Project - Skleros......Another Antec Skeleton

Gepetto · 1 Mar 2011 at 23:26

First attempt at a build log, so, here goes.

I've long fancied building a system in an Antec Skeleton, simply because it is different, and I've taken great interest in G-Dubs Skeleton builds, as well as the ones by B1ng and Reu_Voodoo. My build will not be in any way as ambitious as any of these, as it primarily entails repainting the Skeleton to fit with the colour scheme dictated by my existing components.

As I use my system on a pretty much daily basis I'll be stripping and painting the case first, before removing all the components from my X500 and transplanting them. I've never spraypainted anything before, and have read a few excellent articles posted in Case Central on what to do. This is slightly alleviated by the fact that the colour I want should have some natural variation in it, I hope. Still nervous though! :eek:

Anyhow, components:

Core i5 750
Asus "Republic of Gamers" Maximus III Rampage
G Skill Ripjaws F3-12800CL9D (4GB in my current rig, but might expand that to 8GB as OCUK have them in stock again)
PowerColor Radeon HD5850, and another one waiting in the wings for me to try Crossfire for the first time
Corsair HX620, but I have ordered a Corsair AX850, so that might go straight in depending on how much of the colour I can see

And finally, an Antec Skeleton, which wasn't quite as easy to find as I thought, being loath to spend £120 on a new one when I was going to strip it down and possibly bodge it up! I finally got one from the auction site for £70 delivered which was much more palatable. It wasn't boxed but was, at least, all there. I'll start off my pictures with that.

Then I stripped it down, which was really easy, as the whole plastic frame is held together by little screws!

Apologies for the dustiness. I promise I'll clean it before putting it back together!

Finally a picture of the plastic pieces I'm going to paint.

And that's it for now. Lots of rubbing down to ensure a smooth finish, and then out with the plastic undercoat.

Gepetto · 2 Mar 2011 at 10:24

Freelanc3r said:
Guessing there's going to be a red theme then? .

What makes you think that?

Yep, all the grey plastic will be a dark red/burgundy colour. I'm not yet sure how it's going to look, as the reds on the MB, RAM, and GPU are all slightly different, so it might look awful. But, hey ho, it can always be changed.

Freelanc3r said:
What kind of cooling solution you gonna be using on the CPU?

Cooling the CPU is something I haven't finalised as yet, because I'm currently using a True Black and it won't fit without cutting the cowling, which I don't really want to do. Chipps101 has kindly provided a Zalman CNPS8700LED and I'm going to try that first. As I can virtually guarantee, although I haven't looked, the Led's in the fan won't be red, so that will be another first for me as I attempt to change that! I'm hoping that the red led's will combine with the copper colour to give me a nice effect.

I'm also considering the GPU cooling, and wouldn't mind trying the Zalman VF3000-A. http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-048-ZA&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=787

Although if I go Crossfire, assuming I have the space, I'll need two of them at £35 each which is quite a bit considering I'd only want them for the aesthetics. There's also the aspect of airflow, and having the GPU fans blowing across the MB when the main airflow will be down on to the board. It might be better to stick to the standard reference cooler. For now, at least.

Freelanc3r said:
Looks promising, G-Dubs skeleton really is inspiring.

My favourite Skeleton build has been G Dubs "Cobra Shark's Mouth" build and not his more ambitious watercooled build (which is also awesome) and, indeed, most of the inspiration has come from his builds. He was also very helpful in the run up to this build and some of his posts have been invaluable. :cool:

Gepetto · 2 Mar 2011 at 17:29

First bit of undercoat. Almost decided to change it to white after seeing this.

Gepetto · 3 Mar 2011 at 09:39

The reference coolers are red & black so, yes I think I'll stick with them as there's no real reason to change, although it might be worthwhile considering vinyl to add detail. Some of the work I'm seeing with the carbonfibre look has been awesome, and that would still fit with the red/black theme. I'm thinking of doing the PSU the same as w3bbo's in "Fallen Angel", as the transformation (from the white) was incredible.

Here's another couple of undercoated bits, and I must dig out that cooler to look at how to change the LED's! Gulp! :eek:

Gepetto · 4 Mar 2011 at 11:15

I really like seeing the boxes of components laid out, so I thought I'd do the same.

I know, I know....they are pretty much out of date now, as I never, ever, thought that S1156 would be so short lived! My i5 gives me all the performance I need for now though, and, as I can't afford to just go out and buy Sandybridge at the moment, it'll have to do.

Gepetto · 7 Mar 2011 at 17:24

First bits.

Gepetto · 8 Mar 2011 at 15:11

Thanks KD. :cool:

Now that some more bits are painted I'm needing to consider pulling my PC to bits, but I'll get the Skeleton back together first.

Final painted pieces.

Gepetto · 8 Mar 2011 at 21:46

Thanks guys! :cool:

I really like the way it's turned out. It's not completely uniform and has subtle shades, down to the fact I used very light coats and went over each piece several times.

It's a Halford's car touch up spray can, and the colour is Rover Nightfire Red.

