Mod of the Month - November 2007

LUMINA

by Design_Master
Worklog

Let's get one thing straight - it's not like me to feature a mod in our monthly round-up that was not properly built (complete with a full worklog) on our site. However, I would be negligent in my duty to bring you the best and brightest from our forum if I didn't include this project from one of our new members, Design_Master.

LUMINA is a project that is, in my opinion, nearly perfect execution. The case was designed from the ground up by Design_Master, and consists of a whopping 114 pieces of hand bent, cut and polished acrylic, and the design phase alone took over six months.

Now that it's complete, he felt he should drop it in our Project Logs as his intro to the modding world - and I think you'll agree it's a great start. The finished case has a sleek look that's carefully designed to not be too "packed," and it contains lots of details that set it very far apart from many acrylic jobs before it.


LUMINA sat in the planning stage for over six months while Design_Master created and tweaked the basic ideas. Once it was started, it was easy to see how the case could end up at so many pieces - each portion was bolted to the next with recessed bolts as opposed to being simply glued. Normally, this could make for a rather "broken up" appearance - but Design_Master planned this out to be a smooth exterior once fully assembled.


The PCI bracket is different from a standard case - it functions more as a cover for the cards, instead. Once completed, the bracket secures with a pair of thumb screws on the back of the case. It swings out to allow access to the cards, which are held in place by pins mounted on the bracket.


The case features a handmade VGA shroud , which is used for the mammoth Cooler Master GPU cooler on the card. A Cooler Master PSU was also given the royal treatment, with a brushed steel patterned vinyl lending that silver look.


The case features lots of design-specific elements, including (but certainly not limited to) a sweeping "bracket" of smoked acrylic that surrounds the front intake fan. The feet were also given special treatment, and the final result even has carefully placed smoke acrylic to blend them into the curvy shape of the case. These little extras help make very necessary case components look like part of the aesthetic, rather than just tacked on.


LUMINA features hinged doors on both sides, allowing considerable access to the inner components. The final result looks very clean due to a fantastic job of wire-sleeving. Speaking of the sleeving, it was all made by hand - Design_Master used nylon mesh and spray-painted it to the colours he needed, then used Tygon hose around that.

As mentioned above, LUMINA is already a completed project and the worklog is a bit sparse. However, don't let that stop you from taking a spin over to it and looking at all of the amazing details that Design_Master has crammed into his first offering on our forums. We'll be looking for the next one, for sure!

Until then, if the crystal clear work of Design_Master has you seeing the light, then you should vote for LUMINA as November's Mod of the Month.