SRL Archive - Gaming

My brother had a spare Xbox case top laying around, so naturally I decided to start chopping it up.


The plan is to get a couple of LEDs in the four corners (furthest corners - not the inside ones), and a strip underneath the middle part of the case where it says XBOX 360, and sync them with the LEDs on the front on the console to light up when it's turned on, and when a controller is connected, as well as glowing when it's turned off (front ones already do that).

I want to paint the two big panels (one in the picture and the one opposite that) yellow, and every other panel black (including buttons on the front). Not sure on what colour to make the HDD and disc tray. The problem I now have is that my front LEDs are blue, so I'm going to see how they look with the colours when it's done, and if I don't like it I'll change them to yellow to match the case. Depending on what I like, the side LEDs will be the same as the front.

I went a bit mad when I was using the dremel cutting out the panel (red square), so had to fill that with filler and sand it down after filing and sanding the edges, which took hours.

As well as looking (hopefully) decent, it'll stay cooler and run much better.

I'll keep you posted, including pics! :D


Final result (click here)

:D I like.

I'll hopefully get it painted tomorrow, so we'll see how it looks. Still need to get the LEDs though.

Looking forward to the painted edition :)

Cool! all creative and stuff :P I'd never be able to do that

Nicee.. looks like it's gonna be awesome when it's fully painted

Got it all painted now.






First I rubbed the main panels down with some wet and dry (1200), then cleaned them up. Laid them out in the garden and gave each part a few coats a spray paint. As you can see in the second to last picture, I decided to paint the disc tray yellow, and HDD black. The big piece in the last picture is the fan cover which goes inside. Since the case is open, I couldn't leave it white. The other pieces are the two memory card flaps, the light ring, and the power button. I'm going to have to scratch some paint off with a pin since the light only just shines through (tested it with a random power brick LED).

Now I'm just leaving it to dry for a few hours, and then I'll wet and dry it with 1200 again to get out any lumps or dust, and finally polish it up. Almost there!

Wow that looks great! You should paint in the "XBOX 360" on the side black so it stands out more, if you can (stencil?). So the side is going to be open, not covered by a plastic sheet or anything? Sounds cool.

alot of people put clear glass/plexyglass/plastic where they cut out holes. it makes for a cool look and keeps dust out

From: TomTuff
Wow that looks great! You should paint in the "XBOX 360" on the side black so it stands out more, if you can (stencil?).

Thanks! I'm not going to do that mainly because I'd probably mess it up, and I'd rather not take the risk.

From: TomTuff
So the side is going to be open, not covered by a plastic sheet or anything? Sounds cool.

From: bolshak25
alot of people put clear glass/plexyglass/plastic where they cut out holes. it makes for a cool look and keeps dust out

I don't think I'm going to put plexy over it. Even with the sides standard, a hell of a lot of dust gets inside. Having not plexy means it'll run cooler, and I can just hoover it out when I need to.

Just polished it up; didn't bother to wet and dry it again. I'm just about to go and paint the disc drive black, since I don't want to be able to see some murky grey when I look inside. I'll leave that to dry over night, and it'll be ready to put together in the morning (apart from the LEDs).

I'm excited to see it with LEDs. :D Could you put a video on youtube? <3

dude, use an MCU to make the LEDs flash and do different things, not just have them light up :)

Do not use a vacuum to clean it out though! Static!

From: Nava2
Do not use a vacuum to clean it out though! Static!

Eh? Its not like its attached to the XBox still… It'll discharge before he puts it back on.

BTW looking good. :)

From: i luffs yeww
I'm excited to see it with LEDs. :D Could you put a video on youtube? <3

Sure. It'll be a while before I put them on since I still need to get them.

From: Awkwardsaw
dude, use an MCU to make the LEDs flash and do different things, not just have them light up :)

Well I plan to sync them with the front LEDs which already glow when the Xbox is off.

From: Nava2
Do not use a vacuum to clean it out though! Static!

I've done it before :o

From: Narcle
Eh? Its not like its attached to the XBox still… It'll discharge before he puts it back on.

BTW looking good. :)

I suppose I could air line it instead..? Anyway, thanks! :D

Just put it together! :D







It's actually off here. The LEDs were fading like I said they do. That's why the power light is off.

And turned on…

The size sort of bugs me…

From: Yago
The size sort of bugs me…

me as well.

From: Yago
The size sort of bugs me…

From: Nava2
me as well.

Changed them. So what do you think of the case?

It looks excellent! Nicely done, I am considering doing the same to mine! :O

From: Nava2
It looks excellent! Nicely done, I am considering doing the same to mine! :O

Haha thanks! :D If you do end up doing yours, just remember to not be gentle with the case. Literally rip that face plate off; you're more likely to break it being gentle.

From: Rich
Haha thanks! :D If you do end up doing yours, just remember to not be gentle with the case. Literally rip that face plate off; you're more likely to break it being gentle.

Interesting instructions. But duly noted lol

did you do this by yourself? if you used a guide could you please pm me a link, i want to do this as a summer project :]

From: Failpailirl
did you do this by yourself? if you used a guide could you please pm me a link, i want to do this as a summer project :]

I did it all by myself; made it up as I went along really. The only reason I painted it was because of the scratch when cutting it, because I had to fill it and the colour wouldn't match. I can write up a quick guide if you want?

From: Rich
I did it all by myself; made it up as I went along really. The only reason I painted it was because of the scratch when cutting it, because I had to fill it and the colour wouldn't match. I can write up a quick guide if you want?

that would be great, i mean i dont really need instruction as to paint it, im assuming you just used spray paint cans for that, but what im worried about is getting the old casing off and putting the new one on, and also how do you get the different LED lights to work, ect.

From: Failpailirl
that would be great, i mean i dont really need instruction as to paint it, im assuming you just used spray paint cans for that, but what im worried about is getting the old casing off and putting the new one on, and also how do you get the different LED lights to work, ect.

For painting:
Key the surface with a really fine wet and dry sheet (800 - 1200)
Give it a good clean
Paint it with acrylic (2 - 4 coats) (15 - 30 minutes between coats)
Leave to dry for a few hours
If you want a really smooth surface, wet and dry it again
Polish it up (car polish works fine [Mer])

I can't be bothered to take my Xbox apart again today, so I'll see if I can get it done tomorrow.

Also put all the pics in a video:
Clicky here