#4782617
Well I have finally decided to get off my butt and compose a build thread of my GB1 hero pack. This is a childhood dream that has been a very long time coming. I want to first thank the community at large and everyone who has been there posting before me, as you all have provided tremendous help and inspiration.

I have two reasons for wanting to catalog my build. First and foremost is to provide yet another resource for those in the future to use as reference and maybe provide the same type of inspiration that I have found in other build threads. I have been very good about taking pictures, but very lazy about starting a build thread and I feel as though I owe it to the GBFans community to get this going. Secondly, is to have access to feedback, criticisms, suggestions, rantings, tomfoolerys, skylarkings, etc. I STRONGLY encourage any and all to chime in with ANY type of input and I welcome all visitors!

My end goal is to have a movie-accurate Ghostbusters 1 hero pack. Let me say here that I will be taking personal liberties with some things to suit my own personal taste, and that I will not be replicating any particular pack but rather, taking my favorite cues from various parts of the hero packs.

At the start of this thread I have about 80-90 percent of my parts needed to complete my build and I have began work, so it will begin with me playing catch-up to get what I have done so far, posted.

I will be posting LOTS of pictures so stay tuned!
Last edited by 35FT_TWINKIE on March 23rd, 2015, 7:49 pm, edited 3 times in total.
alphabeta001 liked this
#4782619
I have done a little bit of work on everything I have, so I'm going to do my best to keep from jumping around. I will begin this journey playing catch up with work on the shell itself.

The shell is from the GBFans shop. Needless to say, it's great.

[Pictures on the way. Having trouble posting]
#4782620
35FT_TWINKIE wrote:Secondly, is to have access to feedback, criticisms, suggestions, rantings, tomfoolerys, skylarkings, etc. I STRONGLY encourage any and all to chime in with ANY type of input and I welcome all visitors!
Ok then .... You asked for it... I shan't hold back. "Cracks knuckles"

Seriously though, good luck, it's so much fun making a pack, you will have a ball.
I'm looking forward to seeing your progress :cool:
35FT_TWINKIE liked this
#4782624
Thanks Julz! It's very exciting, as you must know! Your builds I have referenced many times...have them bookmarked on both my phone and laptop!

Anyways. Pictures...!
Fresh out of the GBFans box...!

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1/8" thick 6061 aluminum sheet I sourced locally. Enough for 2 mobos if I had cut it right. Only 25 bucks. And as you can see I already have my ALICE frame and Chinese straps. More on those later.
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Pack laid down and traced. For the thrower side, reference photos made this bit easy. Straight edge from the top corner of the top cosmetic plate to the bottom corner of the gun mount box.
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Pack traced out with a sharpie. If you hold the marker just right it provides the perfect amount of border around the shell. For the top, I added about 1/8" to the height for screen accuracy and asthetic deliciousness.
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Straight line over ribs, easy with a straight edge.
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...anddd BOOM! 6 jigsaw blades later and you have a motherboard. This was actually a lot easier than I expected and turned out pretty decent. Few spots I had to take a metal file to to clean up and I am super excited to have cut my own MOBO.
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To anybody considering cutting their own motherboard rather than buying one, DO IT! It's much easier than it seems and even a half-ass job can look really good if you take your time.
#4782627
Mounting the pack to the MOBO was terrifying at first to be honest. Drilling holes in my shell had my knees weak. But with all things, patience, patience, patience. Measure 3 times, cut once.

Giving credit where credit is due - Mr. Kind2311 was the man repsonible for this being a no brainer. Thanks for that, bud!
http://www.gbfans.com/community/viewtop ... 42&t=11972

L bracket mounting kit is courtesy of Ejgunth87 who makes some great parts. Highly recommend him.
http://www.gbfans.com/community/viewtop ... 31&t=33466

Started with eyeballing the L bracket locations on the MOBO and duck taping them down. Throw the pack on there, try moving it around, pull it off and adjust L bracket locations. Did this until the pack fit down snug, but not tight. The L brackets don't have to sit flush with the inside of the shell.
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Also, if replicating the look from the movie of having the top of the MOBO border thicker, remember to hold the pack in the right spot when drilling your holes.

