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Ok, here's what I ended up with after simplifying things: I'm repeating the trident window shape and spacing it off the mesh a bit so I can add some backlighting, then relocating the power/reset buttons and IO ports. That's it. Simple, consistent, clean. I gave it a lighter color in Sketchup so it was more visible over the blue mesh, but I may actually paint it along with the rest of the case, and just let the backlighting define its shape.
Got some actual work done on the front! Was so anxious to start working on it, I neglected to take pics of the cutting. But that's just basic stuff anyways... measure, mark, measure, cut. After cutting and filing the edges, I proceeded to bend the bottom tips of the trident. Looking around the garage for a suitable object to bend around, I spotted the post of my drill press, and saw how easy it was to dismantle lol. Moments later, I had it in the vise and beating the trident into submission. Positioning it onto the case it looks to be about right. This will give me about a 1/2" space between the trident and the mesh. I marked some holes and drilled them out, then screwed it right into the mesh. I removed it again and cut the top off level with the bottom of the drive bays, then drilled a 3/4" hole for the power button. I will be adding a piece of blue transparent acrylic behind the trident as well.
Work continues on the front piece. Marked out the location of the front IO ports and drilled out the center of the holes. Then went in with the rotary tool to trim out towards the lines. Finished up with a bit of filing and sanding. Once that was done, I made the mounting holes and screwed in the port module for a test fit.
For the acrylic portion of the front trident, I traced the shape onto a piece of blue transparent acrylic. Used my scroll saw to cut it out. As you can see, I cut a rectangular hole for the IO module to fit through. No need to cut individual holes. Then it was time to do the bends. I found this piece of acrylic tube to be the right diameter. I did distort the tube a bit during the bending, but it wasn't enough to worry about. I bent a little bit more than I needed to, just to make sure I had a nice curve. I marked the aluminum trident where it meets the case, then transferred that mark to the acrylic and cut off the excess.I sanded it down to a nice sharp edge so it will fit snugly in between the case and the outer piece. It still needs a bit of cleanup and polish around the outside, but it's pretty much there.
So we left off last time fitting the acrylic piece behind the aluminum Trident up front. Well I got the IO port module to fit, but had to make some "adjustments" to it first. I marked the area to be removed. Too bad it goes right through where I de-badgified the case lol. Oh well, it was going to be covered up by the front Trident anyways. I also removed the old IO port openings. This will get addressed a bit later. Here's what I had to do to the module. There was a clearance issue with it and the front radiator fan, so I had to get the cables to lay over to one side. To do this I removed the exterior molding and some of the surrounding glue/wax stuff. The cables will be sleeved and organized better for final assembly. In order to secure the top of the Trident to the case, I fabbed up a small mounting bracket that takes advantage of how the power button is secured. This way I avoid having any unsightly fasteners on the front face. The bracket is attached to the case with one screw from behind.
