If you missed your chance to get a real life Fallout 4 Pip-Boy, it’s not too late to get one—if you have access to a 3D printer.
When Bethesda announced Fallout 4 a few months back, it also came out with a special preorder edition that came with a Pip-Boy 3000 Mark IV portable computer you could strap to your wrist. The contraption was just a shell that could fit a regular smartphone, with the real computing being done by a Fallout 4 companion app, but the notion of getting a real-life piece of Fallout was so exciting that the package sold out in no time.
Bethesda’s special edition version of the Pip-Boy 3000 Mark IV.
Unfortunately, Bethesda can’t make any more, because the factories churning out the Pip-Boys couldn’t fit additional runs into their production schedules.
That’s when Netherlands-based Yvo de Haas took matters into his own hands. He created a 3D model of the Pip-Boy complete with STL files for 3D printing that are free for anyone to download.
Yvo de Haas The de Haas Pip-Boy 3000 Mark IV.
De Haas says constructing the Pip-Boy was difficult since he only had a teaser trailer and the E3 video for reference. In the end, however, he was able to get some features in the working model, including the tape deck at the top, the wrist latch, and space to install working lights.
The impact on you at home: Right now, de Hass has two main versions available for download: the phone version and the “accurate” version. De Haas says the accurate version is for “the serious tinkerer” who may want to use a Raspberry Pi instead of a smartphone with the Pip-Boy. “It is as accurate as I can make it, with no sacrifice to fit anything in,” de Haas said in a blog post describing the project.
For anyone who simply wants to throw their phone in and out of the Pip-Boy, the phone version is the better choice. Both Pip-Boy files come in 100, 108, and 115 percent sizes. Check out de Haas’ blog for more information, including a list of supplies you’ll need and a forthcoming assembly guide.
The official Fallout 4 companion app is expected to go live around the time of the game’s November 10 launch.
[via Eurogamer]