The Cave - building my own (work)place

[Twokidsnosleep]

Holy cow on an entirely different level
Building your own PC. That is going to be sweet

I could never do that, well I don’t have the patience for the programming and integration of things to do that, especially with a PC format. I am a Mac monkey, there I admitted it.
I plan on making my shelving to house a future iMac like I have at the office...Tim just made a great shelving unit like that
If you haven’t seen the video:


Not to steal your thunder, you hobby cave is one of my favourites fore sure

[TommyKillander]

Holy cow on an entirely different level
Building your own PC. That is going to be sweet

I could never do that, well I don’t have the patience for the programming and integration of things to do that, especially with a PC format. I am a Mac monkey, there I admitted it.

Macs are great for trouble-free computer use so there's no need to build something if a Mac does the job for you
But they are not a choice for me; they have limitations that I don't like and they cost too much especially when moving into the higher specs.

I've been building my computers basically since it was possible to do it at a reasonable cost (early 90's and onwards); back then it was much cheaper than buying off-the-shelf units, but nowadays the cost are the same I think. The advantage is that with a DIY it's possible to put the money exactly where you want it.

I plan on making my shelving to house a future iMac like I have at the office...Tim just made a great shelving unit like that
If you haven’t seen the video:


Not to steal your thunder, you hobby cave is one of my favourites fore sure

No worries, I love the work Tim have done with his workspace and the shelves they look really really nice


Tommy

[digger303]

Holy cow on an entirely different level
Building your own PC. That is going to be sweet

I could never do that, well I don’t have the patience for the programming and integration of things to do that, especially with a PC format. I am a Mac monkey, there I admitted it.

Macs are great for trouble-free computer use so there's no need to build something if a Mac does the job for you
But they are not a choice for me; they have limitations that I don't like and they cost too much especially when moving into the higher specs.

I've been building my computers basically since it was possible to do it at a reasonable cost (early 90's and onwards); back then it was much cheaper than buying off-the-shelf units, but nowadays the cost are the same I think. The advantage is that with a DIY it's possible to put the money exactly where you want it.

I plan on making my shelving to house a future iMac like I have at the office...Tim just made a great shelving unit like that
If you haven’t seen the video:


Not to steal your thunder, you hobby cave is one of my favourites fore sure

No worries, I love the work Tim have done with his workspace and the shelves they look really really nice



I have built my own as well since windows 98. You get the machine you want then plus saving about a $800 to 1000 bucks and you can leave room for an upgrade path in the future. Where as some off the shelf boxes just can't be upgraded that much without a complete rebuild. I have changed my CPU ( computer processor unit ) and the graphics card since I built my present computer ( windows 7 ), but I don't think I will do anymore upgrades to it. ( cost rewards thing ). No My next one will be new, but hopefully not for sometime yet as it still plays BF4 well.
I should say that it is becoming easier to build your own every year as more of the software process is becoming automatic.



Tommy

[TommyKillander]

I have built my own as well since windows 98. You get the machine you want then plus saving about a $800 to 1000 bucks and you can leave room for an upgrade path in the future. Where as some off the shelf boxes just can't be upgraded that much without a complete rebuild. I have changed my CPU ( computer processor unit ) and the graphics card since I built my present computer ( windows 7 ), but I don't think I will do anymore upgrades to it. ( cost rewards thing ). No My next one will be new, but hopefully not for sometime yet as it still plays BF4 well.
I should say that it is becoming easier to build your own every year as more of the software process is becoming automatic.

I totally agree with you, the software installation process is much easier now and there are standardised libraries for sound, graphics and connectivity already in the OS. To squeeze out the most of the hardware some tweaking might be needed, but I'm not bothering with stuff like OC and optimising drivers anymore - the extra performance is not worth the effort.

Sooo......

The last parts needed to assemble the PC arrived yesterday, so all I need right now is some time




Tommy

[digger303]

Looking like it's going to happen soon...

