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[Infamous Ob]

This some high quality work right here, definately.
I see it as artwork and not just a "Xbox Mini" project
that were all used to seeing. When you said that you
"used the heatbending method", that's when it OFFICIALlY
became art. Stuff like that makes me feel good to come back
on XS and see what the upcoming mod-generation is about.
From what I see, looks like I can honestly say, creativity is
the best part of modding, nothing else matters. It what you
can make out of something that's "the standard", and give it
life. Overall, it looks good man.


        -Infamous Ob, XS Legend

This post has been edited by Infamous Ob: Mar 31 2009, 08:14 PM

[MasterGouken]

QUOTE(Infamous Ob @ Mar 31 2009, 08:10 PM)

This some high quality work right here, definately.
I see it as artwork and not just a "Xbox Mini" project
that were all used to seeing. When you said that you
"used the heatbending method", that's when it OFFICIALlY
became art. Stuff like that makes me feel good to come back
on XS and see what the upcoming mod-generation is about.
From what I see, looks like I can honestly say, creativity is
the best part of modding, nothing else matters. It what you
can make out of something that's "the standard", and give it
life. Overall, it looks good man.
        -Infamous Ob, XS Legend

yeah this forum has slowed down alot these days, its a shame because the original xbox is so easily moddable and still has a lot of potential in it.
Thanks for the encouragement but you know im trying to replicate (to some degree) ghostavels work right? Its not exactly an original idea although most of the work done so far is based on my own guesses of how he did it. I only have the pictures he posted and the overall measurements to go on, but it is still an imitation of an original project , and no where as neat as his (as he had his panels laser cut and im cutting mine by hand).

[asimmon6]

excellent job.  looks great so far.  i'm actually almost done with a similar "xbox mini" inspired box.  i still have to finish the case and do the psu work.  my biggest difference is that i've actually hardwired all the outputs so I won't need to use any MS pack.  (right now i have composite, s-video, component, and both optical and coaxial digital audio jacks wired to the board and working)


i was wondering, if i'm seeing it right, you removed the male psu connector off the pw-200m board and just connected the sickmods adapter to the pins with wire, right?  that was what i was going to do to try and save room, but was wondering if you had any problems with it, or if there was anything i should know before i started it.  and did you just desolder the leads to remove it?

[MasterGouken]

QUOTE(asimmon6 @ Apr 1 2009, 01:22 PM)

excellent job.  looks great so far.  i'm actually almost done with a similar "xbox mini" inspired box.  i still have to finish the case and do the psu work.  my biggest difference is that i've actually hardwired all the outputs so I won't need to use any MS pack.  (right now i have composite, s-video, component, and both optical and coaxial digital audio jacks wired to the board and working)
i was wondering, if i'm seeing it right, you removed the male psu connector off the pw-200m board and just connected the sickmods adapter to the pins with wire, right?  that was what i was going to do to try and save room, but was wondering if you had any problems with it, or if there was anything i should know before i started it.  and did you just desolder the leads to remove it?

Yes i removed the atx connector from the pico psu to save space. It took a while to desolder the connections and i managed to ruin 1 psu by damaging a couple of the copper "o" rings on the pcb. My first attempt was with a 15 watt iron which obviously didnt get hot enough, so when i tried for the second time i used a 30 watt iron and it was much easier.
If you attempt this, use a desoldering pump first to get the majority of the solder off, then use desoldering braid/wick to get the rest and use flux around the points before desoldering, it helps.
Good luck with your "mini" project, i have a component cable for the xbox so i dont need to add the ports on the back as it uses the av port anyway. You should start a thread and post pics, i would be interested to follow your progress

[Galvatron898]

Sup,
Relica or not give yourself some credit that thing is sick!  You are kicking ass!

[MasterGouken]

QUOTE(Galvatron898 @ Apr 3 2009, 04:18 PM)

Sup,
Relica or not give yourself some credit that thing is sick!  You are kicking ass!

Thanks for the kind words.

