Fallout Pip-Boy: Lessons Learned

Hi again!  As the title suggests, I've put together a custom Pip-Boy.  This was a gift for a special someone who was unable to get a pre-order for Fallout 4 before they stopped offering the edition that came with a wearable Pip-Boy.  Luckily for me, someone else had the same idea, so I'll be using this guy's models instead of trying to design the entire thing by myself.  It sure was nice of him to make this available for dorks like me to use-- I hope to do the same when I finally design something other people will want to print!

Considering the number of parts that come in this kit, as well as the fact that many needed to be cut into pieces to fit my printer, this was a very long project that consumed much time and filament.  I'm pretty sure this took me a good nine months of off-and-on work!  Instead of trying to do a chronological set of posts about it, I opted to be lazy and just use this one post as a general "what I've learned" style of summary that I updated over time.

Quick notes: I 3D printed the parts with PLA and a Printrbot Play printer.  A combination of XTC-3D and sand paper were used to smooth the prints.  The paper decals were printed from my normal paper printer, glued to a piece of cardboard for extra strength, and then wrapped in a cut of plastic baggie to give a shiny "behind plastic" kinda look.  Much of this was assembled using screws and toothpicks.  The black cable was salvaged from an old headset that no longer worked.  The "blank screen" and screen surround are the cheap craft foam you can pick up for like a dollar at a hobby store.  Bondo was my filler of choice, and I used Krylon spray products for the paint and sealant.  I did not include any LEDs this time around, but the guide mentioned at the top does show you how to set them up if you're so inclined.

For the complete Imgur album of the completed Pip-Boy, please look here!

Samsung Galaxy S5 not included

Things I've learned from trying to make a Pip-Boy:

• ModPodge sucks.  There, I said it.  I know all the other arts and crafts blogs have at least one entire post ranting about how awesome they think ModPodge is, but I've yet to have a good experience from using it.  As a sealant?  It never fully dried and left my figurine sticky.  As a glue?  It's pretty much the same junk we give kids, except I don't have to go to the hobby store for regular paste.  As a filler for 3D prints when you're attaching two pieces and have gaps?  Holy hell, no.  It doesn't exactly "harden" as much as dry into a rubbery substance.  I thought I could live with that at first... but then I tried to sand it, genius that I am.  It simply turned to gum that clogged up my sandpaper.  Never again.
• XTC-3D will pool if you apply too much and don't wipe it up.  Sure, trimming an edge with your Dremel isn't too bad, but the part where you get covered in a fine dust that the packaging marked as "do not inhale" is a bit of a pain.  And if it happens to pool on the model itself, you'll lose any surface detail that's under it.
• On a related note, XTC-3D dries clear when there are no bubbles.  This means a spot can look terrible but still be silky smooth.
• Spray paint and primer can be finicky, especially when you're in a hot, dry environment like I am.  Both too much and not enough humidity are things that can affect your results.
• Generic super glue seems to have a minimum surface area requirement.  If you don't meet this requirement, the two pieces won't stick together and the glue will take its sweet time to cure.  This will not keep it from instantly fusing with your finger, however.
• If your prints are warped or crooked, they'll result in a disfigured final piece.  Go figure.
• Painter's tape is the least elegant solution to filling large holes caused by said warped prints, and will not be covered completely with primer and paint alone.  Works well enough for parts you won't see, though.
• Dropping PLA prints can break them, especially if they're heavy but still manage to land on the most delicate part.
• Screws do indeed obey the same laws as every other physical object, in that they cannot exist in the same space that other matter currently exists in.  In other words, if you try to force a screw into a solid print that doesn't have room for a screw, you're likely to pop a couple layers of the print apart to make room.  Next time I'll use my drill to clear out a proper pilot hole.
• The level of craftsmanship a person puts into a prop does not necessarily correlate to how much effort they'll put into the tutorial explaining what they did.  The "tutorial" provided by the guy who made these models is pretty lack-luster, especially when it comes to assembling the crazy number of pieces that go into this build.  I was able to figure it out, but it certainly wasn't easy.
• If you're in the US, your local Ace Hardware is probably the best place to find screws and nuts.  For that alone I've started patronizing them more frequently as a thank-you for being so helpful!
• When cutting pieces to better fit your printer, straight down the middle isn't always the best idea, especially when the center has nooks and crannies you'll have trouble sanding later.

This thing took an eternity, but I'm so glad to have it done!  Hopefully my next project will be a little less complicated... until then, happy crafting!