Night of the Living Dead 40th Tribute

[FuzzyPlushroom]

Awesome grille, man! A lot more patience than I'd have for something like that. +rep

[Acey]

classic grill... it has that "this a graveyard scene" look on it

[The_Crippler]

Glad you like it.

I had intended to get some work done over the long weekend, but I was stymied at every turn...I had two fantasy football drafts that took up a bunch of time, then I had some tool setbacks for another part, and finally, the two cans of primer I bought were both without propellant somehow. Serious - push the valve and nothing happens. Today I need to try to return them without a receipt (because, seriously: who tries to return spray paint?)

[mittelmeier]

Oddly enough I've had at least 3 people try to return spray paint to me at the parts store I used to work at. 2 of them had used the cans and it must not have matched and the third guy bough a can of red that matched some Ford color when he owned a Dodge. So returning spray paint isn't that uncommon. Plus I have some I need to return, I bought it at Walmart and it doesn't coat at well at all so the un-used cans can go back for some better stuff.

*edit, that fan gill is wicked looking.

[The_Crippler]

Allow me to rephrase then: Who tries to return spray paint when they didn't screw up?

Well, they exchanged it for me...eventually. The young lady behind the counter remembered me and was going to do a straight-up swap, but her manager "knew better" and came over and tried to prove that I was an idiot. After showing me how to properly shake a can of paint and unclog a nozzle, he pulled out some newspaper and...did nothing. Then he muttered something and walked away.

[mittelmeier]

Gotta love it when someone proves you right like that. Glad they exchanged it for you.

[Eclecticos]



I can honestly say that your custom fan grill matches
the theme better than any other I have ever seen.
Fantastic job on that. +Rep

I think the prop hand could use some decomposing discoloration.

[The_Crippler]

I can honestly say that your custom fan grill matches
the theme better than any other I have ever seen.

Hey, thanks. I'm glad you like it. It turned out better than I had been expecting.

Update time!

After a weekend of laziness, it was back to the grind yesterday. (The one time I attempted to work, I found my spay paint was defective.) Aside from getting the chassis primed, my main order of business was to get to work on the graveyard/base for the case.

I am using styro-board for this, as the layers of styrene on either side of the foam adds rigidity and protection to it. First step was to make out where the base frame needed to be fitted.

A good razor and straightedge makes short work of this stuff. I like to make a couple of very shallow cuts first so that the blade has a “track” to run in. Once cut, and a spare CD drive laid in place, the boundaries of the base can be seen:

I went two inches off of either side, and a few inches off the front. One thing is for sure: This case will never tip over.

I don’t have a lot of pictures for the next part, as it was a lot of repetitive cutting to build up the layers on either side. Essentially, they’re the same as the base, but with the center cut out for the drive.

I cut the top layer of styrene off so that (later) I can shave out a bit of the foam to drop the drive lower. This is because the height of the drive is just a little taller than the stacked layers of foam board.

Here is what it will look like when all is said and done with:

The top layer is not glued as of yet, so that I can still work on the drive cradle. Yes, I see that spot in the lower right that’s not the same width as the other layers. I had a piece that wasn’t quite wide enough, and since there will be a face piece, I couldn’t see the need to cut a fresh piece for that section.

Here is a side view with some fence pieces that will be painted and installed later to give you an idea:

I got a box of those fences (probably 60 pieces) for $3 at the hobby store. Someone had cleaned out their attic and dropped them off that day. Lucky me!

Finally, here’s a shot with the primed chassis on top:

I’m moving in to the home stretch here. This is where things will start to move quickly (and the part I like best!)

One of the next things I will do is to clean up the edges and putty them over. This will give the base it’s strength as well as give me a clean surface to do the cosmetic work on.

[DonT-FeaR]

that base looks sweet keep it up

[Drew]

Looks great, coming on well as per the original design,.

Well done that man.