For the Mod Shop Comic Book Challenge, I designed an Iron Man Mark 1 case mod. Based on the Iron Man comic book and upcoming movie, Tony Stark was captured by the enemy and forced to design and build weapons. In order to save his life and escape from the captivity, he builds the Iron Man Mark 1 suit from spare parts and components. This case mod attempts to capture the essence of the Mark 1 Suit in PC Form.

(YouTube Video at Bottom of Page)

Here are the Key Features of the Iron Man Mark 1 Case Mod:

- Iron Man Mask – True to the Hero, the mask that is attached to the right side of the case was shaped by hand from a single sheet of metal. To accentuate the mask at night, a light source is attached to give it a menacing glow.

- “Iron Man” Text – The IRONMAN text is designed in big bold block letters, and consists of a weathered metallic front layer and a UV reactive layer. The UV layer glows when black light is applied.

- Coolant Level Window – On the right panel, a window was constructed as a visual indicator to the coolant level. In addition to the coolant tubing, conduit was added to give the appearance of internal machine wiring.

- Top Exhausts Vents – Top Exhaust vents were fabricated and attached the case to direct the hot air to the rear of the case. Welding lines were added to the exhaust to give and industrial appearance.

- Dual Fill Ports – Two fill ports were mounted on the top to allow the coolant to be easily added to the cooling loop. Each fill port is attached to a different cooling loop.

- Hard Drive Windows – Typically hard drives are hidden deep inside the computer. For this project, they are brought to the forefront. The inner mechanics of the HD can be easily seen though the side panel window, which has been framed by rivets and mesh.

- Large Side Panel Window – The Large Side panel window is same shape as the Mark 1 eyelet. The large windows allow people to easily see the inner components of the computer as well as the exotic liquid cooling.

- Industrial Appearance – The initial case was made from pristine brushed aluminum. To give the case an industrial feel, the case was heavily weathered, along with the use of dark gray hammered accent colors and rivets.

- Case Lighting – The case uses a combination of black lighting and other colors to bring the case to life at night. The coolants are UV reactive and glow and eerie color as it moves through the case. In addition, yellow cold cathode lighting is used to clear high light the heavy duty computer hardware.
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Radioactive Reservoir – The lower portion of the case houses a 15” long cylinder resolved filled with UV Yellow coolant. This coolant glows bright when black light is applied. An outer cylinder cage was built to give the case the appearance it is nuclear powered as you see the yellow ooze flow in the tubes.

- Iron Man Heart – To simulate the pace maker like device on Tony Stark chest. A cylinder reservoir is was mounted to the case and glows bright blue when the computer is powered on.

- Super Computing Power – The computer components in this case mod would make Tony Stark proud. This case features the latest generation and best of breed computer hardware available. This is truly a Super Computer.

Computer Specifications:

Processor: Intel Quad Core
Motherboard: NVIDIA 790i Ultra
Graphics Card: (2) BFG 9800 GX2 – Quad SLI
Memory: 2GB Crucial Ballistix DDR3 2000 (PC 16000)
Case: Silverstone TJ07
PSU: Silverstone Decathlon 1200 Watt
Water Cooling:
CPU Block: Danger Den Copper TDX 775
Graphics: (2) Danger Den 9800 GX2
Radiator: (2) Black Ice Pro 240
Pump: DDC-12v & CPX1
Hard Drives: Western Digital Raptor X & Western Digital Raptor 150

My Work Log for this case is Listed Below:

Post 1 – The Start
Post 2 – Exhaust Vents
Post 3 – Iron Man Mask
Post 4 – Panel Work
Post 5 – Reservoir and Front Panel Work
Post 6 – Monster Power and Radiator
Post 7 – Super Computer Parts
Post 8 – Water Block Installation
Post 9 – Panel Detailing

I built Project13 from scratch using .080 raw aluminum and 3/16” Dark Red acrylic. The Aluminum was cut using a Pin router using guides and jigs. After getting everything cut I sanded the aluminum to give it a brushed aluminum look and added and automotive clear coat. The Lasered acrylic was then added using 1/4” standoffs and Hex bolts. I anodized dark red some hex mesh, some 120mm aluminum fans and the front bezels to match the case.

The details of the rig are custom under lit lighting on side windows and the front fan holes. Also underneath there is a ring of LED’s that give the case an under glow. I also added led’s to the Slim line enclosure just to give more interior glow.

I also made the case have an removable motherboard tray using a drawer kit from home depot. I had to modify it a bit to get it to work and then paint it but all it all it works pretty well. I don’t really ever remover the tray I just slide it out to work on thing or tweak it. The cords are long and designed to fold up under the tray when it is pushed in.

Specs:
AMD FX-57 w/ Red Fatality Cooler
Sapphire Pure 580 Xfire Mobo
Sapphire Toxic X1900 CF card
X-Fi Gamer edition
2GB Red GSkill DDR400

PCP&P 500W PSU.
Pioneer Slim line DVD with SATA converter
Red Matrix Orbital