Mod of the Month - May 2008

HEPHÆSTUS

by Yemerich
Worklog

"If you build it, they will come..." That long over-used saying is about as perfect a description as you'll get for the long, hard project of HEPHÆSTUS by Yemerich.

The project started out as nothing more than an incredibly organised design, which took over 32 pages to detail the potential construction. Why? Apparently, there was a design contest offered by the folks at Windows Vista Magazine, where the maker of the best overall design would win some lovely sponsorship assistance.

One look at the design thread will give you a good example of why Yemerich was indeed the winner...but what about turning design into reality?

The original design plan for HEPHÆSTUS is a great example of planning. Then again, that's probably why it won the contest - every detail is planned out to a tee, leaving no room for guesses. Of course, making such a complex design into a reality is a much trickier ordeal - but Yemerich took the plunge and started cutting away at that black acrylic as soon as he got his hands on it.

Much of the detail work in HEPHÆSTUS is layered acrylic, allowing an elegant and lighting-ready design solution. By sandwiching what was originally planned to be solid red acrylic with an opaque black, Yemerich changes the colour palate to a stronger contrast while also allowing much better lighting control.

There's a lot of detail that's been planned into the mod, which Yemerich didn't want to be skimping on. The "spine" would consist of a couple layers, including red rings near the back and a locking mechanism that would latch onto the doors in the middle.

A chromed and then lightly sanded iron tube was put into place as the spinal column of the mod. With a bit of extra engineering, this could be used to run LEDs and unsightly wires out of the main tube case, providing a built-in cable routing scheme.

Finally, it's onto the doors, which are bent over forms to create their gull-wing shape. Once the mod is assembled for a test fit, it's easy to see how far Yemerich has already come in bringing HEPHÆSTUS together.

Of course, there's a whole lot more to go, so it's definitely going to be worth keeping an eye on his worklog. The mod has already one best in show when it comes to raw design, so is it ready to take on its next award?

You tell us - if you think that this mod has got what it takes, make sure to vote for HEPHÆSTUS by Yemerich as May's Mod of the Month!