Project: MNU by Kylevdm

T

The_van_Man

Weaksauce
Joined
Dec 6, 2008
Messages
78
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After a yearlong hiatus, I am back to modding! That is right you did just read that... I have had a number of issues with modding this year: time, money, health, school, etc, etc. Now that most of that has been cleared out of the way I can finally get back to modding. This project I have been planning for close to 4 months while doing other things for The Mod Brothers and Case Mod Blog. I have finally ironed out the concept of what I want this case to look like and it is going to be based on the awesome movie "District 9". Bill Owen has been creating a District 9 mod as well which I am sure you are all familiar. However, I am going to be taking a slightly different side to the story. My mod is going to be a MNU General Purpose Security Vehicle. When speaking to Bill he sent me over this picture that he had found while researching for his project.

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Original Artists (WETA)

The MNU used this General Purpose Security Vehicle in the movie, and so I am going to be incorporating bits and pieces from the design of the double cab into a case.

A few sketches...
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And finally we get to the case. It is, well to be honest I have no clue! Branded as a MECER PREMIUM-X it is an old AT case as far as I can make out but that is all about to change.
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As you can see, it is in fact missing a side panel. So while going through all my scraps of aluminium from my last Project: Deadline I found this and it was MADE for this case! Look at that it fits perfectly!
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Well not quite perfectly but pretty much I just need to trim the top a bit. I marked it up with some masking tape and drew the line in. Just remember to measure, measure, and measure again! Will get it cut tomorrow before the New Year PARTAAY!

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Cheers,

The_van_Man AKA Kylevdm
 
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Oh, hell yeah. District 9 rocked and the truck is cool too. Using elements from the windows and doors would be pretty nice.
 
Good to see you guys keeping [H] updated on some good projects! Subbed.
 
Sorry for the late reply guys but a think called life took over for the last wee while...

charlesshoults said:
Oh, hell yeah. District 9 rocked and the truck is cool too. Using elements from the windows and doors would be pretty nice.
Click to expand...

I still watch it every time I am modding and every time I watch I get more ideas! I may have to lock it away!

Casper312 said:
Good to see you guys keeping [H] updated on some good projects! Subbed.
Click to expand...

Cheers dude!
 
Project: MNU (update 3)

Well, the last we weeks since my last update have been an interesting few, with loads of snow, exams, school productions (I am a stage manager not some performer!) and loads of other things...this project had been left in pieces on my bedroom floor, to my mum's disgust I may add! Although this weekend I managed to get to work on it again, I grabbed me safety googles and got too it! However, before I started work on that I decided to work on the side panel design.

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A few sheets of A4 paper masking tape a ruler and scissors and I am done.

Now it is time for the jigsaw to come out! inorder for me to have two 140mm fans on the front panel, I needed to cut out most of the current front panel so hey why not it all? I do not use optical drives anyway.
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Front panel

Bill Owen from MNPCTECH sent me one of his Billet Aluminum 240 Radiator & Fan Grills which are available at his store here a few months ago. Thanks MNPCTECH! I am considering using it for the front panel intakes on the case although I am still trying to work out if it is the correct look or not...

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Billet Aluminum 240 Radiator & Fan Grill

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Billet Aluminum 240 Radiator & Fan Grill on the front panel

Now with a new back panel, I may as well make a new back panel as well :) So I took my trusty jigsaw and volia!
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Back panel

I then put the case back together again well... ish it is just being held together with friction at the moment!
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Catch you later!
 
Hey all!
Here I am with one more update and this may be the last (well there may be another on Wednesday...) before I go away to South Africa, and no, I am not going to be looking for the "Prawns" but if I find any I will definitely take some photographs! :p

I have not really been able to do any modding but I have had plenty of time to work on the design, well I should have been studying... So here, it is some teasers of the front panel, side panels and window design :) The front panel has changed slightly, I have found my ThermalChill PA120.3 that I pretty much completely forgot about so am going to watercool this rig! Oh, and I am still trying to work out where to put the MNPCTech grill but I am currently thinking on the top for exhausts.

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Cheers,
Kylevdm
 
Interesting design and look, but not sure how that will work. Will you have an optical drive?
 
Hey all

Well all my exams are done!!!! Therefore, to celebrate I decided to get my hands dirty, and did some modding! I got to work on the bottom panel, the PSU vent and holes for MNPCTech case feed need to be added. As well as getting rid of some extra holes in the base.

