PROJECT Spiderman

DirtMerchant · Nov 1, 2004

***PROJECT SPIDERMAN***

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A few weeks ago I was thinking up some ideas on a computer I want to build for my girlfriend. Well the time has come to build it. I am now in the progress of working on the design. I have 2 of these cases right now, and you will see why in a bit.

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Here is the full list of hardware. All parts were purchased with newegg.com and Xoxide.

Case: LOGISYS Spiderman Blue CS885BL RT $49.99
CPU: 2.6Ghz Pentium 4 (Giving her the one I use now, upgrading to 3.2E) $177.00
Heatsink: Zalman CNPS7000A-CU CPU Cooler $36.99
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-8IK1100 875P $62.00 refurb
PSU: Ultra X-Connect 500W Blue $99.00
Fans: 2 X ASPIRE 120M CF12S-UBL $14.98
Videocard: CHAINTECH GeForce 6800 128 $269.00
CD-RW/DVD Drive: 52x32x52|SAMSUNG TS-H492A/WBGH $37.99
Hard Drive: 120GB|HITACHI 7200R 8MB #14R9202 $85.49
Keyboard &Mouse Combo: Microsoft Multimedia & 5 Button Optical $29.00
RAM: PQI DUAL 512MB(2X256) DDR PC3200 2-2-2-5 $128.00
Monitor: AOC|19" inch CRT 9GLR BEIGE $144.00

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Accesories:
UV Blue Vantec PCI/RAM SLOTS PROTECTOR $4.99
Fan Controller: ZALMAN 6 Channel ZM-MFC1 $22.99
10 Pack of Blue Anodized Thumbscrews $2.50
2 X 10"inch UV Blue Sensitive Single Channel IDE Cables $10.00
Cooler Master UV Ultra Aurora Cold Cathode (Dual Kit) $9.99
Xoxide Wire Sleeving Kit UV Blue $8.99
2 X pcToys 80mm Marvel Limited Edition Spiderman Fan Grills

1 X pcToys 120mm Marvel Limited Edition Spiderman Fan Grills
2 sheets of 2' x 4' - 1/8th inch thick Polycarbonate Plexiglass $43.00

Grand total after rounding out is roughly $1,250. That is after adding shipping, extended warranties and other crap, plus a bunch of stuff that I already had on hand.

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***The Original Plan***

Alright. My original plan was pretty modest, but after further consideration I've got to thinking this could be alot better than my original plan. First I was going to try to keep it simple, but simple is never satisfying enough.

Here is the new plan:

Cut a fully custom side panel window in the shape of a wicked looking spider.

Paint the inside of the case dark red metallic color.

Use some billeted metal to hide drive bays on the inside.

Paint heatsink fan to glow UV blue.

Cut out front 120mm fan grill.

Try to hide as many wires as possible.

Window mod on DVD ROM drive with Blue LEDs and window on top of case to view through.

Attach a Spiderman head to the bottom front bezel and make the eyes glow and flicker with Harddisk activity LEDs.

All wires will be UV Blue and Red.

Cut out Spiderman eyes over the PSU on top case panel.

Stealth drives and add custom switch to the front or side of the case.

Paint the front dark red metallic to look more like Spiderman's face.
maybe more....

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***WARNING***

Always wear protective gear when working with metal and cutting tools like the Dremel. If you don't you will get eyes filled with sharp metal flakes, lungs full of metal dust and if a bit or disc breaks you could get some really nasty cuts. Safety first! Use your head when modding. A safe modder is a happy modder.

Okay, end of my public message.

I recently started messing around with ideas. I wanted to make a spider design over the DVD ROM bay. I thought it would look sick if it was a really cool looking spider design. This way you could look into the design and see the CD spinning thorugh it, sort of like a spider spiining it's web... or something. Well it didn't work out to well. Take a look.

This was the stencil I came up with. Everything covered in masking tape. I didn't take off the top panel because I didn't want to go through the trouble of drilling out the rivets and having to deal with that later.

Here is where I began cutting out the design. I wasn't aware of how hard it would be to get clean, curved cuts with this new Dremel and the cutting discs I was using. Everything was going as good as I could hope for.

Uh oh. Houston we have a problem! Looks like one of my cuts were off a bit, thus weakening then entire design. There would be no way around this flaw, because I knew no matter how hard I tried it would look like total ****.