[TommyKillander]

Looking like it's going to happen soon...

Yes, I finally got some time today, nothing planned for today and the kids are happy with all their new christmas presents

So the assembly of the PC continues....

This is the M.2 form-factor 512 GByte Solid State Disc - plugs directly into the motherboard


The Core i5 processor


DDR4 memory, CPU and fan in place!


Later today I will start installing WIndows 10 and setting up everything on my workbench.


Tommy

[Twokidsnosleep]

Looking good
Merry Christmas to you and a Happy New Year

[TommyKillander]

Looking good
Merry Christmas to you and a Happy New Year

Thanks buddy, you too!

My new computer is up and running now...

So next up is the interesting stuff (for this forum) - painting of the computer case!


Tommy

[demarcation]

Lovely stuff Tommy!! Looking forward to see the shiny case!!

A mate of mine has built several computers. He has also built an almost exact copy of a F1 steering wheel and seat for computer gaming, that's a bit of a crazy set up in his man cave!! But as he says real men never grow up....

[TommyKillander]

Lovely stuff Tommy!! Looking forward to see the shiny case!!

A mate of mine has built several computers. He has also built an almost exact copy of a F1 steering wheel and seat for computer gaming, that's a bit of a crazy set up in his man cave!! But as he says real men never grow up....

Thanks Anders!

It's been a hectic Christmas and New Year, so there haven't been much done on the computer... But yesterday I got some time

So the top cover of the computer case looks like this


First of all, put some primer on so the Acrylic paints will stick to the surface. It's Grey Ultimate Primer.


I mentioned earlier that it had a Swedish theme in mind:


So lets start by downloading the SwAF emblem and import the image into Silhouette Studio - resize the image to 10 cm diameter and cut a painting mask out of a Tamiya 87130 Masking Sheet


The roundel mask have been cut to size


A start with Yellow (because it's the lightest colour)




To get best possible result I prime the yellow areas again before I put on a mix of XF-8 and X-14 to get the right sky blue colour

I don't remember the mix exactly but 1:1 is my best guess

Time to mask up the blue area


The crown should have a black outline - very important! (not all decal manufacturer are aware of this)




Not happy with that, I need to trim the outline a bit




That's better. I will not remove the yellow frame, because I will never be able to get it back at the same location again...


Next up will be the cammo


Tommy

[digger303]

Camo....? you will never be able to find it

[Twokidsnosleep]

Oh I love it!!!

[TommyKillander]

Camo....? you will never be able to find it

One suggestion from an IPMS buddy was to put "digital"-cammo on it, since it's a computer
But that is too nerve-wrecking to do

Oh I love it!!!

Thanks Scott!


So after spending a couple of minutes (!) on the cammo-scheme I narrowed it down to 2 alternatives:

JA37 Viggen 4-colour splinter cammo


or J35 Draken Green/Blue


But I decided to go for the Viggen splinter

.....so let's get started!

I masked the emblem and started with the Tan colour: XF-52


Next up is the Light Green, a mix of Tamiya XF-67 Nato Green and XF-3 Yellow (7:3 ratio)


I missed a picture of this step but the next colour was Dark Green: XF-13 J.A. Green

And the last one is Black: XF-69 Nato Black


Unmasked!


Well, it's cool but a bit too busy with the details, so I had to fix that


This looks better!

I'm considering adding some more details (dayglo number, "FARA" at the air intake) but I have to think about that - I don't want to go OTT (too much)


Tommy

[sheppsea]

Look awesome mate - I love the splinter camouflage, I have a Viggen in the stash ready to try it once I feel skilled enough

[digger303]

Good show old chap...very well done.

[TommyKillander]

Look awesome mate - I love the splinter camouflage, I have a Viggen in the stash ready to try it once I feel skilled enough

Thanks sheppsea!

Good luck with your build, mate!
I got the Tarangus Viggen in my stash too, I plan to build it this year, possibly in the Coldwar GB!

Good show old chap...very well done.

