# Project Prowler



## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

Ok, have an Antec 900 case. Got about 2 weeks til I start stuffing guts in the thing. SOO, I need to get off my rear and get my case looking like I want.

Concept:

I always loved the look of the first year Prowlers in Purple. Was a killer looking cruiser. So, I wanna do my case in Prowler Purple, and send in some bits for chroming for accents. Found some UV reactive purple clearcoat for the interior, this plus some UV Laser LED's will make up the interior lighting. I may go with some exterior lighting, as well (taillights and headlights? :laugh

Problem:

I think I can get the chroming done locally, just have to wait for a batch run and try and slip my parts in. BUT, I can't figure out the Prowler Purple paint. Is a 3 part paint. Base, mid, top. Well, 4, forgot clearcoat. But that's a gimme.

I need to find a source for the paint ala rattlecan. I don't have access to a spray rig anymore, so mixing and shooting is no longer an option. 2 hours on Google, and no luck. But, then, I've never been known for my expertise with search engines, either. DID find some from Testors for model cars, which would work, but $12 for a set of 3oz cans seems a bit steep. Would probably cost over $50 for the paint in that form.

IF I can't get the parts in for the chrome, anyone know of a good spray system that looks like chrome? I know some exist, but no luck finding any. :4-dontkno

Thanks in advance,
Eric

PS, will try some local auto paint suppliers tomorrow. Wish me luck.


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

Step one: Rip it apart

I hope this case works alright, I suspect I've already voided my warranty. If not, I'll take it back to Fry's and pray they don't look too close? :laugh:










Lots of little pieces. Will undo the door as soon as I find a sandblaster I can use. I think my Uncle can hook me up, will need to shoot him a call this week.

No more til the weekend, 4 days on the road start tomorrow night and I don't have anything I need to go any further tonight. :sigh:

Eric

P.S. Could a Mod put a 56k warning into the post title? Can't edit and this will be a worklog. Thanks!


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

Had to add a link for reference. Purple Prowler

Eric


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## forcifer (Nov 20, 2005)

for chrome, anything by dupli-color is usually good. they make some awesome paint  make sure you prime everything first! you will regret it dearly if you dont when everything starts to chip of


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

Well, did some calling around. Seems that a chrome bath for my lovely Antec would cost me upwards of $350. That's just out, I'm afraid. Cryin shame, that. But, Forc, your idea of Duplicolor seems a good one. Gonna go that route til a get a few more sheckles. Found some COOL paints on thier website. I'm just hopin I can get them locally. Should be GTG.

Interior: Base of White primer, Metalcast Groundcoat, Purple Metalcast, Nite Lites Clearcoat, UV purple clearcoat. Should do the trick. 

Exterior: Rear, trim, and fan grates Duplicolor Chrome (MIGHT go with gold.....not sure yet and opinions well recieved). Plastic and side panels will be White Primer, 2 coats Purple (hoping I can find a candy color), coat of Pearl, final color coat, Metallic Clearcoat, Clearcoat, nice coat of Carnuba for shine.

Interior lighting: Laser x2, Laserx1, Fans for side and interiorx2

Exterior lighting: Feet, Front Trim, with windows

Cables: Sleeving MIGHT try a couple Firefly 4 pin LED connectors in blue. Can't find em again, atm.

Opinions/ideas always welcome.

Eric


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## forcifer (Nov 20, 2005)

gold would be awesome. either would work though, up to you


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

The painting has begun. Got all the fan grates and front grates painted Gold. Paint looks ok, but sure wish I could have afforded the chemical bath. Oh-well.

The purple has turned into an issue. #1 I couldn't find a color dark enough for me. #2 I used white primer for a cleaner color. Hindsight now says I shoulda used black. Oh-well.

The rest is coming together, will get some pics up tomorrow. I ran outa daylight, energy, and patience today.

Eric


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## magnethead (Mar 18, 2006)

update?


