[sberes]

Hey GB Fans,

I'm a prop maker in Los Angels and I've just finished a set of 4 Proton Packs, this forum was a huge help so thanks for all the pictures. I've noticed that most of the packs people have built don't have the rotating and extending front wand. We came up with a cool trick to make that work. So, I'm posting to ask if anyone would be interested in purchasing a complete front wand setup... It would be all aluminum, 3 parts (rear flange, wand tube and clear tube) with all the rigging needed to make it pop out. We made our clear tube out of solid acrostic and milled the front into a nozzle because of the lasers we used to light up the tip but I could do a hollow tube as well. The rear peace that joins onto the box would be flanged for a tight fit and I could do the two aluminum rings for the clear tube as well, I could even aluminum weld the hooked peace at the front and maybe the small trigger/light tab in front of the grip.

I was thinking $80 - $100, if there is enough interest I'll make up another one and post a video so you can see it work...

Thoughts?

[AJ Quick]

Welcome to the site.

Please read the rules regarding selling: http://www.gbfans.com/community/viewtop ... 31&t=17222

[ChapterMasterTu'Shan]

That's a fair bit of dough for a little used feature. I wouldn't see much interest.

[GAVAL]

I'd be interested in see in seeing the product and how it's put together. The price doesn't sound too expensive if it looks good and works reliably.

If folks are willin to pay an extra hundred bucks or more for lights or sound, why not for this feature?

G

[AJ Quick]

It seems resonable when compared to what others are paying for metal gun parts.

[christphern]

Because it's inaccurate? No way I'd drop that much cash on something that doesn't work like the film packs. That simple.

Now, you make a rig that works with the trigger box lever? Then we can talk.

[Filandrius]

Has it been confirmed? That the green lever triggered the extending tip? Because I was under the impression that it was the rotating handle that did it... After all, Dan Aykroyd himself told so at a recent signing when he held a fan's thrower (I think it was kind2311's)

[CPU64]

It happens both ways in the movie.. I'm still not sure which I would use. But the green lever is easier to setup than a twisting handle.

[christphern]

The rotating barrel was only used once, and only on one barrel in the scene. That's been discussed elsewhere on this forum, I do believe. It was part of a dirty joke, and nothing more. ("Got your stick?" "Holdin' it!"..."Make 'em hard!" *cue twist*...Get it?)

The green lever, however, was used in that scene, as well as in the scene when they step off the elevator. Dan clearly extends the barrel with no handle rotation.

[Filandrius]

Ha ha! Now it's much clearer. I have to re-watch that blu-ray o'mine and actually catch them doing it. Thanks for the info.

At the risk of being shunned, I think I like the dirty joke version better.

[christphern]

I'm not saying it's a feature I wouldn't want, just for giggles. But, I wouldn't drop upwards of $100 on a barrel that extends the tip that way. Now, having a barrel that rotates, and a lever that extends the tip? That'd be win. lol

Don't feel bad. I didn't get that joke, either, until a few years ago. One of the jokes I never got as a kid, or even as a teenager, and only got when I was older. lol

[AJ Quick]

That is correct.

The barrel never extended due to handle rotation. It was always due to the green handle being pressed.

[GhostbusterPM]

I'd be interested to see the inner workings. You need to realize many people have different kits they use for there gun box and I would want to see how much space the mechanism is going to take up.

[CPU64]

What was Dan thinking when he said the twist handle was the real deal..?

I guess I'll go for the green lever then ^_^

[AJ Quick]

What was Dan thinking when he said the twist handle was the real deal..?

I guess I'll go for the green lever then ^_^

Can you remember everything you ever saw and did 25 years ago?

[Dan AKA]

I also don't remember Dan working on the props.

[christphern]

My guess is he doesn't even remember how it extended. But, with the movie having that scene most prominent for it, he probably just assumed that's how it worked.

I do want to say, I'm not trying to be a jerk. And it's not a big deal, either way. It's a cool effect to see on a prop, no matter how it's done. Just comes down to how much you'd be willing to drop on something that doesn't work as intended. And, for me, $100 is out of my price range for that.

[CPU64]

If I were one of the guys in the movie, I'm pretty sure i would remember how the thing worked. Especially if I had something to do with the concept.

I forgot the [sarcastic] code in my previous comment, my bad :3

[Dan AKA]

If I were one of the guys in the movie, I'm pretty sure i would remember how the thing worked. Especially if I had something to do with the concept.

I forgot the [sarcastic] code in my previous comment, my bad :3

I'm glad to see we've established you've never worked production.

There is absolutely no reason why Dan Aykroyd would remember a little detail like this, the proton packs where hand props. Nothing more, off set guys would choose which pack goes to which person and the actors would mess around with it and find all the neat things it could do and work with it.

Sure MAYBE an insignificant detail would be remembered but clearly it is not, at least not by Dan. I have a decent memory and remember most of the work that goes into shows I work on, but I didn't design a lot of the stuff, I do get to play with it. How would I know how it is built?

[enchanted unicorn]

My gun tip used to extend, but now that it's gotten older, it's a bit worn out, and so I have trouble getting it up.

good luck with your product sberes.

[FeinDTacticS]

That's a fair bit of dough for a little used feature. I wouldn't see much interest.

Careful lol, Belt Gizmos have no features that are useable but still fetch over 100

This is a GREAT idea.. I am sure there are at least ten of us interested in this wand kit..

