View new posts | View your posts TheRockman's (Mostly) Scratch Build Proton Pack [Pics]

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So it's finally come to this. I've been collecting the little parts for my proton pack for probably the last 2 years or so. It was something I've wanted to start for a long time, but just had to get motivated.

So last weekend, I got motivated. Dug out some polystyrene sheets that I had sitting around and got started. Why do I have sheets of polystyrene plastic just lying around. Way back when, I wanted to make my own Imperial Stormtrooper armor. I flaked out on that idea.

So now it gets to go to good use in my first ever proton pack build! I'll try to be detailed without being overly detailed. Here's some pictures:







Components I've used thus far include:

- Multimediamayhem's (irricanian) Aluminum Motherboard
- Polystyrene plastic sheets (1/16 inches thick)
- 1.5" wooden dowel rods (Power Cell Injectors)
- 2" PVC Pipe for booster tube
- 1" PVC Pipe for the filler plug and crank box tube
- (2) Pill bottle caps (glued one on top of each other) for the filler plug riser
- Clippard Minimatic R333 3-Way Valve (I know it's not screen accurate, see below)
- JIF plastic peanut butter jar lid for the Clippard Valve
- 1/2" and 5/8" square dowel rods cut to size and used as reinforcements for the plastic shapes
- Steel (I think) cake pan for the cyclotron
- (4) 1" center diameter steel washers (again, not screen accurate, it works though)
- Plastic table carousel top for cyclotron rim
- Pringles can n-filter (this may be replaced at some point If I find something better...I hope I find something better)
- 1/4" socket head cap screws for the filler plug and crank box tube (so I don't have to glue the split loom in)

I've got a bunch more parts on the way from irricanian. I've also got a handful more waiting in the wings from nick-a-tron and the gbfans shop.

OK the Clippard Valves, not screen accurate. Here's the deal. I got an R333 and a R443 a long while back for $10 for the set. That was too cheap not to grab. Especially since they are roughly the same form factor as the screen accurate ones (R701 and R331). So I'm punching my artistic license card and using these instead.

I'll post updates as I make progress. Most of the work left is finishing the crank box, gun mount and cosmetic plating. Then it's on to bondo the open seams and smoothing and sharpening the shapes a bit. Then primer, paint, details, mounting, etc.

Any questions or helpful suggestions are more than welcome.

Nice job.

Hey, an excellent start on your pack. Is this gonna be wearing pack or a display pack? Don't worry about the clippard being the wrong type, i honestly didn't notice it until you pointed it out, only the real die hard pedants would be so picky. Keep up the good work

Very nice, good start. Looking forward to seeing more progress pics.

It's going to be a wearing pack. The alice pack frame is waiting in the wings.

Also, if anyone can suggest something other than a pringles can for the n-filter, I would be very appreciative. My second thought was to go with PVC pipe and cap it off with a circular peice of plastic. I wasn't sure if someone had better success with another material or if there is a container out there (that is not cardboard) that works just as well.

I glued two 2" pvc couplings together and filled the seam with body filler, then sanded it smooth. Then I cut it to the right length and capped it with a piece of styrene cut in a circle. I think that would be stronger then the pringles can.

That sounds like an excellent idea to me. I'll give it a go and give an update when I get back to that part of the pack.

Well...long time no update. Here is the current progress on my pack:



Coming along a bit better than expected. In the picuture above you'll notice that I've finished the crank box and added the gun mount box. As it is, I've bondo'd the edges and have got ALOT of sanding to do.

For the n-filter, I went with mburkit's suggestion of 2 - 2" PVC couplers stacked on each other. I cut a very short piece of PVC pipe to fit the 2 couplers together to make sure they line up correctly. I've filled the seam between them but I already seen place where an air bubble formed under the bondo that I'll need to re-fill. As for the cap, I'm using a short piece of 2" PVC and a 2" cap. I drilled the 1/2" holes all around the filter. The plan is to cap and paint, then use a thin sheet of PVC (probably a for sale sign) to line the inside. The plan is also to make it removable since I drilled a hole in the cyclotron (pie pan) and the trim piece (table carousel) to accommodate the shape. I foresaw cutting the cyclotron would be much easier than trying to cut the PVC to the right shape.

A note about the cyclotron, I've JB Welded the Washers to the top and a set of Dollar Store flashlight reflector assemblies to the bottom for the lighting. The assembly is the entire screw top from the flashlight, clear lense, reflector cone, and bulb holder. For the holder, I removed the metal piece that carried the current to the bulb and drilled a hole to stick the LED through. Since it is soft (kinda cheap) plastic, it bends a little to give the LED a snug fit without needing to glue them in (good in case they go bad and need replacement at some point).

