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Checkout our latest item from the wasteland! UPDATE: 7/5/2024 We have updated the kit to simplify the screw selection. Both large and small kits now use the same size screws. You will need: 3x - m4x10 or 8-32 x 1/2" screws 2x - m4x16 or 8-32 x 3/4" screws The large kit should fit most common cell phones up to 177mm x 88mm x 18mm. The small kit should fit most phones up to 153mm long, x 77mm wide x 13.5mm thick. Please verify that your phone fits before ordering! This kit is meant to be easy to build and easy to use. We print this very cleanly to make the process of finishing quick and painless. Please verify that you have the following parts before continuing. In addition you will need foam from 10mm - 20mm thick for padding around the phone. Clean Up and Fitment Remove any brims, tabs, or support material. You can find instructions for working with 3D printed items here: https://www.3dcauldron.com/post/instructions-for-3d-printed-kits Please read that section then come back after cleaning up the parts. After you have cleaned up the parts test fit them to make sure everything fits properly. Use the following pics to see how it all fits together. Sizing NOTE: We no longer include the spacer as there is now more room in the body and it is not needed in most cases. If your arm is larger than 13" circumference, or you have a short forearm but it is larger than 11" circumference then please contact us about the spacer. If you contact us before we ship your kit we will include it for free. You will want to test fit this to your forearm before continuing. The large kit fits a forearm up to 13" circumference. The small kit fits a forearm up to 11" circumference. If your forearm fits nicely or is too small then you will not need the spacer. Instead you will use padding to make it fit your arm. You will use the short wide clasp. If your forearm is too large then you will need to use the spacer and the long clasp. The spacer adds about an inch to the circumference. Glue the spacer to the top half of the vambrace. Apply glue along the edge shown here. Align the spacer with the outer edge of the top half. Clamp or otherwise secure the spacer. Wipe off any excess glue. Wait for the adhesive to set. Note: If you end up with a gap sprinkle some baking soda in the gap. Wipe off any excess soda, then soak the baking soda with super glue. It should harden very quickly then you can sand off the excess. This will result in a very strong connection and it will fill the gap. Preparing for Paint At this point you need to decide how you want to move forward. If you want a top quality prop you will need to smooth out the print lines. There are several methods. Sanding   - It is possible to finish the kit with several iterations of sanding, priming, and then sanding again. This is the fun way, but we don't recommend you have that much fun! This method will weaken the item. Fillers   - Technically it is possible to use fillers thick such as Bondo, wood putty, ect. but you probably shouldn't. In our experience this method results in much more work than is necessary. Resin Coating  - The best way to finish our kits is to coat them with resin. This allows for smooth surfaces, adds a significant amount of strength to the prop, and can even add a little weight. All of our kits were designed to be used with resin not sanded and primed! Learn more about resin here.   If you prefer a quicker build and are ok with some imperfections then you can simply sand any rough spots with 150 grit then sand the rest of the prop with 220 to scuff up the surface. Its now ready for primer. Primer After smoothing, or scuffing the surface you are ready for primer. Apply a thin layer of primer over the entire kit. Start with 220 grit sand paper and sand the entire kit. At this point you can paint the prop but you will have some scratches and print lines showing. If you are wanting a premium surface then you will need to do several iterations of primer and sanding. Gradually increasing the grit of the sand paper each time. When the item is smooth enough for you then you are ready for paint. There are numerous tutorials showing how to paint props so we will not reinvent the wheel. The search engine is your friend!!! Assembly The tape holder is friction fit, the indexing pins hold it in place and act as a pivot. Squeeze the sides of the tape holder, and slide it in place. Press on the rear to open the tape holder. To install the wide clasp appropriate for your size on to the bottom half first. (There is an extra included with the kit.) Rotate the clasp outward like this. Attach the clasp to the top half. When assembled it should look like this. SIDE QUEST: Alternatively you can use 2" wide double sided Velcro for the hinge. Install the long skinny clasp like this. (There is an extra included with the kit.) SIDE QUEST: You can also replace this clasp with 1" double sided Velcro. You will have to trim one end down to 1/2" to fit the locking mechanism. Rotate the clasp like this. Install the locking mechanism like this. Moving Knobs The knobs are held on with screws. 4 of the knobs should rotate freely on the screw. You may need to drill or file the knobs a little to make it rotate freely. The knob with the needle should be tight on the screw. Knobs 10 and 12 look very similar. 