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The PSU vent cut out and case feet holes enlarged to 1/4"

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The feet added, and U-Channelling added.

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MNPCTech Case foot

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Filled in some of the holes from the former motherboard tray

Cheers,
Kylevdm
 
Hey!

Well it has been a very long time since I gave any of you any updates! I have been incredibly busy with school work preparing the move to university and also doing lots of background stuff for this mod which has meant there was no point in continuing on with the actually modding of this PC. Why may you ask? Well I would like to say a massive thank you to Fractal Design for sponsoring this mod with their new case, the Fractal Design Define R2. Although it has not arrived yet it will do in the near future!

Thanks Fractal!



But it is not just Fractal I have to thank!

NZXT are also showing their support with some of their all-new sleeved cable extensions.



Updates will be coming as soon as the new case arrives!
 
It is update time! Yes, I said it! UPDATE time! I had a nice knock on the door today, from the couriers... and what did they drop off at my door? The Fractal Design Define R2 which this mod is now based on. As you may have gathered I am ever so slightly hyper about the fact and for that reason, I am going to let the pictures talk rather than attempting to put how I feel about this case in words...
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This case is pretty awesome, as many people have expressed the panels are a bit thin in some places and is not the lightest case in the world but when you remove the side panels which have the Bitumen sound damping material the case is not that heavy at all!

Now that I have taken the before pictures... I think it is just about time for me to get closer to the “after” pictures, eh? I am hoping to have another update in the next few days if not you lot need to start pestering me, OK? Right now that you have accepted your mission it is time for me to accept mine, and break out the Jigsaw and drill and start stripping this B-E-A-U-tiful case down and start prepping the surfaces for painting and cutting.

But, before I do that it is time for me to say thanks to Fractal Designs for giving me the opportunity to cut on one of their cases! THANKS!




Cheers
 
Well I promised you an update... unfortunately it is nowhere near as big as I first hoped! Well to be honest it is not much of an update at all more just a few pictures of the case stripped down and some photographs of the tubing that I will be using in the machine.

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The chassis without all the plastic!

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the 3 bits that are make the front panel

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the fractal case has 2 sets of hole for watercooling... I am trying to work out the best way to cover them up or utilize them.

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The entire case is held together with black pop rivets ... I am going to attack them with a drill this week :)

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the white XSPC tubing

I may as well inform you what my plans are for the front panel... Well it is more of a, can you help situation. I want to keep the same design but change it in some way to allow me o still open and close the door which is a fundamental feature of the case. I was thinking of potentially just increasing the size of width of the bull bar to all the door to open without blocking it in anyway. You have any ideas?

It is time for me to say thanks to Fractal Designs for giving me the opportunity to cut on one of their cases and to NZXT for their premium cables which are now on there way!! THANKS!




Cheers
 
Oooo, look at this another update this week... Not much of an update but when I got this done this evening I thought it was worthy of an update.

Before I got the case from Fractal Design I asked Bill if a triple radiator would fit into the case and his answer was yes, it is possible... So I went ahead and organised to get the case shipped off to me. Today I had a few minutes between studying to strip out the drive bays, which are no longer needed as I wanted to be able to watercool this beast and had other plans for the drives, but once I had removed the 10 or so rivets and attempted to place the radiator it I was faced by a this!

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The old style Thermochill PA 120.3 is a match made in heaven for the Fractal Design Define R2! Take a look at how much space I have to play with on the top on bottom of the case, about 2mm in total.

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Once again thanks to both Fractal Design and NZXT



Catch you later!
 
If the Bullbar is just going to be for appearances then I would suggest some sort of a hinge on the back to allow it to lift up and out of the way. The only other idea I can think of would be some sort of a trombone slide effect to allow the front to be pulled out some so it will clear the door.

Hope this helps you find an idea.
 
Temo Vryce said:
If the Bullbar is just going to be for appearances then I would suggest some sort of a hinge on the back to allow it to lift up and out of the way. The only other idea I can think of would be some sort of a trombone slide effect to allow the front to be pulled out some so it will clear the door.

Hope this helps you find an idea.
Click to expand...

Thanks dude! that is what I have been thinking about for the last few hours, I am working on a hinging design at the moment, will keep you updated!
 
Hey all!

