I have been a lurker on this site for years and have done a couple cases myself but never posted them. I have started on a new project today with my roommate. We are both huge fans of Dead Space so we thought we would make an xbox plus some controllers to match our favorite game!

This is my first post so bare with me. we are also open to suggestions on anything so please speak your mind here.






Drawn up windows.


I used a rotozip tool for my dremel on this one. In the past I have used cutting disks but I dont think I will be doing that any more seeing that this was by far the best method I have used.
Heres the rough cut.


Now a little sanding.


Buy one of these (buffing wheel) if you haven't already they are amassing (as you can see I am admiring @Ozzylow 's work).


After the wheel the edges are looking mighty fine! now just to do some tune up with some files and I should be good to go to start sanding and priming.


After all that work I need some grapefruit.


More to come I'm just waiting on some supplies to come in tomorrow.
Since we are going with a Dead Space theme what are your color suggestions on paint? What kind should we get? I've always gone with a car grade but I'm open to suggestions.

I'm looking into maybe making a base for it. As I've been inspired by @ozzylow 's base of rock for his Boarderlands 2 case he is working on.

Updates soon to come!

Cant wait till its done.. Nice cuts. Whats the buffing wheel for? is that a dremmel bit and what part number is it?

Looks good so far! I would recomend a deep black/purple/blue and then get a white and light blue and purple colors to splatter on the case.

The buffing wheel is a finer bit sander that takes away small bit of plastic at a time. All it does really is take away the file step for most projects (doesn't do sharp corners very well). The part number is 511E (comes with 180 grit and 280 grit wheels) and for a 320 grit its 512E.



Yeah I like the purple idea for sure. The game has a plethora of dark colors in it. I have LEDs on the way today I think. I got a couple different color acrylics for the window too on the way as well.

Expect an update later on today!
Thanks guys! Keep those ideas coming!

Ok not much has happened today. Forgot it was a holiday and USPS is closed but good news today my acrylic is here! Ice Blue is so sick! I also got some orange. Not sure what I'm going to do with them yet.

Since I did not receive any parts today I prepped the controller PCB and ROL PCB today.

Now its a waiting game. My landlord is up so I have to wait on the primer and paint for a bit. Hopefully more progress tomorrow. In all of my other case mods I've always put in a VGA port but I'm not sure if I want to do it this time. What are your thoughts on it?

Perspex looks great, as for the VGA port, its not necessary but always comes in handy.

Perspex looks great, as for the VGA port, its not necessary but always comes in handy.

Looking good so far!

Ok I got my parts today. Man I'm a bit rusty with an iron good thing I ordered some extras! I think I need a new bit as well. But I got though it and now I have 2 controllers that are ready for paint. I also got a ROL but I'm not giving that away yet.



This is the gnarly tip I had to work with


I have more secrets coming I'm slowly working on. Have work for the next 4 days so I doubt I will be working on anything for a bit. Have a good week guys!

Looking good!
I'd say put a vga port on this box, it would make it that much more unique and add an extra function.
Also do you have pics of your other VGA mods?

No I dont but. This one will be up in a couple days. It is very clean if you do it correctly.
Thanks a bunch man!

looks really clean, what paint are you going to go with? Whatever you plan on doing you should put a nice layer of clear over it. It will last much longer and look more professional.

For sure man clear coat is a must. The controllers are going to get custom painted by my roommate he is an amassing artist and we plan to do something really awesome for the set. Its just picking a base coat.

Been watching your build since the start, just havent had time to reply been busy. Impressive build. Blue perspex is nice, never played dead space so cant really comment on colors and that.

Any links to the VGA tutorial. I don't know much about it. Is that just so its easier to connect to a monitor.

Keep up with the progress pictures.

Adding a VGA port will eliminate the need for the extra cord for the back of your box. Which is nice because the cord is like 20$ still on MS's website.
Here the VGA tut. http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=522608 . Soldering it in meticulous but its really worth it in the end. It just makes it that much more portable, if you are a fan of lan parties its awesome.