As for lighting, I purchased Proptronix's gun and pack kit which exceeded my expectations. I'm still seeing yellow dots from testing the power cell lights!

Off to the left you will see the gun kit coming together. It is a mix of nick-a-tron and irricanian's gun parts. I'm working on it when I get tire or frustrated working on the pack.-grin

One thing I've decided to do for the gun grips is to use a rubberizing spray to make them a bit more slip resistant and to give them the feel of real grips. The spray is called Performix Plasti Dip and is the kind of stuff you'll find for coating the handles of pliers, but in spray can form. I tested this stuff on a piece of PVC pipe and it seems to be exactly what I need. It'll need a few coats to give it a good thickness, but it doesn't scratch or peel easily.

That's all for now. This week I'm going to be sanding down the pack and possibly starting to paint. Sorry for the lack of pictures, if anyone wants to see a specific part of the pack, feel free to let me know and I'll grab a picture.

Looking good! Are you trying to have it ready for halloween?

Hey from the looks of this picture, did you glue the front handles grip to the back handle? Not to be a jerk but just trying to give you a heads up.

I think the grip is just laying there underneath the rear grip and it's sitting sideways so you can see it. I could be wrong but it doesn't look like it's glued on yet to me.

Hehehe, mburkit is right. The handle grip is actually laying on it's side under the rear gun handle. The picture does make it look like it's glued sideways though. The plan is to paint the gun and coat the grips in plasti dip separately, then attach them.

So no worries. If I do something stupid while making my pack, I definately want someone to speak up. Better to let me know now rather than wait until after my pack is mounted upside down on the alice frame.-grin

Oh OK, good haha. Should of just looked at the shadow. Hey so how does the "Rubber Dip" stuff work? Have you used it before? does it leave drip marks when you coat it? Can you apply it with a brush? Sounds interesting.

Yeah, with the Plasti Dip spray, it goes on in thin layers just like you would with paint. I tested it on a peice of unsanded and unprimed PVC pipe and it really worked well. 1 coat was enough to hide the underlying color of the pipe (which was white). However, you can peel it back from the edge with your fingers because it is practically spray rubber (guess Rubbin Dip sounded to naughty). As long as the edge of the sprayed area is out of contact with your hands you shouldn't have to worry about it peeling.

Here is a picture of the stuff:



It comes in several different colors, but you will want the black for the grips of course. If it's a nice out this evening, I will go ahead and spray one of the grips and grab some pictures to give a comparison. It takes about 2-3 hours to fully cure so it may be later this evening before I have pictures up.

I just noticed something.... I made the cosmetic trim piece on the left side of the cyclotron spacer about 1" too tall. Saw a side profile of another pack, then checked the references, then checked Stefan's plans. Aaaand...Royal Crappage!

It doesn't interfere with the powercell tubes so I didn't notice it before. That's what I get for not inspecting the plans closely. I'm thinking I might just leave it as-is unless someone can think of a reason it would be better to fix it.

Just thought I'd throw that out there.

Maybe because its BLASPHEMY!

Honestly though, no one will ever notice it because of the filler plug, ribbon cable, and injector tubes abstract the view of it anyway. The only reason to change it is if you want your pack to be as accurate as possible or if Kind2311 decides to give you a hard time, haha.

Curses! Dan Aykroyd will surely send his angels to smite me!

i actually thought it was cooler that way. they're "cosmetic plates" and ive never seen them before until norms v2 plans, and i dont remember any height to them. i think your 1" works for them.

Thats some fantastic work you got goin there so far! I cant wait to see the full build.

Sorry Gareee, I meant to answer you earlier and my ADD kicked in and I started chasing a butterfly. Yes, the goal is to have it finished before halloween. There are a few local events that may require a rookie ghostbuster on scene.



Thanks for that! I thought it looked ok too. That's why it didn't tip me off until I saw someone else's pack. I'll try not to let it bother me. ^_^



Thanks! I meant to have some pictures of rubberized grips this evening, but I ended up working late and up running out of daylight. Hopefully I'll have some time tomorrow to do the grips and some sanding.

Cool. and good luck! We are running against rain, cold and daylight here, trying to get two traps done in time for a kid's event tomorrow.

If we can;t make it, I'm not too concerned, since odds are the tikes might not even know of ghostbusters, but I want them completed so I can start our gigameters.

Well it rained most of the day today so I didn't get a chance to spray the grips. Instead, I did some hardcore sanding finishing the upper half of the pack:



It will need another time over with some 220 paper before it's ready to prime. I'll probably finish sanding the cyclotron spacer and then give them both the once over before the primer goes on.

