How I Built My Fallout Doctor Halloween Costume

Halloween is my favorite holiday, and most years I usually dress up as some character from popular culture. This year, however, I decided to go with an original idea: a “fallout doctor.” Basically, I was going for a sort of post-apocalyptic cyberpunk plague doctor look. It was uncomfortable to wear to Halloween events over the weekend, but the blinky lights look neat! Full instructions are available over on my Hackster build log.

The mask for this costume is a combination of a supposedly Soviet gas mask from Amazon and a cyberpunk plague doctor mask from a local costume store. WS2812B individually-addressable “NeoPixel” style RGB LEDs are arranged around the eyes of the plague doctor mask, and EL wire runs through clear tubes through that, the gas mask filter canister, and down to a satchel that contains the electronics. There is a momentary button attached to one of the gloves, so when I point at someone the LEDs switch from a blue “searching” effect to a flashing “red alert” effect.

Those WS2812B LEDs are controlled with an Arduino Pro Mini 5V, and draw power from a battery back designed to recharge smartphones. While the gas mask came with a filter canister, I wasn’t confident in how safe that was to breathe through or modify. So, I replaced that with a 3D-printed canister that I modeled in Autodesk Fusion 360. That has channels for the clear tubing to run through, as well as an opening for air. It’s probably too late for you to replicate this in time for Halloween tomorrow, but you can always use it for inspiration next year!