Soldato
Can't see any pics at all
Project: UniKaorn Farts
- Thread starter davido_labido
- Start date
Soldato
He's in Taiwan right now, it won't get sorted any time soon.
Sorry it has been a while folks! I have been crazy busy in Taiwan, Germany, America and next week I fly to Canada! It's all fun and games, but it has meant I have been neglecting the build logs. Oh, and I have fixed all the images =D
So let's start getting this case sprayed up, I said I didn't want the grills black, and that is the first thing I am going to tackle.
Some of the clips are very easy to get off, just use a craft knife or small screwdriver, some of the others you have to melt the tabs - I just used a soldering iron.
As per usual, a blast of primer first.
Then let's go with those UniKaorn farts!!! colour... colour everywhere.
Second coat to clean it up a little bit
Once the mesh was put back in, it looked rather tasty, I just wasn't sure about the case colour.
Now, I usually use rattle cans, but I have recently starting to use an airbrush - I am still learning, I am a VERY VERY new user.
First I did a test run on the GPU backplate - not a bad job for a first attempt
Then I thought I would try with a small part of the case, hmmm again, not too bad.
So, Let's try with the WHOLE case, first I hit it with some primer.
Then started with the air brush hype
every panel.... with a tiny airbrush. It took ages.
But I did it!!! and now the table is trash
The finish is pretty good too, I haven't done a clear coat yet as i still don't really know what to do with the case.
Once again, I put the mesh back in, white and rainbow barf, what a winner!
Speaking of rainbow barf, let's start on the back panel. ooooooh yeah, taste the rainbow baby! by now, you should know this build isn't serious and I don't intend it to be. I spoke to some of the Cooler Master crew in Taiwan and I think they think I've lost the plot. At least I am having fun!
UNIKAORNS!!!! UNIKAORNS EVERYWHERE!!!!!
I am hoping that I can do what I want here, basically, I want this jumble of unicorns and colour to be like a background, then I want to spray text over it, but, do I have to spray another colour on first in a block so that it stands out?
I.e, do I have to put white on, then the text? I have no idea - this is the first time I have tried to do paint like this.
Whilst I try to figure that out, I thought I would start with the PSU!
It wouldn't be a build without some nice warranty voiding. Remember, if you're doing this, don't touch any capacitors! They can store electricity for quite some time and can give a nice jolt. You can't see any large ones here, but I used a multimeter to discharge the caps.
Now, I can paint the case without getting any paint in the PSU.
A few hours later UniKaorn PSU!
And that is where I'm gonna leave it tonight. Have an old picture of me in the UniKaorn onsie to giggle at this time as I don't really have anything to give you a hint as to what the next update will be this time - sorry!
So let's start getting this case sprayed up, I said I didn't want the grills black, and that is the first thing I am going to tackle.
Some of the clips are very easy to get off, just use a craft knife or small screwdriver, some of the others you have to melt the tabs - I just used a soldering iron.
As per usual, a blast of primer first.
Then let's go with those UniKaorn farts!!! colour... colour everywhere.
Second coat to clean it up a little bit
Once the mesh was put back in, it looked rather tasty, I just wasn't sure about the case colour.
Now, I usually use rattle cans, but I have recently starting to use an airbrush - I am still learning, I am a VERY VERY new user.
First I did a test run on the GPU backplate - not a bad job for a first attempt
Then I thought I would try with a small part of the case, hmmm again, not too bad.
So, Let's try with the WHOLE case, first I hit it with some primer.
Then started with the air brush hype
every panel.... with a tiny airbrush. It took ages.
But I did it!!! and now the table is trash
The finish is pretty good too, I haven't done a clear coat yet as i still don't really know what to do with the case.
Once again, I put the mesh back in, white and rainbow barf, what a winner!
Speaking of rainbow barf, let's start on the back panel. ooooooh yeah, taste the rainbow baby! by now, you should know this build isn't serious and I don't intend it to be. I spoke to some of the Cooler Master crew in Taiwan and I think they think I've lost the plot. At least I am having fun!
UNIKAORNS!!!! UNIKAORNS EVERYWHERE!!!!!
I am hoping that I can do what I want here, basically, I want this jumble of unicorns and colour to be like a background, then I want to spray text over it, but, do I have to spray another colour on first in a block so that it stands out?
I.e, do I have to put white on, then the text? I have no idea - this is the first time I have tried to do paint like this.
Whilst I try to figure that out, I thought I would start with the PSU!
It wouldn't be a build without some nice warranty voiding. Remember, if you're doing this, don't touch any capacitors! They can store electricity for quite some time and can give a nice jolt. You can't see any large ones here, but I used a multimeter to discharge the caps.