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

Will update soon. Work and weather have been uncooperative of late. Been on the road a lot, and when I'm home, it's been pouring down rain. Was even snowing a bit. Not the best painting environment. Will get some pics tonight and post what I've accomplished (not much) either tonight or tomorrow. Should get a break in the weather tomorrow and Monday. 

Now if my bloody tax returns would just show up so I can order the actual computer guts and the lighting. So much for fast returns if you pay for e-file. Grrr

Eric


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

OK! Got some pics to post up. I skipped the bit about sanding and priming. Like you haven't ever seen it....

The primary color is more purple than blue, but for some reason my camera wants to make it blueish. First time I've EVER had a color issue with this camera. Fuji S5000. Dunno what the issue is, but :4-dontkno

As you can see, the candy color on the chassis is uneven and splotchy. Cool temps and high humidity does nothing for that type of paint. 

I still need my metallic clearcoat, which seems to be out of stock in Portland as a whole. Can get the black, no problem, but no clearcoat. I still can't find a source for Dupli-Color Nite-Lites locally. I need to. Still need to order the UV clearcoat, but no huge hurry on that, at least.

I've decided that the LED feet I was gonna buy aren't fitting with the mods, so I'm gonna make some. 1" Acrylic rod from Tap Plastics cut into 1 1/2" pieces with either mirrors or holographic tape top and bottom with rubber pads top and bottom for vibration dampening. Add a Purple LED into each, and voila! Cool feet for about $2 each instead of $15 for 4.

A few more pics of the painting thus far:



























I should finish the candy coat on the chassis tomorrow, and God willing, find some Effex metallic clearcoat and get it done, as well.

Still need a source for the Nite Lites for the interior.

Layering question: Nite lites, then UV purple or UV purple, then Nite Lites? The layering WILL matter, just not sure which and I'll not have a huge supply to experiment much.

I may try a coat of the Candy Purple over the primary coat just to see what it would look like.....might be the magic Prowler Purple I'm looking for?

In the end, I think that rich, dark metallic purple of the Prowler is going to elude me, but then, it was my inspiration, not an ideal. I hope to get close, but I should still end up with a cool looking case.

If ya wonder why I chose purple, the answer is simple. The only other readily available colors for lighting are Blue, Red, and Green. EVERY other dang computer is one of those colors. I like to be different, so purple it was......:grin:

Eric


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

Sorry for the big pics, thought I'd resized them right. Foolish me.....


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

Good news (for me, anyway)! Found a supplier for the Nite Lites and my Effex. Wife is buying the Effex now, will go get the Nite Lites tomorrow. Looks like I get to do a bunch more painting tonight and tomorrow. Got a friend on his way over right now to get some help with his Laptop, so I gotta deal with that, first.

Eric


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## ShosMeister (Jan 19, 2008)

Great pics! Looks a bit more blue than purple in some of them but I really like the gold grills!


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

Ok, got three coats of Effex on the external bits. All I can say is "wow". Very cool paint. I was expecting metallic, not holographic. 

I'll let the pic speak:









Eric

Still looks blue.....stupid camera!


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

Note to self, and others. Paint can be a PITA to deal with. Cool weather and high humidity will kill you every time if you don't pay enough attention. Here's what happens when you shoot a laquer base coat with an enamel clearcoat in those conditions without leaving enough time between coats (can says UP TO one hour, in cool/high humidity, allow at least 90 minutes between):



















I wasn't exactly going for a textured finish!

A little wet sanding and a re-shoot, no harm done. Would be easier if I had an airbrush, but oh-well. 

And yes, I shoot outdoors. I've breathed enough paint for one lifetime...

My kingdom for some warm, dry weather!!!


Eric


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## forcifer (Nov 20, 2005)

dang dude that looks awesome. metallic flakes look so cool..


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## Thething (Feb 6, 2008)

WOW that is an awsome paint job mate, cant wait to see the finished thingray:.

