Aside from that seller being banned here, a completely resin shell is much much heavier than it needs to be. xtrmn8r17 from our group bought that same shell a few years back, the details are decent but it’s ridiculously heavy and it’s also brittle.
You can get a shell from myself, zombierepellent or exoray, all are much better choices.
Guys, thanks so much for your input. I’m still getting acclimated to everything build-wise. So the common thought is that fiberglass is the way to go? I thought that vacuum formed was not as detailed (unless someone has seen D-42’s pack and thinks otherwise). I’m a little short on cash so fiberglass isn’t an option right now. That’s the only reason I’m leaning towards vacuum formed. How about the durability of the three? Is VF way too brittle? I thought that they were making them with plastic they use in car bumpers? D-42’s pack seem really reasonable. Just need someone to confirm or negate the detail versus quality of them. Thanks again!
With vac-formed some of the edges aren’t as sharp. For example look at the ribbing on the D-42 vac shell. However, overlooking that, vac-form is a great alternative. It’s less expensive and it’s light. You can put a lot of time and attention into the other details of the pack and compensate for the slightly less detailed shell.
However, if you’re going for accuracy and crisp detail, the Bigi71 Shell made by Vincenzo330 is arguably the best you can do. If I had any money right now I’d be on that list. Plus you can get a custom-fit motherboard for it.
Ultimately we can’t tell you which to buy. No one will dog you for going vac-form as long as you construct the pack with care. It’s the way to go for a lower budget. If money isn’t a concern, then go the other route, it’s worth every penny if you have the means. But in the end, the time and work you put into it will be what determines whether it’s an awesome pack or not-- regardless of the shell you choose.
I have one of D42 vacformed shells and I’m very impressed with it. The detail on it is excellent for a vacformed part. Some of the sharp corners and fine detail is lost as you do need rads for the vac part to be pulled off. I have lots of pics in my build thread and can post any others you require if you want to see some more detailed areas. If you go down the route of vacformed shell I recommend making your own mother board by tracing round it. I didn’t use the ion arm that comes with the kit as I used one of nicks resin cast ones. I used the vac formed bumper though. I also used blocks of wood in the corners to stiffen it up as well. I went down this route as it was cheaper than the resin shells. The shell is strong but i put a few layers of resin mat on the inside, but D-42 didn’t in his build.
I have a D-42 shell also for my budget pack. I’de recommend it anyday. Just to give you an idea, the hardest part is trimming it evenly. Also, its a little bit smaller then your average fiberglass shell so you should really eye out the placement of your parts when you are drilling instead of using Stefans plans. Just use them to get a rough idea of what to do and use alot of reference photos. .. I need to update my build for it since its gotten alot more work done to it since then, but here’s the link anyway. If you look closely you will notice that i didnt drill some holes right first time around, like where the ribbon cable clamp goes and the straight fittings on the side of the EDA. i fixed them up since then tho. If i didnt the ribbon cable would be comepletely covering the filler tubes and the tubing from the straight fitting would push right into the Split Loom tube..It was an easy fix but in the end a mistake made is a mistake learned from. =)