Render 1.1

Some updates to the render.



I got some great suggestions from Ond on BYOAC; whose amazing Retro-futuristic arcade cabinet (check it out if you haven't seen it) is being done in a style very similar to what I'm going for. He's one of many builders on those forums whom I truly respect for their talent and efforts, so I was grateful for his advice.

I'm really torn on the "spring antenna." I agree with a couple of people who have said it doesn't seem to fit. Although it's definitely part of the era's "decor" when it comes to these things, it's really part of a more distinct style that my design doesn't embody. However, I thought it would make a cool handle. And I still think it does, but probably not for this case.

The problem is, I definitely want a handle on top. Anyone have an idea for something more fitting? I'm kind of at a loss; guess I have to look at more pictures.

As for the other mods, Ond had suggested rounding the edges (which I had originally wanted, but only today thought of some methods for building it that way), moving the fan to the center, and replacing my "glowing orb" with a plasma ball.

The front edges will be rounded as well as the top (assuming my ideas work out), it's just really difficult for someone at my skill level to model in Blender after the base cube has already been modified. My "orb" was going to be a sound-activated thing, which I still think is a cool idea, but I think the plasma ball would be equally cool so I thought I'd stick it in the model to have a look. My model of it looks like shit, but you get the idea. I wonder if one of those lumin discs would be just as cool; I'm a little apprehensive over putting glass components into my case. Either way, I just need to find one about 3" in diameter.

Moving the fan wasn't an option before, since it wouldn't have cleared the DVD drive. Moving the drive down and finding a slim fan would have just made it, but the airflow would still be blocked. I had previously considered going with a slim drive; I revisited this idea and decided on getting a USB case to convert my old laptop's drive.

Any other thoughts/questions?

EDIT: I know the DVD drive image is squashed; I tried cropping the UV map in blender to just the drive tray bezel so it would look like a slim drive, but it didn't work. Also, note that I plan to paint that bezel to match the case. That will be in a future render.

First render

Here is my first draft (finally).



The render isn't 100% perfect, but you can't really notice the worst of it from this angle anyway.

Suggestions welcome!

EDIT: By the way, it's hard to tell, but that pinkish stripe on the side is supposed to be glowing red. It's going to be a back-lit strip of translucent plastic. Really hard to make the lit-up pieces look right in Blender. The orb on the front is kind of the same way; the inside lighting is going to be UV.

The system

So, here are some pics. Again, nothing too special:

- Biostar T-Series board; mATX, and happens to have a lot of cool BIOS overclock settings
- Pentium D 3GHz (dual-core with 2x2MB cache)
- cheap-brand CPU fan and heatsink (quiet and moves a lot of air, but I'm not convinced it's keeping the CPU as cool as it should, so I may upgrade)
- 2GB DDR2 6400 (1GB is G-Skill that I already had; the other GB from that pair died, so I saved the heatsink and put it on this new cheapie one)
- 512MB GeForce 7900 (from my stash)
- 320GB WD Caviar Green (from my stash)
- APower 420W mATX power supply (all the cables were pre-sleeved...sweet!).



Just for the hell of it, I threw in a pic of the case it's in right now. That was my first "daily driver" case mod; all I did was the top, though (the handles and blowhole, and there used to be a gold chrome grill over the blowhole; that black thing up there is my little 250GB external drive). It's not looking too impressive these days, but it's still a cool case. I took out the VFD in front for the shuttle build. The blowhole and the vents in the lower front sides used to glow red from the front fan LEDs, which was pretty cool. Anyway, the case got abandoned a couple years ago when I undertook a slightly more involved mod on a bigger case, which I'll see if I have pics of as well.

I'm happy with the way the new PC is performing so far, other than the relatively high heat (is 50C+ too much for a Pentium D? I'm kinda used to seeing around 40C). I know the Core2s are more efficient, cooler, have a faster FSB, etc., but they also cost about 3x what I paid for this guy, so I'll hold off and decide if I really need something better later on. This chip is easily enough for what I plan to do with this system. Rendering my model in Blender (pics when it's done, which will be soon, I think) is taking less than half the time it was on that old 1.8GHz Sempron I was using (it's just a basement machine :-P). The only other thing that's bugging me is that the BIOS seems to detect my 800MHz RAM as 533MHz (yes, the board is dual-channel...yes, they're both 800MHz...yes, I'm sure); looking into that soon.

It's a computer

My package did get here yesterday; who knew? Naturally, I built the machine last night (into an old case) so I could test all the components and get Windows/Kubuntu installed. It will be easier to finish my Blender project with this one, too (building a sweet 3D model of the case before I start cutting and grinding).

Will post gear pr0n later tonight. (You might call it "softcore," since it's nothing terribly fancy.)

I can has parts?

I got shipping notification on Monday. FedEx tracking page said that it shipped 7/30 (before I even ordered it), and estimated delivery date was 8/6. FedEx tracking page now says it shipped today, and estimated delivery date is 8/7. 8/7 is Saturday. FedEx doesn't deliver ground on Saturday.

So...do I get it this week, or what?

Pics

I did take the pics when I said I would. I just didn't post them yet. ;-)



There is a case I've had for roughly 10 years, unused for at least half that time, finally fulfilling its destiny as virtual scrap metal.

Parts ordered

I ordered the parts for the PC build this weekend, and they shipped today! If I'm lucky, they'll arrive by Friday. I'm dying to take some more precise measurements of the board so I can start cutting! :-)

I've been trying to draw inspiration from 50s sci-fi for the case mod. I found a great repository of one artist's pulp covers and saved some favorites here, and have been watching a few movies as well. I'd love to see more ideas if anyone has them. Pics would be great, but a written description is cool, too. Here are a couple of particular selections that I really like:



The movies are so interesting from a cultural perspective; the "ultra-progressive" inclusion of a token educated woman, the anti-Soviet attitude, the sexist behavior of the men that often borders on abuse, the sheer whiteness of it all (did you know that native Martians are identical to Americans?)...this was definitely a distinct era of Americana, especially visually. I've always loved the distinct style of these things, represented in futuristic fiction as well as the automobiles and other decor of the time. Everything is so rounded...unless it's pointy, of course (like the tail fins--or the women *ahem*)...and somewhere around '55, suddenly there's chrome EVERYWHERE.

I promised to catalog my progress, so I'm going to take some pics of the disassembled case tonight.