Look to the top middle, righthand side of the legs. See how thin the cut made the metal? I couldn't go any further. I would have to do something. I decided to just bypass this idea for now and make up some Spiderman eyes over where the PSU will be mounted.

DirtMerchant · Nov 1, 2004

Here is how it looks after a rough cut.

Not too shabby! Now I had to fix that massacre of a spider design I cut earlier. I decided to go for a straight up window. Man I hate squares. I measured out the shortest lengths that I could and went at it with the Dremel. Let's see what happens.

Not too bad so far, although I am not happy that my little spider design went wrong. I'll have to think of something. For now I whipped out the metal files and got to work cleaning up the rough edges a bit. As you can see I have a bunch of different files for all kinds of purposes. When it comes to modding a good set of files is always great to have around. The rounded one shown below works great. It has a flat egde and a rounded edge. Perfect for working touch burrs and flat edges. All of those scuffs you see are from my grinding bits. I slipped a few times. Doesn't matter because I'm repainting the whole case anyways.

After a little elbow work the edges started to look alot cleaner, but I'm still not feeling the plain old window.
Damned evil Dremel.

Closeups of before filing

After some light filing work

So some of you may be a little disappointed so far. You are probably thinking like me. You're all like "WTF man! That sucks so bad that his spider design got trashed. It looked so cool!". But fear not my friends, because I have another Spiderman case just like this one!!! So if I mess one up, I have a back up.

Here is the best part! This case comes with a premod window on it, which looks so friggin' weak IMHO, but by removing the motherboard side panel from one case, and transplanting it to the other.... I Now have a NON MODIFIED PANEL TO CUT!!!!

So now guess what? Instead of trying to cut that spider design on the top of the case, I am going to cut it on the side panel instead as a custom window mod!

More to come soon fella's!

P.S. If you are into modding computers you can join me and all my people over at XoxideForums.com. We are always looking for good modders and enthusiasts to join in the fun over there.

OKANG · Nov 1, 2004

Not a bad idea, but the execution could be improved. It looks like you really need to practice your dremel skills. A word of advice: never cut ON the line. Always cut 1/16" to 1/8" inside the line, depending on the complexity of the design. That leaves you room to shape and de-burr. Also, unless you're going to paint the panel you're cutting, put masking tape down before laying out the cuts. That way you won't mess up the stock paint. For the windows, its best to keep them away from the adge of panels. Not only does it look better, it prevents problems with fitting and securing plexi behind the cutout.

Just my .02

Captain Colonoscopy · Nov 1, 2004

Have faith. There is almost nothing that cannot be fixed with some imagination and a good set of bastard files.

OptPrime · Nov 1, 2004

that window over the drive bays screams etching with led lights to bring it out. check out my worklog for an example.

gj so far and keep it up...

mod on my friend.

Ozone77 · Nov 1, 2004

Well, its too late now, but maybe you could have fixed that spider by filling the holes with some bondo.

Also, I have not used it yet, but I got an "engraving bit" for hard metal for the dremel. It should be easier to work in tight spaces with it than with the disks... it better! it cost me $8

I really should read all the posts before opening my mouth.. well i hope these two pointers help you with the big spider on the side.

DirtMerchant · Nov 1, 2004

Thanks for all the comments guys.

Well the good news is that I have 2 of these cases. SO I might take another crack at that spider. Dremeling is definitely not easy, espcially when you are attacking steel in such tight little areas. I think a better prepared stencil will help on the second try.

MONST3R · Nov 1, 2004

this goes to show ya, always have a back up, oh and dont worry about some of my attempted mods were eradicated! happens to everybody.

DirtMerchant · Nov 1, 2004

Amen to that. Well, I just recieved a bunch of stuff in the mail finally and I got some really cool paint. I'll be posting some more photos in a bit so check back here a little later.

DirtMerchant · Nov 1, 2004

Here are some of the newest photos I took today.

This is my new Dremel XPR 400 with the Flexi-Shaft attachment. Goes from 5,000 to 35,000 rpms. This thing kicks ass!

Here are some of the supplies I picked up today. I got some tools for cutting 80mm and 120mm holes, some scuff pads and tack cloths and a couple of cans of nice Automotive paint, primer and clearcoat.

