incorporate into
the case without
going too far. A lot of the
process just involved taking
ideas from my head and working
on them one at a time, with some
careful measuring and cutting. I’m
not sure a single idea even went onto
paper – there were a lot of Sharpie
marks on the case before I painted
over it all.What case did you base this on
and why?
Aaron: The case was one produced
by Deepcool called the Steam Castle.
It looks more like a retro refrigeratorAaron Fredregill transformed his Deepcool
Steam Castle case into a dieselpunk stunner,
with hand-cut copper piping, a Nixie tube
clock and a plasma disk on the front panel
Die Wasserkammer
(The Water Chamber)
Readers’ drives
What was your original
goal when you set out to build
this system?
Aaron: My inspirations for any given
project are kind of hard to nail down.
I’m always building or modifying
something. I’d gone down the basic
gaming PC route a couple of times
already, and I finally decided that
I wanted to build a
unique system. I’m
a fan of steampunk,
horror and gothic vibes.
My original plan was
a steampunk theme.
However, several
people have pointed
out to me that what
I’ve built is more in line
with dieselpunk, being
a bit darker than the
more optimistic nature
of steampunk. I tend
to agree.Where did the
design process start?
Aaron: I knew the
different elements I
wanted to bring into
the design from the
start. It was then just
a matter of figuring
out how many of
those elements I could/MEET THY MAKER
Name Aaron Fredregill
Age 39
Occupation Automotive
technician
Location Lincoln NE, USA
Main uses for PC 3D
modelling/printing,
gaming and video editing
Likes Fast cars, espresso,
dogs and my wife!
Dislikes Silicon
chip shortagesMODDING / READERS’ DRIVES
than a PC case,
and I knew I could
work with it to make a PC fitting
of the ‘Die Wasserkammer’ name.How did you create the green
electrical storm effect on the front?
Aaron: That effect is actually created
by an active plasma disk. I’ve loved
the effect they create ever since I saw
one as a kid on Star Trek in the Borg
regeneration alcoves. It’s surrounded
by an open aluminium fan grille
from Mnpctech (mnpctech.com)
and a layer of plastic to which I’ve
applied some automotive tint to