Cowboy Bebop Mod [Archive]

Megatron1977

10-11-2004, 09:44 PM

I just started on my Cowboy Bebop themed case. I'm starting with this case:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-133-132&depa=1
and basically I'm just moving everything from my old case into this new one.
System Specs:
AMD64 3200+
DFI Lanparty UT nF3 250GB RT
1 gig PC3200 Corsair Value Select Ram (soon to be upgraded to 1 gig OCZ 3500)
500W Aspire Super UV Reactive Power Supply
52x MSI CD-ROM
HP 4x DVD Burner
40gb and 200gb HDDs
Radon x800 pro (It's getting RMA'ed tomorrow)
Audigy ZS Platnium
Kingwin AWC-1 (maybe)

Some of the planed mods:
Colored Window Applique
Top window and Blowholes
Lighted side cutout

That's all I have planned right now, if anyone has some ideas feel free to let me know.

Megatron1977

10-11-2004, 10:58 PM

I'm going to use this pic:
http://66.111.49.71/wallpapers/cowboy/cowboy_53_1024.jpg
I already printed it out, now all I have to do is make some cuts in the new piece of Lucite I got today and hook it all together.

Glad I cheered you up bro, I'll keep you posted.

Megatron1977

10-11-2004, 11:17 PM

Did you have that as your avatar before I posted it, case that would be eerie. lol

Megatron1977

10-11-2004, 11:33 PM

Nope, I have to go into your profile to see it. lol
Anyways, your avatar is welcome. lol
I just thought it looked bada$$.

Megatron1977

10-12-2004, 07:23 PM

Megatron1977

10-12-2004, 07:29 PM

Yeah that was I was thinking too. But I like the downtrodden look Spike has in the first pic.
The one that I'm using right now is actually reversed from what you have as your avatar because I'm using transparancies.

Megatron1977

10-13-2004, 02:02 PM

I got my mobo today. I didn't expect it till tomorrow. My wife and I have strep throat and I was asleep when it came. When the doorbell rang I figured it was my mom checking in on us so I went to the door in my wife's bathrobe. Needless to say it was kind of embarrassing to see the FedEx guy standing there. lol

kc7eqo

10-13-2004, 04:20 PM

OK, I got the pic printed out, it takes up 4 pages, and I mounted on the window. It looks great from far away, but when you get closer you can see the seams where the different pages meet. When I get the lights installed and see how it looks lit up I'll decide if I want to stay with this pic or change it to this one:
http://66.111.49.71/wallpapers/cowboy/cowboy_3_1024.jpg
or this one:
http://66.111.49.71/wallpapers/cowboy/cowboy_26_1024.jpg
I'll also post a pic of the window tomorrow.
Let me know what you think.

Hey Megatron ever think about geting it printed on a single peace of asotate? Most printing shops can do it for you. Just a thought.

Matthew
KC7EQO <><

sorry to hear about the strep, but thats funny about the Fedex guy.

Megatron1977

10-13-2004, 06:18 PM

I'm going to search around for a place to do that when the strep throat goes away. Is asotate like transparency film? I've never heard of it before, but thanks for the idea.

Needless to say I won't be posting pics today I havent felt like working too much today. Maybe tomorrow I'll post them.

Megatron1977

10-14-2004, 10:51 AM

I found a place that will print the image on transparent vinyl so I'm going to see how that works. I should have pics of it and another part of the mod tonight.

I just found out that it won't be done till tomorrow, so look for pics then.

kc7eqo

10-14-2004, 11:48 AM

yea its the same, but vinyl is much stronger, didnt think about printing it on clear. Well I hope it goes well and that you get better. Let us know how it goes.

Matthew
KC7EQO <><

Megatron1977

10-14-2004, 12:17 PM

Thanks, I should have it by tommorrow afternoon. It's going to cost $45.00, but it will be worth it if it comes out right.

