Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1542039
22 PROP CULTURE I WINTER 2026 E x c e l l e n c e i n O n e H o u r F a n t a s y & S c i e n c e F i c t i o n T e l e v i s i o n S e r i e s 2 0 2 5 Fallout, Season 1 Michael Jortner, PMG & Peter Gelfman, PMG to produce assets from the game and imagine new props within the established motif? PETER GELFMAN: The scale of many of the in-game props is somewhat fantastical. The "Assault Rifle" would only really be carry-able by someone in a powered suit as it would probably weigh close to 400 lb, mostly front loaded. We had to adapt to a slightly more realistic scale even to make manipulable simulacra of these props. The Pip Boys were also as close as we could make them to the game model but sized down appreciably: If one were to wear a game-sized model, one wouldn't be able to lift one's hand high enough to look at it. We did get to design some outrageously scaled-up props to go with these weapons, such as the "Squire Bag"—modeled after a double-sized military- looking golf bag. And let's not even start on the Junk Jet! of imagery gleaned from years of reading the work of authors like Alfred Bester, Harry Harrison, Harlan Ellison, and Phil Dick. I think the games were designed with similar classic sci-fi imagery in mind, as well as golden age sci-fi movies like Forbidden Planet and The Day the Earth Stood Still, and of course, Dr. Strangelove." I approached the job hoping to contribute to the wealth of such classic imaginative imagery. PROP CULTURE: What was the research process like for Fallout? PETER GELFMAN: Both Michael and I delved as deeply as possible into the available game material, playing Fallout 3 and 4 for many hours (I'm really bad at video games and had to play on "God Mode" in order to get far enough into the games to learn anything). PROP CULTURE: What were some limitations faced and liberties taken PROP CULTURE: What was your favorite prop to create? PETER GELFMAN: I'd say I had the most fun with the Wilzig prosthetic leg. I thought of a sink-based garbage disposal unit, an "Insinkerator," that had an attachable metal foot (or hand). Part of the object was to make it as gruesome and awful as could be imagined, with blood and gore spurting out of "sluices" when the device was activated using the key- wound motor. PROP CULTURE: How did you approach the project and its preparation? PETER GELFMAN: As a lifelong sci-fi geek, I approached Fallout with a wealth BUDGET: $4 million PREP: 15 weeks