I just went into Halfords, looked at what was available, and that was the one I liked. Whether or not the colour will work with my components remains to be seen. I also used the Halfords Plastic primer which is available in grey or white. I used the white, and I also bought the glasspaper and paint preparation wipes from them.

Gepetto · 10 Mar 2011 at 22:28

Thanks for the kind comments guys! :cool:

Really like that white one G Dubs, barring the red "start" button! I'd have left it white. Only problem I could foresee with white, was trying to match up components, although some RAM is black and some MB are primarily black. Combining that with some white LED's and carbonfibre vinyl might work very well indeed. :cool:

Gepetto · 10 Mar 2011 at 22:33

As per Terminator's request here are the first pictures.

I admit to really liking the way it's turned out, although I am ever so slightly biased.

I'll take a few more pics of the case from different perspectives, and then I'll strip down my X500 and transplant, so that may take a few days considering my toddler wants his fingers in everything!

Let me know what you think.

Gepetto · 10 Mar 2011 at 23:24

Thanks Freelanc3r. :cool:

It's taken me a while to pluck up the courage to do it myself, and I'm really happy with it so far. I must confess that it was not hugely difficult, although if I wanted an absolutely perfect finish I would have had to have gone heavier with the paint, which brings added problems with paint runs. I happened to want the slight variation in the shades so this suited me, but, if you look at the depth and consistency of G Dubs "Sharksmouth" skeleton, it's light years ahead of mine.

I've now got the more fiddly bits to do, as I will need to change the fan LED in my Zalman cooler, having never done anything like that before, and I'm seriously considering covering the GPU's in carbonfibre vinyl, as per another thread on here. I'll see how the GPU's look first though, then decide. There's also the PSU to consider, as the AX850 has light brown accents and I'm not too sure yet if they will show. If they do I'm going to have to do something about that, because the AX850 has pre-braided cables for what I need, but my existing HX620 doesn't, although it is red and black. Having never braided cables before, I'm leaning towards the AX, but we'll see.

I haven't changed the LED's on the top fan as I believe red is one of the colours it lights up in, and that you can set it to stay red. I'm not yet sure whether this will be sufficiently bright though, so I might end up re-doing the LED's after all. I'm also considering some LED strips under the cowling to highlight the Antec logo, which might negate the need for fan LED's.

Gepetto · 11 Mar 2011 at 09:56

Thanks Stoner81. :cool:

It's an interesting case, and not without its drawbacks, but the first impression is usually WTF is that? For want of a better expression.

If you like it, have a gander at these threads. These are the threads that have inspired me to do my one, and the information in them has been invaluable. They are all more involved than my build and really show what can be done with different detailing and ideas. That's why mine will still be a "work in progress" for a while yet.

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18099276

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18123285

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18172170&highlight=skeleton

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18123285

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18169632

Gepetto · 12 Mar 2011 at 09:04

G-Dubs said:
Love the paint job, and can't see any runs or imperfections so don't be hard on yourself.

Painting with rattle cans is hard work, it's oh so tempting to just give it that one more misting over and then..disaster it goes on just a smidge too thick in a small area and you get a run.

Thanks G Dubs. :cool:

There is a run on the back that I won't photograph!

It came on the first coat, and although I rubbed it down, and went over it several times, you can still see it. Little and often, as you say.

The surprising thing has been the time taken in the preparation, and if I hadn't read through the comments in yours (and others) posts I might have been disheartened at this. Knowing what to expect was a big thing! All the advice necessary is available in these Forums, and all I would say to any others who are thinking about respraying, is to read through the advice first. :cool:

Gepetto · 12 Mar 2011 at 09:05

terminator2k2 said:
yea, i have to agree, very nice paint job......cant see any faults on them pics......nice colour too......always wanted one of these as a project but wouldnt trust the missus with that on me desk.....

Thanks Terminator. :cool:

I'll be putting the mesh kit in, to keep my toddler's fingers out! Won't help with spills though! :eek:

Gepetto · 12 Mar 2011 at 10:19

Thanks Ch3333z. :cool:

It was inspired by my components mainly, but I really like the red Lian Li's too.

Gepetto · 13 Mar 2011 at 20:51

Narked Deluxe!!

Zalman make their fans a little too well, and I can't change the LED's. Grumpy now!

Will post some pics tomorrow to show what I mean, but I would have to break the fan to change the LED's which is kinda pointless. I have two alternatives in mind, being the Zalman CNPS8000A and the Silverstone NT06E, so will now try and hunt one down.

Gepetto · 13 Mar 2011 at 22:36

chipps101 said:
can you get a red felt pen onto the led's ? if you colour them in they might look red

I could have got to a large portion of them Dave, but I just put the fan back together and moved on. I thought I might have found a black fan with no LED's but all the CNPS8700's seem to have the blue LED now. Even the NT version!

I've just managed to get an NT06E from the MM so that will go in for now. At least I can team that up with a red LED fan if need be, although I'm going to try it without a fan first off.