Now, I can paint the case without getting any paint in the PSU.
A few hours later UniKaorn PSU!
And that is where I'm gonna leave it tonight. Have an old picture of me in the UniKaorn onsie to giggle at this time as I don't really have anything to give you a hint as to what the next update will be this time - sorry!
Soldato
****** ridiculous mate. Love it! I think with colour choices, it's go subtle/classy, go big or go home. Clearly this is redefining "big"
What paints do you use for the airbrush? Always tempted to get one as I spray guitars as well as other projects.
What paints do you use for the airbrush? Always tempted to get one as I spray guitars as well as other projects.
Thanks! I am not so sure about it, but I do like being silly so it is fitting into that bracket nicely.
The paints I have been using are model paints I think. They're from a company called Tamiya and I found them in the local hobby shop. I bought some Tamiya acrylic thinners too which was about £5 for, then realised I had a huge 5 litre drum of "all-purpose paint thinners" that I bought when doing some housework. I have been using the all-purpose far more as it seems to work better and it was cheaper iirc so it is worth looking around.
It is also quite crazy how little you need to cover a large area. The paints come in tiny little jars and I thin them about 1:1 and I can cover a decent amount, probably 2 panels with 1 jar!
Now, everything I have said above could be completely wrong as I am a noob at all this air brush malarky, but it seems to be doing what I want it to do for now.
The paints I have been using are model paints I think. They're from a company called Tamiya and I found them in the local hobby shop. I bought some Tamiya acrylic thinners too which was about £5 for, then realised I had a huge 5 litre drum of "all-purpose paint thinners" that I bought when doing some housework. I have been using the all-purpose far more as it seems to work better and it was cheaper iirc so it is worth looking around.
It is also quite crazy how little you need to cover a large area. The paints come in tiny little jars and I thin them about 1:1 and I can cover a decent amount, probably 2 panels with 1 jar!
Now, everything I have said above could be completely wrong as I am a noob at all this air brush malarky, but it seems to be doing what I want it to do for now.
Soldato
Yep, Tamiya are popular for model making - had a boss who had the whole airbrush kit from them.
The thinner sounds about right! Are they solvent based?
The thinner sounds about right! Are they solvent based?
Soldato
Dude, this is grotesque. I love it!
I believe so, it was "Omi-Cron 2K Universal Thinner Medium 5L" that I have. it is good stuff!
Thanks.... I think!
Well, I started on the GPU blocks.... not a huge fan tbh and I ran out of blue paint -.- I will try them like this, if I don't like them once they're fitted I will strip them down again and start again! Hopefully when they're in they won't look quite as loud as you won't see as much of the block, we shall see.
Very quick update this time, I am crazy busy at the moment! I go and visit Linus Tech Tips, Jayztwocents and Gamers Nexus in a few days and I am organising that trip.... I wonder if they can teach me how to build a PC
?
Soldato
- Joined
- 1 Dec 2015
- Posts
- 18,514
Soldato
Thanks.... I think!
Oh it was intended as a compliment
everything you're doing flies in the face of what we've all come to expect in the modding community these, but it works so well.
Wait, a small update? Woot!
Well, I have had a busy few weeks! I flew to Canada and met with a few nice YouTubers, visited the Linus Tech Tips HQ after doing an event there. Then I landed back in the UK (ready for a nice relaxed week of modding) and the missus had booked a trip to Turkey for a week!!! I had less than 24 hours in the UK -.- .
Below is the last picture of the Linus event.... I am the fat balled bearded one on the left in the black top, can you name anyone else on the pic?
Soooooooo, I ordered a load more paints! Lots of white and orange, because....reasons
Finished the GPU blocks!!! I think i am going to put my logo into the middle of the 4 screws. I have inverted the case, so these will be on the top rather than the bottom of the cards like usual.
I did the backplates too, but I don't like the blue on them, I need to redo them a little.
I also bought all the sleeving I will need!
Just a little bit of a mock-up of what the cables may look like
Oh, and I ordered this. it looks like iron filings I know, but if you look at it in the bag, you can see rainbows
This needs to be finished in the next 2 weeks, so full steam ahead now! I think I have everything I need so I will be updating this build log more and more as it progresses. Bye for now though! xxx
Well, I have had a busy few weeks! I flew to Canada and met with a few nice YouTubers, visited the Linus Tech Tips HQ after doing an event there. Then I landed back in the UK (ready for a nice relaxed week of modding) and the missus had booked a trip to Turkey for a week!!! I had less than 24 hours in the UK -.- .
Below is the last picture of the Linus event.... I am the fat balled bearded one on the left in the black top, can you name anyone else on the pic?