Wish i had the patience and know how to paint my case but id prolly leave it half finished as i have no patience, lol:tongue:.


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## magnethead (Mar 18, 2006)

now that is looking sweet.

as to the camera making it turn blue, what model is the camera? Some have different modes that will correct the color back to purple.


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

Fuji S5000 camera. Has never had color issues like this. One of the reasons I haven't upgraded it. Guess I just found a color/lighting situation it doesn't like. Took pics in all low-light modes, changed color saturation, etc.. Still no luck. Had to run the pics through PhotoImpact just to get them to look as they do.

On a higher note, should be done with the painting tonight. Just need that UV paint to show up and I can reasemble the thing!

Eric


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## magnethead (Mar 18, 2006)

Ssrogg said:


> Fuji S5000 camera. Has never had color issues like this. One of the reasons I haven't upgraded it. Guess I just found a color/lighting situation it doesn't like. Took pics in all low-light modes, changed color saturation, etc.. Still no luck. Had to run the pics through PhotoImpact just to get them to look as they do.
> 
> On a higher note, should be done with the painting tonight. Just need that UV paint to show up and I can reasemble the thing!
> 
> Eric


Does it have a fully manual mode? My powershot 610 does, that's what i take 70% of my images in. Full control of shutter speed, iris size, light mode (auto, day, cloud, flourescent, flourescent hydrogen, underwater, and 2 others i rarely use)

Mine isn't that great in low light, the bigger i make the iris the more pixelated the images look (digital zooming to the 16x mark makes it worse). but i've never had COLOr issues like you are. I might suggest using flash off with dim auxilary lighting to the sides (or shine a pair of flashlights from under the camera at an angle where only some of the beam catches the panel).


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## forcifer (Nov 20, 2005)

btw, im just wondering, but what is the color of the grills? looks really cool with the blue/purple


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

LOL, it's exactly what you suggested, Forc. Duplicolor Gold paint. Shot with about 4 coats of clear and 2 coats of Effex for some sparkle. 

Clearcoat is the trick, though. Just remember to wet sand every few coats with 2000 grit. Keeps the paint looking "wet" and adds depth. Is why that Mirage paint you were playing with works so well. Many coats of semi-tranparent paint. Finish with 3-5 coats of clear.

I'll finish the painting with a run of clearcoat safe polishing compound and a good coat of high-quality Carnuba car wax. This protects the paint and takes the shine to a new level.

Eric


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

Painting is pretty much done!! Just need to wait for the UV paint to show up, mask and paint the interior, and put the dang thing back together again. Should have pics of the finished paint job this weekend. Still waiting on my taxes for the complete build and final product.


Eric


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

Got the HDD cages and the internal fan shroud painted tonight. All external panels are polished/waxed. Got pics, but will post em tomorrow. Been up for 29 1/2 hours, now. = P

Internal lighting ordered, external will happen tomorrow, as well.

Ordered a Fan control and a Card reader tonight. Just hopin the card reader ain't garbage.

Eric


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## forcifer (Nov 20, 2005)

2 very good brands so you should be fine  AC ryan is well respected among most modders


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

Time for a big update. The actual painting is (mostly) FINISHED!! Have to touch up some of the gold, have some primer showing through. No biggie, but I can see it, so gotta fix it. Only waiting on the UV paint to arrive (Thursdayish) to shoot the interior. Easy.

Painted the HDD cages and interior fan shroud (Hangin on the line):



















Some shots of the candy with metallic in the SUNSHINE (yeah, finally. ONE freakin day of nice weather)!!!






































The "final" product:





































Have my interior lighting, UV paint, and exterior lighting (LEDs) to go. If my taxes ain't here by next weekend, my other bits will be, and I will just tap into my wife's PSU to power up the lights/fans and get a few pics. Still need to fab the feet, which I will do tomorrow. Seems Tap Plastics is closed Sundays! = (

I promise, this looks WAAAY better than my pics show. I work/live at night, so I have to take pics in the dark, as a rule.