A quick reply to inform you that this mod is currently on hold :( I have been diagnosed with viral labyrinthitis which has damaged my inner ear and therefore I cannot balance...

I have been told that this may last for up to 6 weeks so there may not be any updates for a while and for now I look like a drunk with no alcohol! And modding while "drunk" is not the best thing in the world and I want to live past my 18th birthday! :)

Will be working on designs etc though!
 
Even though I am ill the postie is not! Look what arrived today :) :) :D My cables from NZXT!
The braid is a decent quality but the cables are black so you do not see any funky colours leaking through!!!!
CHEERS NZXT and excuse my slightly lazy photography of said cables I do not have the energy to set up a soft box to stop the reflections etc
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Oh and I am not planning on keeping them like that... there is going to be some modding done to them too :)

Once again thanks to both Fractal Design and NZXT



Till next time....
 
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Hey all!

I have another sponsor update :)
I am going to be working with TM3 Connections a company who supply audiophiles with everything they need!
TM3Connections originated from an idea born from a desire and passion to provide fellow enthusiasts with home audio and video equipment. Relentless in the pursuit of hi-fi perfection we like most of you have spent a small fortune, sometimes with very little gain.
We have realized that some Hi-fi kit was sometimes overrated, over marketed and certainly overpriced. There is a massive group of people who have already made the same discovery, preferring to construct their own designs or using other not so highly marketed brands which have a huge reputation amongst the various AV forums.
The members of TM3 have between them over 20+ years of experience in various fields ranging from wholesaling, engineering, electrical installation, marketing and accounting. Between us we have added our own individual talents and constructed a very able and enthusiastic group...
Click to expand...
They provide braiding too and are kind enough to send me enough braiding to sort this mod out!
Now for the little amount of really ish modding I have managed lol... I have only really managed to mask stuff off and start marking it out.
The front panel is going to have to have to be completely remodelled! The Fractal case has small lips on the fan holes which I am going to have to get rid of so I have marked out a 1cm border which will get rid of the lip as shown below :)

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marked out front panel

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Once again thanks to both Fractal Design and NZXT and off course now TM3 as well :)


 
Hey all!

Well I know that I said I would have an update then disappeared from the face of the Earth... And sorry about that but you must all know what life can be like! I have just finished stage managing a show with 150 performers so that took over a fair bit of my spare time and the rest was taken up by work, you know the thing that is funding this mod :) haha.

Anyway I am going to be kicking out a few updates in the next few weeks the first being what I got done tonight!
As I want to hold a PA120.3 in this case the drive bays went bye bye and therefore so can all the gubbins in the front bezel. Who wants 2 fans anyway! I WANT 3!!!!! So after bit of chopping and sanding I have a now slightly flimsy bezel :-/ but all is good I have lots of scraps of aluminium which will come in very handy in making a nice new inset both to make it look EPIC but also to give the bezel some extra strength. Any here are the pictures.

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As you can see it still needs a little bit of cleaning up but nothing that a bit of filing, sanding and paint will not fix. Remember this case is going all white on the exterior so I am not too concerned by some of the scratches etc, they will all be sanded out and painted in a nice Toyota Hilux Pure White. I have the colour codes ready and will be ordering the exact colour that the truck is painted in!

Until next time why not take a look at the guys supporting this project!


 
:O look at this! Another update!!! Hehe. Well let me get on with it eh?
I have had a little bit of time to crack on with the front bezel of MNU. After finding the wonderful template of the PA120.3 (original) which magically disappeared when thermochill got their new website. But I have re-uploaded it for anyone who needs it.
http://digitalhotrods.net/other/PA120-3.pdf
Due to the TINY amount of room I have to work with in getting the PA120.3 to fit I measured once, measured twice, measured three times, and then measured again! Finally once I was sure I had got the centre of each of the fan holes marked correctly I printed off 2 of the MNPCTech templates for the PA120.3 (available here and stuck them down on the aluminium piece which I chopped up to fit in the plastic bezel. I completely forgot to take pictures though! The football is distracting!
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SEE the footy is halting my modding! For all you in the UK and with iPhone’s or just want to watch TV online head over to www.catchuptv.com and you can watch most freeview channels for free over the mobile data network ;)
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all marked up and centre punched
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unfortunately the drill bit was blunt so it gave me some funky looking sharp burrs
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but no need to fear, a little bit of filing and sanding later and it looks just fine :)
Until next time why not take a look at the guys supporting this project!


