Project: Chobits

[LostBoyNZ]

Hey!

I guess people here have seen the Miss Kana (http://www011.upp.so-net.ne.jp/kat2/pc/ern005/ekana.htm) anime girl case mod (pictured below). Well I'm hoping to create a similar case, but of Chi, from the anime Chobits.

I didn't like how with the Miss Kana mod the PC was all out the back, if possible I'd like to try and make mine internal, and put actual clothes on her.

http://www011.upp.so-net.ne.jp/kat2/pc/ern005/gra/picture/42.jpg

Chi...

http://www.hammergirlanime.com/ProductImages/ge5119.jpg

Of course it's VERY easy to imagine all this now, but while I'm not certain this will all work out, I thought I'd start a topic about it at the start.

I can use Lightwave 3D, so the first thing I'll try and do is look up the sizes of all the PC parts, and then try to build a model in Lightwave.

[b4i7]

very nice idea...i love this anime...cant wait to see how you pull it off!

[SgtM]

I don't remember ever seeing that mod. It looked like a photochop until I clicked on the link. Very cool.

[Vertigo]

Interesting idea, I've seen a couple of these "anime cases" I'm not a huge fan of anime myself, but I've always thought some of the more weird side of anime would lend itself to a case well. Like for instance Ghost in the Shell or Akira, people with wires and cables and things growing out of them would look good, and help hide the necessary wires.

[b4i7]

you totally gotta make it so all your stuff plugs into one of the ear modules

[simon275]

I saw that on virtual hideout it is pretty cool. Good luck.

[LostBoyNZ]

Wow, I didn't expect to many replies, thanks!!!!

Yeah I'm sure there's other animes like that which would work great too. Oh imagine if someone made their computer like Lain. I couldn't really find a good picture of her computer further in the series, but those who have seen it will know how insane it is (might wanna leave out the water filling the room though)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b8/Lain_hacker_small.jpg

b4i7: Yep there's a couple of things I must do, like having retractable cables from the ears, and well... anyone who's seen the anime will know where the on/off button is. It's so funny I won't be able to resist putting it there on my case as well.

Hmm I can't seem to find a way to attach images, do I have to have a certain number of posts here before I can do that?

Thanks again for all your support guys!

[simon275]

Hmm I can't seem to find a way to attach images, do I have to have a certain number of posts here before I can do that?



Nope!

Welcome to the forums.

[sirkillalot617]

I found this while browsing online and i thought it might help you http://sae.cside.com/sae/kat/pc/ern002/emaya.htm

[Silenced_Coyote]

Awesome idea! I've been wanting to get into Chobits but I haven't had time... I really hope this works out.

I noticed you said that you were going to put actual clothes on her. Does that mean you are going to make them yourself like what people do at those cosplay conventions? Because I haven't seen a mod where someone used a sewing machine in their aresenal.

I love anime so I got to subscribe to this.

[agnat]

Just like Sgtm, I thought this was just a pic with an animation chopped in... but I am totally blown away!!! Awesome work and really looking forward to learning from you as you post your worklog here.
Thanks,
Agnat

[LostBoyNZ]

Thanks for the link sirkillalot617, very interesting! I see they used water cooling which is a good idea. Previously I built my computer to be quiet, so it's in a Antec P-180 case, with Nexus 12cm fans, truly massive CPU heatsink etc... I was thinking the heatsink would have to go in one of the breasts, but without giving Chi 'implants' I doubt it'll fit. Not sure I could afford water cooling though, I might just have to go for a smaller heatsink.

I'm planning on making her in a sitting down position, so there's no balance problems.

I hope you have time to see Chobits soon Silenced_Coyote, along with Fruits Basket and Ranma, it's one of my fav animes. A sewing machine for the clothes? haha, I hadn't thought of that actually! I was figuring I'd go clothes shopping for her (I have many friends who would love to help in that area!), but that's a good idea actually... I've never tried making clothes like that before, but I have made someone a dress out of duct tape, and also a bikini top out of candy :P

One of my friends happens to be the same height and similar build as Chi, so I took her measurements yesterday.