Once you decide on placement, drill your holes, straight through the duck tape. Once they are drilled, pull the tape and start adding your pop rivets.
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Ended up with this...!
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When dry fitting the shell on the mobo I noticed that certain parts of the shell weren't flush with the MOBO due to a few spots that were protruding down. So, I sat the shell on the mobo, found the spots that needed to be sanded and marked them in gold paint pen. Pulled the shell back off and hit those high spots with a sanding planer that I got at home depot. Worked perfectly. In these photos you can also see where I marked for drill holes for the mounting screws, my gun mount and HGA. The HGA spot was already dimpled into the shell and the location is perfect for my Ejgunth87 HGA!
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From there, the shell went on. I drilled out the mounting holes in the shell following Stefan's plans and reference photos. I didn't tap the shell, only the L brackets. When done, I have this!
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#4782629
I felt the same way when drilling into my mobo and shell. It's hard to fix any mistakes there! Well done, though.
35FT_TWINKIE liked this
#4782630
PssdffJay wrote:Subscribed! Looking forward to watching this!
Thanks a lot, Jay. I went back and looked over your build before mounting my shell on my mobo since you seemed to have had the same issue with the 2 lining up correctly. And I love your uniform build.
#4782631
Next came mounting the pack and mobo to the alice frame. My alice frame I picked up at an army surplus locally. It's an LC-2, but was in great condition and was only 15 bucks. The straps are chinese knockoffs that the surplus store guy got me for another 5 bucks. Not too bad. Will upgrade both frame and straps later, but these will suffice for now.

Here's how it looked from the surplus store and with the straps removed. Not too shabby of shape.
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Started with cleaning it with this degreaser I had in my garage. Stuff works wonders and isn't harsh on skin/eyes/nose when working with it. With it is the Rustoleum Flat I will be spraying it with.
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Before and after. Scrubbed with degreaser and painted with 3 light coats, 3 minutes apart. Turned out beautiful.
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And here she is all buttoned up on my couch.
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That's all for now kids. Thanks to everyone who has already chimed in. Tomorrow I will get some more uploaded of mounthing the pack and frame together, as I am also attempting to replicate the newly discovered look of the lower spacers used on the GB1 heros.
Human_3D liked this
#4782654
Looking GREAT!!!! I've been wondering when you were going to start this, and I am not disappointed. SUBSCRIBED!
I, too, was nervous about pack mounting and honestly, that Simone area I am not 100% happy with on my build. Oh well, just gotta get it right on my second build ;-)
#4782692
Thanks for the kind words. I've just been trying to think out loud on my builds so maybe somewhere in my madness it will help someone else.

Those straps don't look to bad if they're knock offs.
#4782717
PssdffJay wrote:Those straps don't look to bad if they're knock offs.
At the surplus store they were wrapped in plastic, brand new, with "MADE IN CHINA" real big on the package. I've only seen them on one other photo and it was on Hoot's build thread. The give away is the waist belt. It's a lot thicker with a really basic clasp. But as I said before, they will suffice for now.

Comfy though!
#4785123
I have to say.....watching all these has me itching for a shell. This is looking great! My purist ways seem to be fading with each little piece of plywood I cut....
#4785139
Hammer wrote:I have to say.....watching all these has me itching for a shell. This is looking great! My purist ways seem to be fading with each little piece of plywood I cut....

The shell and the aluminum thrower....those are the parts that really hit it home. I was the same way. I was halfway through a scratch built thrower and finally had to take the plunge for a metal one.

More updates on this thread today...sorry. I've been lazy.
#4799668
What the heck?! You've had some great advise for me on my build so I came over to your thread to steal (I mean borrow) some other tips. Where is all the good stuff at?? I have more stuff to install, where's the updates buddy?
#4799672
PssdffJay wrote:What the heck?! You've had some great advise for me on my build so I came over to your thread to steal (I mean borrow) some other tips. Where is all the good stuff at?? I have more stuff to install, where's the updates buddy?

