First off, I came here well over a month ago to check out the extent of modding 360's, and I was amazed. So As a first time modder I decided to make the job look as experienced as possible. I've spent a few hours here and there for about a month now, (finally got ahold of a camera, since my 9mp Fujifilm S9000 is in the factory getting checked for defects). I nicknamed this project the CH3RRY 60MB (Cherry Bomb for those of you sitting there going "WTF IS 60mb?" Because the color of the case resembles a cherry. I was going to custom paint a personally-designed graphic onto the non-window side of the case, but I determined that my painting skills, with the tools I currently own (Im lacking a well-needed airbrush) ... would be too time consuming and the effects I would be able to achieve would be Unsatisfactory to my liking. (Too much of a perfectionist!)

Please excuse the photo quality as its a little point-and-shoot camera with 3.2 mp. Images are resized to 640x480 (then further by photobucket), with no retouching. (As well as the fingerprints and glare from the halogen lighting) XD

Mods Done To Date:
-Window
-Custom Paintjob [[consisting of Sikkens Automotive Paints in Chrysler Red and Onyx Black (Both metallic with a nice color flip to the red, the red goes from a dark black-cherry metallic to a bright red metallic.]]


Possible Further Modifications:
- 60/70 mm LED fans, with a possible change in LED color.
-Internal Lighting (Either Cold Cathode or LED (I've never had any experience with this) (Question to whoever can answer:::: Is it safe/a good idea to purchase say... 3-4 LASER LED units and just wire the power cables together instead of buying LEDs and going through the whole wiring?)
-Internalization of a Pelican fan-base fan to cool the CPU heatsink.

Without any further rambling I give you my project.


Demonstration of how the color "flips" between a dark red and brighter...


... ... ... ...


Ring Of Light Color (Note the Red) (Took the button from a 2 pack set of faceplates I found at the local FYE store for $9.99


Another Example of the Paint


Air Duct In Red


HDD Done in Onyx Black. Yes, the release button is still a stock color due to a misplacement of it... But I think I'm going to keep that stock, as an easy-to-find release (not that its difficult) ... plus... Its the only thing left stock color on the whole box.


Example of the Onyx Black's Metallic Properties, Instead of being just a simple "glitter" it reflects light in many different tones... greens, pinks, blues... its nicer in person than in the photo.
















Dvd Drive Mod (Not the most original Design) Painted in a High-Gloss Jet Black Spraypaint due to issues with Automotive paint [I used a base coat of 2 different spray paints, and after i stripped it and sent it to the shop to get painted... the Paint reacted to the chemicals of the pre-existing coats causing major orange peel and wrinkling of the Onyx Black Metallic]


Onyx Black Metallic Vent Grilles

All painting except the Dvd Drive was done at Stockburger Autobody (My father just happens to be the assistant manager, thats how I had access to it, but seeing we both had tight schedules, we asked the main painter to take some time and paint it for us. Pretty good for a free paintjob ain't it?)


And For the Window, A Piece of this LEXAN will be mounted BEHIND the cut, (too much work without a dremel of my own (borrowed one for the original cuts of the window) to surface-mount it. (I still have to cut that when I get the two pieces of the case back from paint today)


Any Suggestions for lighting color? I thought of: Orange, Green, Red
Im trying to stay away from blue, seeing everyone has it, but if I go with CC's I would be stuck with UV, Green, Blue, or Red. Green would go well seeing the ROL is still green, and I don't have the balls to try mounting SMD's for the first time (At least for now, I've been without the box for well over a month.)

First Time Modder, Just tryin my hand at things, as well as getting hooked on modding now XD

Any Comments and Suggestions, as well as product reccomendations are welcome... Just don't tear me a "new one" for all you flamers out there.


Thats It Until The Other Parts Come In From Paint Today... Then more to come

I love that colour, it looks great. The black power button is a nice touch.

The Onyx black looks great!

Nice work

that paint is BEAUTIFUL!

Thank you guys for the comments... Really means alot

Update: Got the two halves in, The red on them looks as amazing as on the faceplate... i really should have taken the time to bondo the xbox logo, but oh well... I just think of it this way: its the stock case trying to pry through the custom haha sounds goofy as hell, but its like ghost lettering (so many coats of paint and clear, the shell feels 150% heavier than a stock.
PICS SOON!

looks awesome. keep up the good work

looks good

Hot damn! That is some nice painting.

I like em, I like em a lot.

Paint looks sick, i love it .

great job man, that cherry color looks amazing. Cant wait to see the rest.

Bump

Bump

UPDATE: ITS ALL BACK TOGETHER, PICS SOON! ... I STILL NEED ADVICE FOR LIGHTING... Im kinda worried about LEDs, even tho i know they are pretty much a satisfactory solution... ive never wired anything other than simple circuits... i have no clue where to begin as to resistors, wattage, etc. if i go with LED i want to buy a fan where i can swap the diodes out for the same color. Orange would be original and sweet... but if all else fails... I may just go with a green led fan setup and cc setup.


HELP is greatly Appreciated. And Thanks for the positive feedback

I suppose my two tuts will help you out greatly:

How to wire LEDs: A detailed tutorial.

How to change the lighting on a Talismoon Fan

For the fans make sure to purchase the green version. The green version comes with the white connectors the blue does not. I wrote in the thread:



Hope those help you out.

Thanks, i will probably get the green and swap out the orange for them...

I read the first topic plenty of times, and i still need to learn a bit more about resistors... seeing that i was just going to wire right under the PSU connector... i need to figure out the resistor... i thought about 20-24 (its a full window and i wanna do at least 20 on the bottom. maybe 10 on the top.... is that overkill? 3mm or 5mm? ( i thought if i used 5mm that it would need less

The difference between 3mm and 5mm completely depends on its mcd rating, not its size (to an extent)

As for resistance, you need to know 4 things:
1: Source Voltage (5v or 12v)
2: Foward Voltage of your LED
3: Forward Current of your LED (ma)
4: Number of LEDs

Example-
1: 5v
2: 3.3v
3: 20ma
4: 10

Resistor: 10ohm 1w.