Megatron1977

10-14-2004, 01:37 PM

If this works I already have an idea for a Macross/Robotech case using this:
http://66.111.49.71/wallpapers/macross/macross_15_1024.jpg
That is, if my wife will let me, she doesn't understand why I need more comps than just the desktop and the laptop. lol

Megatron1977

10-14-2004, 08:53 PM

I decided to forgo watercooling in favor of good old air cooling, but not just any old air cooling. I just ordered the Thermalright XP-120 with a Sunon 120mmx38mm fan. The fan is supposed to be 108cfm and 42db, so I think I can live with that. Mostly this mod is going to focus on having a clean looking case with just a few special mods, I want to focus on substance over flash.

Megatron1977

10-16-2004, 06:32 PM

Here's a few pics. Hope you like.
http://img94.exs.cx/img94/6308/100_0103.jpg
This is the original window that came with the case, I had to make a new one because I didn't want a fan hole, and I didn't want the Thermaltake logo on it either.

http://img94.exs.cx/img94/9336/100_0102.jpg
This is the new window I cut out of Lucite, not bad for my first time working with Lucite. lol

Megatron1977

10-16-2004, 06:33 PM

http://img97.exs.cx/img97/8521/100_0104.jpg
This is what the window will look like when it comes back from the printers. It will hopefully be done Monday.

http://img97.exs.cx/img97/1016/100_0108.jpg
I took the Tsunami Dream logo off the front of the case and replaced it with the Cowboy Bebop Japanese logo, it's not quite done yet, but I figured I go ahead and post it.
Anyways, that's all for now.

Megatron1977

10-16-2004, 07:38 PM

Thanks.
The pic with the window is not the finished product that pic was done with the transparancies which created seams in the window. I was supposed to get the finished window today but it wasn't finished. I'll hopefully get it Monday.

Kal-El

10-16-2004, 07:49 PM

I know you said you didnt want a fan hole in the side but when I saw that pic I thought the gun hole whould be a perfect place for a fan. Just my thoughts tho.

Megatron1977

10-16-2004, 08:07 PM

That thought crossed my mind as well but I decided against it. When I get the system up and running I'll see how my temps are, and if it would help to have a fan there.
I shouldn't have a problem since I'll have a 120mm intake, 120mm blowhole, 120mm exhaust, and 120mm heatsink fan. Thanks for the input though, and welcome to the forums.

kc7eqo

10-17-2004, 12:15 PM

This would be cool if you could get it to work. ever see a smoke ring generator? Its like a small sealed box with a small hole on one side and a plastic like tarp on the other. you could put water and dry ice, or any other means to generate some kind of fog, then you strike the side with the tarp. this generates a concusion, and a smoke ring is generated out the hole. IT would look freaken awesome! you could possibly incorperate a small fog generator that would feed a small box and used a solenoid with a timer circuit to strike the box at a given interval. I like this idea so much I think I am going to research on how to do it. LOL my PC makes smoke rings. :)

Matthew
KC7EQO <><

wehcrm

10-17-2004, 12:37 PM

This would be cool if you could get it to work. ever see a smoke ring generator?

Or you could buy one of those smoke ring guns off of www.thinkgeek.com and somehow take out all the smoke ring stuff from the plastic gun and put it in the case.

kc7eqo

10-17-2004, 01:08 PM

Thats a great idea and it is also cost effective. I forgot that thinkgeek had them. you have to do a little digging to find it but here is the direct url to the fog gun. http://www.thinkgeek.com/cubegoodies/toys/5b4a/ Thanks again for the heads up.

Matthew
KC7EQO <><

Megatron1977

10-17-2004, 02:18 PM

Thanks for the great ideas everyone, I'm going to check into that now.
Small update: One of the ideas I had for this mod was to build a "floor" inside the bottom of the case to carry on the Bebop theme as well as hide so wires.
So here's my inspiration, it comes from the Bebop credits, and the image was provided by Landshark.
http://img83.exs.cx/img83/1958/rose23.jpg
And this is the start of my "floor".
http://img96.exs.cx/img96/1285/100_0109.jpg
Basically all I've done is carve out some styrofoam to look like a brick road and then cover it with a latex base primer, once this dries and I put on another coat, I'm going to spray it lightly with fleckstone paint. I'll get more pics when I'm done.
And yes, that is a Daddy Day Care DVD, say what you want, but it's funny. lol

Megatron1977

10-17-2004, 04:05 PM

The 3.5" HDD cage, even though I'm not using the cage right now, I plan on adding a lot of storage later.
As soon as I get some more money, I plan on adding two 36gb raptors in a Raid setup for my O/S and then I'm going to get 2 or 3 400gb HDD's for storage.