Here is the Spiderman head I talked about. It has two lights on the inside. I want to mod this so that some LEDs glow inside when the PC is turned on. I want to either add some straight up LEDs that stay on all the time, or I want to mod it and make them flicker with the Hard Drive activity. My plan is to cut it in half and place it on the lower front of the case. I think it will look badass.

I'll be using some ideas from this tutorial here http://www.metku.net/index.html?sect=view&n=1&path=mods/hdd_eyez/index_eng

Here are the fan grills and cathodes I ordered from www.coolerguys.com. The cathodes were really cheap. Each dual kit was only $6.95 and these particular cathodes put off a really nice UV light, rather than the purpleish light that most others do.

The fan grills are Marvel Comics Limited Edition Spiderman grills. They look awesome and the colors of the front and backing plate are the same color as the paint I got. Schweeeeet!

Ozone77 · Nov 2, 2004

oh! Oh! OH! Pick me! Pick ME!

How about seting up a few HDD activity leds around the head so that they look like the "Spider Sense." That could (if done well) look REALLY cool

DirtMerchant · Nov 2, 2004

Got my plexi in today. Well I thought it was plexi, but it's actually Lexan.

DirtMerchant · Nov 2, 2004

Ozone77 said:
oh! Oh! OH! Pick me! Pick ME!

How about seting up a few HDD activity leds around the head so that they look like the "Spider Sense." That could (if done well) look REALLY cool

That is definitely an interesting idea. Hmmmm. I'll give it some thought, but right now I'm still in the cutting, sanding and painting stage. I have 2 sheets of 2ft x 4ft plexi coming soon. Maybe we can work on something using the plexi to spread the light around.

cornelious0_0 · Nov 3, 2004

Ozone77 said:
oh! Oh! OH! Pick me! Pick ME!

How about seting up a few HDD activity leds around the head so that they look like the "Spider Sense." That could (if done well) look REALLY cool

Man, that's eXACTLY what I was thinking when I saw the Spidey head.

I'll be following this one. OptPrime's case is coming into completion and this is just starting up....good stuff, I need enough things as possible to keep me busy during the next few weeks until I can get my 3.2E and detach myself from the real world for awhile.

chrisf6969 · Nov 3, 2004

Just put a spider design engraved on the acrylic for that top window. Better yet just paint it on with UV reflective paint. And use a UV CCF right underneath it.

DirtMerchant · Nov 3, 2004

Okay I got my Lexan in yesterday, so it's all good. I'll be using this for all of my window mods and maybe some etching too.

I got around to cutting a new spider today. My last attempt went bad. This time I did a new stencil and took it really slow. I got some advice from around different forums. As you can see.... it looks awesome. This will be part of my DVD ROM mod.

I also cut out the front 120mm fan grill for better airflow.

My next mission will be to figure out exactly what kind of design I want to cut out on my side panel, while also incorporating 2 X 80mm fans. One fan will blow directly over the CPU and one will blow directly over the PCI slots, most importantly, the AGP slot.

Let me know how you like my new spider design and thanks to all the guys that helped me out with cutting it this time.

starhawk · Nov 3, 2004

wh0a... that spider is really cool... tho i did notice that there are 2 spots that will need reinforcement... i'll pump out a quick piccie showing what i mean. the next step should be a little sanding or filing to get the edges nice...

i'd be using a file, but i know _nothing_ about this yet, having yet to do my first mod.

i'd do a spidey face on the side tho... or maybe keep the stock window... not sure which'd be better.

DirtMerchant · Nov 3, 2004

I will have 2 windows to use with this case. One I am going to make bigger and add 2 X 80mm fans and that one will be just for showing off the inside. The other one will be a totally custom version that I will make myself, also with 2 X 80mm fans.

The stock wondow looks gay and I hate it. It has some really cheesey looking Batman-esque design on it. The only good thing about the window is that it comes with 4 LEDs built in to it, which can be removed. I think I will be using these on the DVD ROM drive mods, since they already have a Molex and inverter attached to them. It will make it much easier to install.

I have two of these now. Meaning I have 2 prebuilt inverters with blue LEDs, for a total of 8 blue LEDs. Sweet.

