Paper Macheniacs: Fallout 4 Pip Boy

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM OUT HOME-MADE FALLOUT 4 PIP BOY!

If you're a certified gamer, you'd know that this fully-loaded little mechanism is awesome stuff for post-apocalyptic Boston. If you're a certified Papier Macheniac, you'd know that this little mechanism is a heck-load of hard work to make! The amount of details on this thing is insane!
But then… so are we.

I'd have to admit, our favourite part in the paper macheing process is hunting for the random parts that would make up the pieces of the prop. For Fallout 4's Pip boy, it was a mad hunt. We decided to use a T-shirt's plastic tube container, a photo frame box, and yep --my own mobile phone. The things I do for love.
Oh, a tip when hunting --make sure to choose items that are light and easy to get tissue paper and glue on. Everything has to be paper mache'd for consistency and a smoother finish.

YAY! PAPER MACHE'D! Sculpted details --not too shabby. If you're wondering about the bottle caps, they're there to keep my phone in place. Safety first. Teehee...

The attachments we had to sculpt and paper mache piece by piece. because we're OC like that.

Then came the assembly part which was loads of fun!

Now, like we always do, we went to town with the painting part. Our Pip boy came with the distress, the wear-and-tear, and just about everything you can throw at a nuclear war aftermath.

Glue stick bits for buttons and an old charger cable for the Pip boy's cable were pretty nifty touches, too.

And don't get me started on the Doop Doop Theme cassette tape!

So there you have it --us overdoing it with Fallout 4's Pip boy. And it fits like a glove!

Hey, why not make your own paper mache Pip boy and customise it to a fun prop like we did? Great weekend warrior project. Especially if you're into this futuristic wasteland scenario kind of thing.

Papier Macheniacs: Rubberatronic Freddy Fazbear

"Hey, buddy! I'm Freddy Fazbear!"

Yeah, this guy creeps up on me every night now. He's our version of one of the animatronic robots in the game, Five Nights at Freddy's.
Eh, you know how we roll --new online game discovery, new paper mache project.

So today, brace yourself as we take you through the Freddy Fazbear Rubberatronic Mask DIY!
Why 'Rubberatronic', you ask? Ah, in due time, little grasshopper, in due time.

First, we gotta do some sculpting. Most of our masks are paper plate-based. Because paper plates are easy to shape and they've got that nice shiny silver surface that doesn't rip when the wearer of the mask sweats or decides to sneeze. Uh-huh.
Our Freddy mask is made up of two parts: The face itself and the jaw. This has something to do with the Rubberatronic awesomeness I've been blabbering about.

Second, when you've got all your sculpted newspaper down pat, it's time to whip out the glue and tissue. Paper mache-ing in progress! Now, for this particular mask, the nooks and crannies were insane. So you have to fill those pockets up with paper mache to make sure every bit of the mask holds in the end. Do the same for the jaw and teeth.

Third, applying the details. We use standard marker for this. Make sure you do this with Freddy's picture right in front of you. I mean, even the freckles were crucial to my boys.
If you haven't punched holes for the eyes at this point, you better do it now.

Fourth, paint!

BAM! Pretty handsome specimen, eh? :P

Just as an added tidbit here, the Freddy mask is heavy up front because of the bear's snout, the hat, and that jaw attachment. So instead of our usual backstrap, we opted for a full-on 'skull cap' to keep the mask secured on the wearer's head. Yes! We measured my son's head and then paper mache'd and painted the mould accordingly. The skull cap is then cinched with a horizontal strap and an additional vertical strap.

Fifth! The Rubberatronic attachment!
Okay, okay… too much fanfare. It's really just a couple of rubber bands that the jaw attachment can hang from at a good distance from the bottom of the face. So with just a tug, you can get Freddy Fazbear to talk like a robot. Kinda like in the game. Except it's manual. Not, uh, technological. Hahaha!

There you have it --Papier Macheniacs' very own Five Nights at Freddy's top man, Freddy Fazbear!

And now, I leave you with a few words from our sponsors.

Papier Macheniacs: The Detonator

We're back! And with guns a-blazing!

Just look at this handsome son of a gun!

It's Pyro's The Detonator from Team Fortress 2. Oh, we just had a total blast making this one.

In true Papier Macheniacs tradition, we started the magic with a whole lot of junk. An empty Pringles can, an old Lego RV box, and a tired tissue roll repurposed themselves for this project.

Then, the tissue and glue started the mummification process. We did 4 layers on this bad boy for extra toughness. It is… eherm… a deadly weapon after all.

Now, you're probably wondering why we didn't sculpt this thing whole like we always do all our projects. This time around, we shaped three separate pieces because we're using non-paper materials to hold them all together. Yup, that's a first for us.

We wanted a working ammo chute with a snap-lock mechanism. So we recruited my husband for the job. Cleverly, he used a cupboard hinge and an airsoft bullet to get things clicking. How resourceful is that??? Me and the boys were floored! We vowed to re-use his impeccable services for future projects. Hehe… you're in this now, honey.

Markered! And it looked so cool in black and white.

And then painted to absolute detonating perfection. With medical gauze tape to hold the pieces together, as seen on Steam.

Of course, I can't just end the blogpost there. My boy insisted that a demo of the first-ever Papier Macheniacs fully operational snap-lock mechanism was in order. So…

And there you have it. TF2's The Detonator. I bet we just made Pyro so, so proud. *sniff*