Foam Pipboy 3000 (from Fallout) Tutorial
- Thread starter Fullmetalsam
- Start date
agnonthewol
New Member
Thumbs up man! I was doing this myself and had come to a still stand then randomly i stumple upon you! NEat can finally finish my pipboy HAHA!
thumbsup
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Maddhatter3
New Member
Great tutorial and pictures! Love this game and have always wanted a PipBoy. Now I have no excuse.
falloutpipboy
New Member
heyy can u talk to me on my email metal dude and just send me one please
CaptainKiran
New Member
Hey! This was a godsend to find, I had absolutely no idea how I was going to make one, and now I can without spending lots of money! This is going to be the first project ever (knock on wood that it even looks somewhat REMOTELY resembling yours), and it's going to be a team effort with me and my dad. We used to attempt to build toys for me as a kid, but those projects were never finished. But my dad's super excited to work on this because he loves painting and LED's!
Of course, I'm a bit confused at some parts. I looked up a truncated cone, and how did you size it to fit your arm? Did you use foam for it? My dad and I are arguing on how to make the base part. I want to make the truncated cone (since your wrist will definitely be smaller than your forearm. Or at least mine is.) while my dad wants to use a very hard cardboard tube. The thing is is that it's pretty big, but he wants to stuff the inside with foam so that it'll have my wrist all snug and in the middle, rather than hanging. I don't know about it though. I keep reading that you'll want the foam to be flexible and this thing definitely ISN'T, and it's the same diameter across on both sides.
I guess what I'm confused about is exactly how you make your bracer. I'm assuming it's the part that wraps around your wrist and is also what the foundation of the Pip-Boy 3000 is built upon. Did you just wrap the foam and hot glue it together? I'm sorry if I have a lot of questions, and I might ask more in the future. It'll take me a while to fully understand all of the instructions, but once I get the hang of it I'll learn!
PS- My dad and I were wondering about the back of the Pip-Boy, as you didn't include it in the photos or in the template. Thanks much!! c:
Of course, I'm a bit confused at some parts. I looked up a truncated cone, and how did you size it to fit your arm? Did you use foam for it? My dad and I are arguing on how to make the base part. I want to make the truncated cone (since your wrist will definitely be smaller than your forearm. Or at least mine is.) while my dad wants to use a very hard cardboard tube. The thing is is that it's pretty big, but he wants to stuff the inside with foam so that it'll have my wrist all snug and in the middle, rather than hanging. I don't know about it though. I keep reading that you'll want the foam to be flexible and this thing definitely ISN'T, and it's the same diameter across on both sides.
I guess what I'm confused about is exactly how you make your bracer. I'm assuming it's the part that wraps around your wrist and is also what the foundation of the Pip-Boy 3000 is built upon. Did you just wrap the foam and hot glue it together? I'm sorry if I have a lot of questions, and I might ask more in the future. It'll take me a while to fully understand all of the instructions, but once I get the hang of it I'll learn!
PS- My dad and I were wondering about the back of the Pip-Boy, as you didn't include it in the photos or in the template. Thanks much!! c:
chise
New Member
hey CaptainKiran!
I'm just gonna throw my 2 cents in, maybe it'll be helpful?
For the arm bracer thing, what I did wasn't even try to figure out the geometric cone shape, but grab a sheet of paper and wrap it around my arm, getting it just snug enuff on me where it needs to be. Tape the ends closed, draw with marker on it (you know, mark out edges, where the big block screen will fit on it, etc...) and taaadaa - instant bracer pattern!
Carefully remove tape, flatten out and there's your pattern to trace on foam! No geometry guessing needed
My bracer was foam just like everything else (the inner most layer was fabric. Something nice to feel against skin, and reinforces foamies too), with velcro on one side holding it shut when worn. It might be better if you don't hotglue it shut, as getting it on/off your arm might get a lil problematic
Or you know, if youre doing Vault suit or something, and nothing is more annoying than getting a fixed shape stuck on the sleeve... def. recommend a way to open that bracer
EDIT: oh yeah, and took pics while making mine, so maybe that'll help ya visualize some parts differently
http://www.flickr.com/photos/annaneko/sets/72157630554509960
I'm just gonna throw my 2 cents in, maybe it'll be helpful?
For the arm bracer thing, what I did wasn't even try to figure out the geometric cone shape, but grab a sheet of paper and wrap it around my arm, getting it just snug enuff on me where it needs to be. Tape the ends closed, draw with marker on it (you know, mark out edges, where the big block screen will fit on it, etc...) and taaadaa - instant bracer pattern!
Carefully remove tape, flatten out and there's your pattern to trace on foam! No geometry guessing needed
My bracer was foam just like everything else (the inner most layer was fabric. Something nice to feel against skin, and reinforces foamies too), with velcro on one side holding it shut when worn. It might be better if you don't hotglue it shut, as getting it on/off your arm might get a lil problematic
Or you know, if youre doing Vault suit or something, and nothing is more annoying than getting a fixed shape stuck on the sleeve... def. recommend a way to open that bracer
EDIT: oh yeah, and took pics while making mine, so maybe that'll help ya visualize some parts differently
http://www.flickr.com/photos/annaneko/sets/72157630554509960
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Fullmetalsam
Active Member
Hey CaptainKiran,
It's up to you for the bracer.