I will have a couple pictures up tonight I think.

nice clean cuts

for the colours maby you can go blue/black on one side and red(blood)/black/blue on the other or something.? because when you think about it. the whole game is about bloody messy things and the iconic helmet with blue glow

http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=741133
if you do the vga mod above will help with audio nice work so far

Ok so I have been working for a bit so now on my day off I had enough time to throw this together. I also forgot to order some LEDs so I'm kinda at a stand still yet again.

I haven't seen a tut up for this yet so I'm going to throw one together for all you guys out there. I got thumbsticks that were clear on the bottom and a solid-non translucent color on top. I rigged these LEDs to the rumble motor. It looks very cool when playing a shooter with automatic guns or for when you get shot at.
Enjoy!

Looks really clean. It would look really awesome if you have multiple LED's that would rotate colors or something of the sort. Great work, keep it up and I look forward to that tutorial. I haven't done any controller work yet.

That is a nice mod. But I like the 1/8" jack because it makes it way more portable.. all you need is your box, monitor, and computer speakers.


I do really like that idea! Since there are two rumble packs it could be done. They go off separately depending on the game. I'm hoping I can get the tut up by Tuesday or Wednesday. I do recommend controller mods because first off they are cool, second off they are more portable then a box. So say you go to a buddies house then you can bring your controller along and show off your custom controller. Which makes your buddy interested in you modding something for them.
Thanks guys!

Thanks.

I did the mod mentioned earlier. I get what your saying about jacks but I wanted phono sockets so I could use good quality phono leads to my Cambridge 840A amp. Im a bit of an audiophile!

If you do solder in a jack socket obviously you can simply tack in some wires to the correct points on the bottom of the board under the av socket. Thats the easiest way.

I did it slightly differently though because I wanted to extract the best possible sound quality available from my xbox's analogue output. The DAC chip is actually rather good but its output is compromised by the unnecessary filtering circuits and tantalum coupling capacitors in its path. Taking the signal right off the pins of the chips via good Film type Caps gives greater definition to the sound. Only downside to the way I did it is it disables any audio output to the av port. (HDMI digital audio still works).

If all your doing is sending audio to a TV or a cheap audio system then I doubt you'll notice much difference though.

If you want any more details just ask.



Nice!

This is my progress for the day... a VGA port!
I used CAT5. I like it better then 30 AWG wire its a lot more durable.
15 Pin all dressed

Pure awful solder job. I re did it but then for got to take a picture of it. Oh well

after re-soldering I re-route it. so its different then the picture

All hooked up.



I'll post a picture of it in place soon. More to come very soon! I think I will start painting next. Me and my roommate have finally figured out what we are doing for paint. Just got to set up a booth and we will be on our way!
Hope you enjoy!

Clean job bro. Can't wait to see the case mod in action.

One more update.

My other controller


Again Rumble activated!
Posted the Tut for it Check it out!
http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?sho...p;#entry4857883

Overall, I like the time and the quality your're spending on this project. That's what counts when its all said and done.

Need some more updates.

Hell yeah, ditto!!

Alright, Alright. Heres some updates.
Well I cut my HDD window today and heres how it went.




I'm still working on it. I am etching the window with this.


I want a flush mounted window but I am worried about the plastics not meeting up perfectly and showing light through. Which in term would make this look like a shotty job. I don't like that. So I think I will play around with some bondo or something to try to make it seem like I did this with some fancy machine. What are your thoughts on what I should do for this window?... I would like to get this one looking very nice before I cut the console window. Suggestions would be appreciated! I am painting primer tomorrow! Although it is still winter here I have made a spray booth in my basement.


Not pretty looking but it will do the job.
Thanks guys for keeping with me on this mod!

Flush mount does look nice when done properly, takes some work to get it fitting perfect.

How are you going to go with the etching, i tried some engraving on the weekend with the dremel, came out alright.

Well let me show you! This is my first time engraving/etching so bare with me. @ozzylow PM a picture of it I would love to see!
So here is my glass all drawn up

So it was an adventure! Here is a glass cutting bit for the Dremel that I have I used this with the roto-zip guide platform. I used this first to etch the outside of the shapes.

Then I used a tool used for wood carving and the roto-zip guide tool to cut out all the plastic in between the etch marks.

