Case Mod Project: Corsair c70 Vengeance

[MonsterMawd]

It's good to be BUSY and I love Sci-Fi & Military theme builds. So I was very excited to receive an inquiry from Planetside2's Creative Director Matt Higby, about doing a New Conglomerate theme case for his new PC build.

"PLanetside2" is the sequel to the landmark MMO FPS has been revealed and is bigger and better than ever. PlanetSide 2 is a massive multiplayer online first person shooter. Game play delivers truly epic combat on a scale never before seen in stunning, breathtaking detail. Battles wage with literally thousands of players aligning with one of three unique factions in intense land, air and vehicle gameplay where the fight for territory is more than a victory, its survival. The "New Conglomerate"(commonly abbreviated NC) is Matt Higby's favorite faction. The NC is one of three empires waging for control over the planet Auraxis. They are characterized by hard-hitting weapons and heavily-armored vehicles that are designed with straight lines and hard edges. Their faction colors are blue and yellow.

Matt will be utilizing Corsair's H100 CPU cooler for the best optimal cooling.

I'll be creating a front intake with LEPA Chopper Cooling fan and 120mm Overkill Fan Ring

My canvas is Corsair's new Vengeance c70. It's a rugged, military inspired design. It arrives equipped with lots of features. It includes three Corsair 120mm fans, with the option to add seven more 120mm fans. Option to mount 240 or 360 radiator in the top panel. It has eight expansion slots. The retail price is $139.99. You can read my Corsair c70 Vengeance Case Review

we took time out to create c70 replacement windows here, http://www.mnpctech.com/Corsair_c70_vengeance_clear_window_replacement.html

Factory Specification List:
Warranty: Two years
Dimension: 19.7" x 9.1" x 21" / 501mm (H) x 232mm (W) x 533mm (L)
MB Support: ATX, mATX
Expansion Slots: 8
Material: Steel
Drive Bays: Three (3x) 5.25” bays, and Six (6x) 3.5”/2.5” hard drive bays
Cooling Fans Included: Three (3x) 120mm fans
Front I/O: (x2) USB 3.0, (x1) Headphone, (x1) MIC, Power, Reset Switches
Power Supply: ATX (not included)

Onto the first Case Mod!

The first modification is converting the c70's factory window to plain window without any fan hole perforations.

The c70 window assembly dismantled. Save the 16x Black screws! We will be using them to re-install out custom window.

The new window will be cut from 24" x 24" sheet of 1/8" thick, Clear, cast acrylic. I'm tracing the factory window dimensions onto the sheet.

 

[MonsterMawd]

Thank you for the kind words everyone! Matt is happy too! He shared the Preview trailer link for the Game Planetside 2 with me last night.... and "WOW!" the trailer is amazing... I actually could feel my heart beat increase

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41QFL4QB3NE

 

[MonsterMawd]

I've attached another New Conglomerate 120mm grill to the backside of the front intake fan. I dont offer this as service, but If you're looking for a "Laser Cutters" that welcome small specialty jobs from PC Modders! http://www.lasercuttingservice.net

I found these stainless steel 10/32 thread nuts for mounting the grill at the local hardware store awhile back...

 

[MonsterMawd]

I'm using airbrush to add weathered effects on the top H100 radiator grill with Iwata HP-CH airbrush gun with Black Enamel paint.

I'm using airbrush to add weathered effects on the top H100 radiator grill with Iwata HP-CH airbrush gun with Black Enamel paint.

Bare exposed steel effect added...

Next I'll be adding more airbrushed weathered effects to the exterior of the case, including bullet holes

Next I'll be adding more airbrushed weathered effects to the exterior of the case, including bullet holes

 

[jrwizbang]

I have to comment on this again. This is fantastic! What you are doing here requires a high level of experience and creativity. I'm digging it!

 

[MonsterMawd]

Thank you again for watching and commenting Jrwizbang!

 

[amuffin]

You need to stick around the forums more.