Megatron1977

10-17-2004, 04:17 PM

Finished product. Sorry if the pic is blurry
http://img38.exs.cx/img38/7924/100_0111.jpg
Actually, I'll probably go back and put some black into the lines, I'll have to see how it looks wen it dries.

Megatron1977

10-17-2004, 04:59 PM

Well, I'm thinking about storing some of my movies on my hdd's cause I'm starting to run out of room in my house.
You caught the pizza box trick, huh? lol

Megatron1977

10-17-2004, 09:04 PM

I'm going to go back over the "floor" tomorrow with a lighter grey color, this one just seems too dark. Cutting the mirror is turning out to be a b*tch, it's hard enough to cut straight lines let alone curved ones. Anyone got any suggestions?

Megatron1977

10-18-2004, 11:41 AM

I got the bottom of my case done, all I have to do is glue everything down and install it. I'm using mirror for the puddle of water and it doesn't look exactly like the end credits picture but cutting mirror is hard and I did the best I could. Also I was going to go with a crystal or glass rose, but I found a fake rose that looks a lot like the pic so I'm using that. Anyways, here's the pic.
http://img92.exs.cx/img92/3933/100_0117.jpg
So, tell me what you think.

Southerntracker

10-18-2004, 11:57 AM

Looking good Megatron!

I'm not a big fan of the series, but the work so far on the box looks great.

Megatron1977

10-18-2004, 12:24 PM

Thanks everyone. I'll try spraying the rose and mirror, if it fails I can always clean the mirror and buy a new rose. I also got the heatsink and fan in today, and I should get the Northbridge fan in tomorrow or Wed. I'm also supposed to get my window in today, and if I do I'll post pics tonight.

Kal-El

10-18-2004, 01:38 PM

Very impressive. Nice seeing an awesome mod like this go together so nicely. Looking forward to the end results.

FrEAK

10-18-2004, 03:47 PM

you might cut the styrofoam where the mirroir is going to be down a little bit so that the mirroir does not stick up too much. it good great how it is though

just an idea.

Megatron1977

10-18-2004, 04:43 PM

I actually did smash the stryofoam down around the mirror, but I must not have done it enough, so I re did it, it looks a lot more flush now. I'm kinda p*ssed, I won't be getting my side window today, but it is printed and mounted now it just has to dry. I guess I'd rather wait a bit for it and have it done right. I'm going to start cutting the case tomorrow, I hope. I have a small design I want to put on the other side panel, and I'm going to make a blowhole where the USB ports were.

FrEAK

10-18-2004, 06:00 PM

now it just has to dry. I guess I'd rather wait a bit for it and have it done right.

I have a realy hard time not tuching wet parts, and like everyone else has said looking good and i can't wait to to see it finished.

merritt

10-18-2004, 07:04 PM

looks good, u should buy a cheap spring version of spikes pistol in an airsoft gun and attach it to the top of the case, the best website iv been to is jungletoy.com

Megatron1977

10-18-2004, 07:43 PM

I can't get www.jungletoy.com to work, it says it contains no data. Well, I'm not really happy with the mirror, but right now I can't afford to change it. Later when I can afford to get a mirror professionally cut I'll swap it out. I also need to find a cool looking design to cut out of the top of the case. I'll be picking one out tonight, but if you have any ideas feel free to run them by me.

AuD1073cH

10-18-2004, 08:19 PM

Instead of a mirror (very cool idea) you could make your own puddle for the rose, out of clear polyester resin, or clear urethanes. Model railroad builders have been using the stuff for years for fake water.
You could add coloring, and polish the surface to make the reflection. you may have to depress the foam to the right shape for the puddle though.

