.::Project War Machine::.

TleilaxuGabriel

looks awsome thusfar. might be more work than it's worth, but i think it would look awsome if you 4 or 5 individual LEDs on that ring around the blowhole on the top. maybe hook a few up so that they blink w/ HDD activity, and the leave the rest constant. just an idea.

KikBox

I plan to put some EL wire around the inside of the ring tucked up inside that space. I will let whom ever buys the case decide if they are going to hook it up to HDD or even sound/light controler.

Grez

That sounds like a good plan! Random question: is that a Thermaltake silent fan in the back of the case? Just wondering...kind of funny if it is...Thermaltake fan in a Lian Li case.

-[Atreyu]-

Kik, your such a beast. Finish already! >=)

KikBox

I guess I never really noticed. I have done so many Lian Li project recently that I am swimming in 120mm stock fans. I tend to replace all the fans in my projects. I will take a look and let you know exactly what it is.

Sorry if I am going too slow! I am trying to get this guy done by the 21st so there will be a lot of posting in the next 2 weeks.

Been a little busy...

KikBox

Most of the fabrication on this project is complete. Monday night I finished up the last of my cuts and got my parts off to Adam for painting. Adam will be taking care of all the parts that will have the gloss black finish and I will be handling the antiquing.

Tomorrow night will be a big work night for the War Machine. I will be bringing in an extra set of hands to help with the final stages of the mod. Matt A.K.A. Ogre will be assisting me with the final mods.

On the agenda for tomorrow night will be:
1. Panel Assembly - The acrylic panels that are such an important part of my design will be drilled and flame polished. On the motherboard side of the box I will be installing mesh in the window. The mesh will need to be cut and trimmed in "U" channel for a nice finished look. On the back side of the box I will be installing a window and lights for the light box. The Mobo tray will be to be modified to accommodate our 15" Cathode lights. I will also be making an etched window for the inside of the panel that will be etched and ink washed.
2. Chassis finish - The War Machine will be getting a metal finish, probably bronze, and will then be aged. I plan to take my time with this process. My goal is to try and make the effect look as natural as possible so I will be applying the aging solution to one side at a time.
3. Back Window - I have cut a 120mm hole in the exhaust fan cowl that comes with these v1000 boxes and I will be installing a window. The window will have an etched graphic of the kikboxes and xoxide logos and will be backlit by the 120mm LED exhaust fan.
4. Lighting - I will be experimenting with lights. I have obtained 3 120mm Red led fans, red EL wire and 2 cold cathode bulbs (thanks to Andrew at Xoxide.com). The EL wire will be installed into the blowhole design. The 120mm exhaust fan will be replaced and the 15" CC will be installed for the light box.
5. Intake feature - The intake fan is being changed out. I have some lighting I am going to experiment with but I am not going to give that away yet. Adam is painting up something special for me in this area. I have already prepped the front bezel for my design feature, see below.



I started by using one of my punches to make a centered starter hole and then cut the rest with my Dremel.



The piece I am using is a mystery part I found at a salvage yard. I love the look of it and I think it really looks bad ass when held in place with all those screws. It almost looks like the pressure door on an ancient boiler. I also think that it will look cool when it's finally antiqued.



I am using alan head screws to hold it in place. I think they give it a more finished look almost like rivets. This in combination with my intake fan should give me a subtle design feature that will not block any air flow.

TleilaxuGabriel

I don't think i've ever used this term before, but it aptly describes how that looks: ****ing diesel.

'DomE ^

couldnt agree more

KenKitley

i may have to buy this when it comes out.....

Grez

I love the salvage-yard part...auto parts on PCs are one of my favorite mods! Good call on the alan-head screws as well. That's an idea for the build I'm about to do...

tencent

hope you have a large wallet because you can be expecting an 800 dollar dent in it (maybe it was more or less, can't remeber) though its worth every penny.

KikBox

Besides the side panels there are a few other features on the case that will have a glossy black finish. This is to help balance the aged finish that will dominate the chassis and also give the impression of modern parts added to the ancient machine.

Here are a couple pics of the other parts I had painted with gloss black.

Joe_B_Me

That looks amazing. For like the 1000th time, you've put my modding to shame

KikBox

The Bronze finish has been completed. I want to give a big shout out to Ogre for helping me with the project. Having an extra set of enthusiastic hands really helped me make my design come together faster.

To achieve the look I wanted for this case design I went with an aged finish. Ancient bronze is the look I wanted so I started with a bronze finish made by Sophisticated Finishes. I picked up a bottle of Bronze Metallic Surface paint at the local art supply. While I was at it I also purchased a set of sponges, bristle brushes and some aging solution.



This stuff cannot be applied with a rattle can so I recommend doing some test panels before you commit to your final technique. I will be do a full tutorial on the subject very soon and will post the link in this thread as soon as it's finished.

Before anything can be added to the aluminum finish it's important to primer. There is an assortment of parts that will also need to be finished in bronze so Matt and I started by getting all the parts together and cleaned.



The V1000 case is a bitch to mask. I did not want overspray inside the case so all the tiny holes needed to me masked from the inside. We start by applying painters tape to the inside of the case until all the holes were covered. This included the 3.5 bay, card slots, fan grills etc. In order to get the look I wanted it was important that all the hardware be in place when the finish was applied.

Etching primer was applied to the outside of the case and all the extra parts that were to be bronzed.





We started by applying the bronze surfacer to the bottom of the case. If there was a screw-up or a change in the technique I wanted it to happen on the bottom of the case not the front! The technique basically included a liberal application of bronze with a medium bristle brush and a sponge to get into all the small holes. After the bronze was on the metal we blew the paint around the surface of the case and down into the holes with an air compressor. The final step was to take a wide bristle brush and dry brush the surface of the paint while it was still wet. This gave us the look of brushed metal.











After applying the bronze to the entire case the parts we put the aging solution in a spray bottle. The aging solution is the consistency of water and goes on VERY thin. I set the spray bottle to spray in large droplet so that I could get an effect that looked like rain. I started at the top of the case and sprayed the solution down from the top letting it settle in all the low spots and run down the front and back of the case in streams. The aging began to take place right away but was not totally complete until the solution was dry.













I removed the masking while the finish was still a bit wet to avoid the holes being filled in with dry paint. Shooting the case with the air compressor was also a fantastic way to keep the holes from being filled in with globs of bronze paint. After removing the masking I just let the case sit and ferment overnight. When I entered the garage in the morning the effects were even more stunning than the night before. During the night the solution had really taken hole and in some areas the aging effect was so intense that it created copper colored pock marks and pits. I am very happy with the outcome.

















Aging Metallic Finish
^There's the tutorial.

rahl07

stick some barnacles on it. It looks like someone threw it overboard; way cool.

Grez

That is crazy! I can't believe how dramatic the aging effect is on the case...I figured that solution would age it a little, but not like this. It looks like it's been oxidizing in the rain for months! Pretty cool, Stu.

'DomE ^

thats the most amazing case i have ever seen

Chernobyl

very very friggin cool. definately looks like it got dug up from some ancient seabed in the med...

WhiteBoy88

I tossed the link in your post for you.
Very nice work; we always enjoy your creativity.

montypythizzle

ah skeet skeet sickest well i wont know until its finished mod ive ever seen