Tie P5 Advanced

[imfaceroll]

Hey guys! got a lot of cutting done, I finished a lot of the back frame work as well at the wings.

Of course there was a lot of cutting involved, lots more Aluminium channels hand sawed to size.

And the clean up work with the file so I do not get cut.

Lots and lots of cuts complete.

Here is the side frame work that i raised off of the ground just to make sure that i cut the joining tabs in the correct positions.

And here is the frame work from 3 different angles.

We also managed to join the wings together as well, they will be given their angle once they are welded.

I hope you are all enjoying the progress so far =)​

 

[imfaceroll]

Hey guys =) here is progress 5 video of our TIE Advanced PC build. I hope you all enjoy.

 

[imfaceroll]

Hey guys, more updates for you all =) we started cutting into the core p5 cases today and our idea with this build is to use all of the main features of the core p5 within this TIE fighter PC.

I cut out the back section of the ball also which the cables will be running through and also provides access into the back of the build.

I also cut out the metal bar running across the 4 quarters because I will be installing some metal rods to act as mounting points and to give strength.

Here is the wonderful Thermaltake Core P5 case that I am about to tear apart (sorry Thermaltake). I lines it with painters tape and marked out where i want to cut the motherboard tray out.

The 4 corners of the P5 have braces helping it to keep its strength and shape. I drilled out the rivets and unscrewed them and i will be using these later on.

The motherboard tray if now cut out and ready to be shaped to fit within the ball.

A quick test fit before we start cleaning up those edges

Time to clean up those edges with the file and grinding stone.

We also got to cut out the radiator mounts and clean it all up using the same process as the motherboard tray.

And here is where we are at with the build so far.

I hope you are all enjoying the progress guys =)​

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

Superb.

How many hours so far do you think?

 

[imfaceroll]

Superb.

How many hours so far do you think?

man iv lost count. Iv been working on it for the past 2 months non stop apart from normal work hours and sleep. Most nights i work on it until 10pm hahaha

 

[imfaceroll]

For this update i ended up working on a mounting section for the PSU. As always I like to use weird things or things laying around to build with. Well I just happened to have a brick vent and some drawer sliders, lets create something.

here are the drawer sliders that i will be using.

here is the brick vent that I am using, I am temporarily using some nuts bolts to hold it in place before it gets welded.

I will be using the Thermaltake Core P5 PSU mounting system and welding it to the brick vent.

and this is where i will be seating the PSU within the build.

The PSU slides in and out and locks VIA magnets. The cables i have are 90cm long so there is lots of slack on them to safely open and close the sliders.

 

[imfaceroll]

Progress 6 video guys =) it is starting to take shape!

 

[imfaceroll]

Hey guys, got quite a bit done over the last couple of days, the whole frame is all welded and we now have some steel rods in for extra support.

As I said earlier I wanted to save the core p5 support brackets to use later on in the build and this is what I needed them for. To prevent any flex in the rod etc, I used these brackets to square up the nut and bolt so it didn't screw into the ball on an angle. The hollow inside of the bracket also means i can route a small LED bulb through and light up the gun. The rod will be cut short in future progress.

The whole aluminium frame has been spot welded, all that is left to do is clean up the welds with the grinder.

The steel support rods also acted as a great support for welding the motherboard tray to.

The Core P5 PSU mounting system has been welded in place on the brick vent and this was then welded to the sliders.

I started shaping up some body work using this mould-able aluminium, was a very easy cut for the dremel.

I put some expandable foam on the Aluminium channel and carved it out so that it had a nice defined point instead of a flat surface. This helped me to mould the aluminium to the wing shape i needed.

I used a bit of araldite adhesive to hold the aluminium in place and just taped it up for extra support while i filled in the gaps with some expandable foam.

Once again the carving starts, fairly easy light weight stuff to work with. My aim is to make a smooth transition from the ball to the wings.

Once again filling in the gaps with the foam on the underside.

Then using my hands pushing it into those gaps and giving it a bit of shape.

I hope you are all enjoying the progress so far. More shortly.​

 

[ste2425]

How heavy is it with all that metal bolted on now? It looks quite weighty. But still pretty impressive.

 

[imfaceroll]

How heavy is it with all that metal bolted on now? It looks quite weighty. But still pretty impressive.

yeah its gona be a heavy build but i am building it just as a display rig instead of a lan rig etc so it doesnt bother me =)

 

[imfaceroll]

Progress 7 video guys, i hope you all enjoy =)

 

[imfaceroll]

In Today's progress i fill out the back section with the mouldable aluminium and work out mounting the radiator mounts.

Lots of dremel cutting today, don't have the grinder until later so it will have to do

A bit of Araldite 2 part adhesive to hold the aluminium sheets in place for now.

One sheet moulded into shape

now the second is applied and everything is taped down so it can dry and i can continue working.

Time to shape up some of that foam, i just used a cheap knife to carve at it

Nice and square now, gives me a base height of where i need to start the body from.

Time to play around with the radiator positioning.