Building upon something like that cardboard tube will be easier - since it's the same circonference all the way around.
But then, I think it will make it look funny - since the pipboy is really built on a cone-like shape for the bracer to follow the contour of your arm... and yes my forearm is definitely bigger than my wrist as well
How I did the bracer: like I always do for new costumes/props... I make a pattern out of cardboard and them cut it up in foam.
I wrap a cardboard piece around my arm... and marked it where it overlapped... and cut it up and I had a pattern for a truncated cone that fit my own arm. Then I copied the same pattern to another piece of cardboard and cut it up for the different raised parts on the pip boy bracer. So when I was all done, I had a cardboard piece cutout for every piece I needed to cut in foam to assemble the bracer... easy-peasy
Be careful if you do something similar... if your foam is thicker than the cardboard you're using for your pattern - you'll have to cut your foam piece a little bigger than your pattern to take into account that difference in thickness.
As for the back of the pipboy... find out where you need to glue it to your bracer and carve out the foam so it sits right on the bracer - then hot glue it in place. As simple as that.
Just a suggestion - don't overthink stuff... try it out and see how it looks.
It's the whole point of working with cheap stuff (foam, cardboard, hot glue, etc.)... if you don't like it, scrap it and start over... cardboard is free since everyhting you buy is always packed in a cardboard box - save them and make patterns with them. Foam sheets can be had for less than a 1$. As I said in an ealier post - you can easily put this together for less than 20$ if you have to buy everything (foam / paint / glue / etc.).
Good Luck !
It's up to you for the bracer.
Building upon something like that cardboard tube will be easier - since it's the same circonference all the way around.
But then, I think it will make it look funny - since the pipboy is really built on a cone-like shape for the bracer to follow the contour of your arm... and yes my forearm is definitely bigger than my wrist as well
How I did the bracer: like I always do for new costumes/props... I make a pattern out of cardboard and them cut it up in foam.
I wrap a cardboard piece around my arm... and marked it where it overlapped... and cut it up and I had a pattern for a truncated cone that fit my own arm. Then I copied the same pattern to another piece of cardboard and cut it up for the different raised parts on the pip boy bracer. So when I was all done, I had a cardboard piece cutout for every piece I needed to cut in foam to assemble the bracer... easy-peasy
Be careful if you do something similar... if your foam is thicker than the cardboard you're using for your pattern - you'll have to cut your foam piece a little bigger than your pattern to take into account that difference in thickness.
As for the back of the pipboy... find out where you need to glue it to your bracer and carve out the foam so it sits right on the bracer - then hot glue it in place. As simple as that.
Just a suggestion - don't overthink stuff... try it out and see how it looks.
It's the whole point of working with cheap stuff (foam, cardboard, hot glue, etc.)... if you don't like it, scrap it and start over... cardboard is free since everyhting you buy is always packed in a cardboard box - save them and make patterns with them. Foam sheets can be had for less than a 1$. As I said in an ealier post - you can easily put this together for less than 20$ if you have to buy everything (foam / paint / glue / etc.).
Good Luck !
CaptainKiran
New Member
Chise, thank you SO MUCH FOR THOSE PHOTOS!! Those were a freakin' godsend! I was curious about the bracer part again- what type of foam did you use, 2mm or 6mm? And should I cut it to where the two sides touch, rather than overlapping? (since you mentioned velcroing and stuff.) We managed to grab all of the necessary supplies too!
FullmetalSam, thank you too!! We decided to scrap the cylinder, so that's good lol. We kept arguing about it, and I told him that the wrist piece needed to be smaller than the forearm piece. We also got plenty of foam, so thank you!
Also, you two mentioned cutting out the foam to "curve" to your arm, or something like that. I'm still a bit confused. Chise had a photo where the pieces were on the Pip-boy, but stuck out a lot, and mentioned that carving the bottom layers would help. Just curious.
Thank you guys so much for the help so far! I'll keep you guys updated.
Edit: ONE more question. I'm also confused (when am I NOT lol) about the two small parts for template 3- do I hot glue those to the other template 3's above the template 4's, or what? Was I supposed to cut them out with template 3 even though it wasn't together? Sorry for being incompetent.
FullmetalSam, thank you too!! We decided to scrap the cylinder, so that's good lol. We kept arguing about it, and I told him that the wrist piece needed to be smaller than the forearm piece. We also got plenty of foam, so thank you!
Also, you two mentioned cutting out the foam to "curve" to your arm, or something like that. I'm still a bit confused. Chise had a photo where the pieces were on the Pip-boy, but stuck out a lot, and mentioned that carving the bottom layers would help. Just curious.
Thank you guys so much for the help so far! I'll keep you guys updated.