If you didn't have to change the rose, you could put the rose in while it is still wet, and add droplets, etc. for effect.

Megatron1977

10-18-2004, 08:28 PM

Thanks for the idea, I hadn't thought of that. The main reason I wanted the mirror was for the reflection, and to add to the lighting.

merritt

10-18-2004, 08:36 PM

what kind of pistol does spike have

Megatron1977

10-18-2004, 08:41 PM

Looks like a regular 9mm, possibly a .45 though, definalty a semi-auto.

I looked into the model railroad water, and I think I want to stick with the mirror, simply for the reflective quality. I am however going to get a different mirror eventualy. One thing I learned is how simple it was to create the brick facade, it would be really easy to replicate if I need to. If anyone want's to know how I did it just let me know.

Megatron1977

10-18-2004, 10:19 PM

With that barrel it's at least a .45 maybe even a 50 cal. Anyways, I just created a worklog on the styrofoam brick facade if anyone wants to check it out.

tonymontana

10-19-2004, 01:09 AM

I can't wait to see the final window. Looks awesome. I wish I thought of something like this, keep up the good work.

Megatron1977

10-19-2004, 11:33 AM

I got my case window back and it looks really great, I'm going to put it together and then I'll post some pics.

Megatron1977

10-19-2004, 12:50 PM

Window's done, check it out.
http://img3.exs.cx/img3/1029/100_0118.jpg
I can't wait to see it with the case lights on.

Southerntracker

10-19-2004, 01:14 PM

Very nice!

Megatron1977

10-19-2004, 01:51 PM

I got my fan rewired and mounted. lol
Think this is big enough?
http://img100.exs.cx/img100/9753/100_0119.jpg
Overhead view.
http://img100.exs.cx/img100/1100/100_0120.jpg

Megatron1977

10-19-2004, 02:04 PM

Yeah, that's what she said. lmao
I thinking about not cutting a blowhole, I can't decide on a design I want and I don't have an extra fan to use.

merritt

10-19-2004, 08:34 PM

how big is that fan? case looks great

Megatron1977

10-19-2004, 10:08 PM

120mm, it's huge from the mobo it stands 5" tall. lol
Thanks, I'm actually installing everything tonight since I'm not cutting out a blowhole. I'm not going to be able to turn it on tonight cause my nb cooler won't get here till tomorrow and I already took of the stock cooler, plus I have to figure out where the hell I put my CCFL's. lol
I'll post another pic when I get everything installed.

Megatron1977

10-20-2004, 01:17 AM

Here's everything installed.
http://img100.exs.cx/img100/6446/100_0126.jpg
My x800 isn't fixed yet, so I've got a bobo v/c in. I've also got a fan grill that I'm going to install, I just need to find some screws. I also have two more case mods planned but I'm not in a rush to get those done.
By the way, what do you think of the wiring job? It took me forever, and I'm going to have to undo it all when I upgrade my psu, but that will be awhile before I do that.

Megatron1977

10-20-2004, 08:28 AM

Well, the 4 pin one is hidden by the big a$$ cpu fan and the main ATX plug is hidden right next to the FDD cable.

Megatron1977

10-20-2004, 12:24 PM

LOL, as soon as I can figure out why I'm not getting anything to come up on my monitor. I thought I had a bad v/c, but the new one I got does the same thing, it keeps saying "Monitor is in safe mode use the computer to wake up."

Megatron1977

10-20-2004, 02:25 PM

Dead CPU, I have the best luck. lol
I just ordered a new one (Athlon64 3400+ this time) and got overnight one it so if I ships today I'll have it tomorrow.

merritt

10-20-2004, 04:06 PM

that sucks, where u get it from

Megatron1977

10-20-2004, 04:13 PM

Newegg, I picked it up for $240. I just hope it fixes my problem.

Megatron1977

10-21-2004, 09:51 AM

I've had it for almost 2 years, plus with all the o/c'ing I've done my warrenty's gone. lol

Megatron1977

10-21-2004, 03:41 PM

Update.
I just finished a new mod and it looks really great. As far as I know I'm the only one to do this so it's kind of special to me. I'll have to post a pic of it after I get back from class @ 9:00pm tonight, so look for it then.

