Project Penguin

Updatey

I think we need an update on this, right?

When we left off last time project penguin was not in such a happy place - the white paint had wrinkled :(
This apparently is because you can only apply a second coat within 3 hours, or after 36 hours; apply it within that window and the paint wrinkles up faster than fingers in a hot bathtub.

So, Nitromors!
It took a few re-applications of Nitromors to get me down to the bare metal again, then re-sand, re-prime, re-sand again and re-paint:


I'm a little unsure as to whether to bother with the white edges now.. not because it went wrong last time, but because it'd give my case a kind of 'magic wand' look which I don't really want, so I think the sides and top will be solid black now.

After deciding NOT to fit a side fan I needed somewhere else to put my painted Scythe Kaze Maru and figured the top was a good place; problem is the top is already drilled for a standard shaped 140mm fan, which the Kaze Maru isn't.

So I needed to cut out the current fan mount and then somehow make a different shaped one that's a bit smaller than the original; the easiest way to do that I figured would be to cut a top window, and then cut a fan hole into the acrylic.. so here's the primed top panel with window:

Oh, and you can see in that photo that the 5 1/4" drive bays are primed too. They're going to be white.

The chrome fan grille I got to cover the Kaze Maru has also been painted:


Part of the back of the non-windowed side panel will be visible through the window, so that's being painted white:

Needs at least one more coat but I have to wait 2 days for it to dry completely before doing that. :)

And here's the rest of the case body, primed and ready to be painted white and black:


Since taking that photo I've dremelled the case a bit more to cut the hole at the bottom for the front panel connectors, and make a hole so that the vandal switch for the power will fit.

As for the internals...


I'm typing on them now... :D
Those OCZ psu cables are possibly the worst braiding I've ever seen so I think I'll need to redo them.. and I'm at a loss as to why the GB EX58-UD3R which has a blue colour scheme comes with yellow SATA cables... more work for me..
 
Interested to see how your buttons work out, im planning on putting the same buttons in my second antec 300 which im planning to mod
 
Another update


Here's the white painted 5.25" bays with a dvd drive in there, and my wired up black and white vandal button.
The flat sections are all bits that sit against the other panels and will be riveted back into place; I've stuck fitted some padding stuff there as an effort to reduce vibrations from the noisiest component - the Dvd drive. Likely it is futile but it's worth a try.


And here's how it stands at the moment:




The top panel isn't riveted on there because it needs perspex and trim; the finish on the panels also isn't final in that photo; I just fitted it together to see how it looked and I'm pleasantly surprised. :)
 
Been waiting for an update on this, looking good xappy

Have you managed to figure out how your going to mount the vandal button yet?
 
Baplad said:
Been waiting for an update on this, looking good xappy

Have you managed to figure out how your going to mount the vandal button yet?
Click to expand...

The front panel are is changing quite drastically; to be honest I think it's the bit most likely to look a little rough but I'll do my best and see.
 
An updatey type thing

Well after doing a fair bit of work this weekend I'm about there :D. Here's how it's all progressed over the last couple of days:

With a case like the Antec 300 you really need to plan ahead if you want it to be quiet.
A fan controller will help with that for the many fans... and what's usually one of the noisest other parts of a computer? The hard drive..
So, here's my hard drive hammock:

That's two strips of rubberised coaster-matting material doubled over for extra strength and rivetted into place.
It actually works really well :)

Next step was to sleeve all the cables..


I'm in no illusion that I did a professional quality job but it's good enough for now and I don't think I did too bad for a first attempt.. the PSU in particular could do with all the sleeving it came with removing and redoing.. maybe some other time. ;)

Things start to go in...


Here's the side panels with the window added by the way.

Ignore the reflection of my gf's adorable pyjamas. :D


And in go the.. er.. innards!

This is before cable tidying, obv.

And the front..


Tune in next time for the next exciting post, where I tidy cables! fit side panels! attach the front! decide "it'll do for now"!
 
More Updatey

And now onto the last bits!

Tidying cables:




As you can see I'm in need of an 8pin power extension cable..

And the dreaded back shot:

.. at least nobody can see back there. I had to rearrange it all after that photo when it transpired that the back panel wouldn't quite fit.. not much space behind the mobo tray on an antec 300. Next time I take this case apart it's going under the knife to cut some better cable tidying holes seeing as I still have enough c-edge trim.

With the back panel on:


Here's a nice view of the top panel with window & fan:


The hard drive on the desk is from my old PC - just transferring my files when that photo was taken. The blue light you can see is the hard drive light which I've put just above the hard drive for a subtle blue glow when the HD is busy.

And here we are with the front panel added:

The top and bottom of the standard Antec 300 front panel have been cut off and replaced with custom sections. The top section has two holes drilled for the power and a subtle reset switch; the usb and audio connecters have been moved to the bottom and a section cut out for them.
It would look great but for the slight dodgy edge just above the dvd drive caused by the fact that it didn't quite fit and needed to be cut down after it had been painted. I will patch that up as best I can at some point but this is one of those areas where I have decided that it'll do. ;)

So minor issues aside I'm more or less satisfied for the time being, so here's some more pics:




I'll likely do a bit more work to it in a few months.
Future plans:
  • Better hard drive cage / hammock that doesn't look so amateurish (and can hold more than one drive).
  • Cut cable routing holes into mobo tray, this'd free up more room in front of the PSU allowing for the new hard drive cage to sit there, in the space between the PSU and..
  • A 2x120 watercooling radiator fit onto the 2 front fans.. a reservoir then goes into the spare 5.25 drive bay and the pump gets mounted somewhere between the two.
An all internal watercooling loop in an antec 300 is an ambitious goal but I think with the steps I'm taking I'll have the room for at least a 2x120 rad loop.

But that's in the future.

So how's that for my 'first real case-mod project' ? :D
I've really enjoyed it and think I've kinda caught the bug..
 
the best & probablely the most expensive antec 300 :D

Also I would say it would look better if you sprayed the internals espically the base & back panel black as the cables are standing out a lot because of this.

Or you could rebraid all your psu white with black headers instead of the red.

But good job now go forth & do it all over again!
 
PwnDirect said:
the best & probablely the most expensive antec 300 :D

Also I would say it would look better if you sprayed the internals espically the base & back panel black as the cables are standing out a lot because of this.
Click to expand...

Hm.. perhaps, but then everyone who paints an antec300 paints the insides black.. I wanted to do something different :)

And yeah you might be right people don't normally spend this much time and effort on a case like the antec 300..
though I don't think it cost THAT much in terms of money..
alright it did but most of the additional cost was down to my lameness when it came to painting... :D
 
Very impressive, it does look good. Though I can't help thinking it's more of a badger than a penguin...

PK!
 
From what I remember of Who Framed Roger Rabbit Toons were always much brighter..

Oh wait *google* this is a sports reference.. Go that local sports team.. erm.
Can I just check.. "football".. is that the one with the sphere?
 
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