3WAYsplit · Nov 3, 2004

You could put a spiderweb on the side..

That would look good, your choice..

starhawk · Nov 3, 2004

here is the image i mentioned, showing the 2 spots that will need reinforcement.

DirtMerchant · Nov 3, 2004

3WAYsplit said:
You could put a spiderweb on the side..

That would look good, your choice..

I am considering doing some etching. I might even order a custom etch decal. Not really sure yet. I need to work on the design. In fact I have a few in mind and I will post them up for you guys in a little bit, so you can get an idea of what I like.

Ahhh. Here. Look at it from the bottom. You'll see that there is plenty of meat on there. It's the marker I used for the stencil that is creating the optical illusion that it's much thinner than it really is.

After I add the Lexan that should provide a pretty good amount of support for the entire thing. I'll probably silicone it right on there.

Sobek · Nov 3, 2004

That's a sweet job you're doing and I love the Spiderman head. I was Spiderman for a Halloween Party this weekend and was thinking at the time that someone should do a Spiderman Case. Glad to see that you're doing one. Keep up the great work.

MrEUser · Nov 3, 2004

It should be great when you are done.

But my question is... $40 for a CD-RW, but you could't spring an extra $50 for a 16X Dual-Layer Pioneer DVD-RW?

You already spent $1250, what's an extra $50? And it's well worth it....

DirtMerchant · Nov 3, 2004

MrEUser said:
It should be great when you are done.

But my question is... $40 for a CD-RW, but you could't spring an extra $50 for a 16X Dual-Layer Pioneer DVD-RW?

You already spent $1250, what's an extra $50? And it's well worth it....

Because it's for my girlfriend. I'm building this thing for her. She doesn't burn DVDs and I already have a DVD Burner in my rig. I just wanted to get her the most affordable and feature rich DVD/CD Burner I could find on newegg. The one I got her is really quiet and burns at 52X. It's a hell of a nice CD Burner and it plays DVDs.

MrEUser · Nov 3, 2004

Oh well that makes perfect sense

I used to just grab generic 52X burners for ~$20 from Fry's and wherever else was having sales. In all my burners I purchased, never had one go bad.

DirtMerchant · Nov 3, 2004

I'm cutting out the window for the DVD drive as we speak. I'll have some more pics up soon.

starhawk · Nov 3, 2004

DirtMerchant said:
I am considering doing some etching. I might even order a custom etch decal. Not really sure yet. I need to work on the design. In fact I have a few in mind and I will post them up for you guys in a little bit, so you can get an idea of what I like.

Ahhh. Here. Look at it from the bottom. You'll see that there is plenty of meat on there. It's the marker I used for the stencil that is creating the optical illusion that it's much thinner than it really is.

After I add the Lexan that should provide a pretty good amount of support for the entire thing. I'll probably silicone it right on there.

looks like you're right... no bondo is needed under there after all.

HereticX · Nov 3, 2004

Good start, and I enjoy seeing the Cold spider logo on your mod.

DirtMerchant · Nov 3, 2004

***DVD ROM MODDING***

Alright. I'm doing a drive window mod that will go with the spider design I cut out earlier. Try and imagine what it will look like with some LEDs. There was one slight problem with the DVD ROM drive. The casing was not flat. It had these stamped lines in the metal. I wanted to try cutting a window that was circular, but after taking a look at it I decided I could make a window then paint it on instead. In the end this particular mod is going to look so ****ing PIMP. There will be some serious DVD ROM ownage. I promise.

So this circular thing was under the casing. Apparently when you have a 52X CD burner, disks tend to float a bit. So they added this thing to the drive to keep the disk from moving around. I had to cut this piece out first, because I'll be mounting it on the Lexan later on.

Here is the front and back.

As you can see it has some play in it too. This means that this means that the Lexan I will add later probably will not effect it. What I will do, is later on I will cut a hole into the window where this piece goes, I will mount this piece onto another piece of round Lexan and attach it. Then I will place the larger piece on top, fitting into the hole I cut into the wondow. therefore making it flush just like it was before.

These are the grooves in the metal like I talked about. You can see how this would mess up my window mounting.

This is what I cut out. I did one piece at a time, working my way from the inside out. I promise you this part is going to look awesome when it's finished and it will suprise alot of you. If I was any good with PC graphics I'd show you exactly what I mean. Maybe if I get bored alter I'll draw some kind of rudimentary drawing up.

