Crazy Idea... how would you do this?

[ultraturtle0]

Hey guys.

I'm doing a sort of icey, arctic, yet industrial case mod, and I'm planning on putting icicles dripping from the top and coming up from the bottom on either side.

However, on my test case I did some bondo work (Not with the icicles, something else.), and I don't think I'm going to be able to, for lack of a better term, "pour" the bondo so that it naturally drips down the sides.

Does anyone know if I can make the bondo more soupy with some sort of liquid, or any other material I can use to get natural icicles?

First person to give me a working solution gets their name etched in the inside of the case. I'm desperate... :banana:

[GT40_GearHead]

try to heat it before you try to pour it, and maybe do a bit of dremel work on them;)

[ultraturtle0]

try to heat it before you try to pour it, and maybe do a bit of dremel work on them;)

Dremel work? Like... etching decorative grooves in them?

I'm starting to think that I should just mold them by hand with paper mache or something...

[ScWoL]

I had this idea too for a "Frozen Case" my idea was to use plexi to design ice down the side and then put bondo over top to make it look like stalagmites kind of. I think a frozen case would look bad ass and you should deff do something like that, good luck!

ScWoL T3H Sly FTW!

[Slug Toy]

bondo doesnt strike me as being the proper thing for the job. actually, neither does paper mache.

i was going to say that you could mold something out of gelatin... but that will go bad and wiggly, which isnt what you want.

the best idea ive come up with is using acrylic. if you can find some half inch thick stuff, you can get creative and carve them out of a piece of that. you could also glue together a few pieces of thinner acrylic if you cant find half inch. i think the big advantage of using acrylic may be the ability to light the stalactites and stalagmites up... to make them look crystalline or radioactive or anything really. it could look really cool.

and now that i think of it further... if you use acrylic, you could VERY carefully melt the stalactites a bit and make them look like they're dripping. that may be going a little too far though.

[ultraturtle0]

Wow, Slug Toy, that's a great idea...

I started an experimental one out of clay, but I love the idea of light up icicles...

I'm kind of a n00b, it's my first mod. What is acrylic, where can I get it, and how would I make it light up? Carve out holes and stick random LEDs in?

Thanks a lot, it's a fantastic idea. 8)

[ScWoL]

If you want to light it up yes you can use LED's or possibly paint it with UV reactive paint and use a cathode? Installing LED's requires your basic soldering skills, using resistors, etc. You'd have to make a little circuit board and put it behind.

[ultraturtle0]

"Installing LED's requires your basic soldering skills, using resistors, etc. You'd have to make a little circuit board and put it behind."

Forget that then... Are there any pre-wired setups I could buy for the white LEDs? I think a cathode would look kind of tacky compared to individual lights.

[Logic Zero]

You could try the hardening mix used in fibreglass kits, just keep running it down over previous layers.

Has potential to come out ok!

[jdbnsn]

I really think that acrylic or plexiglass (same thing???...hmm) is the best way to go for all of the reasons mentioned above. It would be a great effect if you could get some sheets 1/2" thick and carve/sand them down to shape, then you smooth them out by "flame glossing" (ask tybrennis about how to do this) and you would end up with some very nice looking icicles. In fact, I had sketched up custom fan grill for someone that I don't think is being used and it was made with the same theory in mind, might even go nicely with your theme.
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f395/jdbnsn/misc/abstract.jpg

[b4i7]

i would say use somethin like clear rubber sealant...they use it in showers and such....could give you an icy affect

[ultraturtle0]

"It would be a great effect if you could get some sheets 1/2" thick..."

1/2" thick? Do they really come that thick?

I was envisioning the icicles about 1 1/2" wide... I just got back from Wal-Mart's Christmas decorations aisle, but I couldn't find any decent fake icicles.

And the place was plagued by people waiting in line for the Wii... which I probably should have done...

I absolutely love the fan grill, it'll be perfect. Thanks a lot.

[jdbnsn]

I do know that they come in 1/2" sheets, maybe thicker but I am not sure about that. You should ask Tybrennis what he knows about thicker pieces as he's the plexi guy. You could consider slapping multiple sheets together until they are thick enough in places (think like topigraphical map) and sand the contour you want. Don't know how this would look in the end though compared to a single sheet, I think you would see the lines too much.