I believe my original "Prowler" idea went out the window. I think I should paint a Cadillac logo on the side and put Mag wheels on this thing (hydraulics, anyone?)..........:laugh:

Eric


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## 1 g0t 0wn3d (Jan 31, 2007)

i like it great work


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## magnethead (Mar 18, 2006)

from what i can tell of the balance of the blue/purple, i think you just about hit the prowler color head on.


If you want to see how close you hit, the color code from chrysler/dupont is H7/TH7.


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

Price list for this case:

Antec 900: $140 (no deal, but was kinda an impulse buy.)

Paint: $91 (a whopping ELEVEN cans of spraypaint! /gag)

LEDs: $32 for 20 (not gonna use all 20, but was cheapest to buy that way with holders)

Interior lighting, including fans: $93 (will add 3 more fans @ $14 each)

Feet: $14 (but still have enough material to make another 2 or 3 sets...)

5.25 bay accesories: $65

Customized case cost: $435 THAT hurts the build budget! Dang!

Custom modding my first case? Still $435......the Mona Lisa she ain't.

Eric


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

LEDs arrived yesterday, Fed-Ex shipping tracker says my fans/lights will arrive Saturday. Finally found the issue with my taxes. We E-Filed and THOUGHT the paperwork was sent with a bunch of bills and such. Found the envelope on the computer desk. GRRRR. Now the wait begins anew.


Eric


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## magnethead (Mar 18, 2006)

what are you replacing the stock fans with?


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

Both front fans and the rear exhaust fan will be these

Core fan and door fan are these

Depending on how purple the door and core fans are, may just buy 3 more of those. Ran outa money, gotta wait for payday or the wife will shoot me. This would not help my project any.

Eric


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

Well, hooked up the new lighting to my wife's little Dell. All work perfectly. The LEDs on 12v feed glow nicely without being too bright for outside-the-case usage. Gonna have to go buy a 4 pack of Molex tomorrow. Hopefully have that bit done by Monday. The UV paint is sprayed. Not NEARLY as bright as was hoping for, despite the hype. Bummer, but still looks cool. May need to rethink interior a little, but considering the amount of light the fans will produce, mebbe not. Not gonna do pics on lighting until I get the PSU for my machine. Wife's is only 230w and I'd need a long Molex extension cord. lol

Working on the feet a bit today. Didn't get to it last week. Had em cut a bit too long, but it will do. FYI, don't go beyond 1" to 1 1/4" for feet. 1 1/2" is a bit too high. Have pics, but will post em tomorrow night after I have them completed.

Gotta go to sleep early tonight. Have to be at a meeting at 0645 in the AM. Work sucks....

Eric


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## magnethead (Mar 18, 2006)

considering a CD drive is 1.75 inches tall....yea 1.25 inch tall feet would be way too tall.

except a floor-set case. Then you would want tall feet.


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

Aye, yer right about that. If she ends up hiding under the desk, she'll be the perfect hieght. But with the illuminated feet, it won't look bad on the desktop. Just a little strange. But I'd hate to relegate that many hours of work to the floor! = )


Eric


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## magnethead (Mar 18, 2006)

personally, i have mine on the desk purely stock, and i don't mind it..it sits up about 3/8 of an inch and thats it, just on the 4 corners. Just enough to find that disc you've been lookign for forever, but not tall enough to hide a UV tube.


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

Got the external trim lighting installed! Just have to wait for the glue to dry so I can harness all the wires, connect Molex, and reassemble the thing.....again.

Have a bunch of pics again:





































Fun stuff. After I get the wires harnessed tonight, I may post a pic of the lights lit up. Can just stick em to a 12v battery. Will glow dim, but at least will show the actual lights.