Here are some photos of my cat "Lil' Dude" for the hell of it. He keeps me company when I mod. He likes to watch. I think he likes watching all of the sparks fly all over the place. :attn: Lil' Dude rocks.

.

cornelious0_0 · Nov 3, 2004

DirtMerchant said:

OMG, that's the coolest cat pic I've ever seen.....that cat is p1mp.

starhawk · Nov 3, 2004

DirtMerchant said:

i love that pic!!! how you got him to pose like that i will never know!

cornelious0_0 · Nov 3, 2004

starhawk said:
i love that pic!!! how you got him to pose like that i will never know!

True man, I've never seen a cat naturally look that smug in a pic. Did you do anything to get him to make that face or was it just some freak timing with the camera?

starhawk · Nov 3, 2004

probably a photoshop job. my dad once made me look like a devil (sans tail) in 10min flat, lol.

cornelious0_0 · Nov 3, 2004

starhawk said:
probably a photoshop job. my dad once made me look like a devil (sans tail) in 10min flat, lol.

Doesn't look photochopped at all though, so either DirtMerchant is REALLY good at PS, or he's got the coolest cat in the world.

Sry for all the off topic DirtMerchant, but the cat is just too cool NOT to rant about.

DirtMerchant · Nov 3, 2004

I just took it. I have some more really good shots of the "Dude". I taught him how to slap me five. LOL. He could be a circus cat and he does have personality. That's why I figured I introduce the world to the "Dude".

cornelious0_0 · Nov 3, 2004

DirtMerchant said:
I just took it. I have some more really good shots of the "Dude". I taught him how to slap me five. LOL. He could be a circus cat and he does have personality. That's why I figured I introduce the world to the "Dude".

Wow, I've never really seen much for a cat doing tricks like that.....I'd love to see it.

Alright, back to the modding though, how's it comin'?

DirtMerchant · Nov 4, 2004

Tommorow I will start drilling the rivets out of the case so I can prepare it for painting. I will also start cleaning up my cuts, probably cutting another window mod and I will start coming up with some plans for the side panel window.

cornelious0_0 · Nov 4, 2004

DirtMerchant said:
Tommorow I will start drilling the rivets out of the case so I can prepare it for painting. I will also start cleaning up my cuts, probably cutting another window mod and I will start coming up with some plans for the side panel window.

Cool, dont' forget the pickies.

theNoid · Nov 4, 2004

WOW that cat rocks!

DirtMerchant · Nov 4, 2004

***Spiderman's Beheading***

Poor Spiderman. Luckily this beheading is in the name of love, eat your heart out Al Qaeda. :joke:

I wanted to see what was under the shroud that was trapped under the plastic mold.

Stupid light bulbs!

I had to cut through the plastic with a razor in order to get the lightbulbs out of the housing.

This is what they were stuck in. These plastic shrounds, with a semi reflective silver paint.

Next thing I'll be doing with the head is sanding it down so it will mount flush into the front of the case. I'll get to that tommorow.

The next mission today was some drilling and preparing the case for sanding and painting. I drilled out a bunch of rivets in the case. Then I cleaned all of the pieces off with some Fantastik spray, to release any oils or grease. Any alkaline type cleaner will work for that purpose.

I would try to get more work done, but tonight I'm having dinner with my woman (the one I'm making this whole computer for) and then we are going to hang out with the family for our weekly Survivor night.

More to come tommorow!

.

***PROJECT Spiderman***

n00b

n00b

2[H]4U

2[H]4U

Limp Gawd

Limp Gawd

n00b

Limp Gawd

n00b

n00b

Limp Gawd

n00b

n00b

[H]F Junkie

[H]F Junkie

n00b

[H]F Junkie

n00b

[H]ard|Gawd

[H]F Junkie

n00b

2[H]4U

Gawd

n00b

Gawd

n00b

[H]F Junkie

Limp Gawd

n00b

[H]F Junkie

[H]F Junkie

[H]F Junkie

[H]F Junkie

[H]F Junkie

n00b

[H]F Junkie

n00b

[H]F Junkie

Supreme [H]ardness

n00b

PROJECT Spiderman