Maker, tinkerer and Hack-a-Day writer Will Sweatman isn’t much of a gamer, but when asked if he could cobble together a working Pip-Boy 3000 from the Fallout video game series he decided to give it a shot. Having never heard of the device previously, he headed to Google and got to work.
When he came across the 3D printed Pip-Boy 3000 prop designed by engineer and self-taught 3D printing enthusiast Yvo de Haas, Sweatman knew that he had a place to start. de Haas wasn’t the first person to create a 3D printed Pip-Boy but his was arguably the best looking and had even been designed with space for a smartphone to act as the device’s interface. That meant Sweatman wouldn’t have to alter the model very much in order to put his electronics inside of it because he was thinking a little bigger than a prop that held a smartphone.
Sweatman wanted to create something that actually simulated Pip-Boy functionality and had a working touchscreen that replicated the interface in the game. Using a 4D Systems 4.3” touchscreen display programed with Workshop 4 IDE he was able to completely replicate the menus from the videogame.
Here is a video of the display in action:
The touchscreen doubled as the microprocessor making it possible to use a visual editor to completely recreate the iconic graphics from the videogame. He even included buttons that can control some of the device’s functions as well as the functional touchscreen interface. He needed to include a lot of working electronics so the original model still needed to be modified a bit.
“The original design has slots built into one of the main sections with the idea of feeding Velcro straps through them and wrapping around the forearm. This simply did not work. I decided to use compression to keep it stable, and use a locking clip to hold the Pip-Boy in the compressed state,” Sweatman explained in his build instructions. “The foam you see taped to the back of the battery is actually from the packing box for the display. It was a perfect fit! On the other side of the Pip-Boy, I used spray glue to attach a thick piece of wool, and then attached some felt.”
The foam is compressed when the Pip-Boy is closed around a wrist and locked in place with the clip that he attached to the device. This keeps the entire thing stable on the arm, despite being a little top heavy. When he demonstrates it in his video you can see how stable it remains, even while flailing his arms around.
Here is a video of Sweatman explaining all of the steps necessary to create your own Pip-Boy 3000:
Watching Sweatman scroll through the actual Fallout menus is pretty cool, and it’s impressive how much effort he put into the interface screens. He said that he found videos on YouTube and had to painstakingly recreate all of the graphics, and his attention to detail really shows. Once he finishes it off with a decorative paint job, he’s pretty much going to have the coolest cosplay prop ever.
And if he’s looking for suggestions for a paint job, might I suggest the solid gold and diamond encrusted Pimp-Boy version that you can earn in the New Vegas installment of the game series.
