Animus

[Vertigo]

This is a slightly different project for me, I'm doing a pair of computers at the same time. Nearly identical. The theme is H.R. Gieger, and specifically Li II. I thought it only appropriate to use a pair of Lian Li cases to start the mod off.

*Attention* Expect sparse updates, this mod won't see a large amount of updates for a few weeks while I get the money to continue working on it, just putting up here so I can keep track while I work.


A1 & A2 Specs:
» Lian Li PC-7B plus II Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
» XG Vortec 600 Version 2 600w PSU
» x4 120mm Thermaltake Fans, Red LED
» x1 80mm Thermaltake Fan, Red LED
» x2 70mm Thermaltake Fan
» Silverstone USB Bay
» Corsair XMS2 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit
» AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ Windsor 2.6GHz Socket AM2 Processor Model ADA5200CSBOX
» EVGA 640-P2-n821-AR GeForce 8800GTS 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP
» ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition AM2 NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI MCP ATX

For those curious, here's the Li II Painting that is the inspiration for this mod:

I'm using a pair of statuettes from McFarlane toys that will be molded onto the front bezel. Along with a few other surprises.

More coming soon...

[Vertigo]

Thanks for the comments guys, first off. This is part of my ongoing remodeling project. Since my wife and I moved into our new house, I've got my own room to do with as I please (she gets the rest of the house, I can have one room right? )

To answer your question Mach, I already have 2 comps on my desk. One to either side, and monitors across my desk with a kvm in control of it all.

Here's what my current cluttered desk.

I multi-box in WoW, while watching old Mel Brooks movies. So I can use multi computers, and because I can.

Now, on to an update:
I got these recently from Perth, it was actually cheaper to buy it in Australia and have it shipped here to the states, than to buy it in the states...

Here's a pic for scale purposes:

Items purchased so far:
Case x2
PSU x2 (thanks eBay)
Li II Statue x2 (thanks Aussies)

More coming soon...

[Vertigo]

To answer the question, yeah this is going to be a 3d mod. I'm molding these statuettes onto the bezel using an epoxy I call the green stuff. It comes from Games Workshop stores if you're interested.

http://store.us.games-workshop.com/s...GameNav=300810

I just ordered a few packs of it, along with some styrene. I'm also going to get to work on the KVM switch. I got a nice IoGear switch from NewEgg, now I just gotta do a little work to the casing to make it go along with the whole mod. Next, I gotta take the guts out of the Lian Li case I have here, and transfer it to another case. Once the project is actually done, I'll be using my current rigs as a server and lan box. But that'll be another project for another time. After I get Leviathan and Animus finished.

[Vertigo]

Just ordered [x2] .020 Thick High Impact Styrene Sheets [40in x 72in each]
Also ordered 2 packs of the modeling putty from Games Workshop.

I'm trying to find some good stand off bolts to use in a few places, want some bolts that look kinda cool for this, not just a philips head screw end. Any suggestions? I'm also tinkering with the idea of re modding the FANG and putting a pertilain lcd in it where the ZBoard logo once was. But we'll see about that, gotta take some measurements before I go nuts.

Also, ordered a cheap case to house parts in for now. And my new mouse and keyboard. New V2 G5 mouse and G15 Keyboard from Logitech. I'm going to get the cases finished before ordering the guts. Added a pair of 70mm fans for the drive bay mod I'm doing to the case. I'm going to work through one case first, and keep track of all of my measurements. Then do the other one *hopefully* quickly after that.

[Vertigo]

Ok, so it's a good news/bad news situation. But there's more good news than bad news.

Bad News: It's been raining all morning, so I'm having to hold off on a lot of work today (which sucks because it's my day off)

Good News: I got a couple of visits from a pair of confused UPS and FedEX guys.

From NewEgg, I got a lot of fans. I'm putting x4 120mm Fans in each case. And a pair of 70mm fans. I'm also replacing the stock 80mm fans in the cases. So wee for fans.

From usplastics: A pair of HUGE sheets of styrene.

