My Diablo 3 case mod worklog

[interman]

It's been a few years since I did my last case mod, but I've had this project in mind for a while, and by now I think I'm able to do a nicer looking bunch of mods.

So yeah, a Diablo 3 case mod. At this point there isn't a whole lot of art, or info out, so I'm starting with what I know I'll need, and then I'll decide on the details when there's more info out.

I'm starting with my trusty Lian Li case, which I bought a few years ago because it was nice looking, had sound dampening stuff, and was roomy - although a little smaller than the case I used previously.

Early notes:
* Shiny black base coat.
* Plexi glass window.
* 2/3x120mm radiator on top.
* Room for watercooling prioritized over room for additional dvd writers etc.
* In phase one there will be one loop to cool the CPU and GPU.
* Phase two consists of adding a water chiller for the CPU (-20c or so), and using the regular watercooling loop for the GPU(s). More info on the waterchiller later, but since I'm going in the Diablo direction it'll be housed inside a "horadric cube"
* In terms of colors I'm thinking black, shades of grey, shades of red / flame.
* Possibly red water additive.
* Will be adding surface detail using airbrushing and a few other ways.

Some of the stuff I'm using for inspiration





Much of this is for what's going to be on the side of the case, with the window and all. I'm thinking about cutting left-over pieces of aluminum, airbrushing them, and adding them to the side of the window.

August 29, 2008


Yesterday I removed the sound dampening material. It took forever to get it cleanly out, but I'm probably reusing it somewhere else.


Careful planning is crucial.


Modding in the kitchen! I use the dremel to cut holes for the jigsaw, for curves, and spots that I couldn't reach with the jigsaw.


With the window cut it's time to spend some time with files to clean up the edges, and even out everything.





Not easy to tell, but here I've added three light coats of primer. I'm letting it cure for 24 hours or so, then I'm sanding it using a 1000 grit sand paper, adding another coat of primer, giving it another 24 hours, then starting the black coats, then adding the clear coat, and finally polishing it. It's going to take a while to get everything done, but I'm not doing the rest of the painting until I get the rest of the watercooling stuff I need, just to save the hassle of moving the hardware in and out more than I need.

[Slaymate]

If you need a template or something drawn up in AutoCAD (fan grills and stuff like that) let me know. I hate to mention to many other sites but you should probably post your worklog over at The Mod Nation ,also They are some pretty smart modders. Bill Owens owns it and the mnpctech.com mod supply store. You should check out the store also, he has some cool stuff for pimping out your case. And he has alot of good "How-To" Videos posted. Plus he's a friend of mine, I've been drawing him a few things in AutoCAD for free. GMtm saw his Spirit of the Dragon & the Tiger Case Mod and he was more than impressed, I drew the the cnc machine file for the Dragon Fan Grill.

I hate to ruin your Worklog with a bunch of links so feel free to delete my post after you read it

Mod Parts- Case mods and PC Modding Supplies
LED Parts- http://www.dragonmodz.net/
The Mod Nations- The Mod Nation • Index page
Spirit of the Dragon & the Tiger Case Mod- The Mod Nation • View topic - CASE MOD: Spirit of the Dragon & the Tiger: RIC'S PARTY! (my fan Grill is on page 9 after it was cut and page 11 after it was painted)

I hope you check some of this stuff out and if I can help just ask

[interman]

Nice, I'll check out those more in depth later. My internet access at home went down yesterday and it's still not up. The last coats of primer went on yesterday, so today I start with black. I've also done a bunch of the dremeling needed for the frame I'll have around the window, but I ran out of cutting discs so that won't be done until tomorrow.

In terms of mnpc type parts I think I'll only need a mesh type grill. I'm staying away from anything that looks like it belongs on a 13-year old's sys

And I still need to order this Iwata airbrush I've been looking at, and I don't feel like adding up the costs for this thing - just taking it one step at a time.

[interman]

September 2, 2008

Gotten some more done


Outlined the frame that'll be at the case window. A serious pain to cut out.


First coat of black done. I actually kind of like the smoky look, but that's not what I'm going for this time.


24 hours later and the second coat was done. Starting to look pretty good.





Done cutting the frame, but it took a surprising amount of time to get it looking decent. Files and sand paper works great, but it's tricky when you have tight curves. I'm not going to be super exact with this step, because you probably won't be able to tell once it's painted.


The next steps will be the next coats of paint to the panels, but my local shop ran out of the paint I use, and won't get any more until next week

[64705]

Get on with it you lazy bastard! The game will be released before you finish at this rate

[interman]

Hehe, yeah I dropped by the store today actually. Seems that even the warehouse they order paint from is out of the black paint I need. No other stores seem to carry it either, and I can't mix paint, so I have to wait some more

I've primed pretty much the rest though, so it's all just chilling out on my desk for now

[Slaymate]

Have you tried looking online for the paint?

[interman]

Not yet. I've been occupied with other things, but if they're super slow getting it to the store that'll probably be the easiest.

[MarkRed]

urdo mes ja webeten hui thond?????

[interman]

What?


Found a shop that carries the paint today, but they too were out of any and all black. Feels like I have some kind of painting nemesis that's always one step ahead of me :S