Are you cutting it into the front?
Fractal Solo
- Thread starter Kilbane
- Start date
I would guess he either has to do that, or sand down the base of the cast so it doesn't protrude out so much
Kilbane
Hagrid Look-A-Like
Right guys, I have finalised the painting method that I will use. I have now cast the new "thinner" Han Solo ready to paint tomorrow. Once again, sorry for the low quality photos, just no time to do anything better quality today. Next update will be a much larger update covering the painting process with full quality images.
Also as a quick teaser, here is a before and after shot of the paint work.
Until next time!
Also as a quick teaser, here is a before and after shot of the paint work.
Until next time!
Kilbane
Hagrid Look-A-Like
Yes, the plan is to have the front panel laser cut to ensure nice crisp edges. The cast will then be sanded around the edge to slot in flush with the case. The cast will then be bonded to the rear of the front panel to ensure a clean finish.
Mysterae
New member
Also as a quick teaser, here is a before and after shot of the paint work.
I like that paint effect you have going there, it'll look like Han is emerging out of the case
. Very effective!
Kilbane
Hagrid Look-A-Like
I like that paint effect you have going there, it'll look like Han is emerging out of the case
Cheers, played around with a few techniques to find what suited it.
Kilbane
Hagrid Look-A-Like
So here it is, The final update on Han Solo.
After making a thinner cast, painting techniques were adjusted based on what I had learned from the first cast.
To start with the cast was primed in a quality fine mist primer as to not build up too much and lose detail.
Next came a silver coat to ensure a good light reflective base.
After the silver came a transparent Pewter coloured layer to give good depth and darken the cast.
The final stages to ensuring a good reproduction of the carbonite effect involved a few hours of work. By using black acrylic paint to wash the cast, weathering powder and a silver weathering paste I enhanced the effect of high and low points of the cast. Once that was done the cast was then given a matte acrylic clear coat to protect the paintwork and remove any areas that looked too shiny.
So this is the cast that will now go into the front panel this week.
My thoughts can now move more to the internals of the case.
The biggest part of the internal modification will come in the form of the Kelvin S24 AIO cooler supplied by Fractal Design.
Plans for this are to expand the loop to include my GPU (MSI GTX 970). I have now got an EK waterblock and backplate for the GPU, due to expanding the loop I will also be changing the 240mm radiator. This will be upgraded to a 360mm radiator to be placed at the front of the case. I am currently deciding on thickness and make of the radiator, my personal choice so far would be an Alphacool NexXxoS XT45. Any input or views on radiator choice are more than welcome.
Until next time guys, thanks for looking.
After making a thinner cast, painting techniques were adjusted based on what I had learned from the first cast.
To start with the cast was primed in a quality fine mist primer as to not build up too much and lose detail.
Next came a silver coat to ensure a good light reflective base.
After the silver came a transparent Pewter coloured layer to give good depth and darken the cast.
The final stages to ensuring a good reproduction of the carbonite effect involved a few hours of work. By using black acrylic paint to wash the cast, weathering powder and a silver weathering paste I enhanced the effect of high and low points of the cast. Once that was done the cast was then given a matte acrylic clear coat to protect the paintwork and remove any areas that looked too shiny.
So this is the cast that will now go into the front panel this week.
My thoughts can now move more to the internals of the case.
The biggest part of the internal modification will come in the form of the Kelvin S24 AIO cooler supplied by Fractal Design.
Plans for this are to expand the loop to include my GPU (MSI GTX 970). I have now got an EK waterblock and backplate for the GPU, due to expanding the loop I will also be changing the 240mm radiator. This will be upgraded to a 360mm radiator to be placed at the front of the case. I am currently deciding on thickness and make of the radiator, my personal choice so far would be an Alphacool NexXxoS XT45. Any input or views on radiator choice are more than welcome.
Until next time guys, thanks for looking.
Kilbane
Hagrid Look-A-Like
Seems that waiting for parts etc. is like waiting for a bus. Nothing for ages then everything turns up at once.
So it has been a while since I did an update, well a lot has come together in the last few days so i thought I should get it on here.