 

[MonsterMawd]

Thank you amuffin, I have a new project after this that i would like to share

 

[MonsterMawd]

I'm imagining this Planetside 2 New Conglomerate case will see a lot of action in the Battlefield, so I've created some bullet holes, for the past year I've been mentored by our painter Brad in "The ways of the airbrush"...I've done bullets with templates in the past, but this time I went freehand with Iwata HP-CH airbrush gun, using Silver and Black Enamel paint.

There is a lot of different DIY techniques for creating bullet holes with an airbrush, you can use templates that you make make yourself with construction paper...don't waste your money on retail templates...

Don Johnson has a decent video tutorial to creating bullet holes on YouTube
and another DIY airbrushing guide to creating bullet holes

 

[MonsterMawd]

heres pics of the Bitfenix RECON installed and working, next stage is painting the ASUS Bluray drive, stay tuned for another update..

 

[MonsterMawd]

I can't leave the ASUS Blu-Ray drive face stock! Esp after defacing and distressing everything else....lol. ...My video tutorial shares all of the steps in painting your Optical drive face, you can apply these same steps in painting any plastics..

Following the DIY steps in the link I shared above, I painted the drive face the Metallic Blue I applied to the exterior and interior of the case.

I applied 1/4" Auto Body Masking Tape, side by side, only cause it was only thin tape I had on hand... in diagonal pattern after the Metallic Blue Lacquer paint had cured for 1 hour...

I applied Matte Black Lacquer paint....

After 30 minutes, I removed the 1/4" masking tape..

Lacquer paint cures pretty fast... 30 minutes later I covered the Matte Black with same tape again.

Next, I applied combination very light coats of Gloss Orange and Metallic Gold paint

After 15 minutes, I used a wire brush to create scratches to simulate heavy usage of time...

Using Red / Maroon Scotchbrite Pad to smooth and mute down the scratches

Ready to re-install!

 

[MonsterMawd]

The ASUS Blu-ray player is finished and installed

 

[MonsterMawd]

I have finished the Asus Bluray drive mod. Here it is with Bitfenix RECON fan controller operating

 

[hellfire24]

Cool....... :O

 

[MonsterMawd]

Thank you for the complement hellfire

 

[prototype18]

That's just awesome ! Your are a great mod ! Just love that case

 

[MonsterMawd]

Thank you for post! we're working on video with highlights of the build, will post soon!

 

[MonsterMawd]

Matt's case arrived and his system is up and running. You may see him online playing PS2. The free-to-play Multiplayer Online FPS launched yesterday, http://www.planetside2.com

You can get latest updates from Matt from his Twitter page, https://twitter.com/mhigby

A Clue to my Next case mod project theme!

 

[jrwizbang]

Final product looks great. I am curious as to why you decided to do the stripes on the cd drive an orange rather than the same yellow that is prevalent throughout the build. Regardless though is looks great. Keep up the good work. I look forward to seeing more stuff from you!

 

[MonsterMawd]

thank you, and that would have been predictable 😀

 

[t-blan]

Lol .Very cool.

 

[kevzinga]

I used some of your suggestions when replacing the window on my C70. I really appreciate the help. Your case looks great by the way! Mine is a little less fancy but that's my style. Thanks again!

 

[MonsterMawd]

Thats great to hear! Glad you liked it

 

[Noob modder]

120mm Blue LED Cooling fans arrived. I love Prolimatech fans. I've used them frequently in my builds over the past year. They push good airflow with low dbs, pre-sleeved connectors and your choice of optional speed resistors, if the client requests near silence.

Factory Specifications:

Dimension (L)120mm X (W)120mmX (H)25mm
Bearing Type Sleeve bearing
Rated Voltage 12 VDC / 9 VDC
Operating Voltage Range 6~13.8 VDC
Rated Current 0.3 Max.Amp
Rated Power 3.6 Max.Watt
Rated Speed 1600 RPM / 1200 RPM
Airflow 72.67 Max.CFM
Noise Level 29.1 dBA
Net Weight 107.2 Gram
Connector Terminal Connector(3-pin plus 4-pin molex)
LED Blue

Do these fans come in a variety of colours? I want to get them in red

 

[MonsterMawd]

Yes, they offer Red too, very nice quality.

 

[MonsterMawd]

Wayne Bull3t Butler created this really cool rendering of the Planetside 2 case Mod