clear vinyl, which was then
applied to the Plexiglas case-
face much like any appliqué.
When the computer’s powered
on, the whole kit-and-caboodle
lights up like Dean Martin on
a three-day bender. When the
computer’s off, the innards of
the case are just barely vis-
ible beneath the visage. It was
important to Bright that, on
or off, the case make for an
attractive piece of wall art.
In his words: “I wanted
something that could be
placed in my living room and
actually accent the style of the
place... not scream out, ‘big
geek lives here’.”W
hen you step inside
Sheldon Bright’s living
room, you know you’re
in for a good time. The guy’s got
a 3-foot, neon-lit, martini glass
on his wall, for Pete’s sake! It’s
not just for show, either. The
stylish aluminum-and-Plexiglas
sculpture artfully conceals a
no-holds-barred entertain-
ment center PC, replete with an
Athlon XP 3200+, ATI Radeon
All-in-Wonder 9700 Pro, 120GB
Seagate S-ATA hard, and Sony
DVD-CD/RW drive. That’s quite
a cocktail of components.
It’s no surprise that Mr.
Bright’s a veteran of the sign
industry. Few others would
have the know-how and
resources to execute such a
project. For starters, Bright
photographed a real-life mar-
tini, tweaked the image to
his liking in Coral , and then
vectorized the artwork. Sheets
of thin aluminum were cut
to scale on a router table,
and then fed into an Accu-
Bend machine programmed
to manipulate the metal into
its present form (notice` the
graceful curves and contours
of the case’s profile).
An instrument known as a
Gerber Edge was used to print
an image of the martini ontoRig of the Month
Fueled by“In the end, it was all about
stealthing,” says Bright.
That’s evident from his crafty
positioning of all the com-
ponentry. Still, the interior’s
not all about organization.
The martini motif is carried
through to the engraved
acrylic surfaces of both the
PSU and DVD drives.Mod. Overclock. Never Sleep!A series of colorful cold-
cathodes, cables, and
LEDs bring Bright’s cock-
tail to life. Spiral cathode
fans on the outside of
the case cast an ambi-
ent green glow. And how
‘bout that red wall on
which the case is hang-
ing? Way to go, Shelly.THIS MONTH: Sheldon Bright’s Martini Glass
For his winning entry
Sheldon Bright wins
$1,000 and a case of
BAWLS to fuel his late nights of
modding. You can win too! See
previous page for contest details.144 MAXIMUMPC DECEMBERH 2003