Mod of the Month - July 2008

Paperazzi

by acey
Worklog

For everyone who is wondering what celebrity, cameraman or pop-culture icon this case will be about, just go ahead and forget it. There may have been some celebrities mangled in the quest for this case, but most likely that's just pulp fiction.

Okay, I think that was officially my worst one-liner ever. Let's get on to the case at hand.

Paperazzi is certainly an apt play on words - for anyone who remembers the awesome $0 scratch mod by -equilerex-, well...I think acey may just have it beat for creative material usage. The final bill of materials includes: an old junk case, paper, more paper, lots more paper, some glue, water, a couple pieces of scrap acrylic, and...paper. Oh, and a couple cans of cheap spray paint.

Yep, that's right, it's a mod made out of paper.


The tool of choice - a pile of paper and a CD sleeve full of water. Not sure what that'll get you? Well, neither was acey, so he did a lot of trial and error before committing to his material. This fan is a good indication of that work.


Once the technique was perfected, it was on to the modding. Chipped and shredded paper was soaked in water and glue, making a mixture that was somewhere between bondo and concrete when it dries. First the panels of the junk case were coated with a base layer, then details were added, slowly layering up. The right side (above) involved several steps and a couple revisions.


Due to the non-destructive nature of his material, acey was able to try, try again until he found a left panel design that he liked. The final cut is way different from the starting attempt, and adds a bit of creepy appeal to the final product.


How do you make a fangrille that looks properly organic, blocks a bit of light and still functions well enough with just a big piece of acrylic? With a drill and files, apparently - acey didn't have a Dremel on hand.


The front panel and top panel also got incredibly detailed works that sit somewhere halfway between prehistoric and biomech. Of course, they've had a bit more work done on them since...

Actually, acey has finished up this project in just the last couple days - but so that you can truly appreciate the scope of his efforts with such an unusual material, I'm leaving all final and even most painting pics out of here. If you want to see how it's turned out, head to his worklog - you won't be disappointed.

But before you do, if you're impressed at the ingenuity of turning a bunch of shredded paper into an impressively crafted mod, make sure you stop by to vote for Paperazzi as Mod of the Month for July!