Grinding down the lips on the Core P5 Radiator mount so that it sits flush with my frame work

And of course a bit of clean up

Now i am drilling some holes and riviting the radiator mount to the frame work.

Using the grinder to remove some of the excess aluminium on the ends

In order for me to route the tubes i need to face the radiator ports down, so i had to cut part of the radiator mounts wider in order to fit the fittings in.

A nice easy test fit

I hope you are all enjoying the progress.​

 

[imfaceroll]

Lots to get done in a short amount of time! Just started on the last section of the body using the mould-able aluminium.

Finally got our hands on the grinder to cut this aluminium out faster!

Used some tape to hold the sheets in place while i am working with the build.

Got the grinder out to cut the curve shape into the back end.

Turned out nicely if i do say so myself =)

Flipped the build over to repeat the same process

To keep that nice even edge i put some foam in between the top and bottom pieces

Then added a bit of tape to keep it all in place while the foam dries

All dry now so time to carve out the excess foam and clean the edges up!

I hope you guys like the progress so far!​

 

[imfaceroll]

Progress 8 video guys =) I hope you are all enjoying these progress videos, it helps me to show you all a little extra that you may miss and helps to give you all an understanding of where i am heading with this build. =)

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

Im going to swear in a minute.....wait for it.......


its fucking ace.

 

[imfaceroll]

Im going to swear in a minute.....wait for it.......


its fucking ace.

haha thank you so much =)

 

[imfaceroll]

Time to get some strength into the build guys! This build is going to have some weight but who cares =) it is only going to be a display build, so lets get stuck into it!

Starting to fibre glass the body everyone, i started by coating the body with the resin before applying the first layer

As i add the layers i brush more of the resin stuff over it to make sure there are no dry patches.

Three layers later and this is what it looks like

All dry now and cured so its time to cut off the excess fibre glass.

On to the windows of the TIE fighter now everyone, I got the vinyl plotter out to stick some vinyl down to use as a cutting guide

weeding the bits of vinyl off that we do not need

Now i am sticking the vinyl down on some application tape so i can apply it easier

cutting it to shape

Sticking it onto the acrylic, there are a couple of rough spots but lucky this is only a guide =)

Time to Jigsaw the acrylic with our plastic cutting blade

Final result!

A bit of sanding to clean up the jigsaw marks

Here are some other windows we cut out using the same process.

Anyone want some BBQ acrylic?

The heat of the BBQ heats up the acrylic evenly where as the heat gun is good for maintaining heat in areas. I used the cut outs of the ball i had left over as a mould to get the curve in the acrylic. After that any waves left in the acrylic i can hit with the heat gun.

I plan on etching panel details into the build so today i am layering a 3mm thick layer of body filler over the body. The body filler is also a good surface for me to paint when smooth.

I hope you are all enjoying the progress =)​

 

[imfaceroll]

Progress 9 video! i hope you are all enjoying the progress, i need to get moving on the build, only 9-10 days left!

 

[imfaceroll]

You guys know how much i love the sanding so i have more for you today and a nice looking TIE Advanced body.

Starting off with the orbital sander to bring the body filler down nice and smooth, was a very fast process with the 80 grit paper.

Finishing off the side sections with the delta sander as it is much smaller.

Also took the time to get the join of the two sections nice and sharp

And here is the shaped up body

Will need to add a bit of grease back into the sliders

Time to start some detailing! Firstly with the front cut outs. I need to wipe down the wings to apply some vinyl as a cutting guide

Now that the vinyl is applied it is time to get the grinder out

A bit of hammering and using the flat head screw driver and we get it out.

Just a bit of dremel work to clean it all up

Now to install a back piece in there to work off of. I cut out some acrylic pieces and sanded them to side

A bit of araldite will hold it in place

Now i am using our foam again to fill in the edges

I also removed some of the steel rod on the guns so that i could foam around them to form up the guns.

This bigger piece that i put on the BBQ was a bit too big for the mould so it got a couple of waves around the outside. I concentrated the heat gun on each individual wave to get them all flat.

As you can see, the front half has been fixed, time for the second half of waves.

Here is what the TIE Fighter looks like with the windows on

Foam is finally dry! time to carve!

I hope you are all enjoying the progress, more shortly.​

 

[ste2425]

That's incredible. Errm lots of dust, how are you going to get into the crevices inside to clean

 

[imfaceroll]

That's incredible. Errm lots of dust, how are you going to get into the crevices inside to clean

lots of blowing from the air compressor and wipes with some micro fibre cloths =)

 

[imfaceroll]

Here is progress video 10 =) i hope you all enjoy

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

Did you damage the internal structure with the grinder when you did the first cut-out?

 

[imfaceroll]

Did you damage the internal structure with the grinder when you did the first cut-out?

nope, that bar was placed there just to get the nice sharp point on the side bit, it wont do anything to the structure =)

 

[imfaceroll]

Mundi a good friend from ICEMODZ.COM Has provided the build with some custom sized cables made from quality MDPC-X, these cables are longer than standard lengths to create some loose cable for the sliding PSU tray. The colours also suit the star wars theme a lot better!