Megatron1977

10-21-2004, 07:32 PM

Here you go:
http://img70.exs.cx/img70/5792/100_0134.jpg

http://img70.exs.cx/img70/4400/100_137.jpg

OK, here's what I did. I took the 5 1/4" drive blank that's in front of my 200gb HDD, and cut an opening in it with my dremel. I then cut a piece of Lucite to fit inside the drive blank, and used clear silicon adhesive to secure it. I then found a design and photoshopped it to the length and with of the opening, then I printed it on a transparency. I placed it on the Lucite and then I cut out added a regular sheet of printer paper and placed it on top of the transparency. I used hot glue to attach the them to the drive blank. I plan on getting a 4" CCFL to light it up.
What do you think?

be_gone77

10-21-2004, 09:43 PM

nice case...I like that front window thing...good thinking!

I am going to make a Naruto based one soon....but I cant deside if I want to put a plexi window and trans photo on it or just paint it or something on the case...I think I will do the window idea

it will be blue themed I think...well we will have to see....

anyway grate looking case man keep up the good work

Megatron1977

10-21-2004, 11:20 PM

Yeah, I cut out the drive blank to make the "window", then I glued the lucite to the drive blank and placed the transparency behind it. The blank sheet of paper just makes the colors stand out more, the light can still be seen through it. You could just print on regular paper but it will absorb the ink more than printing it on a transparency. I did the same thing with my side window, I placed regular paper behind the image of Spike to make him stand out more.

Megatron1977

10-21-2004, 11:30 PM

Should be here tomorrow/today(it is after midnight here). FedEx usually drops by around 10:00am. Also comming tomorrow is a new 120mm fan for the CPU. The Sunon I rewired doesn't like being a 3 pin.

By the way, I got the idea to do the colored applique from www.metku.net, I just want to give credit where credit was due.
However the idea to put a "window" into the drive blank was all my idea.

Megatron1977

10-22-2004, 11:34 AM

I was right about the CPU being bad, I just installed the new CPU and it works like a charm. Here's the lit up window:
http://img49.exs.cx/img49/8066/100_138.jpg
And.............................
http://img49.exs.cx/img49/2432/100_0137.jpg
I think it looks ok, but I'm going to get a couple of White Hyperlights that should really ligt up the case.

Megatron1977

10-22-2004, 01:06 PM

Doh, I should have patented it. lol

Oh well, I still had fun making it.

Megatron1977

10-22-2004, 01:43 PM

I'm waiting on FrozenCPU to get them in, everytime I check they say they are out of stock.

computerman

10-22-2004, 02:10 PM

wow looks great!!! you should put one of the LEDS pointing right at the gun.

Megatron1977

10-23-2004, 02:04 AM

Thanks for the support everyone. Much to my wife's dismay I already have my next two mods planned out. I have 2 old computers that I'm going to mod. I'm mostly going after the case since the computing power isn't a concern. I'm using one as my primary internet access server and I plan to paint the case to look like Wheeljack from the Transformers. The other computer I plan to install SmoothWall on and I think I'm going to try to paint the case to look like Bumblebee.

Megatron1977

11-12-2004, 01:03 PM

I've just ordered one white Hyperlight, it should be here in a few days, if it works like I'm hoping it will, I'll invest in 3 more. Also, I've decided to cut a blowhole and drop a 120mm fan in the top of the case where the "front" usb and speaker jacks are located. For some reason my mobo won't accept those usb ports so they are really worthless. The last thing I've gotta do is cut a small window and I'll be done.

Megatron1977

11-12-2004, 01:24 PM

On the other side of the case, just a small window close to where the HDD bay is.

KatanaSwordfish

11-25-2004, 09:39 PM

Bebop is a great series, im looking foreward to seeing the finished project!

(by the way, this is my first post ^^)

Megatron1977

11-25-2004, 09:49 PM

Well, welcome to the forums. The mod is pretty much finished for now, I do plan however to switch the lights and use white Hyperlights, and I need a fan controller. I'm also going to cut out a blowhole and one the other side of the case I'm going to cut out a butterfly, al la the movie, and make a small window.

altec

11-26-2004, 02:25 AM

anime theme is not my style i'm more in to are scary you if you look to hard lol you no.

SillyName

11-26-2004, 05:07 AM

wheres the pics at mega?? :) (the updated ones with the newer light and window.)

Megatron1977

11-26-2004, 08:59 AM

I haven't done the mods yet, I got one Hyperlight that I haven't even opened yet but I need like 3 more. I'm really waiting on doing the mods untill I see if my wife and I are going to get this house we are looking at, I've got a meeting with the owner today. If we move then I do the mods at the new house when I get time and money.

Pieking04

11-26-2004, 11:27 AM

Good luck with the house hunting.

SillyName

11-26-2004, 12:46 PM

aww ok. If he tries to rip you off, I will be happy to fly out to the area and break his arm for tryin to get yours, lol. anyways, good luck with that. and I will be here, patiently waiting the release of those pics for my eye pleasure. lol. Good Luck.

KatanaSwordfish

11-28-2004, 07:21 PM

By the way, i didnt see if anyone else posted this, but just so you know...

Spike's gun, (his pistol of choice) is the "IMI (isreali millitary industries) Jericho 941"

it has a capacity of 16+1(chamber), and is multicaliber, its components can be switched to fire different bullets. Either, 9mm or .41AE (the '41' in 941 comes from that, 'AE' Stands for Action Express, which is a type of magnum bullet.) The gun has less capacity with the larger bullets (or course) and it goes from 16+1 to 14+1 with the .41AEs.

The gun was developed as a smaller followup of the desert eagle, and it was giving the nickname, baby desert eagle, or baby eagle. In my opinion this gun is better and cooler than the desert eagle.

I dont think it is in production any more but, it is still in use by police forces in isreal, the gun has a few different modified versions. Those are some basics about it, im sure you could find the stats online if you googled it. :D

altec

12-03-2004, 05:16 PM

Megatron1977

12-03-2004, 05:25 PM

Well, I got the house, and I got a good deal, I'll be closing on Thursday. These next few weeks are going to be spent moving, so if I'm not on here alot you know why. I kind of wish we would have gone with the house that had a garage so I could have a space to do my mods, but oh well. I'm going to turn the spare bedroom into a small workshop, but mods that require painting/excessive cutting are out.

Megatron1977

12-03-2004, 07:37 PM

Thanks, and no, the house is here in Thomasville. We came across this builder that was looking to owner finance some of his buildings, and we couldn't pass up the oppertunity to get some equity and make less monthly payments than we are now while renting. We requested a quick closing date because we want to go ahead and start moving so we will be out of our current place by the 14th.

Megatron1977

12-03-2004, 08:17 PM

Thanks, it will probably be around Feb. before I do any more to it. This month's out because of the move, and in Jan. I have to build my cousin a computer. My real passion is going to be the Imperial Shuttle mod I have planned, I might put off the Bebop mod if I start on the shuttle.

Megatron1977

12-03-2004, 08:39 PM

I'm looking forward to it, it will be the first time I put a computer in anything other than a computer case. I lucked out and kept my original Imperial Shuttle from ROTJ, and it is massive, I might be able to fit a full ATX in it. First I need to hit eBay and find some of the parts I'm missing on my Shuttle.

Megatron1977

12-03-2004, 10:29 PM

Oh, don't worry, I'll be making another thread when I start. I want to get some imput from everyone, expecially now that Yoshi's on here more. I'm hoping for the same caliber as CrimsonSky's mod, but that's a tall order. I also have my old AT-AT that would make a great mod, but it's almost mint and I don't want to mess it up. lol

Megatron1977

03-26-2005, 12:48 PM

OK, since I'm kind of stuck with my Imperial Shuttle mod, since the nanoITX's won't be comming out till the end of the year, I figured I'd update this mod's theme. I'm going to change the theme actually to one that fits my Transformer's motif. The case is getting a new paintjob, and new window treatments. I'll give more details as I think about the plans.