12 has the letter N on the underside Use knob 10 which is lose on the screw for the side. Moving Needle Use knob 12 which is tight on the screw for the needle. This knob has the letter N on the underside. Drive the screw all the way into the knob and ensure it is tight. Slip the needle in like this. Hold the needle against the top of the body and screw in the knob. The needle should be tight so be careful when screwing it in. Do not tighten this all the way down. When finished the knob and needle should move together when rotated. Finally you can glue on the greebles. Now you will want to install some kind of padding inside the vambrace. This will keep it from flopping around on your wrist. Just glue the padding to the inside. At this point you are finished with the build. Rejoice in the glory of your new baby boy! Installing the App You will need to install the app. iPhone:  You can get it from the apple store. NOTE: Apparently the iPhone app does not allow you to scale the display to the screen area. To get around this you can use a smaller phone or use an old android phone. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/fallout-pip-boy/id1049061806 Android:  You will have to grab it from a 3rd party as it is no longer available on the play store. We got it from apkmirror and it seems to work fine. https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/bethesda-softworks-llc/fallout-pip-boy/fallout-pip-boy-1-2-release/fallout-pip-boy-1-2-android-apk-download/ Once it is installed you will need to setup your phone to turn the screen on when tapping the screen rather than using the power button. This process is different on various phones so you will need to look up how to do this for your phone. Install the Phone To install the phone you will need to cut your foam padding. Use the screen bezel to mark out the outside cut. Next place your phone face up on the foam. Lay the bezel on top and align the phone so that the opening is centered on your screen. The bezel should be lined up with the foam. Remove the bezel and trace around your phone. Cut out the area you just traced. Install the bezel in the phone. If you have a large phone you may not need the bezel. Insert the foam. Insert your phone. Insert the foam you cut out behind the phone. Secure it with the insert. Note: The insert is meant to be friction fit. Squeeze it in until it is pressing the foam tight against your phone. Now you are ready to strap it on. BEWARE: this is the Pinch Master 3000 be careful not to pinch your arm when putting it on. Using the App At this point you should have the app installed, the phone installed, and you should be wearing the prop. Android users: Double tap your screen and open the app. On the "Display Mode" screen, select "Hardware". Click Next The "Display Area" screen will allow you to move the screen area to match the screen. Pinch to scale, drag to move. Once the screen area is set you are ready to go. Use the app with your console or in demo mode if cosplaying. iPhone users: The iPhone app does not allow you to fit the display to the screen area. For this reason we recommend that you use an old android phone. Alternatively you can try to use a smaller iPhone with padding. Don't forget to give us a shout out on social!

Checkout our latest item from the wasteland!

Checkout our latest item from the wasteland!

Most measurements can be taken with a taylors tape. If you do not have one then you can use a string, then measure the string with a measuring tape or ruler. Here are instructions on how to make a homemade caliper for those who do not have one to measure with. https://3dcauldron.com/pages/homemade-calipers This is useful for width measurements such as head, shoulders, ect. NOTE: We only need the measurements relative to the item you are purchasing. Here is a video detailing how to properly take measurements. Head Note: It is more accurate to use calipers and measure width (ear to ear), depth (nose to back), and height (chin to top). Neck Upper Torso Biceps Forearms Stomach Waist Thighs Calves

FDM 3D printing creates objects by building the object layer by layer. This process leaves artifacts on the surface of the item. Here are a few examples. Layer Lines Top Surface Lines and Artifacts Supported Areas Overhangs There are many ways to hide these artifacts, some more involved than others. Over the years we have tried everything from vapor smoothing, to fillers like bondo. Of all the finishing methods we have tried we prefer resin coating. If done properly resin coating can eliminate ninety percent of the sanding usually necessary to get a smooth injection mold like surface. In addition the resin will add significant strength to the item as well as increase its temperature resistance. Resin coated PLA is stronger, and more temp resistant than ABS, ASA, or PETG! With resin coating the layer height, and surface quality are not very important, as it takes the same amount of work to finish a rough print as it does a very nice one. Preparation Preparing the item for coating is a breeze. After the item is assembled and any adhesives are dry you only need to sand the high spots, and scuff up any smooth or shiny areas to promote adhesion. This can be done with a scotch pad or perhaps 400-600 grit paper. Don't worry about the print lines, or other minor defects the resin will hide most of it. It is important to take your time when coating. The resin will self level to an extent but you will need to catch any runs or drips. Once the resin begins to cure leave it alone! Once cured you can trim drips, bumps, and runs with a razor and then sand it flat. You may want to do a second coat or simply touch up some areas. Be sure to scuff up any areas you want to coat again! NOTE: Thick resin will cover some of the details. To prevent this you can avoid