Clear off the print bed and grab a Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W, because this weekend's build is a fully working laser tag system dressed head to toe in Fallout's RobCo aesthetic. Here's the short shopping list before you start: a Pico 2 W to run the game logic, an IR emitter and receiver pair for the "shots," a small battery pack, a few tactile buttons and indicator LEDs, and a spool of filament in whatever color matches your wasteland vibe. Most parts print without supports and only a handful need them, so even a modest printer can handle the whole blaster over a couple of print sessions.

What the build actually is

The project, called the RobCo AE7P, was shared by maker Splated on Printables after roughly a year of trial and error. The goal was to recreate the arcade-grade laser tag feel at home, then wrap it in a retro-futuristic Fallout skin. It started life as a remix of ytec3d's open-source laser pistol, but nearly every part was reworked or replaced to carve out enough room for the electronics tucked inside the shell.

How it works under the hood

The brains live on the Pico 2 W, with firmware published as an open GitHub repository so you can flash it and tweak it freely. Infrared handles hit detection the same way commercial arcade systems do, with the emitter sending a coded pulse and the receiver registering a tag. Because the Pico 2 W has a wireless radio on board, networked multiplayer is on the roadmap too, and the creator has already flagged upcoming updates to add more game modes and proper network support. In other words, the platform is built to grow rather than sit static after the first match.

Make it your own

Since the model is split into print-friendly sections and the code is open, this is an easy project to customize. Swap the color scheme, remix the grip to fit your hand, or rewrite the game modes to suit your group.

• Print: grab the model files from Printables and slice them for your printer
• Wire: connect the IR pair, buttons, and indicator LEDs to the Pico 2 W
• Flash: load the open-source firmware and test a quick one-on-one match

Set aside a weekend, and you'll go from raw filament to a battle-ready blaster you actually built and coded yourself.

Originally published on blog.circuit.rocks.

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