It's interesting that the person on that other site used styrene foam to create their model. I'll have to have a think about what I want to use and see what's available around here.

[Omega]

Heh. I'm acquiring all of the Chobits anime tomorrow, with hopes to finish it within this week.


I'm watching this one. Sounds cool.

[Silenced_Coyote]

What kind of components are you planning on using for this build?

[b4i7]

dang...i TOTALLY forgot about the power switch...HAHA


and thx for postin the Lain pic.....im gonna have a lain project coming up soon actually....the red Navi from the first ep :D

[LostBoyNZ]

You're gonna make her red navi? That's awesome! I'm really looking forward to seeing that project.

Hope you enjoy the anime Omega!

The components? This is my PC at the moment:

Athlon 64 X2 4400 L2 cache 1MB + 1MB
Asus A8N-SLI Premium nForce4 SLI
Crucial Ballistix BL2KIT12864Z503 2GB kit (1GBx2) 184-pin DIMM (2gb)
74gb Western Digital Raptor WD740 SATA (10,000 RPM)
300gb Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 ST3300831AS SATA with NCQ
GigaByte GeForce 6800 GT GV-NX68T256D-B Video Card 256mb
Seasonic S12-500W Power Supply
Dell 2005FPW 20.1" LCD 1680 x 1050
Logitech Z-2300 2.1 THX-Certified 200-Watt Speaker System
I'm not sure now exactly what heat sink I use, but it's very similar to the Scythe SCNJ-1000 Ninja
Panaflo 120mm Ultra High speed Fan
Nexus 120mm Real Silent Case Fan
BenQ DW1640 DVD Drive
Logitech MX1000 Laser Wireless
Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000

I just bought several meters of polystyrene today (it was actually very cheap indeed, and probably much easier to shape than wire) which I'll practice shaping and cutting this weekend.

[LostBoyNZ]

Hmm, I've been using a human drawing to try and create the shape, which I'll then print in life size and trace it onto the polysterine. Because of the size of my heatsink, I decided against having it in her breast, and will now have it hanging out her butt. This should solve cooling issues and since she's sitting down and has very long hair it shouldn't be noticable. It's a shame we won't be completely self contained though.

Anyways, because of the width of the motherboard and such, I had to keep making the girl wider, but have kept her the real height so far. The results look... quite weird. She'll be clothed, but still... other than making her a lot taller, does anyone have any thoughts on how to get her looking better?

Thanks so much for reading!

http://www.soupy-soup.com/pc-girl.gifhttp://www.soupy-soup.com/pc-girl2.gif

[LostBoyNZ]

Hmm I shrunk her legs so I had room to adjust the rest of her, then just randomly I slapped on the head of Chi from someone's fan art.

I think she looks much better than my earlier attempts, but still... I dunno... what do think of it? Before I go cut this all out I gotta get it as good as possible. Any suggestions at all would be SO welcome.

http://www.soupy-soup.com/pc-girl3.gifhttp://www.soupy-soup.com/pc-girl4.gif

[agnat]

I am so impressed with your talent I feel totally unworthy of offering a suggestion... but you asked. If I understand correctly, she will be sitting down... why not make the surface (maybe a 3" X 12" X 12" box) she is sitting on and mount the mobo in that with the tall things like the heatsink being up through where she is sitting? I drew it up real quick in paint, but I have no place to host it so I can't post it here. if you want to, you can email me at agnat77@yahoo.com and I can send it to you.
Thanks,
Agnat

[LostBoyNZ]

Oh no, I didn't draw that myself (I mean *looks shifty* yerrrs, what I meant to say was... I did!). I used http://www.renaigames.net/alice/BodyFemale_Alice00B.png as a base, then adjusted her to the right size. Thanks though :)

Interesting idea, and I know what you mean. I've sent you an email now. Her butt would probably be about 310mm (12.2") looking at the image there (I have a copy enlarged where 1pixel = 1mm, it makes finding out any sizes much easier), so it's probably possible.

