# 3D Printed Belt Gizmo Build (Pic Heavy) **URL:** \ **Category:** Other Props\ **Created:** [October 21, 2025, 12:02pm UTC](https://forum.gbfans.com/t/3d-printed-belt-gizmo-build-pic-heavy/25960 "2025-10-21T12:02:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![galeap](https://forum.gbfans.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/g/dbc845/32.png) [@galeap](https://forum.gbfans.com/u/galeap)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2025, 12:02pm UTC](https://forum.gbfans.com/t/3d-printed-belt-gizmo-build-pic-heavy/25960/1 "2025-10-21T12:02:15Z")
Hi All, Hi Everyone, As we approach this year’s Halloween, I’ve decided to get back into improving my current outfit. I have a Children’s hospital visit coming up with some of the local guys here in Brisbane. And I’ve never really liked my existing [belt gizmo](https://www.gbfans.com/wiki/equipment/uniform/calculator-circuit-board) build (mostly the bad paint job I did on it and the fake nixies), it was a temp build until I could get around to converting my real 808D over. But now, given the scarcity of the 808D’s I cant bring myself to pull my working one apart. My hope was that I would be able to pick up one of Ecto Labs awesome Belt Gizmo replicas instead, but unfortunately they haven’t been in stock every time I checked across the year. So onto another temporary belt gizmo build, but this time with a better printer and some more effort to get things to look more real (at a glance for the general public). This was a fun quick project and I thought it came out OK, and I thought the approach I took with the nixies is worth sharing. I found this project [https://makerworld.com/en/models/1801194-belt-gizmo-with-hostler-and-daughter-board#profileId-1920786](https://makerworld.com/en/models/1801194-belt-gizmo-with-hostler-and-daughter-board#profileId-1920786) where a fellow had worked out a way to project the circuit traces onto the what seems to be a version of the original Mr Kiou model that I note is still available on Thingiverse ([https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4269753](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4269753)) And that is where my journey began this time. I didn’t want to follow the complete maker world model, I just wanted the mainboard with circuit trace projection. So I joined the board back up and painted the parts so that I ended up with this painted model. ![image](https://discdn.gbfans.com/original/3X/4/7/47002469ebcf01bb84d7d780209536befe609737.png) Which mid print looked like this ![image](https://discdn.gbfans.com/original/3X/5/3/5318d0bccb285001afbf4baec597d1c48ddc5c73.jpeg) And after a long time came out like this ![image](https://discdn.gbfans.com/original/3X/2/d/2d4c212d5b624ce34594a384375fda1b4d7a0f64.jpeg) I ended up chopping up parts of the main board to mock up a daughterboard. I also modified the nixe holder to move the error box down a bit more like the real deal. ![image](https://discdn.gbfans.com/original/3X/6/7/6733233a114ec9337fad64411cfa59aca527d675.jpeg) But my biggest issue with my last build was the Nixes, just not looking like real ones. So I ended up putting some extra effort into these on this build. In summary I designed an internal nixie insert that I could print out of black and clear PETG G. I also found some cheap acyrlic test tubes at the local $2 stores that were the right diameter for the nixie glass lens and cut them down. ![image](https://discdn.gbfans.com/original/3X/5/5/557e5b8a5425b1e6bf6ff24f924ec481e3fdcc57.jpeg) ![image](https://discdn.gbfans.com/original/3X/1/2/12ac2ac6f52ee272358aadb9fdcd1fd7068fe2b7.jpeg) To get them all the same size, I 3d printed up a jig to mark them and then sand the height down to a finished eight. ![image](https://discdn.gbfans.com/original/3X/3/2/323ec3af8bfa36f62a730c1ed3a3ca04e62c5a83.jpeg) ![image](https://discdn.gbfans.com/original/3X/6/f/6f995c71c48f4c8a242fe68e35e5643faef17599.jpeg) ![image](https://discdn.gbfans.com/original/3X/6/4/643c2c5e948ca45a450c3d753f2e8a084ff44d5d.jpeg) I then drilled a small hole in the base of each which I could feed a cheap battery powered string of LED lights in. ![image](https://discdn.gbfans.com/original/3X/4/1/4118fa9a8f425a0462756142c1eed08eec4ed8e2.jpeg) On initial tets sI wasnt happy with teh colour of the leds, so to make them more orange I painted a thing coat of nail polish on each (orange for the numbers, red for the error box) ![image](https://discdn.gbfans.com/original/3X/a/3/a3bb63fa8081843c25a043bd3cac890ab7e7a667.jpeg) ![image](https://discdn.gbfans.com/original/3X/5/b/5bd7d57970e732c905b77e36ee1cbd51db1250c7.jpeg) ![image](https://discdn.gbfans.com/original/3X/5/c/5cb60819bd242219607247792e66762fca9aa26d.jpeg) A quick test (In the end wasnt happy with the digit size and make a smaller version) ![image](https://discdn.gbfans.com/original/3X/2/7/2715fc80b1f4112d3aad21f05d7aff07a2610d5f.jpeg) Added some small red wires to better mock up the look. ![image](https://discdn.gbfans.com/original/3X/e/0/e00ee037a20538250e9b764664736ddc6f789abc.jpeg) ![image](https://discdn.gbfans.com/original/3X/2/6/260731ae65d22746e84d2adb8a4afdec2e1498e6.jpeg) ![image](https://discdn.gbfans.com/original/3X/3/3/3305c22d78f9e3712e1b9448233be88cf4c302e7.jpeg) Now bringing it all together… ![image](https://discdn.gbfans.com/original/3X/4/0/402f202a1f1a67a2a76cbcf73b407aae42a62314.jpeg) ![image](https://discdn.gbfans.com/original/3X/9/4/94517400b82ec68f733a02268a6e982dc0989165.jpeg) ![image](https://discdn.gbfans.com/original/3X/0/e/0eb0cbc14ff6b549681d5e6f09713694b4298777.jpeg) Comparision to my [old one](https://www.gbfans.com/wiki/characters/old-one). ![image](https://discdn.gbfans.com/original/3X/4/2/427e3fe1cfdeba5d9e73d4a3957c2332f403b611.jpeg) And final look.. ![image](https://discdn.gbfans.com/original/3X/a/3/a300186e8d843cdd8f6f546125faf1cb50e2689a.jpeg) ![image](https://discdn.gbfans.com/original/3X/9/b/9ba6a2faed09cc000aefe601af9dcb73ccc75506.jpeg) I think it looks better than my older one, and hopefuully its strong enough to deal with real world knocks etc. But it was a fun build and thought it turned out good enough to share with others for ideas if you cant get your hands on the real/replica boards. ---
**Author:** ![sp-productions](https://forum.gbfans.com/user_avatar/forum.gbfans.com/sp-productions/32/188327_2.png) [@sp-productions](https://forum.gbfans.com/u/sp-productions)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2025, 1:07pm UTC](https://forum.gbfans.com/t/3d-printed-belt-gizmo-build-pic-heavy/25960/2 "2025-10-21T13:07:08Z")
Genius all the way around! Sean ---
**Author:** ![galeap](https://forum.gbfans.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/g/dbc845/32.png) [@galeap](https://forum.gbfans.com/u/galeap)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2025, 1:46am UTC](https://forum.gbfans.com/t/3d-printed-belt-gizmo-build-pic-heavy/25960/3 "2025-10-22T01:46:54Z")
Thanks for the complement, wasnt sure how this build would be received. It just needs to see me through until Ecto Labs starts making more kits again and I manage to get my hands on one.