#4796417
[rimworldspeech]
Been lurkin', researchin', collectin' & acquirin' for a longly spell. Me thinks it time my own self wrote a build thread.
[/rimworldspeech]

Other people have certainly done this better but I thought I'd give it a go. Most of my attention will be focused on learning & executing the many things necessary to build this first pack so I'm not looking to replicate a specific version, more an amalgamation of various appropriate components. Accordingly, I call this my all-fired plain-vanilla pack. For the most part, I will be utilizing components from this site's shop or community sellers. Please feel free to point out my blunders.

So here we go.

I cleaned up the GBFans motherboard, filing down the sharp edges and giving it a good scrub with detergent and steel wool. This thing's a beauty.

Image
Last edited by bishopdonmiguel on September 20th, 2018, 7:21 am, edited 1 time in total.
Td10120fl, Pip storm liked this
#4796418
Welcome, and hello! You're off to a good start working with the shop parts! Looking forward to the progress! Good luck. Be sure and post lots of pictures.
bishopdonmiguel liked this
#4796420
Welcome sir and Good luck on your build!
bishopdonmiguel liked this
#4796422
Thanks guys. If I can do just half the job I've seen displayed in various builds here, I will be very proud of myself.
#4796427
Using a 1-foot piece of 2x2-1/8 inch aluminum angle bracket, I cut (6) 2-inch wide brackets for creating the (4) shell mounts. I sliced two extra pieces in half at the bend to allow for doubling the thickness of the shell mounting points to 1/4-inch.

If you've never used a pop rivet, I'd recommend you not try to rivet with just a single pull. Use the first pull to cinch up the parts, the second pull tighten everything up and the third pull to snap the pin. Practice on scrap parts!

Using great instructions from member kind3211, I positioned the shell mounts and attached to the motherboard using large flange rivets.

Image

After locating the points on the shell for the holes, I drilled my GBFans fiberglass shell using step bits recommended by various experienced members. These worked great, no cracked fiberglass.

Image

Once the holes were set, the mounting brackets were drilled & tapped for 1/4-20 hex head bolts.

Image
Last edited by bishopdonmiguel on September 20th, 2018, 7:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
#4796431
I prepped an LC-1 ALICE frame from the GBFans shop by drilling the (3) mounting points using the pre-drilled motherboard as a guide. I fashioned spacers utilizing hockey pucks. While I understand these are not screen accurate, the material was easy to work with and I liked the idea of having a flexible mounting point. Lastly, I added 1/2-inch pipe insulating foam to the upper bar and wrapped it in black Gorilla tape.

Image
Last edited by bishopdonmiguel on September 20th, 2018, 7:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
#4796440
Attaching the shell to the motherboard was surprisingly smooth. Not sure if it was easier than I thought or just the result of quadruple-checking everything as I went. I think some trim down the motherboard to better align with the shell, but I'm happy with the fit and will leave as-is.

This GBFans shell is really nice. Before mounting, I gave it a wash with detergent and steel wool. There are some small imperfections that I will fix later in the build. I plan to dry mount all the components first, then pull everything off for clean-up and painting.

Image
Last edited by bishopdonmiguel on September 20th, 2018, 7:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
#4796450
I admit to being a tad intimidated by aluminum parts. I just haven't worked with metal much so I decided to use a full set of Crix's"I Can't Believe It's Not Metal!" pack parts. I am VERY pleased with these. They are solid yet drill, take taps and hold screws well. They also have pre-marked spots for drilling! The one part I will swap for an aluminum replacement is the booster tube.

I started with the HGA, drilling, tapping & installing the various hex head screws & valves. I mounted the HGA to the shell using a 1" hex head screw and washer. I had to slightly round one edge of the HGA so that it would sit flush on the pack but it sanded easily. I did my best to get the position & angle correct but in the end it was a judgement call.

Image
Last edited by bishopdonmiguel on September 20th, 2018, 7:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
#4796468
Great start! I used Crix's resin casts on my first pack build and can't say enough good things about them. Keep it up!
bishopdonmiguel liked this
#4796647
Jeremy8564 wrote:You might be pushing me to throw my hat in the build thread ring as well.
Please do! I learn something from every build here, from scratch packs to pro builds. So much great work here.
#4796649
Got the Vacuum Line installed (I think that's what this part is called). Should have been drop dead easy but somehow I didn't hit the center of the resin on my first go so I had to make a slightly larger hole to compensate. Easy fix.