 
I am getting good at this! Another update this week!!!! Hehe
Well in the GLORIOUS weather that Scotland seems to be having albeit not quite as hot as I would like it to be but it is sunny so I will settle for that :). I took my modding out of the Mawd Shed and into the garden allowing me to soak up the much loved sun.

First off was preparing the front of the chassis for the PA120.3, this means some cutting was needed :) so I measured once, measured twice.
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And finally got out my new favourite tool the Junior Hacksaw... I used it to cut the two smallest cuts at the bottom of the chassis which if I used the jigsaw on I know I would have messed it up haha.
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After a few minutes with the jigsaw a few more with a file and finally some sandpaper, the front panel is done!
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I am happy with it all except this little lip. You can hardly see it in the picture but it extends out by about 2mm. It is not ideal but the radiator is going to have foam on it anyway so it will not affect the mounting at all.
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Next on the hit list was to start getting the chassis ready for a lick of paint. Unfortunately for me this means I needed to remove the anti-noise “stuff”.
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This was not as hard as it first seemed! I grabbed a screwdriver and pried it off.
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It was all going well and I thought I may be able to reuse it, but then DISASTER! Well not really, it ripped... So I carried on and removed the stuff!
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As with ALL insulation it was stuck on with a horrible icky glue!
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So out came the mentholated spirits and a Stanley blade.
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Ten minutes later I have a nice cleanish surface to prep for paint
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Until next time (which may not be that long away :)) why not take a look at the guys supporting this project!




 
And once again it is time for another update!!
Today as I am still waiting on some supplies and tools, I thought I would work on the new design for the front of the chassis. I say new as I decided it was not all that smart to just attach the radiator to the front panel, so I am going to be adding another plate to the front of the chassis. So I chopped up some more aluminium! But first I found my beloved Sharpie!
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Then I got to the jigsaw out and was left with a rectangle which is slightly larger than the front of the case. Remember it is easier to remove material then get material to magically reappear!
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To get to the front of the case off I needed to remove MORE rivets!!!! There are 11 holding just the front panel on! This thing is most definitely not going to fall apart!
This includes 4 rivets which are in the side of the panel.
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As the piece I cut out was slightly too big, I am going to have to file it down. However, I am going to wait for my new files to arrive.
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So catch you lot later! And do me a favour and check out these guys!
 
First and foremost, I want to apologise for the lack of updates for the last wee while! I have been having a ton of problems with getting my watermarks onto the images… and I have been working stupidly long shifts at work.
But with that out of the way it is now time to get on with showing you the little I have had the time to work on.

I filed down the new front chassis panel, however to get it to fit properly I needed to cut out some bits chunks and drill some holes :)
Using an 8mm drill bit I drilled out the holes to make space for the clips on the plastic bezel to fit in!

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So catch you lot later! And do me a favour and check out these guys!
 
Just before I update, I would like to say sorry for the lack of updates. This is due to me having very little time to when I was modding before uni and then uni, but I am back so here they all are :)

I have been doing work when I can, unfortunately I have not documented it all so here is what I do have, one almost complete front panel!

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---

Well, it has been an interesting few months. University, stupid sleeping patterns, an excessive number of nights spent in clubs… Well it is time to get back on track don’t you think? I have been living in halls of residence at the University of Glasgow as of week after my last update. Hence, as much as I would love to be modding in my room that option was thrown out the window given the fact that I am not allowed to have a candle in my room due to “health and safety” and spraying deodorant has the potential to set off the fire alarm! I reckon they may have a few things to say if I broke out the dremel, jigsaw and paint cans.

But I am now home, where I was welcomed with horrible cold weather, snow and my dads efforts to kindly sorted out the shed (and hide all my stuff!). But that will not stop me from modding, it may hinder but it will not stop! Anyway on with what I have to show you eh?

Well I got to work on the windowed side panel, as you may recall I am going to be putting some armored panels on both sides. Originally it was going to be in 3mm aluminum but in order to finish this mod anytime soon I have decided to use a slightly easier to work with material MDF… I hate the stuff with a passion but given enough patience it is possible to cut out, file, sand and finish in a short space of time.

I have created 4 separate pieces for the windowed panel.