highly detailed areas at first. Then thin the resin to coat the detailed areas. Please consult the manufacturer of the resin you choose for info on thinning it. You will also want to do some small tests before coating your entire item! Epoxy Resin Coating (Our Recommendation!) Epoxy comes in two parts; the resin, and a hardener. The resin is cured by a chemical process, achieved by mixing the two components. Some benefits include: The ability to adjust working time. The ability to adjust viscosity. No UV curing or washing necessary. Epoxy is much more cost effective than UV resin. The cured coating is not brittle. Excellent adhesion. There are many types of 2 part epoxy resins and most will get the job done. We have used table top resin, fiberglass resin, casting resin, UV resin and even cheap ebay resin. Check the manufacturers recommendations for the type and brand you use. Of all the types and brands we have tried we prefer XTC-3D as it is formulated specifically for this process and thus its properties are ideal. We have used if for many years and can verify claims by its maker Smooth-On. More info on the use of XTC-3D can be found here. You can thin XTC-3D with isopropyl alcohol for coating detailed areas. The following video demonstrates how to apply the resin. UV Resin Coating UV resin is a one part resin which is cured by exposure to UV light. Although this is not our preferred method, some find this easier to use than epoxy and so we have included this video for your reference. The main advantage to UV resin is that you do not need to mix it. Simply apply it to the part and cure it. There are a few drawbacks as well. Items produced with UV resin (sla printed), or those coated with it tend to be brittle. It is more difficult to adjust the viscosity. UV resin is significantly more expensive so if you are coating a large item or many items it will get costly. UV resin is not suited to large items or thick applications. You will need a UV light if the sun is not shining. Multiple Coats With any resin you need to take care when applying a second coat. With epoxy it is best to apply a second coat when the undercoat is still slightly tacky. With UV resin you will want to apply thin layers and fully cure each before repeating. After the undercoat is fully cured you will need to scuff up the surface to allow the second coat to properly adhere. After Coating Once the resin is cured you can sand out any imperfections. This is where taking your time while coating will pay off! In addition to removing imperfections, you will need to scuff up the entire item before primer and paint. At this point finishing is similar to any other item.

You can find instructions for taking measurements here. Before you begin you will need a few materials and tools to work with our kits. Materials Glue - We recommend Loctite Super Glue but any glue with cyanoacrylate is ideal. Many hobby and model glues will work just fine as well. Resin - All of our kits are designed to be coated with resin before sanding and painting. More info on working with resin can be found here. Paint - Some chose to use our multi-color kits without paint, but you will probably want to paint our armor, and helmets. Ultimately the choice of paint is up to you. NOTE: If you are trying to color match a screen accurate prop, we recommend joining FB groups, and the costume club forums. There you can get suggestions for paint colors, and brands. Also google is your friend! Tools We recommend the following tools when working with any of our items. Heatgun or Hairdryer (be very careful with the heatgun as it can melt the item very quickly) Needle Nose Pliers Utility Knife or Hobby Knife Sand Paper Wire Cutters Pick Tweezers Clamps Sanding Pencil - Wrap sandpaper around a pencil for sanding the inside of rounded areas. Cleanup Our raw 3D printed kits are fresh off the printer and will need to be cleaned up. Our items are made with thermoplastics. Thermoplastics are plastics which get soft when heated and harden when they cool. This allows us to easily fix minor blemishes with simple tools. Support Material & Overhangs Over hanging areas of any 3D printed item needs to be supported during production. This produces waste material called support material. Support material is typically easy to remove but be careful that you do not damage small parts of the item when removing it. Use needle nose pliers to pull away the support material. Use a scraper to remove any small sections of the support which remain stuck to the model. Once the support is removed you may see a rough texture where the item met the support material. This can be cleaned up by scraping any lose strings, zits, or blobs off of the item. Then lightly sand the area with a coarse sand paper 100-150 grit. From here you can simply coat the area with resin, or other fill methods. Brims & Tabs Brims are a thin layer of plastic which prevents the item from falling over during production. You may see them around the base of tall skinny parts. Tabs serve to keep the corners of thick models from coming lose or curling up, and to connect small parts. Brims usually come lose by bending them down and tearing them off. You can then use a knife, or sandpaper to clean up the edge. Tabs should be cut with a utility knife to maintain the straight edges of the part. Strings Stings are small threads of plastic which may appear on the item. These occur when the printer moves from one section to another during production. Strings are easily removed by scraping the surface with a knife or scraper. After you remove the