MythTV HTPC

[DonT-FeaR]

wow i really like thAT case looks pretty cool.. waiting for parts sucks

[The_Crippler]

I will say this much, though: MNPCTech does not keep you waiting. I ordered over the weekend, so obviously, it wouldn't ship then...but shortly after I got to work this morning (and I come in early), they sent my tracking number - and they're an hour or so behind me!

[DonT-FeaR]

lol nice i got to check mine.. should be on its way tonight here tomorrow

[jdbnsn]

header is done!

[The_Crippler]

header is done!

Hey, thanks, buddy. Looks good. I really debated whether or not I should ask for one since this is such a vanilla mod...but I'm glad I did.


Now the next mod I have in the planning phase...

[jdbnsn]

no problem, glad you like it!

[SgtM]

+rep

[The_Crippler]

Thanks for stopping by, Sarge.

Since I took today off (couldn't face going back to work just yet) I actually got some time to do some work. Boy am I glad for that: I got my order from MNPCTech in the mail right before I packed the wife and dog in to the car and left town. I was thinking about it all weekend.

Today's main focus was the front turbines. As was posted, you know that I already cut the holes in the bezel for them, and now I had the duct-work pieces ready to go.

This test fit was so that I could mark out the inner part of the case so that I knew where to cut fan holes. I decided to cut an oval instead of two circles because A.) it's a lot easier and B.) I may someday feel like making a new bezel with an oval opening like this project was originally planned.

Here we go - all cut:

I needed to test fit the ducts, and figure out how much to cut off of them.

Now, the first one, I used a hack saw as you generally read as the right way to do it. For the most part this is true, but I used a Dremel for the second one. To me it was easier to cut, but required more clean-up afterwards with the burs of plastic. If you do this,remember my tips-n-tricks bit a few posts back about melted plastic and eye protection.

Once this was done, in they went:

B-but Crippler - you said duct tape was a no-no.

Er...Shut up. I mean: Hey! You were paying attention! Yes, it is not desirable, but in this case, it held the ducts from shifting so that I could do this:

Once they were secured from the back, I could peel the tape off the front:

See? Everything makes sense in the world again. Now, the fun and messy part. Yep, more Bondo.

Here, I glopped on the "hair" filler again and sanded it down. Doesn't look bad, but as per usual, it left a lot of craters that needed filling in, so I turned once again to regular filler:

(Note: I generally use a rubber spatula and spread the filler on like frosting. However, this time I did my patented and non-FDA-approved "two fingers and a smear" approach.)

Much, much better. Now, it was getting to be just a matter of filling "potholes" and cleaning it up some more.

As I have been doing in the past, left-over filler is got slapped on to the bottom of the bezel to continue building that up and filling it in.

So, after some more sanding and a hole drilled for the power button, and here we are:

Not too shabby if I say so myself. It still needs some more cosmetic filling here and there, but I honestly didn't feel like mixing up another batch of that Bondo tonight.



The other part that I worked on was the side panel. As you may have noticed in past pictures, the body lines weren't matching up to my satisfaction.

So, I smeared on some more hair filler on after I roughed it up, and then ran a razor between the two pieces before it firmed up so that I could still take it apart.

After some more sanding, things were looking a lot better:

Obviously, there are a lot of holes to fill, but that will be my next work session. At that point, I will also be able to fill some more pock-marks on the front.

[The_Crippler]

Mini update: I can only assume that the lack of comments since my last update are because you are all awaiting the next step with bated breath. Well, sorry - I've been busy.

The one night I had to work this week was taken up by my side project of making my HD cooler (which is working phenomenally, BTW.) I'm hoping that I'll get a chance to get something done tonight or tomorrow.

Last night, I secured the nose-cone spinners that I need for the fan turbines, so that part will be coming soon. I'm trying to decide if I want the noses to be black to match the future case color, or green to match the LED fans themselves. Any of you have an opinion?

More as it develops.

[Luke122]

I'm not a big fan of lights on the outside of the case ( or even visible on the outside) in a home theatre application. If this is going to be sitting on your tv stand, it'll be a distraction (or even an annoyance) when you are trying to watch something in a dim room.

That being said, I know that not everyone shares the same opinion, so it's just my two cents.

On that note, make them green to match the fans, otherwise a black cone on a green fan might look strange.