Mod of the Month - November 2007

Candy Cube

by Colossus
Worklog

I love cube cases. The cube is one of my favourite designs, in fact - no matter how you try, it nearly impossible not to have enough room for all your stuff. The problem is, cubes - particularly the Mountain Mods Opti 1203 cube - are big... so big that they usually get a boring black paint job or anodizing and let plexi and lighting do all the attractive mod work. The goal often becomes to minimise as much of the giant black box as you can and make it more visually appealing by cutting huge holes in it.

It's good then that Colossus got a hold of one, because he's after anything but the black box look. His last project, Celtic Chainsaw Massacre!, featured a gorgeous red splash anodizing from my friend Tom, proprietor of Chilled PC. You'll be seeing more of that finish in the future (hint, hint), but Colossus chose something a little different for the cube - a candy red marble professional paint job.

Of course, that's only part of what Colossus has in store for us...


Ah, the Mountain Mods Opti 1203 cube. It's a beauty, isn't it? Especially when it's painted a vibrant candy-red marble! Don't worry, the thumb screws on the faceplate end up getting their own paintjob.


Despite the exterior being "done" (used loosely), there's still a lot to do. Colossus has taken a page out of Greensabbath and Modsquad's books with his cable routing and drive bay shielding techniques, using bent AC Ryan mesh. For those curious, he does his job with a simple level and a couple C-clamps on the edge of a table to create a nice bend without a sharp corner. Then, all of the grilles, brackets and the like got a good coat of gloss black paint.


Colossus is spot-lighting the inside of the cube with LEDs, which he's wired up and sleeved himself. Heatshrink has many uses, though - including modding his glasses after a work accident so that he could keep on modding.


The case was second hand and already contained a window, so Colossus had to use it. But plain old clear acrylic would be boring - so, he used a smoke acrylic. Still boring? Well, he thought so too - so the acrylic is actually painted on the underside, to hide a design that he doesn't want to reveal just yet. When the case is lit up, the design will glow - but the rest of the window will remain dark. He then used red acrylic as an accent for the motherboard tray and other parts of the mod.


Colossus chose a DFI Blood Iron motherboard, which he's already started to kit out with waterblock, northbridge and southbridge coolers. The graphics card has been fitted with an EK block, as well.

The case is already starting to come together nicely, though if it's anything like the last project then he's still far from done. You can keep an eye on the progress in the Candy Cube worklog to see how it finishes up!

In the meantime, if a big cube painted sexy red is enough to light your fire, make sure to give Candy Cube your vote as November's Mod of the Month!