keep the brightness down a little. I’ve
also incorporated a Nixie tube clock
above the plasma disk, which
is backlit with green LEDs.
We love the mottled metal
effect on the outside of the case –
how did you achieve this??
Aaron: All of the paint work on the
case came from spray cans. I wanted
it to look like weathered iron. I used
a grey ‘hammered effect’ paint to
cover the majority of the case, and
the other accents come from a spray
paint that comes really close to
looking like actual copper. I also used
a lot of flat black brushwork to wash
over almost every part of the case,
which is an easy way to make it look
more worn and older than it is.
What’s that on the side panel?
Aaron: I originally had some cogs
on the side; along with the open fan
grille in the front, these were made
from fan covers that I purchased
from Mnpctech. However, I felt that
area was one of the parts that didn’t
work for the aesthetics once I’d
figured out that what I’d built wasn’t
really steampunk. The grille that’s
there now is actually the base of the
Revenant statue that came with the
collector’s edition of Doom (2016).
I found a weirdly sized 170mm fan
that fits into it and aids cooling.How did you create the wood
panelling effect on the front?
Aaron: The wood effect is made with
a high-quality textured vinyl, and it
just about passes for the real thing.Take us through the water-
cooling system – how did you go
about planning the loop, as well
as routing and cutting/bending
the piping?
Aaron: The water-cooling system
came together slowly. The pipe is
all copper with soldered copper
fittings. I knew that I wanted as
much of that piping to be visible
on the side as possible. So, with
that in mind, I laid out the major
components in the available space
and figured out the best way to route
a single-loop system.
The only connection that isn’t
copper is the one between the