Then I could make Chi's tummy more curved, and her body smaller in parts. I mean Chi's very small and cute, and I could keep enlarging her head to make her cuter, but at some point it probably just looks stupid. I should make her arms and legs just a little skinnier too I think. But yes that sounds like a very good idea, I'll work on that, thanks!!

[Bucko]

I drew it up real quick in paint, but I have no place to host it so I can't post it here.

Sounds like you need to have a look at this thread on how to host pics:

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?goto=newpost&t=6515

I do like the idea of having her sit on something though.

[LostBoyNZ]

Here's my latest drawing (thanks again to various fanart which I traced over for the hair and head, then played with the body template I've been using).

She won't be standing up like this, she'll be sitting on a table so her butt and thighs will be flat, but once I've got the front design sorted I'll do the sideways sitting design.

http://www.soupy-soup.com/pc-girl5.gif

[Silenced_Coyote]

Since she will be sitting down, would there be any problems with the clothing? Would you have to cut a square on the back of her dress so that it doesn't interfere with the conponents?

[LostBoyNZ]

Hmm yeah I'm not sure about that or not. I've almost completed the front and side views now, which is looking good I think, except the motherboard doesn't fit in her legs. For example the videocard sticks up out of her legs, hmm. The other parts all fit quite well, but I'll have to play around more tomorrow and see what to do. I imagine the motherboard is gonna go back into her main body, and bits may stick out of her back and she has to be made wider in the stomach.

I might still have to cut holes in the clothes anyways though yes, even just for cooling purposes.

[Silenced_Coyote]

How about using a riser card so that your graphics card sits parallel with the motherboard?
http://www.silverstonetek.com/products-rc02.htm

This would cause the motherboard and the installed graphics card to be "thinner".

[LostBoyNZ]

Ah, very interesting idea. Although I'd have to give up my sound card (onboard audio is great, but I do quite like the X-Fi sound). Never the less, it's something I'll certainly think about.

Now I've done the image here which shape wise, I think is complete. What do people think? Location of the parts wise, it's better than my last one where the parts stuck out of her leg, but still I have the un-avoidable problem of having to join her thighs together up to a certain point (if I want everything to be internal). Essensially she'll have a box for a butt / thighs yeah. But with a PCI-E riser card I could shape the top of her thighs still at least yeah. It's worth thinking about.

In the anime, lines go across her eyes when she's 'working'. I wonder if I could have something in her head that goes around and around all the time, so it scrolls behind her eyes. Like black card, with lines cut out of it, and some dark semi-transparent stuff in the holes. Then I could put the HDD access light in her head, and when it flashes, the light will come out of the semi-transparent strips as it scrolls past the eyes.

What do you think? It's just an idea I've been pondering a bit. Obviously I'd need a much much brighter HDD access light, and I assume it's possible to change the led, or add more? Or might there not be enough power going to it to power several lights?

http://www.soupy-soup.com/pc-girl6.gif

[Silenced_Coyote]

Wait, is she going to have movable joints like a mannequin?

I don't know about that setup. For one, it looks like the PSU won't get enough air.

This is like a puzzle. I'll keep thinking about it.

[LostBoyNZ]

Maybe yeah. At least the top of her arms need to be able to rotate up so I can put clothes on her easily (and her head detachable, cause it's huge), but the rest of her I'm not sure about. I can't see why her head shouldn't be able to rotate, but there's no need for her legs to be able to move.

What do you think?

A puzzle, exactly! I wonder if this will work... I'd have one or two fans on the side of her leg pulling the cool air in. Then on the other side is the exhaust from the videocard, and on her butt the exhaust from the cpu heatsink. Also just above the heatsink is the PSU with it's 12cm fan.

The DVD drive I also moved to come out her side, because the hair would get in the way if it comes out her back. Then finally in-between the PSU and DVD drive are the hard drives.

Then of course, there's the problem of the fact she's wearing clothes. Oh dear! Hmm.

http://www.soupy-soup.com/pc-girl8.gif

[Silenced_Coyote]

Maybe put the hard drives inbetween the PSU and the motherboard? Because hard drives produce heat and need cooling too.