Now to clarify what I have done for the cyclotron, below you will see below the cyclotron pan with the flashlight reflector assembly housing JB Welded to the bottom of the pan. In the background is the flashlight I used purchased at the Dollar Tree. Guess how much it was...



Below is (left to right) the flashlight lense, red lighting gel cut to fit inside the assembly housing, and the reflector cone. The lense goes in first, followed by the gel, then the reflector cone.



Not pictured is the cap that screws into the bottom of the reflector cone. I currently have them attached to the LEDs on my proptronix light kit.

Here are the gun pieces at a better angle:



For the vent light, I wanted a way to isolate the light and prevent dust and other various debris from falling into the vent. So I took a bit of inspiration from the way I did the cyclotron, and found a small flashlight reflector assembly:



This will be fixed on the inside of the gun and the LED will plug into the reflector cone cap like with the cyclotron. I will probably need to trim the height of the lense/housing since it may take up too much space in the interior of the gun (gotta have room for the circuit board and wires).

I guess that's all for now. I will now leave you with the image of my proud Tom Servo:

Just a "small" update. I'm working as hard as I can to get this thing done the week before halloween so I haven't been adding updates and pictures as I finish each step. I'm taking bunches of pictures when I can and I'll post them up here with explainations as soon as I get caught up on this thing.

I'm currently in the painting phase. Prior to this, I've worked on my neutrona wand and devised a method which allows the barrel to rotate 90 degrees down (the clear tube rotates as well, so not 100% movie style, but it works for me). I'll be sure to throw in some details and pictures when I can.

And by some stroke of luck and a hole saw, I made it so the clear tube snaps into the gun barrel. Not just fit in there snug, I mean it slides in there and snaps in place! How I managed to do this, I have no clue. It was an accident so I probaly can't offer much advice on how to reproduce it unfortunately.

I also have my electronics worked out which includes a proptronix light kit and replicaprops.com sound kit (plus a 7w amp). I've replaced the activate and intensify switches with DPDT (dual position, dual throw) switches that will activate the lights and sounds simultainiously (BIG thanks to mburkit for his howto: http://www.gbfans.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=14730). I had planned to add an alternate power up sound (which robwerden custom planted on the chip for me), but I'll probably hook it up as time provides.

Also, the plan is to use the Audio Enable switch included with the proptronix light kit to turn the 7w amp on and off to conserve my 12v power source (currently 8 D batteries - 12 volts). I'm double checking with proptronix to make sure this will work, but I'm fairly confident it will. It beats having to figure out where to install an on/off switch for amp somewhere on the gun or pack.

While I wait for the paint to dry, I'm making some quick 'n dirty ecto goggles, but I'll detail those in the ecto goggles forum later on.

I'm in the same boat as you, taking pics but no time to post them. Too many problems to solve before a kids event on Sunday.

Plus wife has a Birthday tonight no unlikely to get any work done till tomorrow after class. (GAH, why must I have night school when there are props to build!?)

Another person with a huge D cell compliment running his pack!

Am I doing something wrong in using 9 volt batteries?! I'm getting paranoid here! Is my pack gonna crap out after 15 minutes?!

I got:
3xAA for the pack and gun LED sequencer
3xAA for the Replicaprops Sound Module
1x9v for the 7W amp (same as you) It does have a power switch.
1x9v for the steady gun lights attached to my toggle DTPT and flasher LED's attached to my momentary DTPT. (both switches fire sounds as well.)

All of my power supplies are hidden and easy to access, but nobody seems to be using small 9 volt batteries like me! I'm just trying to spare myself the weight! Will I pay for it with a dark pack?!

G

To be honest, I think most folks are ok with 9 volt batteries. I think I probably would have been fine to use a 9 volt supply using 6 AA batteries, but the big thing for me was not having to take the pack shell off as often to change batteries. I expect that next week I will have my pack lights on continuously for several hours and will be using the amplifier for sound quite often. I just wanted to make sure I have plenty of juice for the various outings and that I wouldn't have to worry about power conservation as much.

My sound chip runs off 2 C cell batteries while my lights and amp run off 8 D cell batteries. I know the sound chip won't drain as much power as the lights and amp so I scaled down to C batteries to save some room in the pack.

How am I gonna fit all that stuff? (mostly asking myself this) Right now the plan for placement is D cell holders and 1 speaker in the synchronous generator (cyclotron spacer), soundchip/amp and 3 volt supply in the crank generator (using the crank knob as the volume control ^_^), and a speaker behind the booster.

The second speaker may not fit in the synchronous generator space, but I'm gonna try. If not, it's not biggie because 1 speaker was plenty loud. 2 speakers just even out the sound better IMHO.