Edit: ONE more question. I'm also confused (when am I NOT lol) about the two small parts for template 3- do I hot glue those to the other template 3's above the template 4's, or what? Was I supposed to cut them out with template 3 even though it wasn't together? Sorry for being incompetent.
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Fullmetalsam
Active Member
The bottom layers do need to be "carved" so they fit your bracer correctly - however, since each bracer is different, it's impossible to tell you how much or how little you'll carve them. Once your bracer is done - put the pipboy on it and see how it fits... Carve out a bit of foam and see it fits, until it's properly rounded to fit your bracer.
As for the "little piece" - yes, they were meant to be cut with template #3 even if they are not together.
So you should have 3 pieces of the template #3 "as is" and 2 pieces of template #3 with that little piece "included".
As for the "little piece" - yes, they were meant to be cut with template #3 even if they are not together.
So you should have 3 pieces of the template #3 "as is" and 2 pieces of template #3 with that little piece "included".
Fullmetalsam
Active Member
The bottom layers do need to be "carved" so they fit your bracer correctly - however, since each bracer is different, it's impossible to tell you how much or how little you'll carve them. Once your bracer is done - put the pipboy on it and see how it fits... Carve out a bit of foam and see it fits, until it's properly rounded to fit your bracer.
As for the "little piece" - yes, they were meant to be cut with template #3 even if they are not together.
So you should have 3 pieces of the template #3 "as is" and 2 pieces of template #3 with that little piece "included".
As for the "little piece" - yes, they were meant to be cut with template #3 even if they are not together.
So you should have 3 pieces of the template #3 "as is" and 2 pieces of template #3 with that little piece "included".
chise
New Member
You're welcome ^__^ Always glad to help!
My bracer started out as 3mm foammie sheet, then other 2mm & 3 mm pieces glued over it for details. Kept layering those on until it looked right
You can really see the layer-sandwich goin on here - all the raised detailing is like that throughout
and velcroed edges do overlap. You can kinda see it in some of my cosplay shots as one edge sticks out funny, but usually nobody else notices 'cause thats on underside on arm (and everyone is too busy gawking at the screen section instead)
My bracer started out as 3mm foammie sheet, then other 2mm & 3 mm pieces glued over it for details. Kept layering those on until it looked right
You can really see the layer-sandwich goin on here - all the raised detailing is like that throughout
and velcroed edges do overlap. You can kinda see it in some of my cosplay shots as one edge sticks out funny, but usually nobody else notices 'cause thats on underside on arm (and everyone is too busy gawking at the screen section instead)
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CaptainKiran
New Member
Thank you guys again!! I'm restarting since I forgot to scale it, but this also poses another problem. The original template is about 7.93 inches (I rounded it to 8 inches), and looked in game and found that the Pip-Boy on my Courier is about 3in from the forearm and 1in from the wrist. So I measured, and I changed it from the original 8in to the 6in, so it's much much smaller. However, this also changes the size of the screen area, so it can't fit the entire Ipod Touch. I noticed though, that it was able to fit the entire SCREEN area of the ipod, but not the entire Ipod itself (so the edges and buttons i cant press, but i can see the screen). Sorry if it's worded weirdly, but basically like this.
http://s196.photobucket.com/user/Arashishi434/media/photo27.jpg.html?filters[user]=47321117&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=1
http://s196.photobucket.com/user/Arashishi434/media/photo28.jpg.html?filters[user]=47321117&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=0
So should I cut the bottom two layers of Template 4, then have the other two Template 4's be normal? That way the Touch will fit snuggly for the bottom two layers, and be partially covered by the other layers, while I don't have to worry about redrawing the other parts. Do you guys think it'd work? (Super sorry if my wording is bad! :C)
EDIT: Yeah...I'm thinking I'm starting to overcomplicate things...looking at both of your guy's photos helps immensely.
http://s196.photobucket.com/user/Arashishi434/media/photo27.jpg.html?filters[user]=47321117&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=1
http://s196.photobucket.com/user/Arashishi434/media/photo28.jpg.html?filters[user]=47321117&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=0
So should I cut the bottom two layers of Template 4, then have the other two Template 4's be normal? That way the Touch will fit snuggly for the bottom two layers, and be partially covered by the other layers, while I don't have to worry about redrawing the other parts. Do you guys think it'd work? (Super sorry if my wording is bad! :C)
EDIT: Yeah...I'm thinking I'm starting to overcomplicate things...looking at both of your guy's photos helps immensely.
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chise
New Member
ha ha, dun worry about it.
Everyone freaks out and tries to think thru every single millimeter on a first prop. Good thing foamie sheets are so cheap, so plenty of room for trial and error!
As for scaling and the screen size ... its totalz up to how you like the look. Now that you got the general templates, customize as your sense of aesthetic demands
I mean, my own pipboy - compared to game - is far too square with the screen being way too small & not long rectangle enuff. And then that whole "glare protector" where was like "screw it, we're turning you into an old telly look" ...
and there ya go, you just told us your own Template 4 solution ^__^ Go try it! It sounds like a good idea