Soooooooo, I ordered a load more paints! Lots of white and orange, because....reasons
Finished the GPU blocks!!! I think i am going to put my logo into the middle of the 4 screws. I have inverted the case, so these will be on the top rather than the bottom of the cards like usual.
I did the backplates too, but I don't like the blue on them, I need to redo them a little.
I also bought all the sleeving I will need!
Just a little bit of a mock-up of what the cables may look like
Oh, and I ordered this. it looks like iron filings I know, but if you look at it in the bag, you can see rainbows
This needs to be finished in the next 2 weeks, so full steam ahead now! I think I have everything I need so I will be updating this build log more and more as it progresses. Bye for now though! xxx
Associate
Great work David, wonder why you have all that orange and white.
Soldato
- Joined
- 1 Dec 2015
- Posts
- 18,514
rgb lightbox from coldzero- could be made to replace cable bar/panel next to the mother board try . Black overlay with cut out of a unicorn to show RGB lighting 
Below is the last picture of the Linus event.... I am the fat balled bearded one on the left in the black top, can you name anyone else on the pic?
Jayz2cents behind you?
Loving this build by the way, but wouldn't it have helped to have started with a white case rather than completely spraying a black one?
It would feel wrong to only have one PC on my work bench
Certainly is! I work with Jay quite a lot! We tend to be at a lot of the same events and his team are good guys!
Yes, having the white one would have been an amazing idea, however, I got this the week they released the white version, it has all just been in storage for a while whilst I have been working on other things. I was going to swap it, but I couldn't be bothered tbh. I don't mind giving things a spray
Time for another little update!
Soooooo, I didn't really want to do too much to the motherboard, because, well, quite honestly, I wanted to use it in another build in the future which I think will be a match. Then, I thought it was too dark and all plans went out of the window and I thought, let's get it white!
So, first things first, let's strip off the motherboard, what a dirty naked girl!
Gotta cover that RGB goodness!
After a bit of time, I give it a thin coat of paint. Tbh, I just used primer here. I don't like to do too much on north/south bridges. That will do it for now
As you can see above, I chose the clear XPX block in the end. So, I can use the XPX RGB ring to make it spew rainbows. This isn't an addressable RGB strip, but I think we should make it into one
So, I pulled out the standard RGB strip and rummaged into my box of LED strips and found this!
It doesn't have any connectors on, so I need to make one quickly to test it out
I stole a female connector from one of my older strips and popped a bit of solder on.
then, the other end to the strip. Nice and easy! I didn't want to do it too long and they won't be multicoloured cables at the end, but this is just a little test.
ooooou, look at that! It works! Rainbow!!! (also, bask in the glory of my custom Open Benchtable!! They laser etched my name and logo into it! wooohooo)
I thought I would pop it on the block and see what it looked like. I didn't have any control of the colours/effect as I only popped into bios quickly as obviously, it isn't cooled at the moment. Luckily it will be fine for a few seconds with the copper plate
Here is a little video of it
Another job ticked off, Let's get some logos back on the blocks. Although these won't really be seen, I thought I would add them.
I decided to spray the logos on, rather than using vinyl.
Did I mention I added glitter...... GLITTER!!!! Ok, it is hard to see but when it is in the light, you can really see it sparkle.
I added MOAR glitter. MOAR!!!!
Glittery Glittery ooooooooou.
So, I started to put some things in the case. The motherboard looks so bare, it needs the rainbow treatment.
Soooooo, I didn't really want to do too much to the motherboard, because, well, quite honestly, I wanted to use it in another build in the future which I think will be a match. Then, I thought it was too dark and all plans went out of the window and I thought, let's get it white!
So, first things first, let's strip off the motherboard, what a dirty naked girl!
Gotta cover that RGB goodness!
After a bit of time, I give it a thin coat of paint. Tbh, I just used primer here. I don't like to do too much on north/south bridges. That will do it for now
As you can see above, I chose the clear XPX block in the end. So, I can use the XPX RGB ring to make it spew rainbows. This isn't an addressable RGB strip, but I think we should make it into one
So, I pulled out the standard RGB strip and rummaged into my box of LED strips and found this!
It doesn't have any connectors on, so I need to make one quickly to test it out
I stole a female connector from one of my older strips and popped a bit of solder on.
then, the other end to the strip. Nice and easy! I didn't want to do it too long and they won't be multicoloured cables at the end, but this is just a little test.
ooooou, look at that! It works! Rainbow!!! (also, bask in the glory of my custom Open Benchtable!! They laser etched my name and logo into it! wooohooo)
I thought I would pop it on the block and see what it looked like. I didn't have any control of the colours/effect as I only popped into bios quickly as obviously, it isn't cooled at the moment. Luckily it will be fine for a few seconds with the copper plate
Here is a little video of it
Another job ticked off, Let's get some logos back on the blocks. Although these won't really be seen, I thought I would add them.