First off, I have not really spoken about the internals to my build. So here goes :
Mobo : ASUS Maximus VII Hero Z97
CPU : i5 4670K @4.5Ghz @1.195v
RAM : 8Gb G.Skill TridentX DDR3 2400
GPU : MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G
PSU : Corsair RM850i
HDD : 2tb WD green
SSD : 1 x Crucial MX100 240Gb (OS etc.)
1x Crucial BX100 240Gb (Games)
So that's what I have to play with on a hardware level. Nothing special but a good solid base for the build. So I had an idea of where to go with the internals. After being supplied with a Fractal Design Kelvin S24, an AIO unlike most, it has a feature of being expandable. So why not see how far you can expand it? The obvious starting point would to be to include my GPU into the loop, so I ordered an EK waterblock for my card and backplate (Still puzzles me why the 970 was produced without a backplate as standard), cue the obligatory photographs :
So as you can see, the GPU looks much nicer now. Thoughts then went on to suitable cooling for the extra load on the loop. So my first thanks in this update goes to MrKambo who had a 360mm radiator from a Kelvin S36 lying around, many thanks dude, you sir are a hero! So more radiator space was achieved, however that got me thinking, why change out the 240mm radiator when I could just add the 360mm radiator into the loop. I figured I would put this Fractal Design "expandable" AIO to the test. Not completely convinced that getting it all together and being able to fill using the side fill port on the AIO itself would be a simple task, next thing to add was a reservoir. More specifically a Alphacool Cape Corp Coolplex Pro 15 LT Reservoir (thats a long title). Next to consider was fittings, I didnt want anything too "in your face", so I settled on EK fittings with a standard black finish.
I decided to use flexible tubing for the loop, EKWB PrimoChill PrimoFlex Clear Tube 10/13 was my weapon of choice.
Once I had all the parts here and waiting, only time would tell if the pump in the AIO would handle such a large expansion. I must admit, I had a few doubts about how this would go, however after assembling the loop and filling with Mayhem X1 Blood Red coolant I powered up the AIO to very little noise and a good flowing pressure. After running the loop for an hour or so to leak test it, I was ready to power up the system and start stress testing to check the temperatures.
Temperatures you ask .... Well I must say I am happy with what happened, on idle my CPU sits around 33c with my GPU around 29c. Under full load from OCCT hammering both the CPU and the GPU, maximum recorded temperatures were CPU 60c and GPU 56c. I forgot to take screenshots of the results but will no doubt be doing more testing in the near future. I must say, the Fractal Design Kelvin S24 is a great little unit that is clearly designed to support future expansion on a much better budget than a full custom loop.
As I mentioned at the start of this rather lengthy post, more than one thing was being done. As you will see from the original idea for the case, the side clear panel of the case was going to have the Millennium Falcon engraved into it. Yes it is time to unveil the side panel :
As you can see, firstly the panel needs cleaning off, but more importantly the etching design came off above and beyond my expectations. The logos below the clear panel are etched into the powder coating on the panel, I love the way that looks. Was a bit of a risk as I wasn't 100% sure of how they would look. Personally I think it worked well. The logo on the far right is for Bespoke Laser UK who did all the laser etching and cutting work on the case panels, a big thank you to them for producing such a great finish.
So for all the good parts so far, there comes the first disappointment I have had. Using an AIO as a CPU block and combined pump really starts top restrict the loop. I personally am not happy (along with a few people privy to the build before updates) with the way the loop looks. There is a long run from the bottom of the GPU block to the front mounted 360mm radiator. This is something I have to adjust before I can be happy with the overall look of the build.
One last thing before I go, the front panel has been cut ready for me to mount the Han Solo cast. This should be completed in the next couple of days along with some case lighting. Another big update will follow shortly.
As always, thanks for looking and your continued support!
So it has been a while since I did an update, well a lot has come together in the last few days so i thought I should get it on here.
First off, I have not really spoken about the internals to my build. So here goes :
Mobo : ASUS Maximus VII Hero Z97
CPU : i5 4670K @4.5Ghz @1.195v
RAM : 8Gb G.Skill TridentX DDR3 2400
GPU : MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G
PSU : Corsair RM850i
HDD : 2tb WD green
SSD : 1 x Crucial MX100 240Gb (OS etc.)
