Make a set of wearable T-51 Nuka Cola Power Armor from Fallout (100 Pics)

So over the last two years I have been working on building a full set of T-51 Nuka Cola Power Armor from Fallout 4 using pretty much all 3d printing to fabricate the armor. Here is my build log and story how I did it.

A nearly completed suit on display at Bay Area Maker Faire this year (2019)

Yup that's me, you are probably wondering how I got to this point... Well that is a long and crazy story, buckle up and lets do this!

A few years back in 2016 I 3d printed a set of T-60 armor, it was pretty cool and was pretty popular here on imgur [https://imgur.com/gallery/1Ivf0]. But my friends said I had peaked and could not do it again. Of course we were drunk and at DragonCon. So I decided to prove them wrong and make a new set of Fallout Power armor.

You could say I am obsessed with 3d Printing with a large number of machines that I own

Though for the most part I stuck to large printers like this one with a 500mm x 500mm x 500mm build volume. This ensured I could print most parts whole and not deal with a 3d jigsaw puzzle.

I also custom built a few printers for the job like this one to do tall parts.

I also started using resin printers for this project to make the small detailed parts.

Before the printing could start, I had to model the whole thing from scratch using screenshots and concept art using modeling software (Fusion 360)

Why no game assets you ask?

I am not a big fan of using them because I enjoy the challenge of testing my modeling skills as well as game assets are super low resolution and generally not well suited for use in the real work (you can't clip through objects IRL--thanks Bethesda!)

The end result is you get 3d print ready 3d models that also can be easily modded to work well in the real world and be wearable friendly.

Once I had a model I was able to start printing it

Unlike past armor builds where I used a corn based plastic filiament called PLA, I opted to make the entire thing out of flexible filament call TPU (thermoplastic urethane) which is considerably more durable and can be printed lighter than a rigid equivalent.

Some of the parts like the chest and the back plates needed to be split up to minimize support waste.

It was slowly starting to come together...

Yeet

Sometimes you had to do what was necessary to ensure a part did not fail lol.

As I started finishing prints, it was time to move into the next phase of the project, smoothing them and getting ready for painting.

At this time I was also starting to experiment with internal frames like this version 1 PVC frame which failed horribly (don't use PVC as its heavy and not terribly durable)

I eventually settled on using hardware store steel beams and L brackets as the internal frame for the build.

Here is a detail shot of the bracket that would hold the shoulders in the right area on my torso as well as the long spring that attached my armguards to the torso.

Here was my rough half way point in the printing process

Also the point where I began to wonder if I bit off more than I could chew... Nah!

I did a 3 step process to smooth the prints, first I would cover the rough spots with flexible latex based drywall spackle.

Then I would brush on think coats of bartop epoxy to get this finish (ignore that its not a armor part--I could not find any pics of epoxy on the armor)

Then lastly I would lay down coats of filler primer and wet sand smooth to about 800 grit.

Then after I primed it I used stone spray to add a texture to all the plates so it would resemble cast metal when painted.

Another primer coat over the texture and it starts to look better

I managed to salvage it but I would have saved so much time getting some vinyl stencils made

Midway point in March 2019

Here is an evolution of my shoulder armor, this was the original TPU version which I sadly had to retire as they were too floppy when moved.

These were the raw PLA versions to replace the TPU mark ones, using Bondo spot putty to fill in the seam lines.

Primed, then added SLA printed rivets to the edges to match my references.

Then painted solid red

Then the stone texture for that cast metal look

White trim painted on with an airbrush.

I learned from my errors with the chest plate and made vinyl stencils for painting--to vastly better results.

Then another base coat of red and starting to vinyl stencil on the Nuka Cola lettering

Did I mention I had to apply 4 of these (fortunately I had spares).

Then came the really fun part, using waterslide decals to get the nuka girl pin ups on each shoulder and thigh plate.

Let me just say that waterslide decals are simultaneously terrifying and satisfying to apply. Terrifying in that they are delicate and crazy slippery when wet. Satisfying to see it slide in place and cling to the surface like its life depended on it.

Decals all applied but they are too clean, time to add 200 hundred years of open air weathering

Better...

Muuuuuch better

At this point I was also layering on various spices--cinnamon, paprika, and curry powders to get a matte rust texture that when compared to my reference images looks damn near like the types of rust I wanted. This was an early stage where I had only layered on the cinnamon.

Unweathered parts

More weathered parts

Around August I found out I had been selected as a finalist for TwitchCon's super exclusive cosplay contest where 16 finalists competed for $15,000

At this point I also realized I needed to kick it up into high gear and finish my build and scratch build a prop to hold

I settled on fast fabricating a Flamer in 10 days

And so began templating and cutting the foam needed to make the frame.

Since the reference pics showed the frame was rather thick, I doubled up on 10mm foam.

On areas I knew would take more stress I modeled and layered in PLA prints and used a bandsaw to cut the foam flush against the prints.

Frame is starting to come together

Front is done...

Parts like the tanks, handle, etc were modeled in Fusion and 3d Printed.

Nearly got the frame done at this point

I also started sealing and adding the metallic edge wear that I would cover with masking fluid (liquid latex)

Liquid latex added to the areas I wanted to cause paint chipping on.

Meanwhile I was priming and sanding the printed parts.

Here is the fuel tank mostly painted, and partially weathered

Painting the flamer the base yellow.

Once the paint was cured I started peeling away the dried liquid latex to reveal the metallic paint I had added earier.

Starting to look like a flamer...

I had to back track a few steps and add steel supports to ensure that the weight of the PVC and 3d printed parts would not tear apart the foam, but it started to really look good.

Gotta add that muzzle burn

I managed to finish this prop 3 days before I left for TwitchCon, you can tell I lost the will to live at this point.

Also last minute I managed to cobble together with some help a heavily modified pair of Drywall stilts to be super safe and stable to walk in and look right.

Here it all was together with me suited up in it.

And I proudly made it across the stage. Alas I did not place--the winners showed incredible mastery across several different materials/techniques (vs my being excellent with printing and okay with painting).