Need Opinons please

[dfigravity]

Ok...so I have finally decided on a theme for my first real mod...not sure when I'll actually be able to begin it though as I am currently in the military and about to move...again. But hell, this will give me plenty of time to prepare right? :) So here it is...I still haven't decided on a case yet, but the case is going to be Airborne (HOOAH!)themed...I want to do a window cutout of Jump Wings

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c126/dfigravity/ARP173720jumpwing20pin.jpg

My question is...would it be better to get a piece of plexi and etch this into a piece of plexiglass? Or could it be cutout and still retain some of the detail? How hard is it to get nice detail with etching??

[Spacehonkey]

My question is...would it be better to get a piece of plexi and etch this into a piece of plexiglass? Or could it be cutout and still retain some of the detail? How hard is it to get nice detail with etching??

How much experience do you have with etching?

[dfigravity]

How much experience do you have with etching?

heh heh heh.........none :(

[XcOM]

no experience, i wouldn't attempt it, unless you can get some scraps to pratice with.

Or get someone to do it for you, or use a decal

[Luke122]

Etching plexi is super easy.. print the image you want (print it mirrored or backwards), tape it to the plexi, and trace it out. Then just scratch in some details.

When you are done, turn it around (so the etching is on the inside, and the smooth side is out) and that's it. Just add lighting if you want, and it's done. :)

[jdbnsn]

I would do both. Cut out the shape of the jump wings medal, then etch the details in the plexi to make a good combination. Should look great if you take your time and practice as suggested above.
Jon

[dfigravity]

I'm assuming using a dremel is the best way...like I mentioned before, I have plenty of time before I can actually start this, so lots of practice will be in order. For the other side of the case I am going to cut out this shape (it's my Unit patch) with a piece of diffused plexi (sanded...not sure what color yet) behind it and backlit with a 4" CCFL. If I can get a little practice in with an airbrush kit, I might try airbrushing the "Airborne" tab above it.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c126/dfigravity/P_25925476_1604020.jpg

[Eclecticos]

Why not make a stencil of it and use a sand blaster. . would be a hell of alot easier.

Here Ye Go:
http://pzzzz.tripod.com/I/Airbornejumpwing.gif

Heres a Better one:
http://www.currahee.org/parac_combat_wings.JPG

[dfigravity]

Cool...thanks for those images! Also...I can't decide whether or not to cut out a large window, etch the design into the center, then cover that and use sandpaper (or the krylon frosting that Crimson sugested) to diffuse the plexi around the image...or just cut out an area slightly larger than the image (maybe an oval) and just etch it without diffusing anything. I'm slowly working on a sketchup of this...

[Eclecticos]

Cool...thanks for those images!

No Problemo. .
I just goto google and click on the images tab and look for any and all pictures. . you can do it on most the other search engines also.

Cutting it outs going to be preddy hard to do. . Would Look better though. You would have to interconnect the wings.
I can imagine you would need some extra sheets of plexi though.

Practice on a CD Jewl Case. .Thats what Im doin'

[dfigravity]

ok...here's another idea update...not sure if this one is possible though. I have come across a few DC voltmeters (gauges) that I'm sure I could find a use for...but that got me thinking...since I am going for an Airborne themed case, why not try and find some unique gauges to mount on the front of this case...I think I've decided to use a Silverstone TJ-04 for the case, strip it down and weather the metal through the use of rocks and an airbrush kit. So here are the gauges I'm thinking of and the deliema...

First we have an aircraft altimeter (I'm not sure what the back looks like)

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c126/dfigravity/d353_1.jpg


And an airspeed gauge

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c126/dfigravity/DSC07639.jpg

Here's the back of the airspeed gauge

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c126/dfigravity/DSC07643.jpg


Does anyone have any experiance with these sort of gauges? Can they be modified? I'd just like the needles to move around a bit...but espcially with that airspeed gauge...I'm not sure how that even works. I'm researching it now, but figured I'd ask here too. Thanks in advance! :up:

[Spacehonkey]

Well you're in luck. I use these gauges on the aircraft I work on.

I'll explain the air speed guage first:
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c126/dfigravity/DSC07639.jpg
As far as the air speed guage it works off of impact air. Easiest way to explain it is the guage is hooked up to a tube that is exposed to the outside air of the aircraft and the other end of the tube's opening is facing forward to allow air to flow inside the tube. When the aircraft moves forward the guage reads the force the air is coming into the tube and translates that to knots and they moves the needle to the appropriate reading on the guage.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c126/dfigravity/DSC07643.jpg
Oh yeah on the back on the air speed guage if you notice there is a P above the middle port and an S above the port to the right. Those stand for P = Pressure (impact air) and S = Static (altitude pressure). These two play an important role because the air is thinner at different altitudes so it you don't have the proper Static readings then your airspeed will be way off.

Does that make sense? Hope I didn't confuse you.

If you want to be able to adjust the air speed guage and don't want to brake it open and if you already have the gauge then you can do a quick test by capping the Static port and hook a tube up to the Pressure port and blow into it, you should see the needle move up. You could very else get it to read upwards of 150 knots with just your lung power. For a more permanent air source you could use a small air pump.

Ignore the warning on the back of the gauge saying "CAUTION DO NOT BLOW IN TUBES". That's there because you can't gauge the force of the air you can blow into the gauge and you might throw off the readings and cause it not to give accurate readings but since you're not going to use this for a real flight instrument you have nothing to worry about.

[Spacehonkey]

The altimeter works off of Static pressure. This will give the distance you are above water level. That's another easy setup simliar to the air speed gauge.

[dfigravity]

damn...so it looks like I'm SOL on modifying these gauges to work in the case...an air pump would be cool and I know you can find relatively inexpensive one for fish tanks, but they're noisy as hell...
Good info though, I've learned my new something for the day :)

[Spacehonkey]

damn...so it looks like I'm SOL on modifying these gauges to work in the case...

I wouldn't go as far as to say that just yet. I've never opened one of these gauges up before but I assume that is you can brake it open without damaging the face place or needles you could probably still use them for what you want to do. When do you plan on doing this because I might be able to find an old broken gauge at work and play around with it but I can't promise anything. It'll be a few weeks though since I'm on leave right now.

[dfigravity]

I wouldn't go as far as to say that just yet. I've never opened one of these gauges up before but I assume that is you can brake it open without damaging the face place or needles you could probably still use them for what you want to do. When do you plan on doing this because I might be able to find an old broken gauge at work and play around with it but I can't promise anything. It'll be a few weeks though since I'm on leave right now.

Awesome man...let me know if you have any busted ones laying around, I'm starting to gather parts / resources for this project now. Enjoy your leave!! :santa:

[XcOM]

i would assume that opening them would break the seal on them making it harder to work with, mind you if you've got a few to work with, crack one open and send a pic

[Spacehonkey]

i would assume that opening them would break the seal on them making it harder to work with...

Yes, you would need an air tight seal if you plan on using it the way it was designed. I was thinking that if you could get the face plate with needles intact out of the case that dfigravity could just use some mechincal device to control the rotation of the needles and not have to worry about having an air pressure system to operate it.

[Spacehonkey]

I just thought I would let you know that I didn't forget about you. I went through our parts bin and didn't find the gauges you need but I'll keep a look out for them and I let my co-workers know that I need a few to play around with. So hopefully in the next couple of weeks I'll have one for ya.