1x Crucial BX100 240Gb (Games)
So that's what I have to play with on a hardware level. Nothing special but a good solid base for the build. So I had an idea of where to go with the internals. After being supplied with a Fractal Design Kelvin S24, an AIO unlike most, it has a feature of being expandable. So why not see how far you can expand it? The obvious starting point would to be to include my GPU into the loop, so I ordered an EK waterblock for my card and backplate (Still puzzles me why the 970 was produced without a backplate as standard), cue the obligatory photographs :
So as you can see, the GPU looks much nicer now. Thoughts then went on to suitable cooling for the extra load on the loop. So my first thanks in this update goes to MrKambo who had a 360mm radiator from a Kelvin S36 lying around, many thanks dude, you sir are a hero! So more radiator space was achieved, however that got me thinking, why change out the 240mm radiator when I could just add the 360mm radiator into the loop. I figured I would put this Fractal Design "expandable" AIO to the test. Not completely convinced that getting it all together and being able to fill using the side fill port on the AIO itself would be a simple task, next thing to add was a reservoir. More specifically a Alphacool Cape Corp Coolplex Pro 15 LT Reservoir (thats a long title). Next to consider was fittings, I didnt want anything too "in your face", so I settled on EK fittings with a standard black finish.
I decided to use flexible tubing for the loop, EKWB PrimoChill PrimoFlex Clear Tube 10/13 was my weapon of choice.
Once I had all the parts here and waiting, only time would tell if the pump in the AIO would handle such a large expansion. I must admit, I had a few doubts about how this would go, however after assembling the loop and filling with Mayhem X1 Blood Red coolant I powered up the AIO to very little noise and a good flowing pressure. After running the loop for an hour or so to leak test it, I was ready to power up the system and start stress testing to check the temperatures.
Temperatures you ask .... Well I must say I am happy with what happened, on idle my CPU sits around 33c with my GPU around 29c. Under full load from OCCT hammering both the CPU and the GPU, maximum recorded temperatures were CPU 60c and GPU 56c. I forgot to take screenshots of the results but will no doubt be doing more testing in the near future. I must say, the Fractal Design Kelvin S24 is a great little unit that is clearly designed to support future expansion on a much better budget than a full custom loop.
As I mentioned at the start of this rather lengthy post, more than one thing was being done. As you will see from the original idea for the case, the side clear panel of the case was going to have the Millennium Falcon engraved into it. Yes it is time to unveil the side panel :
As you can see, firstly the panel needs cleaning off, but more importantly the etching design came off above and beyond my expectations. The logos below the clear panel are etched into the powder coating on the panel, I love the way that looks. Was a bit of a risk as I wasn't 100% sure of how they would look. Personally I think it worked well. The logo on the far right is for Bespoke Laser UK who did all the laser etching and cutting work on the case panels, a big thank you to them for producing such a great finish.
So for all the good parts so far, there comes the first disappointment I have had. Using an AIO as a CPU block and combined pump really starts top restrict the loop. I personally am not happy (along with a few people privy to the build before updates) with the way the loop looks. There is a long run from the bottom of the GPU block to the front mounted 360mm radiator. This is something I have to adjust before I can be happy with the overall look of the build.
One last thing before I go, the front panel has been cut ready for me to mount the Han Solo cast. This should be completed in the next couple of days along with some case lighting. Another big update will follow shortly.
As always, thanks for looking and your continued support!
Kilbane
Hagrid Look-A-Like
BONUS CONTENT :
So I decided to get the lighting in the case tonight. So as a "Bonus" update I thought I would treat you all to a quick sneak peek of how the lighting effects the side panel. As you can see, the etching "glows", this is the sole reason I choose etching over vinyl.
So I decided to get the lighting in the case tonight. So as a "Bonus" update I thought I would treat you all to a quick sneak peek of how the lighting effects the side panel. As you can see, the etching "glows", this is the sole reason I choose etching over vinyl.
