Alien Isolation Tablet

[mrcarkeys42]

Hello, this is my first post recently i have been wanting to try my hand at prop building. i have almost no experience (i have made some stuff of my own, but never tried to replicate something for somewhere else) but i have been lurking the forums for a bit and would like to try something. in the game alien isolation, there is an environmental prop that goes amazingly well with the retro alien aesthetic. it is a retro crt tablet which looks like the alien universe equivalent of a PADD from star trek. The developers of the game talked extensively about their art style and how they only made things that could have been made on the set in 1979, and eluded that they designed all the props off of real world items. however seeing as this is just an environmental detail i am assuming they just kept it with the style, and there are no real world parts that correspond with it. that being said i would really like to make one but i have no idea how, so could any of you guys on here give me suggestions on how i could do this? firstly i imagine i will need to get the 3D model from somewhere (i have the ps4 version of the game, so idk how i could do it myself) in order to 3d-print any parts (i also dont have a 3d-printer, so i guess i will have to find a public one) but if there are any real world items such as knobs keys and switches that you guys think would work, let me know. my goal isn't really to make an exact 1 to 1 replica, i just want it to be close to it and have the same retro style. i also know this is something that is pretty obscure, but i want something that is more unique then the props most other people build.


here are all the screenshots i took of one of them in game:

 

[mrcarkeys42]

After thinking about it for a bit i figure that i will probably need to make the case by scratch, but all the smaller components (like the switches, knobs, screen, antenna etc.) i could probably find, or at least similar ones.

with that in mind, does anybody know what kind of switch that is below the two knobs?

 

[blue2k]

with that in mind, does anybody know what kind of switch that is below the two knobs?

It is a rocker switch.

 

[mrcarkeys42]

It is a rocker switch.

maybe from some kind of breaker? looks very similar to this: http://www.esv.vic.gov.au/Portals/0/Consumers/Images/Tertiary/CircuitBreakerAndSafetySwitch.gif

 

[mrcarkeys42]

the knobs are some kind of generic dial knobs, however i have no idea what kind of antenna that is on the side.

 

[blue2k]

I have no idea if parts of this device were sourced from real world item, or just modeled in a generic sense. That breaker box does have similar switches, which could be used for making this prop. The aerial on the side looks similar to a router wireless antennae.

 

[Loco Max]

I have no idea if parts of this device were sourced from real world item, or just modeled in a generic sense. That breaker box does have similar switches, which could be used for making this prop. The aerial on the side looks similar to a router wireless antennae.

IBM PC from 1981: screen frame, keyboard, screen regulators.

 

[joker1231]

Welcome to the forum! I think this tablet is cool too! good choice. You can probably base the scale off the keys which you can source from an old keyboard pretty easily (or you can buy individual mechanical keys - which will have that awesome old school feel). Maybe you will get lucky and find an old CRT monitor with a front bezel about the right size of the tablet screen in game (which would probably be really cheap too). the knobs seem pretty generic - search around the net and I'm sure you'll find something close. You basically have a dead top view of the front/back in the images you attached so use those to build your BP from. Looking forward to seeing this come together!

 

[mrcarkeys42]

The aerial on the side looks similar to a router wireless antennae.

yeah i was thinking that or maybe some kind of walkie talkie and/or hand radio antenna, it has that thick rubbery look, but i cant find any with that flat rectangular shape :/

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IBM PC from 1981: screen frame, keyboard, screen regulators.

View attachment 480873

that certainly looks like it was an inspiration, but that screen is probably too big to actually use on the prop (unless i am underestimating the size of the tablet and/or overestimating the size of that monitor, which is very possible.)

 

[mrcarkeys42]

Welcome to the forum! I think this tablet is cool too! good choice. You can probably base the scale off the keys which you can source from an old keyboard pretty easily (or you can buy individual mechanical keys - which will have that awesome old school feel). Maybe you will get lucky and find an old CRT monitor with a front bezel about the right size of the tablet screen in game (which would probably be really cheap too). the knobs seem pretty generic - search around the net and I'm sure you'll find something close. You basically have a dead top view of the front/back in the images you attached so use those to build your BP from. Looking forward to seeing this come together!

thank you for the welcome yeah i am planning on taking a trip to some thrift stores soon to find similar parts, hopefully i get lucky. i was also looking at online catalogs for switches and knobs and have found similar ones, so i think i already have that down. i think what i will have to do is find all the individual components and get their measurements, and then design the case around them as they probably wont be exactly the same dimensions as the in game model.

