Enlarge Image Dave Love

As every good vault-dweller knows, if you're going to venture out into the Fallout 4 Wasteland, you're going to need a working Pip-Boy, the in-game device that manages your inventory, leveling and other functions.

After spending some time wandering through the Commonwealth in Fallout 4, automotive mechanic, artist and fabricator Dave Love remembered he'd recently found a box of old Legos from his childhood. So he decided to try to build a real-life Pip-Boy.

The design uses a combination of standard Legos and Lego Technic parts like shock absorbers that allow the clamps to adjust to the shape of his arm so it's comfortable to wear. It's based on the Pip-Boy 3000 Mark IV model in Fallout 4.

Love told CNET's Crave blog that it took between 10 and 12 hours of trial and error to build his Lego Pip-Boy, and that he took it apart and put it back together "what seemed like a million times" until he was satisfied with how it fit around his arm.

The face of the Pip-Boy serves as a case for Love's iPhone 6S running the Fallout 4 companion app, which is available for both iOS and Android. The Pip-Boy has some Lego buttons that can control the phone's power and volume, and an access hole allows a charging cable to connect to the phone in case his Pip-Boy needs some extra juice.

It also has a pretty awesome (and sort-of-functional) flip-up holotape deck built in, in case we ever figure out how that technology works.

Love used between 300 and 400 pieces for the build -- he says he lost count after taking his Pip-Boy apart for the tenth time. While it might not look quite as polished as the limited-edition wearable Bethesda released with Fallout 4, Love's additional touches make this one stand out. Plus he has the pride of having built it himself.

Love is thinking about putting together a step-by-step instruction manual for those interested in building one for themselves, but that will have to wait until he's done improving upon the design.

'Til then, Wastelanders are stuck with the Fallout 4 companion apps for all their Pip-Boy needs, unless they happened to snag one from Bethesda's limited supply.