Feet are almost done, need to grind a wire groove in all 4, glue in the LEDs, and glue the last piece of holographic tape over the top. Still need to find myself some flat piece of rubber to cannibalize. The existing rubber feet are just too thick after my little boo-boo with the feet length. But that's really an easy fix for later. Just need to cut em out, peel the sticky off the reflective tape and stick em on. Should have another post tonight of the finished feet. Maybe even with em glued to the case?


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

Ok, time for FEET! lol

Bought the material from Tap Plastics, who were good enough to cut to size while I waited. Only bugger is, as I posted before, I had em cut too long. 1" woulda been perfect, I went with 1.5". Live and learn.

Ends were very rough. Had to sand and polish them. 120,600,1500, and clearcoat polishing compound for a near-crystal-clear finish. I coulda spent another hour and had it perfect, but would have been wasted effort, IMO.




























After all that, I drilled holes for the LEDs and used the dremel to cut a wire groove so the wires were flush with the top. Glued in the LEDs, added prismatic tape to the top and bottom, and stuck a rubber pad at the very bottom so my machine don't walk off the desk.










Let there be LIGHT!



















And there was!

I'm pretty happy with em. Wish they were shorter, but oh-well. Can't glue em to the case til tomorrow. Need to let the glue fully cure, first.

Still have more harness makinging and splicing to do on the outer LEDs, but have em hooked up enough I can light em with a 12v battery. When it gets dark, I'll get a couple pics and post em. 

Eric

And yes, they are PURPLE LEDs. If this camera didn't take stunning landscapes, I'd pitch it out the window right NOW! = P


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

Now some external lighting pics. Still look blue, still purple....





































I ran some corrections for the photos in Impact, but when I got purple instead of blue, the picture was horribly grainy. So use your imagination. lol

Keep in mind, this is without the feet and without any interior lighting yet. After I get this done, I bet I can shut the lights off in the room and still be able to read! = )


Eric


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

Well, this is the last update for this. Found out I don't GET a tax return this year. Won't go into details. Just gonna pack the case up and put it into storage. God willing, I'll get a chance to make this build sometime in the next year. All I had left for the case was to attach the feet and then put the guts together. Oh-well, such is married life, I guess.

Thank you all for the kind words and support. And especially for answering all my questions.

I'm sure I'll still find reasons to visit here fairly often. Is one helluva site!

Be good, all. Sorry for the let-down. I assure you it's MUCH less than I'm feeling right now.

Eric


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## Thething (Feb 6, 2008)

Sorry to hear that mate, i can imagine after all the time and effort you put into it. At least you have a very nice case for when you do get the PC:smile:.

Good luck and take care.


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

Rather than waste all the effort, I think I'm just gonna buy a bigger PSU for my old Vaio and install it into this case. Just grab a new GPU, HDD, and DVD player to add in, and at least I can power this thing up and enjoy the work I've done. NOT what I wanted, but....

Eric


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

Waitin on "the Egg" to deliver a few new toys. Either today or Monday, I'm guessing. Soon as the big box arrives, I'll start the transplant and git the puppy lit up properly. 

Looks like I'll have my new system faster than I expected. Maybe 2-3 months max. Just not the instant gratification I was sooo lookin forward to! = )

Gluing on the feet before I lay down for a nap. Been on the road 4 days. Thank God for the weekend!

Eric


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

Bah, so much for the fast delivery from NewEgg. Order shipped yesterday on 3 day. Says delivery on Wednesday? Apparently UPS don't count to 3 the same way I do......= P

And only shipping from one state away. I could drive down and pick it up in less time than that. By about 3 days. Mind boggling.

Eric


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## magnethead (Mar 18, 2006)

Ssrogg said:


> Bah, so much for the fast delivery from NewEgg. Order shipped yesterday on 3 day. Says delivery on Wednesday? Apparently UPS don't count to 3 the same way I do......= P
> 
> And only shipping from one state away. I could drive down and pick it up in less time than that. By about 3 days. Mind boggling.
> 
> Eric


Saturday- closed. Sunday- closed. Monday- 1 Tuesday-2 Wednesday 3. 

