Hey guys.
I'm pretty far along on this project to the point where I think getting some of the worklog up is in order. This case is actually a birthday present for my brother who absolutely loves the energy drink Monster: Khaos. Hence, the theme for the case.
Some of you may have seen my previous (and very first) case mod. If you haven’t seen the Dewy Case, check it out here:
http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/f...ead.php?t=9060
The base case for the new mod is this ugly hunk of junk
Instead of covering the whole case with cans, I'm going the more traditional mod road. Hack and slash. First things first was getting my design onto the case itself. I cut up a can and photoshoped out the "M" and the "KHAOS." They a little large, so I had to split them up across several pieces of paper:
Then taping the paper together I used some carbon paper to retrace the design on the top and side case panels
Then, after drilling holes in the side panel, I used my jigsaw to rough out the "M" on the side panel. After the rough shape was cut out, I switched to the Dremel. About 10 cutting discs later I had the side panel window done.
Since the top is much more intricate, I have to make a trip to the hardware store for a few more supplies before I can cut out the top. I'm hoping to have that done mid next week.
After removing the front panel I got rid of the original power and reset buttons and LED's. I also removed the ugly gray mesh from the front as well. I'll be reusing some of that later. It's in pretty poor shape tho. I'll be using the "Urban assault" 6" grill from MNPC tech. My brother loved the way that thing looks so I figured I'd make the guy happy. I then penciled in the location of the grill and holders.
Again back to the Dremel to cut off the excess plastic. Finally using files and sandpaper to make sure everything fits just right.
Now let's take a look at the bones of the case.
Yep... pretty ugly. Gotta fix that. The case is just riveted together with 1/8" rivets so they are easily removed with a drill and a 1/8th" bit.
Now I can work with the individual panels.
I'll be putting an orange 92mm fan out the back to replace the 80mm one that was there. I've got a round hole saw that will do the trick.
In hindsight, a drill press would have been a lot easier than my handheld drill.
Once I had the case parts all laid out on the bench I used some Competition orange Spray enamel to give all the interior pieces a little extra something.
The exterior of the case will be painted in a little more professional manner, but for the inside panels, I figured this would do the job. 12 bux of pain later I was able to rivet the case back together.
My 92mm fan is now installed and to make the hole a little cleaner I used some uchannel molding from MNPCTech. The orange fan came from performance-pcs.com and I have a 120mm fan for the front as well. They are both UV and LED. Should give it a nice glow later on.
Time to fix some of the ugliness of the front plastic part so I mixed up some bondo and went to work.
The original Power and reset buttons will be replaced with a new bracket and some Lan-li replacement parts also from Performance-pcs.com. The bracket is made from original metal mesh from the front of the case. Cut and bent to size. The actual electric switch mechanism will be hot glued in place and bolted to a piece of sheet metal that will fit in the open gap on the front of the case. The sheet metal will have a Monster: KHAOS can flattened and glued to it to provide an accent piece to the front.
That’s all the work that I've got done for now. I need to drink more Monster to get a few more cans ready for the Drive bays and HD bracket. Expect more updates this week.