Well yesterday i managed to drop the "u" shaped side piece (with the led holes and controller port in it) and break it so ive spent today remaking it   Its hard work trying to get it all to fit together neatly with the new piece but im working on it.
Im also still trying to come up with a good way of cutting the air/fan vents...i may have to it with my dremel and a steady hand  

[asimmon6]

yeah, know what you mean.  was painting mine and something fell on it breaking the top piece and the front panel.  i'll throw up some pics in a thread to show how mine is going, i'm not as good at making this stuff, so it probably won't look as good as yours.

also, for your controller ports, did you just take the breakaway cable and splice it into the wires that connect to the board?   i was trying to do that but couldn't get the controller to work.  just wondering, i would rather have the two small holes for the controller ports, rather than a big rectangle

[MasterGouken]

QUOTE(asimmon6 @ Apr 4 2009, 03:36 PM)

yeah, know what you mean.  was painting mine and something fell on it breaking the top piece and the front panel.  i'll throw up some pics in a thread to show how mine is going, i'm not as good at making this stuff, so it probably won't look as good as yours.

also, for your controller ports, did you just take the breakaway cable and splice it into the wires that connect to the board?   i was trying to do that but couldn't get the controller to work.  just wondering, i would rather have the two small holes for the controller ports, rather than a big rectangle

Well i've remade the faceplate and cut the holes again for the controller port, ir eye and led's. Yes, i used the breakaway cable part for the port as it kept the size down. I got the idea from "guy inthe back"s wip where he did the same thing (look for his Decepti-slim thread). I was going to originally use usb ports but this looks so much better.
I used a small piece of 2mm plexi and a 3mm piece to make a support as shown here:



The glue is still drying, sorry it doesnt show it better. The side of the case is 3mm so that plus the support i glued on means the hole for the port to sit in is 8mm which fits perfectly flush with the front.

Yes i wired it directly to the motherboard plug and it works fine. Check you dont have any wires touching each other, that could be the problem.

On another note, i'm worried that just gluing this case together will mean that it wont be very strong so i've ordered some 10mm diameter acrylic rod from ebay that i'm going to use as supports.
There will be 2 at the front (using 2 existing motherboard screwholes and attaching to the case bottom) and 2 at the back (one next to the 40mm fan and one next to the dvd connector socket)
These will hold both top and bottom pieces of the case together providing more strength.

Now im off to solder on the wires for the lan activity led whilst that glue dries

[MasterGouken]

Finally made the supports:



and a pic of them in place:

[NiC_CC]

looking great so far! sorry about the faceplate... I know the feeling and it sucks!

[MasterGouken]

QUOTE(NiC_CC @ Apr 9 2009, 11:38 PM)

looking great so far! sorry about the faceplate... I know the feeling and it sucks!

Thanks NIC, yes it does suck when things set you back. Luckily i ordered enough plexiglass to make up to 4 face pieces

Right now im working on a bracket for the wifi adapter and the ir pcb.

[rocky5]

That looks damn sexy how much would you charge to make one as that would look great in my living room.

[MasterGouken]

QUOTE(rocky5 @ Apr 11 2009, 01:26 AM)

That looks damn sexy how much would you charge to make one as that would look great in my living room.

Well considering the amount of cash ive spent already and the hours put into this xbox, i dont think you would be wanting to spend that much (you could probably get a ps3 for that kind of money).

Lets see, what have i spent so far...
£25 on a second hand xbox
£15 on plexiglass (at least)
£7 on acrylic rod
£33 on iceberq 4's
£39 on the pico psu
£30 on the AC DC adapter
£2 on led's
£50 on the laptop hdd

so thats £201 before i add in the other stuff i needed to do this xbox (workbench, wood for the mold, heatgun, etc) and it doesnt include parts i already had lying around (dvd dongle, 40mm fan, etc)

Also im in the UK, so shipping anywhere else would be an added expense...you may as well make one by yourself  

[Arttu]

I must say, that's impressive. Only negative note is that it isn't your own design (with the time and thought you've probably put it it, you could have drawn your own design aswell) , but it doesn't really matter when it looks that good. The best wip I've seen here so far.

Keep up the good work.

[MasterGouken]

QUOTE(Arttu @ Apr 12 2009, 11:07 AM)

I must say, that's impressive. Only negative note is that it isn't your own design (with the time and thought you've probably put it it, you could have drawn your own design aswell) , but it doesn't really matter when it looks that good. The best wip I've seen here so far.

Keep up the good work.

Thanks for the kind words.
I know its not an original design although i am making some changes that will make it a little bit different than ghostavels. For example, i only have the 1 controller port compared to his 4, i have no usb ports (although i may add one if i find a need for it), im using a reed switch for the on/off button, the overall size is slightly smaller...etc.

Also i had only his pictures to work from when constructing the case. The way his fits together is different to how my case does.
Heres a quick size comparison pic next to a normal sized xbox: