WIP Project: 002 (blackbird mod)

[Paul88]

Hey everyone, I'm relatively new to this forum (other then the buy and sell section that I'm usually spending most of my spare time in... not to mention my spare cash) Anywho... I managed get my hands on an hp blackbird case and decided that I wanted to jump back into modding. For those that do not know this case is made almost entirely out of very thick cast aluminum. this makes the case very heavy but it feels like it could survive a blast from a bomb, or two.

My plans for the case are:

Paint - interior and exterior (color to be decided)

Window - the inside of this case is where it really shines in the cosmetics department imo. I think its a shame that its unseen.

Lighting- I plan on replacing the leds to match the paint better (whatever color i do decide on)

Fill optical bay slots- I really wish I could use a slot loading optical drive but I do not think that I'll be able to find an optical drive caddy for it. I've exhausted all my options (ebay) and came up with nothing. If anyone can help me out hunting down one of these that would be great.

Build cover plate for motherboard and optical drive area- everything else is covered up and nice looking I think that maybe the motherboard and optical drives should be nicely hidden also.

Whatever I think of along the way.

Here are some pictures of what I've been dealing with so far.

Here is the case pratically untouched from how I recieved it.


This thing has so many machine screws involved in takeing it appart it is quite intimidating. But yeah this is how the case currently stands. Took me nearly an two hours just to figure out how it all comes appart.


-sorry about the quality of the pictures. Im not the best photographer.

[mattlef]

love this case
looking forward to see what you got in store :)

[Paul88]

mini update:

I finally managed to get all of the aluminum pannels off of the chassis. But not without some bloodshed.





next up... strip the paint from these (possibly find someone to mediablast them.)

[Rasparthe]

Nice! Can't wait to see how it turns out...looking forward to seeing how you rig the mobo cover

[Reyzac]

This is going to be fun

[Paul88]

Not much of an update but I have came up with a better plan of where I want the case to go. Here is a picture showing some of my ideas. I'd like it to have this hotrod valve cover feel to it going to paint it and sand/polish the fins.

Valve cover look I'm going for-



Heres my photoshoped picture of what I'd like the case to look like after I'm finished-

[MAC]

Very nice!

Hopefully your budget allows for an ASUS Republic of Gamers motherboard, since it would really match the theme.

[Reyzac]

Originally Posted by MAC

Very nice!

Hopefully your budget allows for an ASUS Republic of Gamers motherboard, since it would really match the theme.

That should be a necessity
Those fans on top are 120mm, no? See if you can actually get your hands on one of those Asetek dual-fan things and super-OC your CPU.
Speaking of parts what parts do you think of using? I think a 6870 would fit perfectly with your valve-cover thing and that ROG mobo...

[Paul88]

I'm going to use the parts in my current rig until i have the cash to upgrade to i7. Maximus formula II, q6600, corsair hx620, and ati 4870 also i do have the Asetek dual fan lclc :)

[mattlef]

Originally Posted by Paul88

I'm going to use the parts in my current rig until i have the cash to upgrade to i7. Maximus formula II, q6600, corsair hx620, and ati 4870 also i do have the Asetek dual fan lclc :)

If you can/want, try modding the Asetek LcLc.... you can get 1/4in tubing and barbs, with red coolant... would look bad ass... would be the exact same mod as an H50 mod if you need a starting point.....

the render looks awesome! Do you plan on keeping the GPU shrouds? or modding/painting them yourself?