely hate this camera - my bench is actually alot brighter than it appears in those shots. This thing eats through batteries like mad, and takes crappy photos. I cant wait till I get my camera back.

[ajmilton]

I seem to be the only one that read your past fully. (*Growls at other members*)

Do NOT paint metal with Krylon Fusion! Fusion is meant for plastics only! If it even adheres, it'll be an awful finish, resulting in peeling chipping, cracking, etc. I don't even recomend that stuff for plastic, I have only had problems with it.



:P i saw the question, but knowing little-to-nothing about paint, i thought i'd let somebody who knew answer. i knew it'd be only a matter of time before you saw the question.

majorpest, somebody posted some tips somewhere on here about removing rivets with a dremel and flathead screwdriver. basically you make a cut through the center of the rivet head with the dremel, wide enough to fit your screwdriver, then you just twist it with the screwdriver and the thing pops off.
didn't know if you finished your rivet removal or not, but that might help speed things up a bit if you're still doing those :P

as for painting metal, you'll want to check this with somebody who's better with the paint scene, but the basic idea is, sand the metal then hit it with a metal primer. you probably need to sand and prime again after that, but i'm just guessing. from there, you can probably paint as normal. i imagine tybrenis will be back in a bit to correct me and tell you how to actually paint metal :P

http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ComputingSolutions/0,,30_288_13265_13295%5E13330,00.html#PaintingMeta l

there's a little how-to from AMD on "painting metal."

[Omega]

Looks cool, man. I love the idea.

[MajorPest]

Bought a drill! Wewt!

I cut the mesh and sized it up for the front - its not the greatest job, but we'll see what it looks like when everythings painted.

I started to prime everything but the top and the sides, as i still need to cut em up and i just ran out of dremel disks.

Ill post pics soon!

[MajorPest]

Took these pics with my new cellphone, a sony ericsson W810i. So much better than that hp camera I had.

Picked up this paper tray at staples.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y242/majorpest/DSC00013.jpg

The front of the case
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y242/majorpest/DSC00014.jpg

Cut the main part of the mesh out using a dremel.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y242/majorpest/DSC00016.jpg

Cut it up and fitted the mesh to the front of the case.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y242/majorpest/DSC00017.jpg

Sized up with fan-grill, started cutting holes
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y242/majorpest/DSC00018.jpg

Mounted a fan in
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y242/majorpest/DSC00022.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y242/majorpest/DSC00021.jpg

Mock-up of the front so far
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y242/majorpest/DSC00019.jpg

Started priming everything (i only had krylon for my primer :neutral:)
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y242/majorpest/DSC00024.jpg

All the paint i bought! Hope its enough!
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y242/majorpest/DSC00029.jpg

The fan grill in the pics wont be the final grill - its just for measurement purposes. Comments anyone!?

[Razors Edge]

Alot of paintcha got there. I have been able to lay atleast 6 layers of paint on a 4 part giant server case with only 1 bottle of Rustoleum Satin Black spray......but hey, always good to be "extra" prepared.

Can't wait to see it after you paint it. Ok maybe I skipped through all of this, but what happen to the pacman grill at front?

[MajorPest]

I havent cut a grill for the front yet - its coming though ;)

[Slug Toy]

haha, i like those paint cans. the french word for enamel is email. thats awesome. "excuse me, i have to go spray down my computer case with some black email now."

[MajorPest]

Lol, just noticed that. Waiting for the 2nd coat of primer to dry, then its just about paint time!

[Slug Toy]

you mean email time.

[MajorPest]

Yes, indeed. Its email time.

[MajorPest]

Quick update, started painting(emailing, lol) everything but the sides and top of the case, and pieced together the front and mesh. Heres how it looks!

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y242/majorpest/DSC00037.jpg

[tybrenis]

Looking good, this project is shaping up!

P.S. Love the sig.

[MajorPest]

Well, theres now a deadline on the project. End of november. A few people at work think I cant get it finished before nov30th - and have bet money that im going to lose interest and move on to something else before then.

Wish me luck!

[MajorPest]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y242/majorpest/DSC00043.jpg

Pacman fan grill! Work-in-progress!

Maybe ill just get one laser-cut for me, because I dont know how im going to fix the two pieces together. Suggestions?

[silverdemon]

Well, theres now a deadline on the project. End of november. A few people at work think I cant get it finished before nov30th - and have bet money that im going to lose interest and move on to something else before then.

Wish me luck!

show them what modders can do!
We believe in you :p
and it's a nice mod, can't wait to see it finished (before nov 30th obviously):up:

[Razors Edge]

Epoxy!!!

[DaveW]

Epoxy!!!

Yeah, Epoxy should do it.

-Dave

[public_eyesore]

definatly looking better than your initial drawings, keep up the good work

[ajmilton]

is that fan grill made of plastic or metal? if plastic, epoxy or plastic glue would work fine (that stuff that melts the plastic together...used in model cars and stuff)
if it's metal you could probably braze 'em together. last i checked, brazing rods were pretty cheap.

[simon275]

Good idea for a source of mesh. I can see a very painful end for a paper tray comming in the future.

Stick to it in time and you can do it we believe in you lassie....