Haha! I've been rather bad with updating the build thread. I moved back at the end of March and went from a full 2 car garage to about 1/4 of a 1 car garage for working space. Between that and the actual process of moving, it put a big hold on progress.


But..! I've been back at it and have PLENTY of pictures to document the process. I will definitely get back to posting updates in the next couple of days.
#4799673
PssdffJay wrote:What the heck?! You've had some great advise for me on my build so I came over to your thread to steal (I mean borrow) some other tips. Where is all the good stuff at?? I have more stuff to install, where's the updates buddy?
Oi! What he said! We have been waiting patiently for more awesomeness to ensue. Bring the awesomeness!!!
#4799685
35FT_TWINKIE wrote:I will definitely get back to posting updates in the next couple of days.
Updates! Updates! Updates!
#4799715
Good eye! It's an 02' F150 super crew. That's my other hobby....it goes to truck shows!

Full airbag suspension, 22 inch rims, custom flame paint job. In that picture of the rear end you can see where I had the tail lights and tail gate shaved and LEDs installed. It's currently on hold...has been for about 2 years.

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#4799718
35FT_TWINKIE wrote:Good eye! It's an 02' F150 super crew. That's my other hobby....it goes to truck shows!

Full airbag suspension, 22 inch rims, custom flame paint job. In that picture of the rear end you can see where I had the tail lights and tail gate shaved and LEDs installed. It's currently on hold...has been for about 2 years.

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im a huge ford enthusiast! i spot them right away, is that a harely edition? i see your got a HD bumper, i collect ford lightnings, and my dad builds ac cobra replicas, we love our fords!!

very nice job with the suspension! did u build the 4 link yourself? im working on my own 4link for my drag lightning

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thats the drag truck heres my daily driver ( come spring time)

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i did suspension on the gen2 as well but nothing like you have done to yours, yours is sick!! i just did a belltech full suspension 2" drop spindles in front, 5" drop rear which was too much, so i threw the stock shackles back in to bump her back up 1"

u did all the body work yourself too?! thats great! i am not that great of a body person, my father always points out my errors... you know how long it takes sanding, it can be weeks before you get it right

very nice truck man, keep her around, these supercharged fords will hold their value so take care of her!

i hope i didnt break any rules posting non-GB stuff, but it kinda shows the shop i work in when playing with props?! ;) i promise ill stick to GB stuff from here on out, i just get so excited for these trucks
#4800267
Im always one for a nice rear end. Truck got back!

Anywho great work cutting out your own mobo, thats a win in itself!
35FT_TWINKIE liked this
#4800849
I cannot believe how far behind I am on my build. I'm very sorry guys. For those who don't know, I moved out of my house back in March went from a full 2 car garage work space, to about 1/4 of a 1 car garage for work space. Anyways...I'm going to try and get caught up over the next few days leading into a nice 3 day weekend. I won't post everything all at once, that way I can leave time in between for feedback and questions.

Anyway, as it stand right now, my pack is at about 50%, the thrower at about 90%, and the electronics are still packed away in a box.

So, here we go! Bring on Tapatalk!
#4800852
So, I left off getting the frame, pack, and Mobo all mounted up. In the meantime I was able to do this, in discussion with Julz, Pssdffjay, Bigone, and a few others, the newly discovered, screen accurate lower spacers. They are made out of wood and painted flat black. Dimensions I can't exactly recall but I can find out if necessary. They turned out most excellent.

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Same day those were done, these came in the mail from Darthdono after he took up the reins from JoeLuna33. These aluminum labels are 2nd to none, awesome!

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I actually have a surprise regarding aluminum labels in the future that I am working on now. It's going to be awesome....biblical proportions.

"What do you mean, biblical?"

You'll see. Stay tuned for that..but, moving along.

Grips were next while I had the paint out for the frame. First sanded with 440 and hit with metallic brown , then flat brown, THEN black. They turned out awesome. Grips are MMM. Love them.

Paint I used.

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