Mod of the Month - August 2007

Bloo Balls

By Cheapskate
Worklog

We continue on with another scratch build, this time done with a rather unfriendly material - plexi. Granted, plexi isn't usually all that hard to work with, but it's not renowned as a good structural agent, particularly when looking at thinner material.

Nonetheless, Cheapskate has been rather undaunted in his effort to create a great looking, eye-catching, retina-searing case with the temporary name of bloo balls. This case has been no small feat, as it rivals a Cooler Master Stacker in size but is built with many style points similar to Silverstone's awesome TJ-07 case.

How does one get acrylic to be a good fit for that much space? With careful planning and design, and a little bit of structural sense. And that's exactly what's happened here...


Bloo Balls had an inauspicious start - the main frame was acrylic that had to be bent across this mould designed by Cheapskate. To do that, one has to have a heat gun. Oops! Fortunately, that was only a minor setback, as one came in short order. At the base you can see about the only identifiable metal in this case, a rectangular frame made of L-channel. Its only real purpose seems to be keeping the case square.


The case comes together quickly with the side panels cut, which are given an extra reinforcement (as well as a closure method) via the Hermes-like fins on the top of each panel.


The mod is filled with details, including a backplate that is three sheets thick to show off the attractive layering of colours. Along with it is a handmade reservoir that had its hole tapped using a method involving Vaseline, as directed by TribalOverkill. As odd (and messy) as it sounds, it apparently worked wonderfully.


In order to make the case largely tool-less, Cheapskate decided to create hard drive retention clips. Though this seems like a great idea, when you're building a case entirely out of acrylic it turns into a lot bigger deal than it sounds. Acrylic has very little inherent flexibility, and so some creative cutting needed done. He could have had them laser cut for about $450 USD....so, living up to his name, Cheapskate got out his Dremel and went to work.


The case is shaping up nicely, and in a test fit you can see how truly large it is becoming. Of course, this is only a part of the work to come - he's got an entire water cooling system with copper pipe and even a handmade water block, as seen above. It's definitely a mod worth looking into, so keep an eye on this worklog.

If you think this mod should win this month's competition, don't forget to vote for it in this thread! Voting closes on 9th September 2007.