Introduction: Codec Phone Case
"This is Armor Bravo. Do you read me, Orange Robo?"
Loud and clear, Bravo. Age hasn't slowed you down one bit.
"So, what's this about a Metal Gear phone case?"
As you may know, Konami released a phone case that matches the look of the iDroid from Metal Gear Solid V.
"Yeah, I heard. Pretty sweet, but it's expensive, in limited supply, and doesn't fit my phone."
Unfortunately, yes. But I know you too well, Bravo. You won't let that stop you.
"That's right. I'm getting a dorky phone case, one way or another."
Well, it's now or never. Your iPhone 4S is ready to retire and your old case is little more than a baby teething toy now.
"Right. I'll need to figure something out."
As usual, it'll be material and equipment OSP (on-site procurement), so don't expect any official support. We're counting on you, Bravo. Over and out.
-Cheap two-piece case from Monoprice as the base. I'd been planning to make a case for a while; it's hard to find one that actually covers the screen and the ones that do are overpriced, so I resolved to do it my way.
-Front flap is 1/8in acrylic leftover from a project at work. A bit too thick, but it makes a satisfying "clap" when I close it. I thought about adding a magnetic catch, but it wouldn't quite fit and would probably mess up the phone's sensors anyway.
-The angular bits are just polystyrene cut at interesting angles. Gotta make it look angular and futuristic.
-A couple different layers of paint here. Metallic silver base with varying cyan dabbed on with a paper towel. (wish I knew what happened to my sea sponge...) I actually planned on bright red, which I might do for the next one.
-"Grip" hashes made just by spray painting blank label sheets leftover from the Rebelle/Toha Heavy Industries PDW. They ended up a bit crooked, but I guess they work.
-Labels were just printed on regular office paper and whiteglued on. I had more in mind, but I was feeling skittish about going overboard.
-I originally planned to add a stylus or headphone coupler as an "antenna," but I couldn't find one I liked; it's crazy how much people will charge for a plastic pen that doesn't actually write...
-The one thing I really regret not including is the sounds. It's an iPhone, so it's not as simple a matter as dragging and dropping the proper ringtone. I plan to fix that the next time around.
-It got scratched to hell, but it is imitating a piece of fictional military hardware. You say "scratched," I say "weathered." The best part is I just had to carry it around and it ended up that way!
Could've been better, but all-in-all a fun way to sunset an old phone.