[1.21 Gigawatts]

I know I'm in the minority, but I like to go with what people remember. Most "average" people I talk to remember the tip extending when they twisted the handles (thanks to that close up and the accompanying joke). Sure, it may not have been how it ACTUALLY extended, but I tend to go with the concept of the illusion over reality...which is why I prefer to have props that actually make noise.

To look at it another way, what's the point of the twisting handle if not to imply something happens when you twist it? I'm guessing it was for that one close up. Ive also wondered if Akyroyd was supposed to twist it on that elevator scene, but (on take number whatever they used) forgot to.

[christphern]

There's certainly nothing wrong with having it work like that (and the barrel wasn't intended to rotate, if I recall correctly, given that they had to remove a screw in order to make it do so). I just wouldn't be willing to drop that much on it, given that it's inaccurate. It all comes down to personal preference, and that's mine. For me, an extending mechanism by the trigger box, with a rotating handle, would be ideal. The best of both worlds. Accurate extension, and rotating barrel.

[4505marcel]

Interested to see a video of it workig and the mechanism

[GhostGuy]

There's certainly nothing wrong with having it work like that (and the barrel wasn't intended to rotate, if I recall correctly, given that they had to remove a screw in order to make it do so).

Which screw would that be? And how do you know it had to be removed?

[christphern]

There was a pretty lengthy discussion on another forum where pictures were posted, showing that the scews were loosened on the base of the front handle, allowing for rotation. Additionally, there were some pictures of the Sony pack, showing the handle slid down the length of the inner tube without the screws holding it down. Clearly not how it was intended to work. I'll leave it to the people that posted that info to bring it up here, since they're their pics (I think so, anyway), and not mine to post at my leisure.

Finally, the biggest nail in the coffin of the "twist extension" is the 1984 featurette n the DVDs. They clearly show the barrel extending, with no one even touching the handle, thus showing that something else is at play (it's also clearly not a spring loaded mechanism).

[ThrowingChicken]

I wouldn't buy one that extended with a twist, not because I think it was inaccurate, but because after making a bunch of guns with static barrels, then a bunch with rotating barrels, I've come to realize that it is far more comfortable to hold one with a rotating barrel because it adjusts to my stance. Having one that extends when rotating is just going to result in a lot of pre-mature extendulation.

[luke warmwater]

We made our clear tube out of solid acrostic... Thoughts?

I am unfamiliar with this material.

[sberes]

Wow,

Thanks for all the interest, I'm going to cost out the materials and labor and see what the actual price would be, maybe I can get it to around $80. Acrostic is a optical acrylic (it's also a type of poetry so it's hard to goggle), we milled the clear tube peace from it so we could offer the illusion on red, blue and white streams travailing threw the wand and have a bright flayer at the end, the light source is three 20mW lasers. We had talked about adding something to produce sparks and the end of the wand but it was deemed to expensive and unnecessary.

[mburkit]

I'll leave it to the people that posted that info to bring it up here, since they're their pics (I think so, anyway), and not mine to post at my leisure.

Actually, I believe that discussion about how the front barrel twisted is still inconclusive. I don't want to start up a new argument about it, but I still think the front barrel could turn without a need to loosen and screws. I still think that the front barrel was 2 tubes, with the outer tube rotating over the inner tube. My biggest argument for this idea is from the "make 'me hard" scene in GB1.



I have 3 things marked here.

First are the set screws on the "stem" that the front handle is attached to via 2 set screws. Notice how in this picture, how they seem to be sitting flush with the brass washers that are on them. This would mean that those allen bolts are tightened all the way down on there.

Second, there is a black paint smudge on the "collar" of the front handle, above the gun ears on this particular thrower, notice how it is orientated near 12 o'clock on this thrower in this screen cap.

Third is the orientation of the gun trigger on the tip of the acrylic tube, with the trigger orientated in the 9 o'clock position on this thrower.

And now the next picture, of them fully twisting the front barrels:


I once again have the same 3 things marked.

First, the set screws are still tightened up on the "stem" of this thrower. If they would have to be loosened for the barrel to twist, then the barrel on this wand would not be twisting right now.

Second, the black paint smudge on the "collar" of the front handle is still orientated at the 12 o'clock position. This would mean that the collar has not twisted along with the rest of the front barrel. This would support my theory of the front barrel being a 2 tube system, with the outer tube rotating around the inner tube that is secured into the stem of the gun box by the 2 allen bolts.

Third, gun trigger on the acrylic tube is still orientated at the 9 o'clock position. This would mean that the clear tube is also not twisting with the outer tube of the front barrel. The gun trigger is fixated at that position on the clear tube because the wiring for the flash bulb at the end of the gun runs through the 2 legris banjos and into the clear tip, meaning the gun trigger cannot rotate unless the clear tube also rotates.

So, from what I can tell, I still think it is a 2 tube system, with the outer tube rotating around the inner tube.

BUT some people think the front handle was one tube, turned down. They argue that to rotate the front handle, you'd have to loosen the 2 set screws. The argument for this idea is the paint weathering seen on hero packs on display:


The argument here is that if there was an outer tube rotating over an inner tube, then the weathering of the paint would be against the edge that is rotating.

So as to the argument as to how the front barrel rotated, that is still up for debate.

As for how the clear tip extends in Ghostbusters, there is a clear shot of Dan Aykroyd extending the clear tip as he exits the elevator in the Sedgwick via the green lever next to the gun trigger box.

God, that's one heck of an essay I just wrote. . .