Foam Pipboy 3000 (from Fallout) Tutorial

as a person whos been trying to build a pipboy to house a samsung galaxy tablet pc and able to run it on your arm i have been dieing for a person to either make me a cast or a company that could help me out but with this i can hand make my own model and work it all out the way i want mmmmm i say thank you i have big plans and this helps heaps
 
Fullmetalsam said:
Another thing I've seen suggested is Mod Podge - again I've never tried it because there is some mixed information on if mod podge is flexible enough on foam (some people are saying that it cracks when the foam flexes).
Click to expand...

I know this thread is old and I haven't read all the way through it but I feel compelled to respond to the suggestion of Mod Podge.

It's a great product but I would say that it's best used for decore then something that gets regularly handled and taken outside or what have you.

Mod Podge is not flexible once it drys as you've mentioned and it's not water proof. I made some Nuka Cola caps by painting some bottle caps, printing a bunch of logos out, cutting the logos into irregular circles, and then using matte finish Mod Podge to apply the logos to the caps.

This turned out reasonably well and impressed a lot of people, but some of the caps went through the wash in my jumpsuit pocket and the logo came clean off. A friend also mentioned inauspicious results when one of the caps I gave her was sitting on a table and got soaked in beer.

So Mod Podge works in a jiff, is readily available, and is reasonably priced. But it's best for stuff that sits on a shelf or wall or table and doesn't see much in the way of actual use.
 
love the foam couldnt find foam where i live so im actually building one out of 3mm plywood for my samsung galaxy tab hope too when im complete build one out of plastic for every day use thanks loads for great instructions and pictures to go on
 
@Okaynine: that's my experience as well with ModPodge (I've tried it since my last post on this thread). It might not be too bad since this is for a prop that should see any flexing once built... but I like to use other product for that sort of thing.

@Trogan2000: Nice to see someone trying this with other material.
I'd be curious to see how this turns out... post a pic once it's done !
 
this is how big it will be it will hold a galaxy tab a mini radio speekers a solar charger and cables too set it all up im hoping once done it will be plastic n fit better than whole arm

hope this works and this link shows propally
605322980.jpg
 
It shows... but isn't that a bit big for a pipboy ???

If I see this right - it looks like the pipboy is going over your elbow, mid-way to your bicep???
 
why yes its way over sized it goes over both (the wooden template shown) my wrist and my elbow im hoping to build an underneath raised bit so i have freedom of use the reason its so large is cos i am setting up a samsung galaxy tab and ever since i got one have wanted a pipboy made from its 7 inch screen i actually took the design here in this post went to libary enhanced the size and fliped it (im left handed so a right hand model was the better option) and this monstrosity is whats so far turned out haha
 
Im planning on going as a vault dweller for an upcoming Expo that im going to and I plan on making my own pip boy as I don't have the money to buy the clock.

Did you use sheets of foam or block foam to make this?
Also what brand did you get?

Sorry to be a bother.
 
@beefnoi: You have that information in the first post.

I used sheets to build the pipboy... since I'm using a "slicing" approach where each sheet build up the different layers of the pipboy.

As for brands for the foam... it doesn't really matter.
You can use all any foam you can get your hands on... be careful of the thinkness of the sheets if you want to use my template without having to alter them - because everything is based on that foam sheet thickness to replicate the pipboy.

But then - you could use a bunch of other material to get the same result ... plastic sheets, wood, etc... as long as you got the required thickness or close, you'll be ok.

Good Luck !
 
I'm going to be trying to whip one together tomorrow before heading out to Dragon*Con (otherwise I'll have to use my stop-gap method if it fails).

I wanted to try to create a vector image of the templates, so I could cut my foam with a laser cutter I have access to. (I've used it in the past to make "rubber" stamps with the same foam. It's pretty swell.)

Unfortunately, I really suck at Corel Draw and it WILL NOT let me use the pen tool to try and make an outline! Likewise, telling it to find an outline seems to work okay, but it wont let me pull out the bits I don't want it to cut...

GRRRRRRR!

Anybody watching this thread have the ability to do that and save it in a format that can be opened with Corel Draw? (Which is the software we use to control the laser cutter.) I realize this might not happen until after D*Con but I'd still be interested. And if I'm able to make it work myself, I'll be sure to post them.
 
I currently am working on this (literally) and im just at the point when you stack the templates together, and man does it look great :D , i will post my finished results and give template and tutorial credit to you
 
Nothing - all I need for this, I had laying around.

However, if someone would start from scratch and buy all the material... you could easily put it together under 20$ (using PVA glue instead of flexbond).
 
Wow, this looks like a great project! I would love to see more photos from folks that have attempted it. I'm new to prop making with only one under my belt...maybe I need something easier first. I really want a pip boy though!
 
You, sir, are freaking awesome!!
Your tutorial sounding so easy actually made me get off my lazy ass and make the damn thing! ... thus marking my 1st successful adventure of prop-making





EDIT: if anyone cares: my changes to the recipe were Fabri-Tac and Sophisticated Finishes Surfacer
 
Last edited:
And you even made it twice as I gathered from your picture descriptions on your flicker stream. :)

It looks really nice and it's great to see that this set of pattern is still being used :)
Thanks for posting the results!
 
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