Future Project: Gardens of Versailles

Here is the outline for my next mod, The Gardens of Versailles. It will be in the concept and design stages until at least May, and hopefully be completed no later than August, so I'm leaving it here for comments and such until I get it started.

This mod is going to be a surprise for my mother. She knows I plan on building her a computer, and I expressed interest in modding one for her, but we never discussed anything besides possibly making the theme landscaping/flowers. In the summer after 8th grade I had the opportunity to visit France for two weeks with a tour group, and we made a day long stop at the Palace of Versailles. If anyone knows anything about Versailles and the eccentric Louis's that lived there, you know that it sits on a huge parcel of land, most of which is gardens. One place that particularly struck me was the Orangerie, just outside the main palace.

The Orangerie:

So with that in mind, I then chose my components. These may change, but it doesn't really matter:

HEC 7106WW Beige White Steel ATX Desktop Computer Case
MSI P43 Neo3-F LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard
SPARKLE GeForce 9400 GT
Athena Power 550W Power Supply
Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 Wolfdale 2.8GHz CPU
A-DATA 2GB DDR2 800 Memory
Western Digital Caviar 160GB 7200 RPM SATA Drive
LITE-ON 16X DVD-ROM
ASUS P5A2-8SB4W CPU Cooler

So here is the sketchup model:

I'm going to try and keep the colors dull and simple. I don't want it to be a huge flashy case due to color, I'd rather it be something you can set on top of a nightstand next to a desk and actually look like a representation of the Orangerie. I didn't bother putting the components in the case, but the holes will be backed by 1/8" clear plexiglass, and the 120mm fan in the center will glow blue to simulate water throughout the cutout. I am going to have the cutout custom cut at a local metal shop to ensure the complexity stays. I'll probably get the trees at a local train hobby store, and all that would be left to do is paint the thing and put it together.

Thats about all I can think about right now, what does everyone think?

I like it

What if you made it more curvy, like a land mass?

Man, I love it. Dunno about the stock front panel, but the top works wonderfully.

Hope you don't have cats...

you should make a giant hill on it. (think I should just make me a mountain case. that would be sweet ;) )

is the fan gonna be blue or have blue leds to simulate the water? that would be cool. :D

EDIT: dumb question just realized you had it blue in the sketchups. sorry. :P

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Originally Posted by billygoat333

you should make a giant hill on it. (think I should just make me a mountain case. that would be sweet ;) )

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Wouldn't that kind of defeat the purpose of recreating the gardens of The Palace of Versailles?

As for the front panel, yes, I will almost definitely change the design of it, I just haven't had any inspiration for it yet. Any suggestions? Maybe I could have the entire thing screen printed with some sort of design or picture. That would again make this more of a production case than a modded case since I am outsourcing the work, but oh well.

I love the idea, would be cool if you could add a little model of King Louis being dragged out of the front door and carted off to Paris too. ;)

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Quote:
Originally Posted by billygoat333 View Post
you should make a giant hill on it. (think I should just make me a mountain case. that would be sweet )
Wouldn't that kind of defeat the purpose of recreating the gardens of The Palace of Versailles?

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yeah, I wasn't really thinking, sorry :P a little too much caffiene + boredom = stupidity.

Looks like great plans for a unique case mod! +Rep
Sketchup models are fantastic, looks just like the The Gardens of Versailles!
I received a catalog from ScenicExpress.Com the other day, this reminded me of that.
They have the largest selection of model landscaping supplies anywhere.

Maybe the problem with the front panel is the case itself. A different case, desktop-not-tower-type will portrait your concept better. Something like a HP slim computer or such us.

just my two cents idea:
As Versailles is the maximun exponent of heavy decoration palaces (baroque is the English word?) sides and front panel could have some nice wallpaper (fleur-de-lis flowers and others) and "gold" details and shapes (you know, small baby-angels and women, flowers...) made of resin.

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Originally Posted by Kumo

sides and front panel could have some nice wallpaper (fleur-de-lis flowers and others) and "gold" details and shapes (you know, small baby-angels and women, flowers...) made of resin.

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Awesome idea, thanks!

this is a wonderful idea
Unique and intricate beauty
I will follow this for sure!

Just some other ideas/revamps I'll throw in here:

• The main part of the case, side walls and front panel, will either be leather or made to look like leather and resemble a leatherbound tome.
• I'm going to see what I can get carved/embossed/displayed on the leather as far as a fleur-de-lis and 'gold' details
• I'll put it on curved Victorian pedastals similar to some steampunk mods.
• I may cover the 'grass' area with a dark green fine felt.
• I'm reconsidering the LED fan because as I said I don't want it to be a flashy case. If I do go with an LED fan I'll need to find some way to diffues the light.

I love the idea of using the paths as window cut outs, and I think you should take that patten to both sides of the case, and keep it as a tower. I'm not a big fan of the plants on the case, and think that a good green leather-look paint with some gold trim/accents would be very tasteful. :)

I also agree with the other classical French theme items, I'll see if I can dig up some nice pics for you. :)

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Originally Posted by Luke122

a good green leather-look paint with some gold trim/accents would be very tasteful. :) ]

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Sorry, I was a bit misleading. The 'leather' part would be a red or brown around the sides and the bottom, which would go well with a gold trim too. The only green part would be the gardens part at the top. As far as the tower vs. desktop, I actually want it to resemble a garden at first glance rather than explaining the significance of the design on a tower. Plus, with her current desk set a desktop of this nature will look really good.