This box you have her sitting on... Maybe make it a chair?

Oh, I was thinking how you are going to access the pc parts? I thought of 2 ideas so far.
1) Lift her straight up and off the motherboard. The frame that holds the parts will have to be attached to the chair.
2) This is way more complicated and most likely unnecessary. But you could split her in "half". Not exactly in half. But you would have her knees bendable. You can have her locked in a standing up position while the back stays where it is. This might make it easy to put a dress/pants on her.

I really don't know... this is hard. And I'm not even doing the mod. lol

[LostBoyNZ]

haha yeah I know what you mean about it being hard. Thanks so much for all your comments though!! Yep I'll move the hard drives between them, good thinking. I was going to have her sit on this table / cabinet next to the monitor, but mmm the idea of lifting her up and off the motherboard sounds very good, required almost. Maybe there's a way to combine both ideas.

Right now though I just ran into another problem, I've been putting pieces in so they fit with the front and side views, but forgetting she'll be round. The PSU unit pictured where it is in the last image for example won't fit, but everything should (I hope) fit in this new one.

http://www.soupy-soup.com/pc-girl9.gif

I suppose water cooling is another option, but a bit expensive (I don't have a much of a job at the moment, I used to work for Lik-Sang.com if anyone knows them, the online videogame import store). So for now I've put in another air cooling design, of two fans on her bum (the clothing could be cut away there) which suck the cool air in and through the heatsink. The GPU is then all the way across the legs and it exhausts the air out the side. Above the CPU heatsink the hot air rises, then into the PSU and out her back. What do you think?

Possible Water Cooled version (with one fan in the back to provide cool air for the HDD & PSU):

http://www.soupy-soup.com/pc-girl10.gif

[LostBoyNZ]

After nearly a year, lol, this project is back. I became too busy with other things (including a short film) last year, but now that's all complete.

It looked like it'd snowed indoors today after I cut up some polystyrene for an arm. It's just the rough shape, so it's a lot bigger than her final arm will be. Tomorrow I'll try to get some tubes to put inside her arm, which along with holding it all together, will also let me put a USB port on her thumb (for thumb drives, hehe, ok lame pun... sorry!).

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/8979/070726chi2so7.gif
http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/8500/img0564640x480au5.jpg
http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/1483/img0565640x480gq7.jpg
http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/5572/img0566640x480io0.jpg
http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/83/img0570640x480nm2.jpg
http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/8043/img0571640x480ht2.jpg
http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/7314/img0574640x480tf1.jpg
http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/7128/img0575640x480uw0.jpg

[LostBoyNZ]

Another massive gap between updates, but I've been doing quite a bit on it lately. I picked up some old computer parts which probably don't even work, but they're handy to build around. The plan is to build the largest area I'll need out of the polystyrene to begin with, then once all the computer parts have homes I'll stick the polystyrene together than shape it.

She's kneeling now to give me more height for the motherboard, and a hard drive will be screwed onto each one of those two wooden sides. One of them opens so I can slide a motherboard in. I hate to think what a mess the cables will be when I just slide the board in, lol.

Sadly the power switch can't be in it's "authentic" location because of this new design, I was a bit gutted about that :no: but having her legs sticking out was gonna be so hard to fit everything in, and this is my very first PC mod.

I hope to put in some path ways for the cables and such tomorrow, but here's some more photos for now :)

http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/2397/img0892640x480vc8.jpg

http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/2926/img1258640x480th4.jpg

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/9312/img1259640x480gn5.jpg

http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/6166/img1262640x480jz0.jpg

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/1564/img1263640x480hk5.jpg

[kris]

Interesting built, good luck with all that styro!



kris

[custom_electronics_man]

That's a wicked idea. I like it. Good luck!

[the__dark]

nice idea, i'm a fan of chobits personally (maybe not much but at least i've seen the series =P) it'd be cool to see chii holding a system :D good luck and keep up the good work ;)

[LostBoyNZ]

Thanks guys!!

