B2G: Can you tell us about yourself?
Mickee: Hey B2G My name is Mickee boy on FB, Father of a little boy who is going to turn 3 on the 24th of October yes on the day of an event where I have to bring a Rig for Display, I have a very supportive wife which makes me very lucky. I have a full time day job and I mod a few computers every now and then. I love beer, pancit and eating in general hahahahah.
B2G: How did you come-up with your modder name?
Mickee: Mad Mods because I am crazy at times (in a good way I guess) and I like the Joker and Harley Quinn’s Mad Love, it relates to how passionate I am with modding, plenty of times it had kicked me at the rear end but I always find reasons to keep doing it <3.
B2G: What was your inspiration in joining the modding community?
Mickee: It was a small form factor PC that was handed down to me, it was slim and I had a GPU that I want to slap in it so I could game but there is no way for it to fit such a narrow case. So I thought of using a bigger case, to my surprise the motherboard form factor was BTX in addition it has oddly placed mounting holes so there’s no way possible that I could use an everyday PC case. Great day, isn’t it? J I didn’t give up on it because it was my first time to use a core i3 and it was free LoL. I have a good friend who told me to google “pc case modification” and I was shown with a lot of fancy works that made my mind crazy in a good way. So I found out about modding as well as the people, tools and companies behind it. To make the story longer LoL I was able to successfully “ghetto” modify a case that suits my needs sadly I was not able keep a picture of that *sigh*. Back then I only had my old man’s electric drill and a hack saw. But hey I was able to game on a stronger PC in my own definition of strong J it works perfectly fine and I was really happy thus the start of an awesome adventure into the world of PC Modding.
B2G: What was your first project?
Mickee: I can consider the story above to be my first project though it did not look visually pleasing but it worked perfectly fine.
B2G: Do you have any particular routines in modding?
Mickee: I don’t know how to use sketch up or any software alike so my planning stage is usually a state of suspended animation, staring at the case and drawing on paper. Once I figured out what to do I start collecting materials then take measurements Play music that fits my current mood then start cutting, sanding, painting, sanding then mock up. Along the way another idea pops in my head then I do it resulting to more hours of work spent on the project LoL. I mean that is the advantage of having a solid plan to begin with, so you do not try crazy ideas that come up along the way (it has positive and negative effects). I have yet to learn that method of work hahahaha.
B2G: What are your top 3 best mods and what was the idea behind the mod?
Mickee: I only did small mods in the recent years so I do not know if could consider them but one of my full on case mod was B301 SMKR an old CM USP 100 handed down to me is the base case, I turned it into a Weathered Military themed case, expanded the top part so I could mount the GPU on top of the case then the bottom part of the for the power supply radiator and water pump. Custom power switch and a 12V cigarette lighter on the front panel. This was my official entry to MSI’s Pro Mods Season 2 where I did not win anything LoL but it’s cool because I’ve already won when the idea materialized. Also I gained a new set of friends which makes the experience a whole lot better.
B2G: What difficulties and challenges did you encounter in modding and how did you surpassed them?
Mickee: Coming up with a theme has got to be the first on my list it really is a huge obstacle to bring something new to the table. Working on late hours of the night is inevitable for me because I am not a full time modder I have plenty of other responsibilities so now I’m used to 4 hours or less of sleep. Getting materials for the mod is another challenge even if a build or mod gets hardware sponsors; getting materials to make a successful case mod would still inflict a huge amount of financial damage so I don’t believe in free stuff. So we better be smart as to what materials to use and where to get them
B2G: Can you tease us with your upcoming project?
Mickee: I have a couple of projects that I need to start with real soon, A Thermaltake Core X2 and a scratch build for Pro Mods Season 3. Transformers Generation 1 is my inspiration on both projects thus the Core X2 as Soundwave and the scratch build as Lazerbeak.
B2G: Do you have any modders to look up to?
Mickee: When I first googled about case modding worklogs and videos from the modzoo was what came up and I really love what they do so Bill Owen and the rest of the Zoo has always been a group that I genuinely like specially their weathered themed cases yup that explains my fascination with roughed up mods. Of course I did not fail to check if this is something that has been going on in our motherland and I was really amazed with the works of Jesse Palacio (JP Modified) and Mhike Samsin (Tantricmodz and The rest of Rig Noobies) and Von Carlo Rasonabe (Reapervon) then I have few more who I have become good friends with like Jonathan “Boy Dota Box” Garlit this guy has a very annoying laugh I dare you to have a chat with him over Skype and you won’t do it again hahahahahah. Andrew Lee, most of my meetings with this dude were held over bottles of booze talking about stuff that doesn’t make sense and just laugh about it. Doy (PC Matters) is a guy who can give you a lot of advice in terms of modding techniques I admire the talent and humility of this guy so they are my great men of PC Modding.
B2G: Do you have a message to aspiring modders and to the B2G community?
Mickee: I am a newbie in the world of modding so I can only share very little stuff that I know of. Not sure how to start a PC modding project? Me too! so you’re on your own dawg! Hahaha Nope do not be afraid everyone was once a noob people that are now mod monsters didn’t sit around wishing, they did what had to be done meaning experience is the key so if you are not sure how to do it the internet is your best medium for knowledge. You can also ask modders on FB, online articles or in teract in forum boards. If all else fails and you still can’t find your way into a project then maybe it’s time for you to just take the leap and see where it takes you. Also always prioritize your safety in trying out power tools chemicals or whatever it is that you do not fully understand even if you’ve been working with them for a long time do not trust them (baka itulak ka ng kapwa mo demonyo at madisgrasya ka) hehehehehe we do not want any of that. lastly as humans even if we truly enjoy what we do there comes a point where we feel tired not sick and tired but just tired tired LoL don’t force it stay away from the project ask your best buds to go out or just hang out grab some alcoholic drinks so the next morning you are gonna have to work while dealing with a massive hang over LoL seriously just do something else that’s not related to your project and is going to make you feel at ease, Characters in a game needs to regenerate after receiving damage otherwise you are going to start over at the respawn point. Thank you for this interview I might have said too much sorry for that hahahaha again thanks B2G and more Power!