After a while of doing that I went back through with the fine point glass cutter to get the point on the Marker

Now that I have basically finished my piece I have relized that it is etched in there backwards after I have flipped it the correct way. WOOPS! Oh well. I have to go though with some sand paper to get rid of the extra texture and fine down the edges of it. To be honest I might just try it again with another piece of acrylic now that I know what I am doing. But here is what it looks like in the HDD casing anyways.


For those of you who don't know the game Dead Space the Marker is an ancient artifact that has been found on Aegis 7 and has created chaos though out a local settlement. It has a massive significance in the game.
I hope you like what I have for you guys today. I might get a very fine router bit to do the job next time if I do it over.
Thanks!

Cut up another piece of perspex / acrylic and when i get home from work ill link you to a great tutorial i found on a PC modding forum.

Instead of doing lines he did small dots around the outline and repeated to get the edge thicker then to shade the inside he did even smaller dots to fill it in. I tried and i found it a better technique the try to color it on like a drawing.

I was using that same ball bit for my Dremel worked pretty good. Not trying to take over your thread.

Edit : Trim those fingernails

Alright man sounds good. No worries about the thread take over I want feedback. I'm not really trying to get the same shading that the picture has I just want the shape.

Been working on my engraving / etching. Slowly getting better.

Dont know if its better to draw your design on to it or have design underneath, but depends if you looking directly over it or on an angle, it could mess up your design if you move around.



Did the quick dot outline around the entire design



Tried a couple different techniques. Top Left is the best finish to me, the others were trying to draw the actual line rather then dotting the entire piece, it leaves a real nice and neat finish, should go for that way and see what you come up with.

try this

krylon frosted

@ozzylow
I like how that has turned out I will try it tomorrow I believe.

Sorry for the lack of updates my roommate is the painter and hes has gotten into Mass Effect3 for the past weeks so nothing has gotten done. But on a lighter note my buttons for my controllers came in.

I will give you a hint on the paint job. This one is necromorph themed.


This one is Issac themed


Contrasted


Hopefully more updates are to come. I have to do some work on my car so hopefully I will get back to this project soon. I"m going to kick my roommate to start painting today its going to be 70 today so its going to be perfect for paint. On that note what paint does everyone suggest. I was thinking dupli-color or rust-o-lium. Krylon I heard was good too. I have always used Dupli-color to do my projects.

I have used Krylon fusion here..here..and here..

Duplicolor vinyl/fabric spray here..

They both work well.. Dupli color is a bit thinner paint than the krylon fusion..

It all comes down to the colors you want.. Unless you can use an airbrush or paint gun, rattle can paint is limited in colors..

Just make sure you sand the substrate down with 600 grit wash and rinse..

Then either SEM light gray etching primer, or SEM adhesion promoter.

U can edit the post if u feel like its a jack.. Just wanted to show proof positive..

Controllers came out nice. Need more updates.

Hey long time no see! Sorry it has taken me a while to update just lost my job due to the season change lookin for new ones now. But with all the free time I have had and the awesome weather where I live, I got some painting done! Its all primer though.

The faceplate I put bondo over the memory slots and the remote receiver because I like the looks of the new xbox slim faceplate

Here is the controllers. They are still getting primered and same with the little bits and pieces.


Here yah go guys! More to come soon!

Sorry to hear bout the job thing but I like how the mod is coming along, faceplate looks great. Since you used primer on all the pieces you don't have to use the fusion paint, I would use an automobile paint instead. I am looking forward to seeing the completed case

WOW! Loving the looks of this console. Keep up the good hard work!

i love the joy stick lights.

3d etching is really only worth it if you have a cnc but it looks like your doing a nice job by taking your time with that dremel, i used a exacto for the etches on deathbox.

Oh god all those plastic filings near your computer makes me feel really uneasy

The mod looks awesome though

It has been awhile but I wanted to request updates. Liked how the mod was progressing hope it didn't get abandoned.

No it hasnt been abandoned. I live in the New England and the weather has not been warm enough of dry enough even for me to paint and that is pretty much the last step to this project before I can put in lights and the trimmings in. Hopefully the next coming week will be more forgiving. Sorry guys.

I feel you on the paint issue. The humidity has been a terror here in NYC too.. Try a dehumidifier..

I would love to use one but the only problem is that I have moved the painting outside due to fumes and my roommates complaining. So I am at a hold still till then... I'm bummed right now.