Make:

Besides the side-mounted telephone one of the most striking features on this case are the dual electric gauges. One measures amperage, the other core voltages. This can be implementing by simply buying some cheap multimeters that use a needle, mounting them into the case and attaching their leads to the system's power inputs.

As with many of the case mods I've covered the modder has once again taken the time to "distress" the paint job and give it a used look. This can be done simply by sanding the existing finish on a case, but for a great look you can apply a couple coats of slightly different colored spray paint (say, dark gray and light gray) and then sand certain areas to reveal the layers. The bullet holes are a great addition, it really lends to the feel of the unit.

I realize the "distressed paint" theme has shown up in several of my Best PC Mod picks... I guess it's because Make asked me to pick out the mods I personally found interesting, not necessarily the most complex or fancy. In my online journeys I've seen plenty of awesome mods, many award-winning, but to be honest if I didn't find them visually appealing I passed them over for this series.

More distressed paint, old fashioned push buttons and a floppy drive (that almost dates back to WW2) The judicious use of what I assume are pop rivets is great, it really sells the idea that this is a piece of hardware from the 40's.

Whenever the modder makes the keyboard match the case they get bonus points in my book. It's not too difficult to pop off keys, spray paint then, parts of the keyboard case, etc, so why not do it?

On the other end of the spectrum, imagine if the modder hacked on old Underwood typewriter to work with this case! I've seen some Steampunk mods that kind of look that way.

Top view. The carrying strap is great because it makes it look more like an old radio, plus you can carry it around for LAN parties and the like. I wonder if anyone's ever made a really kick-ass portable non-laptop PC for LAN parties? I mean screen and all? Maybe I should one of these days, but it would have to have a huge screen!

Detail of the headset and Wolfenstein logo - the color scheme and finish of this unit is just perfect. When choosing a look it's important to consider color harmony - I won't get into it here but if you're unfamiliar do a web search. Certain colors look good together, others don't. Some of the newer Adobe programs have a complementary color pick built-in, allowing you to cheat.

Also a lot of the basic (read: cheap) spray paints are only in fairly generic colors. To get better shades you'll often have to spend more, but it's worth it.

More great details on the left side of the case, including a reference to an obscure German movie (no, not the one with the evil robot woman). The electrical rating plate in the lower left is just gold, as is the antenna above it. Again, the modder has kept a very consistent theme with this case and it adds to the awesome-ness of it all.

RE the color harmony mentioned above, the shade of red used here goes well with the green. It's not only just the color itself but the intensity of it that is important to consider. Typically every color used should be of a consistent saturation, in this case, both the red and greens are fairly muted.

Full view of the case. As with the Telecalculograph, this was built up from a standard PC case but that doesn't mean it can't still be a great-looking mod. By using existing parts you save yourself the time of building them from scratch (a practice I usually only preach) and thus can spend the time you save making the rest of it look awesome.

-Ben Heckendorn
www.benheck.com