That's how they count it.


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

Shipped Friday. Should be day 1, Monday 2, Tuesday 3. Still not sure of that extra day. LOL

I'll figure it out when it gets here. I'm learning to accept that I'm cursed and I'll get it done when I do. = )

Have pics to run the last update on my feet and the wiring. Soon as Photobucket finishes their danged maintenance, I can post it up.

Eric


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## magnethead (Mar 18, 2006)

Ssrogg said:


> Shipped Friday. Should be day 1, Monday 2, Tuesday 3. Still not sure of that extra day. LOL
> 
> I'll figure it out when it gets here. I'm learning to accept that I'm cursed and I'll get it done when I do. = )
> 
> ...


shipped day doesn't count. 

Only reason i know, we're on a first name basis with the local UPS driver. If he sees me at the school (I get out when he usually arrives), he just delivers anything to me to take home to save him the fuel. So we're kind of familiar with how UPS operates. You should see what the boxes look like that get overnighted here from the center in charleston SC- they'll be battered up if it's not marked fragile.


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

Ok, final update for the feet and LED wiring! Feet are glued on, wires all harnessed and routed, all connected to Molex. Used electrical tape for about half the wiring, I didn't feel like going to the store. Next day I went to Frys and picked up some shrink tubing. 

Anyhow, here's some pics:



















Not bad, 17 LED in 2 power connectors. Slid the case in next to my wife's and made sure they all lit up. Everything is GTG.

Soon as I get my new parts, can do the semi-final update with all the lights and such. FINAL update will not happen until I get my new system together and into this thing.

Eric


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## magnethead (Mar 18, 2006)

Eric, i've been wanting to ask- HTH did you get the 900 apart? I tried to pull mine apart once for access to the reset switch (i wanted to put a solid state in there for light control) and never could figure it out.


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

If you look at the pics above, you'll see posts on the front trim. I used a large pair of needle nose to compress the tabs and slide the front trim off, on the top you can see 6 tabs. I used my fingers to move the ones towards the back of the case, for the ones at the front that you can't reach with your hands, I used a flat metal ruler I slid forward between the top of the metal case and the plastic bit to pop them. I DID however manage to break one of the front ones. I just wasn't being careful enough. But no biggie, as the top recesses under the front trim a bit and still fits tight.

Eric


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

Almost done! Still need to get my 5.25" devices installed and the faceplates painted gold to match the grilling. Also have 3 purple fans to replace the 3 blue stock fans arriving tomorrow or Tuesday (hoping tomorrow as it's back to work Tuesday).

The Sony is installed, upgraded with a new eGEForce 7600GS, and OC'd a bit. By next weekend I should have the semi-final product to post-up. Only semi because my Sony was never intended to reside in it! = )

It's bright, and not nearly as loud as I had feared. Both good IMO. I think I want to order a couple blacklight CCFL for the interior as it's still a bit dark on the insides. At least compared to the outside. lol

The latest round of pics:





































Wiring still needs a bit more help, but mostly will have to wait til I build the new computer to put in it before I stress it too badly. Got most of it behind the Mobo tray, but not enough. That danged PSU has no lack of cables!

Eric


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

3 more pics. Got the bay devices installed, but not painted. I got lazy. I'll get to it...eventually. All fans in the case are now purple. Only irritating thing is, the fans are a slightly different shade of purple than the case LED. Oh-well, still looks good!









That Kama-Meter looks way cool. Does all it was advertised to do, as well. Temps, fan control, master volume.



















Dunno how many more updates this is gonna get. Pretty much finished. I'll post one more with the faceplates painted, then probably a last one in a few months when I put the new puter into the case. Still thinking about that blacklight CCFL, too.....

Eric


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## mitchez40 (Feb 23, 2008)

That is insanely badass. I am so jealous of your computer. lol


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

Shameless Necro....


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## groudon185p (Dec 30, 2007)

You must not like led's I can't see any! </sarcasm>


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