But yeah, don't worry about your power supply. A few outings will let you know if you need to upgrade to bigger batteries or not. Or heck, just leave everything on and walk by and press a button now and again to see how quickly the batteries drain.

For any of you who were following my pack build probably noticed I abruptly stopped posting shortly after I began. Bad news is I'm lazy. Good news is, I'm sorry!



Also some other good news, I finished by Pack in October 2009. Yeah, lights, sound and everything! I just didn't bother to post my progress pics because I was in such a rush to get the fool thing done before Halloween.

So allow me to post the rest of my build pics a bit at a time and you can watch me struggle to remember what the heck I was doing a year ago when I took them. Last I left off, I had just sanded down everything and was fitting together some of the large pack pieces. Here is what I had together at that point:



Notice the little man I drew to cut out the holes in the plastic cyclotron spacer. Once everything is bondo'd/jb welded and painted, he will never be seen again:



I made the N-filter so that it could be screwed on and off. However, it ended up being on there so tight, I never bothered taking it on or off. Here's an inside view of it:



Then I started pondering how I was going to keep the ion arm attached to the body. I don't trust JB Weld alone, so I decided to screw it into the body in addition to using adhesive:



Here's 2 more views of the body at this stage:





More to come!

looks great! I'm always impressed by scratch-builds.

So here we are with most of my pack's goodies together. All large pieces in place, all holes drilled, and everything screwed and glued.



Now to the gun. To get the light bar on the gun to fit the way I wanted to, I drilled a larger than necessary hole and then created a custom plate out of plastic to house the lights. Here is a closeup of the handle apoxy'd in place, all holes drilled and the custom window in place:



Now alot of folks to build their back don't care one way or the other if the barrel rotates. I, on the other hand, wanted to do this. So, what I did was make the two part system pictured below. the short peice is the intermediate piece that allows the entire barrel assembly to rotate down 45 degrees. The part that goes in the gun side holds the intermediate piece in place while the emitter side has a 45 degree cut channel which allows the handle to rotate without popping off (fell free to ask questions about this as I'm probably not explaining this very well):



To connect the gun to the pack, I decided the connection needed to look like it was either plugged in or it was being held purposefully to the pack. No just bored into the side. This isn't movie accurate, but I think it adds a lot to the overall look:





So, for the hose, I have AJ's splitless wire loom and some clear plastic tube to act as the wire liner. This will help the wire loom keep it's shape an not kink (don't want to pinch off those protons). Also pictured is my Alice frame:



Now the fit of the wire loom was made to go into the gun and be snug. This involved boring out the end of the gun handle so I wouldn't have to cut the wire loom and stuff it in here. It was then hotglued into place (after it was painted):



Here I've got the motherboard all drilled up and angle mounting points riveted to the back. This was the least scientific part of the build as I just put the shell on the pack, saw how it fit, marked, drilled, and riveted . This surprisingly worked. Next time I'll take a more measurement based approach, but this luckily worked:



Here was the piece that I was going to buy but decided I would build instead. The Bumper:



It's basically plastic cut to shape sandwiching the wood. I made it thinking it was going to look like crap and I'd buy a good one later, but actually ended up liking it so it remains. It's held in place by two screws on each side and it is sturdy as heck! I know why it's called a bumper because it will be hitting EVERYTHING that is behind you:



More on the way!

Good build. Your bumper is giving me some ideas as i am scratch building all my parts..

I like cake

Release the PRIMER!



Yep. time to get all those parts primed up.



A few coats to make sure everything is covered aaaaaand:



Now just like those late night cooking shows where they put the just prepared casserole in the top oven, I'm pulling the dried primer parts out to start on the ion arm. Since I wanted a worn ragged edge to the thing, I ripped up small pieces of painters tape an put the ragged edge on the outside. This creates a chipped off look to the exposed metal underneath after I go over it with a layer of flat black. Then it can continue chipping in a realistic fashion if necessary:





Now, let's put some spray some evil!











...in the top oven, out the bottom...peel the painters tape off the ion arm:



Now to paint the detail pieces:

Grips coated in plasticote (later regretted not putting down primer under it):


Silver gun parts and gun mount plate:


Resin banjo elbows in gooooooooold:


Which with hand painted red tips turned out looking very nice:


Close up of the painted N-filter:
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee21 ... CF2424.jpg

To fill in the holes, I used white plastic plugs found in the specialty part section at Lowe's. They have a smooth side which I pointed inward to create a deep well within each hole. The clips on the inside also give it a bit of a purposeful mechanical look up close.


Plugs installed:




For the red band, I just simply cut a thin strip of electrical tape and wrapped it around the outside:





Assembling the power cell:









The assembled and painted pack without details:



Now to the gun...