I tunneled out space for the cables today, and made a giant gaping hole in some of her head, which is above what this photo shows. The glue on the back here is because I cut too much off the sides (oops!!) when making a pull-out piece to be able to get to the cable areas.

http://img67.imageshack.us/img67/6555/img1273640x480bx9.jpg

Usually on my work days I can't get much done, but next week I aim to start shaping some of her :)

[DonT-FeaR]

styrofoam heats up and melts at a low heat so ya might wanna look into that....


looks cool tho

[LostBoyNZ]

Oh, I heard it was quite a high temperature before it melts, but yeah I'll test that now. Don't want the whole thing to melt :( I've popped some in the oven now.

Only the DVD drive and PSU unit are going to be touching actual polystyrene, but I could put pieces of wood between them if needed.

At 100 degrees the thin flakes curled up like potato chips, so far at 60 degrees nothing has happened though.

[DonT-FeaR]

oh ok..... my friend made a usb housing out of it and it melted from the temp of a usb


hope it works well

[LostBoyNZ]

Really? Eek! Perhaps there's different grades of the stuff, I'm not too sure.

This stuff was fine at 70 degrees, but at 80 it warped.

Hungry anyone? Get it while it's hot!

http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/6581/cookinghz1.jpg

[DonT-FeaR]

lol im always hungry but in right ill sit out this time

[LostBoyNZ]

Wise choice there, they were pretty bland flavored to be honest!

Well the photo below doesn't look like much has changed, but almost everything there is now stuck together (gulp, no going back now).

Chi's back is removable (and attaches using magnetic strips) so you can place cables inside, but it was tricky to get off with a DVD drive in there. After sticking a board under where the drive will go which stays in place, it seems much easier now. There's also some holes which go out to where her arms will be, so I could put cables down there if I like.

http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/5328/img1383640x480zb7.jpg

Next up is to stick together a few last bits and then try to give her a rough shape carving on the other axis.

[DonT-FeaR]

cool that ur back

wanna see this develope

[LostBoyNZ]

Thanks :) Sorry it's so long between updates, I keep getting so busy :( But today I built a bigger hot wire to better cut her basic shape with. It's huge, as you can see from the photo below comparing it to my original one...

http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/9214/img1406800x600wt0.jpg

The basic shape of her (minus her head from the front, and of course her arms) is cut out now:

http://img357.imageshack.us/img357/6758/img1408800x600eg2.jpg

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/656/img1409800x600zr6.jpg

Since I haven't had any experience carving or with much art related stuff, haha, the next stage is gonna be a challenge. We'll see how it turns out though :)

[DonT-FeaR]

wow looking good

good luck with the next stage

[LostBoyNZ]

Her legs were huge compared to the rest of her, although they don't seem to look quite as bad in this image below.

http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/7792/img1463640x480wx2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Since then I've removed the base from the bottom and will soon replace it with a thinner piece of wood. I've also taken as much as possible off the top of the leg without quite digging through into the hollow insides.

Gonna try to finish the legs shape tomorrow and will post more photos :)

[985323]

looks awsome, +rep for awsome idea

[moon111]

I hate going near that stuff. The sound of two pieces rubbing together drive me nuts. I like your cutter. Awesome. I would of used an electric carving knife and been covered in 'snow'.

[LostBoyNZ]

Thanks guys :) And I should post a picture of the floor one day then, it looks like it's been snowing after all the sanding down I do.

Some new photos here:

http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/3916/img1484600cu3.jpg

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/6498/img1483600uh9.jpg

I think her boobs look a little low, what do you think? They should curve in faster under neath, and they look quite misshapen from the front view, but I already went through to the hollow space where the DVD drive goes, so they'll probably have to stay that way. I don't think the under side matters because she's going to be wearing fairly loose clothing I'd imagine.

Also I'd like to trim away some of the curve where her tummy meets her legs, but again the curve is just a thin cover for the insides, so I'm not sure how much I can do there.

Any other thoughts? Thanks!

[TheGreatSatan]

Very nice looking even though a can't stand anime. +Rep

[DonT-FeaR]

agreed tgs...

still like modding alot tho,,