From Canada some modeling putty.


My LCD displays and bulgin switches are delayed in shipping, should be here sometime this week though. Which is fine because I've got plenty to work with atm getting this stuff together. Also, turns out the DVD drives I'm getting and a few other parts like the Dominator ram are out of stock atm. So, in a couple of weeks hopefully I can get the guts ordered and have these babies humming. Meanwhile, lot of modding to do on the cases. More as it develops, if the rain lets up long enough I might try some painting today but I doubt it everything is drenched and I don't want to take any chances.

[Vertigo]

It's been a busy week, but I've got the entire weekend off. So, I've been busy doing some mock-up work. I now have both cases, the styrene sheets, and some other goodies. I went ahead and positioned things on the front bezel to give everybody (myself included) an idea of how the finished product will look. The top bay is the DVD drive, and the second will either be vandal proof bulgin switches + USB/Headphone/Mic jack or an LCD. Or ... if there's enough room all of the above, but I've got to get some measurements before I decide.

First, the new 4 port KVM switch from Iogear, pretty smooth transitions and it 's got audio support.

The second Lian Li case, I'm going to do all of my work to this one then the second. Which should provide a good before and after pic later on.

Here's a rough idea of how the front bezel will look when I'm done. As you can see the statue is a perfect fit, though I have to relocate the start/reset buttons (which I was gonna do anyway) and go without the lower bays but I don't see that as much of a loss.

Some of my most important tools, the paint is Dupli-Color Import Auto Spray (Milano Red and Gunmetal Metallic)

And here's how the desk looks so far after the clean up and the new board, mouse, and switch.

Anyhow, more coming soon. Tomorrow I'm going to repaint the new G15, G5, and FANG. I'll hopefully get started on the styrene tomorrow too, but we'll see how far I get.

[Vertigo]

Today I'm working on putting the new desk together, and doing some modding to the KVM switch. Primer is drying now on the pieces so I should have some pics today no problem. I'm also primering some of the parts for the case itself, and finishing the drive bay fan mod I'm working on. So stay tuned.

[Vertigo]

I got the board and the mouse at Best Buy, the KVM and most of the rest of my parts are from NewEgg. And now ... AN UPDATE!

First, this is my work space. Chaotic ... and a mess, so one of my objectives while taking on this project is to straighten this place up and keep it clean. To that effect, I just purchased a new desk and some shelving units. Now on to the modding.

I decided to add a pair of 70mm fans to the front of the case, so two drive bays are giving up their bezels.

1 Bezel

2 Bezel

Needs some cleaning up, and I'm considering making a styrene cover for the bezel and filling the gap. But, overall I consider it a success.

I also disassembled the collectible tonight and harvested the proper parts, some I'm setting to the side for now as possible pieces to use in other parts of the case. But it looks like it's going to fit pretty well with a little work.

Now to the KVM switch, I got this 4 port from NewEgg, and it works beautifully. But it's a little plain for my taste, so ...

The screws are hidden underneath this rubber glued to the bottom.

And there's the guts.

After a fresh coat of gun metal grey and adding a print out put together in Photoshop it looks more like it belongs on my desk.

[Vertigo]

I spent a while cleaning up in here and assembling my birthday present (I turn 28 on Sunday), this new desk came from Staples and was just what I needed. I do still need to find a more permanent solution for my towers, but so far things are working ok. Today I installed and configured Synergy on my machines and am now running all four through my new KVM. As you can see compared to the picture posted above compared to the one below it's made a HUGE difference already.

BEFORE

AFTER

[Vertigo]

I'm still doing a lot of mock up work, I've got a general idea worked out for the top of the case, I'm going to use the stock Lian Li fans here. The pics below should give you guys an idea about how things are being placed, I'm trying to recycle as much of the original toy as possible. I'm also trying to find models with pieces I can scavenge to fit with this technical theme, along with scratch built pieces from styrene. The base of the original toy (the part that says HR Giger) will be the housing for a Matrix Orbital LCD. More coming soon...