 

[mrcarkeys42]

the closest antenna i could find is this one, but according to the dimensions its less then 2 inches long, way smaller then what we see in the model.



http://file:///C:/Users/Mark/Downloads/AE030054-K-Product-Specification-Titanis-310120154.pdf

 

[mrcarkeys42]

I was able to find similar components to what i need, such as this switch

http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail...GAEpiMZZMtNT9UGfLL4eC%2bqgba8vAK/yIcRFhcXdlw=

and this knob (top right corner)

http://www.ehcknobs.com/pdfs/catalog/InstrConsp31.pdf

but i am starting to figure that these items are pretty small and not that visually complected. i may just be able to 3D print them. the only problem is i have no experience doing this and don't own a printer of my own. does anyone know how much it would cost to use a public 3D printer? would that be worth doing or would i just be better off buying the real components?

 

[Reef]

Hi well done on attempting a prop from alien isolation, I built the motion tracker from the game which can be found this forum and that was a fun build.
i was going to make the tablet ,and started with an old food tray like you get a Burger King or Mac d,I then built a cover round the edges and used the tray part (the depth) to fit it all in .
i will dig out some pics of it ( I never finished it) but seeing you are starting to make one it will spur me on to finish it. Good luck and it you need any help there are plenty of people here who can give you great advice ,cheers reef

 

[mrcarkeys42]

Hi well done on attempting a prop from alien isolation, I built the motion tracker from the game which can be found this forum and that was a fun build.
i was going to make the tablet ,and started with an old food tray like you get a Burger King or Mac d,I then built a cover round the edges and used the tray part (the depth) to fit it all in .
i will dig out some pics of it ( I never finished it) but seeing you are starting to make one it will spur me on to finish it. Good luck and it you need any help there are plenty of people here who can give you great advice ,cheers reef

Hi, i remember seeing your motion tracker build, amazing work! and i would love to see your work in progress pictures of the tablet i never thought of using a lunch tray, now that you mention it you could probably use two of them to get the basis of the shell, just sand it down to shape and cut all the holes in where they need to go. my only concern would be if the scale was right, but a lunch tray seems pretty close.

 

[Loco Max]

yeah i was thinking that or maybe some kind of walkie talkie and/or hand radio antenna, it has that thick rubbery look, but i cant find any with that flat rectangular shape :/

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that certainly looks like it was an inspiration, but that screen is probably too big to actually use on the prop (unless i am underestimating the size of the tablet and/or overestimating the size of that monitor, which is very possible.)

Yes, the screen is too big sorry!. But you could take a reference from old oscilloscopes.

 

[mrcarkeys42]

Yes, the screen is too big sorry!. But you could take a reference from old oscilloscopes.

No worries, actually i think i may know where to get a screen about the size i need. Recently the TV tech studio at my school replaced a lot of old equipment including a bunch of small CRT displays they used in the control room to show what the different cameras were seeing. I think all the stuff they got rid of is still in a store room somewhere in the school waiting to be sold off at an auction (as if anyone locally would buy that stuff...) but i could probably get back there and take anything i want, so i will check it out tomorrow

 

[mrcarkeys42]

I had no luck finding the small CRT screens today (i will try again tomorrow) however while searching i found plenty of other odds and ends that i think could be useful, including several different kinds of knobs, two router antennae, some switches, and a bunch of old colored lights for electrical equipment. the lights don't correspond to anything on the in game model, but i love the way they look so much i think i will include them on mine. i will post some pictures of these things in a little bit, but in the meantime does anybody know what this part is supposed to be, if anything? i am not sure if its supposed to be some actual item, or if it was just made up as part of the case for some extra geometry.

 

[mrcarkeys42]

Here are the pictures of all the stuff i found (minus the switches, which i didn't like any of them.)

since i am not aiming for accuracy i figured i would go for parts i liked over parts that were closest to the model. i found three different types of knobs that i liked but as it turns out i think the more accurate ones look better anyway



the middle pair are the ones i went with



i found two matching router antennae, since i only need one i decided i would weather one of them and then decide which one i like better later on (the weathering may not show up with this photo quality)



and lastly i found a bunch of lights, or rather colored light covers, that were probably spares for some kind of machine. like i said they don't have to do anything on the model, but i really want to incorporate them, or at least some of them. if i could get some wire LEDs in them that would be awesome.

 

[cavx]

I had no luck finding the small CRT screens today

Even if you do, how do you remove the vacuum tube off the back?

 

[mrcarkeys42]

Even if you do, how do you remove the vacuum tube off the back?

that's a good question. I was just thinking I would break it in a way to not damage the front screen (the only part that matters) perhaps I could file a groove around it where I would want the break to be to weaken it before I break it.

if I find the panel of small screens I will have backups if this plan does not work out lol