Aideon's Pip-Boy 3000 v2.0

So, if you've played Fallout 3, you're pretty familiar with what a Pip-Boy 3000 is and does. A fair number of folks have probably seen Skruffy's build thread for his PB3k. I build mine to house my iPhone, so it's a little different. Well, after wearing it a few times at cons, and looking at it, I really wish I could go back and do things differently.

Well, tonight we were pulling a few (check the Junkyard in the next few days) and I decided that instead of selling a B-grade, I would take it and remake mine, going back and doing the things I wish I had/could have done. Also, I figured I could document this build as opposed to forgetting to take pictures until I was done.

First, the Pip-Boy 3000 v1.1




Originally, I had painted it a spray green, but after Skruffy painted his with the Sophisticated Finishes Pewter, I decided that I liked the texture, but wanted it a little greener. I mixed in some green acrylic with the Pewter, and it came out more to my liking. On the next one, I'll probably add a little more green (You can see the original green on the inside of the hinges).

So, on to the PB3k v2.0!


That's all I've got so far. When we cast our first ones, we were not using a push mold, so they took a ton of resin. These require almost no clean up on the inside and since I did the clean up work for the master push mold, they are already sized to hold an iPhone :lol. After pulling this one out of the mold, I cut off the knob, cast myself an extra 'scroll wheel' so I can use it to push my iPhone's home button, and did a little clean up sanding on the outside with some 320 grit.

I'll post some pictures tomorrow of my phone in Version 1.1, but as of right now, you can see the home button in the screen area so I can push it with my finger. Version 2.0 is going to fix that, and make the knob 'functional', plus fix some cosmetics I wasn't pleased with.

Wow that looks great. I so wished I had gotten the LE of the game... oh well, maybe Ill be able to score one now

Looks pretty darn cool. Fitting an iphone as the screen is a great idea. Do you have some Pip-boy graphics to run on your iphone?

How much for a casting?

Wow! The green acrylic you added to the pewter really shows up in your photos, perhaps more so than in person. I like it!! If I ever do a second one, I am definitely going to do the same.

Trekkie313, casts are $65 shipped in the continental US, with other detail options available. I have an interest thread going in the junkyard right now: http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=84938 If you want to get on the list post there or send me a PM.

So, I needed to take some pictures of V1.1, so there are at least some pictures of an iPhone inside one of the castings. I wasn't too worried about my screen being in perfect alignment with the phone right now, so it's a touch crooked in the pictures. This is one of the primary problems with the iPhone right now, is that it tends to move a little bit as I wear it.

The strapping system.

With the screen off.

Screen on. Lots of fingerprints.

On my arm.


The problem I have right now is that the home button on the iPhone is visible. If I flip the phone so the home button is hidden, I can't press it, and I'm pretty much stuck not changing anything. This is something I'm reworking on Version 2. I cast up just a copy of the scroll wheel and the knob, and I've cut off the existing ones on my new casting. I'm going to dremel out the slot where the scroll wheel was, and will place a rubber washer or something on the inside, so that when I push down on the scroll wheel, it will press the home button. Problem solved, in theory. Also, I'm going to drill a hole on the back of the new knob I casted , and make it 'functional' in that I will be able to adjust the position. Won't do anything but look cool, but isn't that what it is all about?

ETA: Also to note, on Version 1.0 and 1.1, I didn't wire up any LEDs. I'm going to go ahead and wire one up for Version 2.0.

I think the way the iPhone is secured is really rough.... it dosen't look mounted very well, and there's alot of space and gaps between it and the PipBoy. I think if you created some kind of black shroud to close the gaps around it, it would look much cleaner. Your idea with the scroll wheel and home button is great, maybe you could mount an audio amp in there hooked up to the iPhone's jack.

Well, the first one was a bit rushed, in that I was just so excited to get it finished to where I could wear it. Not to mention the almost inch of resin I had to dremel out to make the phone fit. My new one was made using a push mold, so there is almost no resin to clean out, and I'm going to take a little more time to make this one perfect.

For the V2.0, my plan was to use black weatherstripping for around a door to make a nice seal around the phone.

Aideon said:

For the V2.0, my plan was to use black weatherstripping for around a door to make a nice seal around the phone.

Click to expand...

Right that's just what I was thinking. That would really look nice.

Just a thought but if you went with a small audio amp, you could wire up the exterior dial as a potentometer to control the volume.

im alittle late to the party here but, if you can use the knobby tune adjuster thingy mobober and use it as a button, it might work.