Thanks digger303 - cheers mate!



Tommy

[DrSprue]

Wow everything in this thread just looks fantastic, well done Tommy!

[Twokidsnosleep]

THAT is cool

[TommyKillander]

Wow everything in this thread just looks fantastic, well done Tommy!

THAT is cool

Thanks Guys!

I have to come up with new things all the time to keep me from building kits


Tommy

[SteelScooter]

This looks wicked cool. My PCs are boring matt black - Gaming PC in the office upstairs and Home Theatre PC in the lounge. I think you should add numbers and some warning stencils if possible too. Great job.

[demarcation]

Splinter camo!! Looks awesome!

[TommyKillander]

Splinter camo!! Looks awesome!

Thanks Anders!


Tommy

[DrSprue]

Tommy what you have to do is add about a half dozen small Apple stickers... to show how many .... kills!

[TommyKillander]

Tommy what you have to do is add about a half dozen small Apple stickers... to show how many .... kills!

That's an awesome idea - if I where just a little more of a "PC vs. Apple Crusader" I would have done that



Anyway - the madness continues...

Added a "NO STEP" technical stencil (in Swedish ofcourse...)


Dayglo callsign and orientation mark


I used Faskolor paint for R/C Lexan bodies and I had no idea how that paint works, so I primed with white to make sure that the dayglo is bright enough


...looking good....


Unfortunately my mobile camera hates this colour, but it looks great IRL. I will take som better photos with my system camera



Tommy

[DrSprue]

Naa no PC vs. Apple stuff with me. Ive developed software for both machines a while ago, ..... To me I want to kill them both!! hehe.. both good machines tho in the end.

That box looks awesome tho!

[Twokidsnosleep]

BLOWN AWAY!!!
Just awesome, love the customization and bringing some real aircraft camo and details into something as mundane as a PC box.
And let’s face it, it doesn’t get more mundane than PC

[DrSprue]

BLOWN AWAY!!!
Just awesome, love the customization and bringing some real aircraft camo and details into something as mundane as a PC box.
And let’s face it, it doesn’t get more mundane than PC

.......

[TommyKillander]

BLOWN AWAY!!!
Just awesome, love the customization and bringing some real aircraft camo and details into something as mundane as a PC box.
And let’s face it, it doesn’t get more mundane than PC

Thanks Scott!

Yeah, back in the early 90s the PC computercases where beige/off-white-ish which meant that they picked up dirt really easy. All boxes had the same basic design - like a USSR-era household item. All component providers had their own idea what this colour should look like and the plastic turned yellow after a while (differently ofcourse).... And there where compatibility issues with CPUs, memories, boards and drivers and applications all the time....


Tommy

[TommyKillander]

Hey Guys!

Here's some better photos of the HTPC case. It's really hard to do the Dayglo justice on the photos... I messed around with some HDR software, but I could not get the effect I was looking for. But anyway.... here you go:










Tommy

[Twokidsnosleep]

Awesome

[DrSprue]

Just awesome !

[TommyKillander]

Thanks guys!


Tommy

[demarcation]

Cooler than cool Tommy!!

[TommyKillander]

Cooler than cool Tommy!!

Thanks Anders!


Tommy

[Tomcat64]

Thanks a stunning piece of work Tommy - really creative!

[papatika]

Woa! Absolutely fantastic!

This is your coolest build until now...

[TommyKillander]

Thanks a stunning piece of work Tommy - really creative!

Woa! Absolutely fantastic!

This is your coolest build until now...

Thanks, guys. You're awesome!


Tommy

[Lysus]

I have to say, I'm so glad to come back and find some truly evil ideas for me to execute should I find a new space soon.

Top work, Tommy!

[TommyKillander]

I have to say, I'm so glad to come back and find some truly evil ideas for me to execute should I find a new space soon.

Top work, Tommy!

Thanks Lysus!

Good to have you back


Tommy

[TommyKillander]

Okay, guys!