bulk by scraping, go over the area with a heat gun. Lastly scrape any blobs which formed. Fitment Before gluing anything you should test fit all of the parts. You may need to cleanup the inside of holes, or sand small areas for proper fitment. Refer to the kit diagram for part location. Holes You can scrape the inside of holes with a utility knife to remove any excess material. Sand the inside of the hole with a sanding pencil or a rat tail file. If you are having issues with a particular part you can soften it with a heat gun to get it to fit. BE CAREFUL IT WILL MELT!!! Moving Parts Many of our kits include moving triggers, buttons, and other moving parts. Carefully test fit each moving section and ensure it moves as it should. You will need to sand the parts a little to get smooth movement. Note: If coating with resin you will need to sand a little extra to increase the clearances between the moving parts. Thin the resin a little and apply a very thin coat to the contact area of each moving part. Sand the contact areas again after the resin cures. Connectors and Joints Textured Joints Textured joints are not flush with each other due to print lines or excess material on the mating surface. For Textured joints we recommend that you tape a piece of sandpaper to a table and sand the part by sliding it over the sandpaper. This makes for a nice flat edge. Use a sanding block on areas you cannot table sand. Curled or Warped Joints Curled or warped joints are surfaces that are flush but the edges curl up so there is a gap at the joint. To fix these we recommend heating the part with a hair dryer or heatgun. -----> (!!! CAUTION: If you get it too hot it will melt!!!!) Slightly heat the joint by quickly moving the dryer back and fourth over the area. You want to soften the plastic but not melt it. Pay attention to the geometry around the curled area, yo may need to heat up the sides a little to get the part to flex. Once the joint is soft press the parts edge firmly to a flat surface, and hold until cool. This will make the joint flat, and allow the glue to adhere. NOTE: The heat gun is your friend! Our items are made from thermoplastics which means you can easily fix or repair almost anything! Resin Printed Lenses We are now offering transparent resin printed parts with some of our kits. These offer superior transparency but need a bit of work to get there. To avoid yellowing please keep the transparent parts out of the sun and away from other UV light sources until after clear coating! The lenses will be translucent when they arrive. You will need to wet sand these parts with 1000-2000 grit sandpaper, and then clear coat them to make them transparent. Assembly Following the assembly diagram found on the product page glue each part together. You may want to use clamps, rubber bands, or tape to temporarily hold sections together. Glue each section making sure each mating surface is flush. If you are not painting the kit, be careful not to get any glue on the visible parts of the finished kit. TIP: If you find a section is not flush, you can apply glue to the smoothest side of the joint, and barely soften the other side with a heat gun. Quickly push the sections together for a strong permanent connection. Be careful to match the parts up exactly before you press them together! OPTIONAL : We include 3D printed screw heads with many of our kits. You can drill out the areas where the screw heads go, and use metal screws instead. Smoothing To get a nice finish on any of our items you will need to take care of the print lines. Print lines are an inherent feature of FDM 3D printed items. Each layer is deposited one at a time, which leaves a small horizontal seam. As well as a visible vertical seam as seen in the middle image. Our layer heights vary between the first and middle image, depending on the size and detail level of the part. We love print lines, but you may want a smooth surface. This can be done in several ways. Sanding - It is possible to finish the kit with several iterations of sanding, priming, and then sanding again. This is the fun way, but we don't recommend you have that much fun! This method will weaken the item. Fillers - Technically it is possible to use fillers thick such as Bondo, wood putty, ect. but you probably shouldn't. In our experience this method results in much more work than is necessary. Resin Coating - The best way to finish our kits is to coat them with resin. This allows for smooth surfaces, adds a significant amount of strength to the prop, and can even add a little weight. All of our kits were designed to be used with resin not sanded and primed! Learn more about resin here. Paint We leave this up to the customer. Post pics when your kit is complete. We love to see customer builds! NOTE: If you are trying to color match a screen accurate prop, we recommend joining FB groups, and the costume club forums. There you can get suggestions for paint colors, and brands. Also google is your friend! Kit Diagrams The diagrams are located on the product page. You can search for them here.

Materials needed: Cardboard box Razor Knife Ruler or Square Pencil STEP 1 Place your straight edge along your cardboard seam and edge and use your marker to make a line. Make two outlines. STEP 2 Use your cardboard cutter to cut out the two right angle forms. Now you have two arms of a caliper. STEP 3 Attach them together with a paper clip. STEP 4 Hold your cardboard caliper over the area to be measured so that the points of the caliper barely touch the subject. STEP 5 Measure between the arms of the caliper.