Greetings everyone! My name is Sean Rinna or most know me as (Seananigans/ArtMods) and I hail from the United States of America.
You can find me/follow me at:
In the build/mod I will be using the following hardware (some subject to change) I will update and add more as the mod progresses.
Case: InWin 301
Motherboard: MSI B350M Mortar Arctic AM4
CPU: AMD RYZEN 1700X
PSU: EVGA 600W BQ (Subject TC)
GPU: MSI R7 370 4G GAMING OC (Subject TC model)
SSD: XPG SX240GB
Below is all the parts I received so far.
All this hardware brings me to the conceptual artwork for the case mod. This case mod is special to me. It is more or less a memorial for those whom set out to summit the great Mt. Everest and were lost along the way.
As a climber myself I think about these brave and adventurous people every time I go out to climb. It was them, who gave me the courage and aspirations to become a climber back in 2011. They made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of exploration. So this build goes out to them,
the ones who were brought back to camp and the ones frozen in time that remain on that mountain range.
Lets move left to right on this concept design. (Now remember, this is a concept, that means it WILL change and evolve as the mod goes on.)
On the left we start at the top, where an Ice pick is lodged into the front and top of the case as if the case was a sheet of Ice. This serves as a handle to carry the case around. As we move down the case you will notice the "Base Camp sign" This is the shroud to cover the factory PSU enclosure and will be an exact (scaled down) replica. Below that (not pictured yet) the GPU will have a back plate to look like rock and ice to give the feeling of the base camp, the cold, and the terrain. Stringing off of that will be Tibetan prayer flags in which the fans will blow them in the wind releasing prayers into the atmosphere and give it the ominous and chilling feeling that we all see in the photos. I am still debating on painting a mural on the motherboard tray of the mountains.
To the right of the photo the outside of the case is going to be simple. I am putting some orange in there (on the back panel door and the lights in the front) to represent the tents and equipment at base camp. The front of the case will have a sheet of ice where the Ice pick will be inserted (not pictured). At the bottom of the case, I will be using crampons as case feet, I thought it would give it a bit of an edge.
PSU SHROUD (FIRST MOD)
Now, we start the modding process! The PSU shroud is something I always start with because it will set the tone for the whole case.
I start with some .25 aluminum sheet. I measured out the length and height in the case and made sure it covered what I needed it to. Then I technically drew the design onto the aluminum using the measurements. From there I double, triple and quadruple checked it to make sure my size was perfect. After all that I used tin snips to cut the design out. I sanded the edges down with sandpaper. Starting with 50G to get the large burs off then up to 120 to smooth it out, then to 400 to give it a very fine finish.

After that is all hammered out, flat, smooth. I then set the shroud up in the paint booth. Here, I use self etching primer as my first coat. When dry, I use industrial black finish (for loading docks) and give it a once over. Then, the Curio comes into play with me measuring out how much space I need for the text at first. Then I pull an image from Photoshop cut out the letters, throw it into silhouette studio and cut it out on vinyl. This "positive stencil" is then applied onto the black coat.
BACK TO THE BOOTH!!! I set up the shroud with the stencil applied and give it one coat of yellow paint. When this is almost dry (not too tacky) I peel off the stencil. The reason behind that is because I do not want the stencil (with dry paint on it) to pull off the surrounding paint.
I then take red acrylic paint and outline the edges of the shroud.
We are close to the end! I am starting to add some detail now, the letters underneath with the arrow through it and the white (whatever the heck it is) splashed on it.
And there we have it! The final Product!
Thank you all for checking out my first installation of the work log! There is more to come. Stay tuned!
WELCOME TO BASE CAMP!