It's time to wake up this old buildthread again - I need to make som improvements to my workspace

I recently bought a 3D printer and at the moment it's "squatting" some space in my electronics workbench (which is not where I want it). It occupies space that I need to other stuff and it's quite noisy when it doing it's stuff...


My plan is to build a small bench with storage underneath so I can keep all the resin and IPA that I need for cleaning. I have cleaned out a small corner in the other end of the basement behind the base of the chimney.


I will use the same method as I did for the rest of the workspace and cast a rail in the floor where I can attach metal beams from floor to roof. I will attach walls and all the furniture to that structure.


It took 50 kg of concrete to fill the moulds and this time I had to mix by hand, since my conrete blender (called Kenny by my spouse) has finally been sent off to the next world - RIP Kenny


To be continued...

Tommy

[Gregwatters]

Wow looks like a fun project in a cool location looking forwards to more pics

[TommyKillander]

Wow looks like a fun project in a cool location looking forwards to more pics

Thanks

The basement is one place where no other of the family members wants to be, since there are lots of spiders
But I have no problems with that, so I'm free to do whatever I want in that area...



Okay... I have been really busy the last couple of days....

The concrete have cured over the night so we can proceed and try to fix some of the holes in the chimney





It's not super-beautyful work, but I'm not a bricklayer
Let's settle with that it's better than what the previous owner of this house achived...

Some white paint on the walls...


...and we can proceed to attach metal beams between the ceiling and the floor


Fitting the cabinet - it's the same IKEA furniture that I used for the rest of my workspace


And a peg-board is always good to have.


I made a small sideboard at a 45 degree angle. The bench has a laminate worktop, because I want something that is robust and easy to clean (resin is quite messy)


Addes ome power outlets and a LED lamp




I have not connected the electricity yet - I will do that tomorrow. I also need to add some wall boards so I can add racks and what not for storage, but that is something that I can do later when I get a feel what I need to put in the drawers and what to put on the walls



So this is what it looks like:




My long term plan is to make a better UV curing station.... and in that case I will have room for an FDM 3D printer also
...but don't tell my spouse


Tommy

[Twokidsnosleep]

You did great...that is major work on old construction that never knew the word ‘square’
Impressive
Sorry for your loss, I will light a candle for Kenny so he may pass freely to the afterworld where concrete mixers play carelessly in the meadows in the warm sun, rolling and spinning to their heart’s delight...tell me you didn’t picture that in your head

Now, inquiring minds want to know why there is a convenient ”Emergency Axe”on the wall

[TommyKillander]

You did great...that is major work on old construction that never knew the word ‘square’
Impressive
Sorry for your loss, I will light a candle for Kenny so he may pass freely to the afterworld where concrete mixers play carelessly in the meadows in the warm sun, rolling and spinning to their heart’s delight...tell me you didn’t picture that in your head

Yes yes... I think he is in a better place now; in the last years of his life he was suffering from terminal corrosion in his legs and a worn down bearing. Thank you for your condolences.

Now, inquiring minds want to know why there is a convenient ”Emergency Axe”on the wall

Oh, that one is for kit-bashing


Tommy

[Gregwatters]

Looks like an amazing space to exist in cozy and quiet.

[Davey]

Just new to this forum and revisiting my modelling skills after many years of inactivity and so happy I found this thread as it's given me many ideas for creating my own model-making space.

What an amazing cave, Tommy. Will be using this for inspiration going forward.
Davey

[TommyKillander]

Thank you guys!

I have added some plywood walls and started to populate it with some tools and stuff


And the first item out of the printer is a thing that I printed for a friend. Led Zeppelin fans will recognise it


I need to make a better UV curing station - but that is another project for the future...


Tommy

[Twokidsnosleep]

Uhhh, Tommy you look, umm, a bit different now

[TommyKillander]

Uhhh, Tommy you look, umm, a bit different now

Tommy

[Kingdan]

It's looking like a great space now Tommy hope it serves you well for years to come