Also got the Clippard installed. Question for you all. Is anyone leaving the rubber gasket on the bottom? I realize it serves no function but wondered if it would help prevent cracking from over tightening, etc?

Image
Image
Last edited by bishopdonmiguel on September 20th, 2018, 7:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
#4796652
bishopdonmiguel wrote:Also got the Clippard installed. Question for you all. Is anyone leaving the rubber gasket on the bottom? I realize it serves no function but wondered if it would help prevent cracking from over tightening, etc?
That's a damn good question... been wanting to ask that, but kept forgetting...
#4797222
Small update for today... I got the crank knob mounted. This Raytheon MS91528-3S4B is an example of why I call this my "plain-vanilla" build. While I endeavor to utilize GB1 parts, I wasn't able to locate the grey version of this knob so I settled with the GB2 color. Will be an easy swap if I do locate a proper knob at some point.

Image
Last edited by bishopdonmiguel on September 20th, 2018, 7:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
#4797223
Or just paint it gray... =P

You can easily find an original gray Raytheon crank knob on eBay, but it's difficult to find for less than $50... AJ is trying to source some MIL-SPEC EHC gray crank knobs for cheaper, but they're ridiculously expensive to buy in bulk...
bishopdonmiguel liked this
#4797236
pyhasanon wrote:Or just paint it gray... =P
Gee, when you say it like that, I sound kinda stupid. Oh wait, I get it. I don't have to take this abuse from you, I've got hundreds of people dying to abuse me. :wink:
19oclock liked this
#4798460
Drilled out a hole in the vacuum pump for the loom. The step bits are working well on this shell. I will need to open this up a bit more but 3/4-inch bit is the largest I have.
Image
Last edited by bishopdonmiguel on September 20th, 2018, 7:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
#4798463
I think this is called the Attenuator. The plain discs seem a bit blah to me. I recall a build with rivets on these and I feel they provide some visual flair, although I realize this isn't screen accurate. I don't know who to credit but thank you. I didn't "pull" the rivets due to the thickness of the shell; they would have damaged it. Instead, I drilled a hole then flatted the area around it with a Dremel equal to the circumference of the rivet. After removing the rivet's stem, I epoxied in place. I will fill the holes a bit before painting.
Image
Last edited by bishopdonmiguel on September 20th, 2018, 7:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
Brads_gimmick liked this
#4798473
pyhasanon wrote:From what I've seen, yes...
oh thats excellent! today i printed out all Stefan's Plans and put it in a 3 ring binder. and was looking at the mounting holes for the alice frame. drilling those holes would be my biggest fear, now knowing they come already drill makes me feel more comfortable
#4798500
Yeah, I asked the same question before, and they're answer to me was that the motherboard already had holes pre-drilled... Just match them to the holes on the bottom of your ALICE frame, and mark where you want to place the top hole and drill...
#4798511
halliwax wrote:Do all the gbfans mother boards come pre-drilled for the Alice frame?!
Phil is correct, the GBFans motherboards are pre-drilled for the ALICE frame. However, the GB1 frame I purchased from the shop here had no holes in the frame but having the MB as a reference made the effort easy.
#4798512
The Filler Tubes installed easily enough but I experienced some angst regarding placement. Location seems different on each pack and I could not find a good reference shot that showed spacing relative to each other. In the end, I just winged it.

These resin parts I am using from Crix are fantastic. I tapped these tubes for 1/4-20 threads and attached using 1-1/2-inch hex head bolts. Made a rookie mistake on the low sitting left tube. There is only a very small gap between the MB and the shell at this point and the hex head was too large. Had to swap that out for a flat head bolt before the shell could be remounted to the MB.
Image
Last edited by bishopdonmiguel on September 20th, 2018, 7:24 am, edited 1 time in total.
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 20
Uniform Tips

Sorry for the triple post (you guys have gotten […]

Proton Props???

Ugly Little Spud, Did you actually get the pack?[…]

Just seen this thread add me JudgeGerry to London

Proton Props UK

I would like to apologise to everyone for the dela[…]