This is great.

notfordman
I'm really enjoying this thread//build. The 3D parts are just cool. You're making some great progress, Bod!! You sure have a way to visualize what you're doing and making it happen. Great job so far!! .

+1
 
This is an interesting full custom build
 
Thank you for sharing the adventure of this build

This is going to look pretty cool! Could be also from Fallout 4 when i take a look at the first idea. 

Thanks a lot guys!
Here's the top panel progress..

The total length of the top panel is about 14", and that is right at the max height of my printer. But I didn't want to push it, so I broke it up into two separate prints.  This is the main part.


So far, so good..


..and it finished!  Total print time, 17hrs.


This part is 9 1/2" tall.  The next part will be easier since it has a cutaway for the instrument panel and windshield.


A shot of the panel on the case..


Fits on there pretty well!  I'll have a couple metal cross braces underneath that will match the curvature of the panel, and give it something to fasten to.


And of course, I run out of filament with only 1/2" left to go!  Fortunately, it was easy to pause the print and re-thread with a new spool.. except I don't have any more white, and all I have in PLA is pink (from my daughter's rose case) and purple.  So, purple it is! :P




 

Dayummm this is one of the cooler fully custom builds I've seen. Looks pretty huge though xD subbed

Working off of reference pics, I whipped up a model of the steering control unit.


The printer made quick work of the small parts..


Some basic cleanup before initial assembly.  I printed the base with a 1/2" hole through it so I could just use a piece of acylic tube as the pivot rod.


After putting it together, I added some wooden dowels for the handles.


But after reviewing the reference pic again, I realized I assembled the steering arms backwards!  Luckily I hadn't glued them together yet, so it was a quick fix. Now it looks more like the actual thing. :)

Here's my smoothing technique.. since directly sanding the PLA doesn't work too well (the friction just creates heat and gums up the plastic, making the surface more rough), I decided to coat the panels with an epoxy putty.  It's a two-part system that you knead together into a dough.  After a few hours it hardens to a strong but light-weight substance.



Using gloves, I just smear the putty onto the surface of the panels.  Once cured, it's much easier to sand than the PLA.


I sand down until I start seeing the ridges of the PLA, leaving all the valleys filled.


Here's the bottom panel. There are a few divots here and there, and I'll go back and spot fill those.


After sanding all the panels, I had to throw them onto the case for an overall look.  Then I decided to test the hovering capabilities as well..


Getting the repulsorlifts dialed in!  Of course, once I add all the hardware, I'll have to re-adjust them to account for the added weight.  :P


Less than 2 weeks to go!  Hope I can make it..

Ok, time for the Monday Modding Update! :)

Getting down to the wire now, with about 10 days left in the competition.  I was hoping to get the Speeder primed and all one color over the weekend, but things never work out the way you want.  But I'm really close and should have it prepped and ready to paint this evening!  Fingers crossed..  

Anyway, here is what I did manage to get done.. Mounted the exhaust ports onto the bottom panel by cuttin a few holes to match the four pipes.


Of course, in my haste, I cut the small holes too large and had to add a support piece in behind with the correct size holes.  I used the plate as my template, but forgot that the small tubes were smaller at the other end.  doh!


Thankfully I didnt make the same mistake on the other side lol..


Onto the side panels. Luckily I didn't have to print any of this since they are just flat panels, and my printer is still down.  So I used .08" thick styrene sheet.  Going off the reference pics, I drew up the design for the panel sections and seams.


I used thinner sheets to make the subpanels that break up the flat surface. I also curved the left end of the panel to create the waste-gate, or gills that are on each side of the speeder.


A closer up shot of the front gill.  I cut away the center portion of the front nose, and will add some wire mesh in behind for effect.


Then I added some faux hinges on the right to simulate an access panel.


Movin on to the other side, this panel will be a bit more involved, since it has the video card fans, and will have a window integrated into it so you can see all the PC components inside.


After taking measurements withe the EVGA 1080 SC2 in place, I figured out where the fan grills were going to be, so I started cutting the slots out.  Beginning with pilot holes for each slot, I used the scroll saw to finish the job.


Slots cut, now I can figure out the rest of the panel, and where the window will go.  I must have gone through 6 or 7 different designs before settling on one I liked.


Even with the window as large as I could make it, I decided to go with a barn door style hinged panel so I could open it up completely.


I finally get to use these acrylic hinges I've had laying around for a couple years. These will go on the window side..


..and just standard metal hinges for the left.  I'm splitting the barn doors right at the fan grills.


Hinges on!


And a close up of the acrylic hinges.


Now with the panels finally done, I can start prepping for paint!  I still have a few items left to fabricate, like the windshield, seat, and some random engine detail parts, but the main body is complete.  I spent the last few hours on Sunday smoothing all the remaining parts with the epoxy putty, and will be sanding everything tonight, and hopefully get things primed.  Then I'll be painting and detailing the rest of the week.

I've been following this build on another board and have had the chance to see several of Boddaker's mods in person at PDXLAN.  This is by far my favorite build of his.

Jszupiany
I've been following this build on another board and have had the chance to see several of Boddaker's mods in person at PDXLAN.  This is by far my favorite build of his.

Thanks Jszupiany, did we meet at the lan?

Awesome, just awesome.

Awesome work!

Just great. Looking forward to final pics.

Hehe thanks guys!

Ok time for final pics!  woot  It's been a wild, fast and crazy ride, but it's done and just in time for the contest deadline.  whew!  

So here's the pics, not the best, but I needed to get them uploaded to Cooler Master quickly last night.  And I will be doing another shoot outside in the sunlight as well... Anyway, enjoy!



























I had so much fun building this case, but it wouldn't have been possible without all the help and support from my sponsors:
Primochill for all of the liquid cooling gear and the insanely beefy CPU block
EVGA for getting me one of the first Z270 mITX motherboards available, and a 1080Ti SC2 video card
Crucial for the 16Gb DDR4 Ballistix Elite memory kit and two 525Gb MX300 SSD's
Corsair for the SFX 600w psu, RGB lighting and fan kits, as well as a keyboard and mouse which will be painted up to match the case
Intel for providing me with a 7700k processor

Thanks everyone for all your comments and support as well.. It's all very much appreciated!

Looks sick!