[Slug Toy]

thats where weld on comes in. that pretty much makes seamless joints. i would expect it melts the sheets a bit to help them join. you could make a nice big chunk and hopefully have no lines at all, but you just have to make sure you get it right the first time. if you screw up, you have to start again unless you can make it look like it was supposed to be there or cover it up.

[DidaDragonfly]

Ok...I have an idea...I am an crafts person and whenever I use a hot glue gun I always end up with dried glue nodules everywhere from the gun dripping from excess glue.

What you could do is make some kind of mold to make the shape you'd like to acheive and then squirt glue into it and let it dry.

Then just keep adding glue and alternately letting it dry until its the size/shape you want it to be.

Hot glue is awesome when dry because it holds it shape well and it won't break, it will actually be kind of bendy.

As for the mold, styrofoam might work if it was thick enough...
Just a thought!

[Crimson Sky]

Hot glue unfortunately discolors rather quickly over time--it attracts everything in the air like......glue.

You can try using a combination of several elements. One is fake acrylic ice cubes. (http://www.rplastics.com/drinkware.html?gclid=CNucjb-s1IgCFRk_SgodPlpVQw) The next is to find some plastic icicles (http://www.nextag.com/icicles-plastic/search-html). You could cut, shape and glue these on say, a clear plexi ATX case, then drizzle on some clear resin (http://www.createforless.com/products/productDetail.asp?ProductID=15878)to tie it all together. By spraying this fake snow (http://www.christmas-decorations-gifts-store.com/store/PPF/parameters/1276_224/more_info.asp)cleverly and artisticly inside a clear case, you can achieve stunning results. Use clear spray on top of it to seal it in and make it permanent.

By using a heatgun or propane torch to soften the plastic icicles, and you can form this over the top of your case for that drip effect.

Lighting it from inside with blue and white leds would be very sweet. there are several ice-themed mods out there.

[ultraturtle0]

Crimson Sky, I really like the clear resin idea. I was thinking of creating a mold out of clay from a real icicle, then pouring melted acrylic into it, but I like the resin idea much better. Have you ever worked with this stuff before? Can you actually pour it into molds and have it harden?

Thanks a lot.

I also need some industrial looking stuff on the front... the bottom half is going to be modder's mesh surrounding the power button, but I'm clueless as to what I'm going to do for the drives. The case I'm modding doesn't have a door, so they're pretty exposed.

[Timoi]

For the drives... how bout spray can artificial snow?

Or you could also stealth them with more mesh so they would match the rest of the case front? I've never done stealthing but I'm pretty sure I've read about a few mods that had their drives stealthed with mesh... These guys probably know more about this than me though...

[ultraturtle0]

I was planning on having stealth drives, but I thought it would be too plain. Putting modder's mesh over the white drives might be just the thing.

Does anyone have any idea as to what I can use for a mold for casting this plastic?

[Dgephri]

you should contact a Plastics shop like www.tapplastics.com
http://www.tapplastics.com/shop/category.php?bid=33&PHPSESSID=200611222122241667594843
for casting supplies.

If you made a decent icicle out of clay and let it harden, then make a reverse mold with the Casting materials, you could then pour in clear resin for your final product.

I think finding 1/2" to 1" acrylic rod and using dremel and sandpaper to get your shape might be faster though:
http://www.tapplastics.com/shop/product.php?pid=147&

[Crimson Sky]

Crimson Sky, I really like the clear resin idea. I was thinking of creating a mold out of clay from a real icicle, then pouring melted acrylic into it, but I like the resin idea much better. Have you ever worked with this stuff before? Can you actually pour it into molds and have it harden?.

Yeah I have been using casting resin for 25 years--great stuff, and yes it hardens in molds, thats what the primary use is for. You might want to look at this mod I made (http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12), where i sculpted, molded then cast a clear part for a reservoir.

[OvRiDe]

You might check out "ThisBullet"s worklog over on Gruntville. Its called Project ICE (http://www.gruntville.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=11056&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0). He is doing a similar style.. but if you check out page 10 (http://www.gruntville.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=11056&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=180), he explains how he decided to make some icycles using acrylic, and anvil, a heatgun, and a hammer. Thought it might help give you some ideas.

Hope it helps and looking forward to seeing what you come up with!