Well, thanks to a combination of 3RedLightFix.com and Llamma's Xbox 360 RROD X-Clamp Fix, my XBox 360 is now back up and running again. I did end up ordering parts from Llamma - some bolts and washers to anchor the heatsinks (and replace the faulty X-Clamps) and a new GPU heatsink that is supposedly the one that Microsoft is now putting in the 360 Elite units as a solution to this problem. The new heatsink has a cooling pipe which the old one doesn't have, and it bleeds heat right in line with the CPU heatsink now, so hopefully that will keep the GPU cool enough to not overheat again.
So far, my two repair projects have gone pretty well - the XBox is back in commission and the hole in the crash cymbal seems to have stopped the crack without changing the tone noticeably. This whole "repair before you replace" thing is quite the novel idea...funny what you can do when you get the idea that just because something is broken doesn't mean it can't be fixed and must automatically be replaced.
Now I guess I need to get on and finish my F-14 model so's I can finally check that little project off of my list as well. It's not exactly a repair, but it is sort of a building project...a handcraft, if you will. Plus it'll be good to reclaim my desk space from the encroachment of paints, plastic, and newspaper that is the airplane construction zone.