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The second image shows the reason why I hate MDF, it splits but it will be possible to fix that when I attach it to the panel :)

Until next time, catch!

---

Another day, another update :) The motherboard panel has now been finished, well ish anyway, I am considering adding another bit to the armored paneling. Hence, the panels have not been completely finished yet.

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Also a big thanks to Fractal, NZXT, and TM3!
 
Well it is coming to the end of my holidays and I have not got any where near where I wanted to, this is due to a number of things… Mostly I did not anticipate the length of time the family expected me to spend with them! Well I have one another update for you before I run off to university again, there may be another one before the week is out however.

It is not much but it is getting there! As the concept drawings showed, there is going to be protective roll and ‘bull’ bars on the case. I have decided for the sake of time to use wood and copper pipe. I cut four pieces of wood, which will hold the bars in place.

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The 4 end blocks as well as 2 others whose purpose will be revealed later :)

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Added copper pipe

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Until next time, mod on :)
 
Cough, Splutter, Cough!

Guess who is back! I have not died, nor have I been hiding... I have just moved country, as has Project: MNU. 600 miles later it arrived at the new house in which I have space to not only mod but store stuff!

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After unpacking about a quarter of the boxes that made the trip I found one of the side panels and the armour paneling which goes on it - well most of it anyway.

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With half my stuff still in boxes I have taken over my youngest sisters outdoor table to work off.

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Another find was the modders ruler from MNPCTECH...

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There is a large hardware store round the corner from the house so I trundled along to grab some glue - I know that one is epoxy, the other I have no idea what it is!

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and with the instructions in French and Dutch there was not much I could find out about it without buying it so I did.

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It ended up being a random compression glue, a quick search brought up a few books to weigh it down.

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No idea what happened here, apparently I cannot cut a straight line! A quick saw and sand and we were ready to go.

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All done - well the bits I have found anyway! I am going to search for the last piece tonight and will hopefully have the other panel completed tomorrow :)

Mod On!
 
mannyman said:
Looks good, It's coming along slowly, But you cant rush perfection.
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Cheers, mannyman - you cannot rush life either :p

I am back for the second day in a row with another update :)

I still have not found the last of the pieces for the windowed side panel...

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So I finished the mobo side and am pretty happy how it looks at them moment.

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A 140mm grill from MNPCTECH, still do not know whether to leave it brushed or to paint it white. Probably white though.

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My panels look like they have had a terrible tiger print paint job but that is what happens when you leave masking tape on it for almost a year :-/ I am not too worried about it though am going to be sanding it down to paint it.

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Cutting out all the hex mesh on the case.

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In an attempt to get rid of the glue on the case I gave them a bath in hot water and washing liquid, but to no avail. Looks like I am purchasing a mouse sander to get this sorted out!

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I also gave the front a quick coat of white to get rid of any nicks from the move. Unfortunately it has started raining....
 
Anyway, another weekend and another update! Lets try and keep it this way, eh? I have been at work during the week and as I am a student I get paid weekly... This means I had some money to burn - whats the point in saving right? So I went on a mission to find a mouse sander. Easier said than done! I asked my dad if we could go to a large hardware store which was about 15km from our house, they had the mouse sander on the shelf, but did they have one for sale? Apparently not - or that is what I assumed anyway after a random (possibly on topic) semi english conversation with a store assistant. So I moved onto the french hardware store round the corner from me, they were in the same boat, none in stock! So I walked a few km to the dutch hardware store. They were also out of stock in the store... mouse sanders are popular eh? BUT they did receive a Black & Decker delivery that day so they went to the back to check and like a kid at Christmas I eagerly waited for Santa to bring me the box that I wanted... VOILA, a Black & Decker Mouse Sander (and polisher apparently)!

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Within 10 minutes of getting home I had broken her in, sanding off all that icky masking tape glue!

Now I have managed, to either misplace or just forgot to take... the images of the panels all ready for priming, but you all know what a piece of scuffed up metal looks like :p

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The side panels, due to the MDF being porous needed some special attention so I took another trip to the hardware store. I found what I believe is wood primer, it had a picture of wood on it anyway, and painted the side panels up with an old school brush first, I will sand it down when it has dried and re prime it with aerosol primer so it is all smooth and the like.

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I made this random discovery while I was unpacking, we have never owned this but it was packed with our stuff.... I reckon it has the makings of a cool desk, but that is for another time.
 
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