Mod of the Month - October 2008

Mithril

by KayinBlack
Worklog

KayinBlack's worklog starts out in a rather unusual way - rather than a list of hardware specs, it begins with two paragraphs from the Lord of the Rings. It then goes on to become even more strange, including animated floating heads shouting "SPARTA!!!!" over portions of his build plans, conversations and work ethics from the family pet, and a bit of modding.

For those of us who've come to know KayinBlack through various other parts of our forums, this should come as no surprise. He's an artist, and a very talented one at that. He also has one of the greatest "Don't feed the troll" speeches I've ever seen. All in all, he's a pretty interesting, unusual guy - the kind I wish I could sit and have a beer with.

If I did, I might be able to also see the gorgeous mod he's building. Mithril, much like his personality, is anything but the usual suspect. With inspirations from the fantasy of The Lord of the Rings and the hard technology of the HP Blackbird chassis, it's a bit hard to describe. Add to this the idea that it's huge - 27" high, 20" long and 14" wide, before its mount.

Let's take a look...

Mithril's case actually bears a lot of its shape and look from the HP Blackbird. What, you don't see it? Just wait a while, will ya? You don't create a halfway organic looking masterpiece overnight. Already, though, you can start to see Kayin's unique artistic abilities - the tree was carved in relief out of the wood, and silver leaf was applied.

The case features stained glass on all of the side panels as well as the front, which also have highly detailed metal leaf applied to them.

KayinBlack has cast resin to do a lot of the more unique features of the case, like the reservoirs.

Watercooling has even been given a bit of an unusual look - where most people hope to smooth over rough metal or chrome it til it blings, KayinBlack has done just the opposite. Blocks have been given a copper top and the radiator has been roughed down to a gritty, natural metal finish.

The latest accomplishments have been the proper casting and lighting of the power button, and a test fit of some hardware (which is now subject to change, as these things often are) in AMD's Spider platform.

As you can see, there's a lot going on here - and though it has a while to go, it's looking like a very attractive start. The unusual blend of inspirations has somehow come out to be both organic and techie, and KayinBlack's marvelous art skills have really shown off with the carving and metal leaf.

The mod is progressing a little slowly right now due to circumstances well beyond his control, but we'll be seeing if we can help that along here in the near future...in the meantime, make sure you check out the exquisite detail and unique design in his worklog!

While you're on your way there, you should take an epic journey of your own - right over to our forums to vote for Mithril by KayinBlack as the Mod of the Month for October!