I decided to spray the logos on, rather than using vinyl.
Did I mention I added glitter...... GLITTER!!!! Ok, it is hard to see but when it is in the light, you can really see it sparkle.
I added MOAR glitter. MOAR!!!!
Glittery Glittery ooooooooou.
So, I started to put some things in the case. The motherboard looks so bare, it needs the rainbow treatment.
Soldato
Spotted the glitter before you mentioned, it's excellent! Makes me want to start a new build and see how bad awesome I can make it!
Also loving the link between GPU blocks, that's really cool
Also loving the link between GPU blocks, that's really cool
Soldato
- Joined
- 1 Dec 2015
- Posts
- 18,514
nice... so will be looking at addressable RGB XPX ring then from Alpha ?
Spotted the glitter before you mentioned, it's excellent! Makes me want to start a new build and see howbadawesome I can make it!
Also loving the link between GPU blocks, that's really cool
Get it started! We need horrible builds everywhere. I mean Awesome, Awesome!
nice... so will be looking at addressable RGB XPX ring then from Alpha ?
I hope not. I hate seeing RGB everywhere. I mean, long live the RGB overlords!
Well, it's that time again - another update!
So after the last test build, there seemed to be WAAAAAY too much white and I wasn't a huge fan of the ram colour either. black and silver heatsinks with a white light - it just didn't fit.
So, time to spray again! sigh.....
Here is a quick reminder of what the RAM looks like. in the ideal world, I would make brand new heatsinks with "Unicorn" written on them and a similar style unicorn but, 1. I don't have the time to do it. 2. I don't have the tools to do it and 3. I don't have the skill to do it
So, a different idea. 
First job is to heat up the heatsinks and get them off the modules - nice and easy!
Then it's time for the primer party.
A coat of white makes everything right.
Time for the M.A.S.K (anyone remember those toys? I used to love them!)
Time to get some colour on them, get some clear coat on them and bang them into the mobo!
Oh Baby.....Wait... the rest of the board is... it's a rainbow!
I only used light coats on the heatsinks and I didn't bother clear coating them, I don't like messing with them too much (he says when they're multicoloured -.- ) but at least it was in mind.
I did clear coat the ram and the plastic part of the board though
I was going to try and get everything to match up, then I realised most of it would be pink and purple on the right hand side and the ram would all be yellow and orange and it would just look a little strange. I REALLY like how this has actually come out. In fact, I am slightly disappointed that it does look really good I was hoping to extract many salty tears with this build and it just isn't happening.
When inverting a case, you often forget the little things, like which way the cables are facing on the front panel. I couldn't have them coming out this side. I actually thought this was going to be a bigger job than it was. I started getting my soldering iron out and was thinking of making a new plate and things...
then when I opened it, I realised I could just cut a couple of holes on the other side of it and force the cables out that way instead. it isn't neat, but by gawd it works!
Now when I put everything together, the cables will come out the correct side and won't be horrible - Winner!
Now, the last thing I have done is played with some mesh. I know, I know, there is a mesh version of this case now, like there is a white one, but... well, I had this before they were released!!! I wish I did have those versions though, this was a pain in the proverbial.
I had already removed the plastic part of the case.
I then cut and bent the basic shape that the plastic was in. What I didn't realise it had so many silly bends and cuts in, to make it perfect would have taken far too long. I do have a bending break, but it is buried in the shed at the moment and I don't think it would have helped too much either way.
So, the front has to be flat, then it has to go in at the edges diagnally, then it has to flatten out again so it can attach to the panel. The top has to have an inwards angle, whilst still facing upwards -.- so much hate for this mesh part.
I managed to get it satisfactory though - this took me about 3 hours for the front panel, some of the struggle was cutting the mesh properly, some bending it by hand and some making sure I didn't scratch the panels. I also did the top panel of the case, which I *don't think* the mesh version of the case comes with.
It isn't completely perfect, you can see on this picture that there is a little bit of metal missing right under the diagnal, that is just down to the shape I had to cut the mesh at and I snipped one extra hexagon by mistake =( I'm not going to lose sleep over it though it's a damn good effort in my eyes
That's where I am going to leave it for now! I have a busy weekend ahead of me though still! Cables need to be made, some plastic/alu needs to be bent and I need to knock up a quick loop for this bad boy and no doubt I will think of things to do along the way!
I had a call today about going to GamesCom, leaving tomorrow evening, alas, I had to turn it down to finish UniKaorn Farts and to go to Insomnia. That is dedication right there!!!!!