Project: Monster Khaos

[Crimson Sky]

yeah I wish I could aford those Lian Li's too! It's amazing though what you can do with some paint and patience-- Modder's are all about the budget!

[Lord Ned]

How could you not afford them, heh.

Also why does everyone use them, just because they are good bases, easy to take apart and durable?

[Wag]

Lian-Li cases are incredibly well built. They have a reputation for excellence, and the "plain" look about them makes customization a dream. They are really just great cases and easy to work with. Also they use good materials and thicker gauge metals which makes them strong.

I've recently discovered Antec's "B-stock" cases (which i believe are used) and will likely start using them for future projects. I have a few antec cases now and really like them. Also very sturdy and well built. Just not quite as modern as the newer Lian-Li's.


Started working on the case this afternoon and decided to go a slightly different route with my power and reset buttons. Originally I was going to use a thin piece of sheet metal and glue a portion of a Monster Can to it for decoration. After messing with the can a bit I decided I couldn't make it look quite right and decided to use the cans over the drive bays as well. That will make an quick and easy finish for those parts.

Instead, I decided that I needed a little texture up on the front so cut out another piece of that recycled round hole mesh and bolted that to the piece of sheet metal instead.

I simply cut my sheet metal and drilled my holes to fit. Unfortunately I didn't have the exact drill bit sizes,so I ended up doing some filing and sanding to make the switches fit.

Once fitted I put everything together for a mock up and decide if it was going to work.

I think that will work and it should give a little somethign extra to the front. I haven't decided if the mesh will get an orange coat of paint and the metal behind will be black, or if the metal behind will be orange and the mesh black. I didn't have the paint on hand right now anyway and it needs to get primed so I can jump that hurdle when the time comes.

Finally I dissembled everything off the front and gave it one last sanding and a couple times over with a tack cloth.

Finally, a coat of primer so I can get it painted up tomorrow.

I used a "flex" primer which is supposed to give a stronger bond to plastic and other materials. It's slightly different than the self etching primer which is really meant for bare metal.

Anyway, thats all I got for now.

[Wag]

Phew, sorry it's been so long for an update. Real life calls once in a while you know ;-)

Anyway, I have a somewhat short update today starting with paint for the front of the case.

I ended up going with black for the round hole mesh around the power buttons and on the bracket for the actual switching mechanism.

The Sheet metal plate gets a few coats of orange to provide contrast.

After the paint dries, I finally get to assemble some ofthe parts to give me a better idea of what the front of the case will end up looking like.

I don't have the nuts and bolts tightened quite yet. I've still got a few little finishing touches to some of these parts before they can be assembled permanently. I just couldn't help but put it all together once to get a good look.

Behind the grill is a 120mm ACRyan orange fan with leds. It should provide a nice glow out the front of the case.

Here you can see the back plate where I still have to add in the switching mechanisms to the bracket. Currently there are only 2 bolts holding the plate in place and they are both on the bottom. Once the switching mechanism is complete I'll be adding a bead of hot glue to the top edge to hold the rest of it in place. Realistically the bolts will likely be plenty to hold it, but I want to make sure the entire thing is secure.

Unfortunately, I don't have much else to report. I've got a lot of work to do the inside of the case still and all of the acrylic needs to be installed for the windows. The drive bays will also be a bit of a chore and I'm trying to decide if I should splurge and get some Lian-Li hard drive bays and add them in for convenience. It's hard to justify the cost on such a crappy case. We'll see i guess.

Here are a couple of parting shots.

Until next time...

[The boy 4rm oz]

Looks really good buddy. Personally I would have left the mesh chrome to give the front another point of detail. Looks great all the same.

[ShadowNyfe]

Mmm... didnt quite read through the whole thread, but I'd paint that plastic cover using the same black you did the rest of the case with. Having different kinds of matte black stands out and doesnt flow as well. Otherwise it looks nice :]

[BigJohnson]

Mmm... didnt quite read through the whole thread, but I'd paint that plastic cover using the same black you did the rest of the case with. Having different kinds of matte black stands out and doesnt flow as well. Otherwise it looks nice :]

Yeah I wanted to say the same thing. The two blacks dont look good together. But a light coat of paint should finish her. Looking really good though.

[Wag]

The devil is in the details guys. I just couldn't help myself but assemble it and see how its comming together. Initially the matte against the shiny plastic really stuck out. Its been sitting in the shop and had gotten rather dusty. I wiped it down once with a dry rag before assembly but it really needs to get a good scrubbing which should help a little.

The ring around the outside is actually rubber so the entire grill is not 100% plastic. I've been considering paintint it, as I have a a little bit of my gloss black left, but haven't decided yet. I'm not sure how well the rubber ring will hold the paint. It dosen't have to bend or flex at all after final assembly, but I don't want it to get old an start flaking off either.

If I do end up painting it won't be until after I get the drive bay covers finished. They are going to incorporate actual Monster: Khaos cans which I expect will radically change the character of the front of the case. They are one of the next thigns on the agenda to finish up before I start working on the inside of the case.

[zwiks]

Looking very nice ... i like the "M" on the sidepanel

[Fuganater]

Nice stuff dude. Subscribed!!