EDIT: Oh yeah, 20-30 is usually a nice number of LEDs

If you feel comfortable wiring 20-24 LEDs then do so. The size of the LED is your call. 3mm are easier to place becuase they are smaller but its your choice. I tend to use 5mms. Sometimes they are more bright, sometimes not, like Sick said... it depends on its mcd rating.

Any updates?

BUMP

SORRY FOR THE LACK OF UPDATES... ITS BACK TOGETHER... NO LIGHTING JUST YET... PICS WILL BE UP TONIGHT/TOMORROW...

IVE GOTTEN PROPS AMONG THE LOCAL 360 GAMERS... AND GOT ASKED AT THE LOCAL GAMESTOP... "WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU CUT A HOLE IN YOUR 360?"

HAHA.

CAPS LOCK TO CATCH YOUR EYES.
YELLING.

-DAVE

I hate gamestop... I think because they sell you a game with no discounts and rob you on trade ins...

i really like that onyx black!

cant wait to see it assembled

niiiiiice
i dnt normally go for coloured 360s, i normaly like either black or white

but this has changed my mind =]
it looks really smooth so far =]]
cant wait to see it completed

what is that paint! i want to aint a controller..could you tell me the exact paint and show a picture if possible...that would be awesome man...great xbox!

any pictures of it put back together yet??

Im really sorry about the lack of updates... been so damn busy...

The paint is Sikkens Automotive Paint (by Azko Nobel).... You cant buy it in spray bombs (aerosol cans) its exclusive to the Automotive Industry (Color codes exclusive to Sikkens...you have to look it up in their books and mix it up to order... $$$).

Chrysler Metallic Red (There's plenty of automotive metallic reds out there)
Chrysler Onyx Black Metallic.


The paint is smooth... but i still am disappointed with my lack of thought to Bondo the logo.... but theres so many coats of paint and clear... its barely visible.


Pictures will be up shortly... gonna shine it up a bit (been playin Saints Row, GRAW, Bejeweled (level 45 on endless haha), etc.)

Everyone recommends Krylon Fusion and all... BUT

As long as you get a primer that is specifically formulated for plastic preparation... then you can achieve a really nice paint job... apply light coats of primer... sand it nicely... then apply light, even coats of a good quality spraypaint (Krylon, Duplicolor, etc.) then use a high-grit sandpaper (400, 200, even wet-sand)... and then continue until you coat it nice and evenly... a good 4 coats or more... then... lightly sand it again... wipe the debris and dust... and then coat it with a nice Polyurethane or High-Gloss Clearcoat... (Krylon has an assortment)... then between coats of clear... sand lightly... and continue... 3-4 coats of clear and you should be nice and set.

a few rules though...

∙ Allow a lot of time to dry... dont rush it or you'll screw it up
∙ LIGHT, EVEN, coats.
∙ Make sure you aren't completely dumb and paint on days in which the weather is:
- Cold, Damp, Humid, Windy, Dusty, etc.

Make sure you have either a nice warm area with moderate humidity... you can always use a hairdryer about a foot or so away to help speed drying... but be forewarned... if you heat too generously it may start to bubble.


Hope this helps... otherwise contact me and i'll help you out more.

Email: Hourhero@gmail.com

Sorry... typo... The brand of paint is AKZO Nobel. ..... NOT azko.

No pics??

Bump for what could be a killer 360!

I REGRET TO INFORM YOU... THAT AS OF TODAY... CHERRY BOMB 360 IS OUT OF COMMISSION... I THOUGHT I WAS ONE OF THE LUCKY ONES... I JUST GOT THE 3-LIGHT ROL DEATHKISS.

I DISASSEMBLED IT, CLEANED IT THOROUGHLY WITH COMPRESSED AIR, MADE SURE CONNECTIONS WERE TIGHT, CLEAN, ETC. AND STILL NO ANSWER. THE QUESTION IS NOW... WILL M$ REPAIR A MODDED BOX? (EVEN IF I PAY FOR THE REPAIR) OR WILL I HAVE TO TRY THE HEATGUN FIX. ANY INPUT IS WELCOMED... AS WELL AS ANY IDEAS. I DONT EVEN GET AN ERROR CODE.

SO WHILE MY FRIENDS ARE READYIN UP FOR THEIR PS3'S NEXT MONTH... IM GONNA BE STUCK WITHOUT EVEN A 360.

IM SURE YOU'VE ALL HEARD THIS BEFORE... BUT




F**K MICROSOFT!



It had graphical errors the past... maybe 4 days... but they went away with resetting the console... then it just up and died on me.


Oh well... CherryBomb360 will be back... with a vengeance... but who knows when.

Once again... any help is appreciated and welcomed.

-Dave

nope they wont repair it. your best bet is to try the heat gun fix. just follow the video and see if it works for you. i had a 360 that gave error code 102 and the heat gun trick worked.

if u get the 3 red lights, then there is a error code.

There was a post made today about some guy who re- soldered some of the components and it worked with no problems.

http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=555000

I removed the MOBO and it seems like they did a horrific job of soldering the pieces... im not a huge expert with a soldering gun but i could try it... also... there seems to be this hazy, whitish film on certain parts of the underside of the mobo... is this flux or something foreign... my 360's been dry in general... but like i said theres a slight white haze on certain parts.

Bump >.>

I know this is old but I am still wondering how it turned out .

Thanks

-NHN!

Fuck, so am i. Buy a new xbox and just swap it out =P