#4811126
Hey guys! So here's my first ever foray into the world of prop making.
I have to admit, it was a bit daunting at first - with all the spectacular builds out
here on the forum - but since I was committed to dressing up as a Ghostbuster
for Halloween this year I've decided to take the leap and share with you the
fruits of my labour. I know they're not screen accurate, I know they're not perfect,
but I'm kinda proud of how they turned out considering I had no idea what I was
doing. Credit where credit is due though: I was inspired by the following members
and their goggle builds: Kingpin & Ecto Vader. Thanks dudes, for your posts! I
used what you did to shape what I did.

Please also forgive me if this thread is formatted wonky. I'm using tapatalk on my
iPad to post this so I can include pictures and for some reason, it's not letting me
see what I'm typing past a certain point so I've resorted to hitting return to
complete my sentences. Ugh. Technology has betrayed me.

So anyways, since I was on a budget I opted to go for the welding goggle frames
and PVC connectors. Unfortunately, all I could find were a pair of soft sided
vinyl goggles from Home Depot which cost around $17.
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And some pvc connectors:
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I removed the welding glass and replaced it with bass wood with holes cut out
to fit the pvc.
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I painted the bass wood black:
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Then I screwed on two pieces of wood to the sides of the goggles to make them
look more like the night vision goggles that is favoured by most on this site.
I used apoxy sculpy to fill in the gaps:
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Then sanded the sides down. Oh, and I painted the connectors too!
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#4811127
Here they are with the first coating of sculpy:
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It was still a bit rough on the sides, so I added more sculpy, then sanded the
bejebus out of them:
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#4811128
When I was finally satisfied with the smoothness of the "line" I primed them.
Please note, I became painfully aware that the wood blocks did not run
parallel to the bottom of the goggles, which is the "look" of the actual ECTO
goggles, but I didn't have it in me to straighten them out. I'd never used sculpy
before, and I didn't reinforce the interior of the googles like I should've. I was in
a bit of a hurry to get them done because I was going to be out of town for
almost all of september and I wanted to get ONE prop done before I left.
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So like a few members had posted, the primer was still tacky to the touch, but
only on the vinyl part of the goggles, even though I had tried my best to sand them
down. Full disclosure, I didn't wash them in soapy water, I had already attached
the wood blocks before I realized this and was already committed. The primer
on the sculpy bits was fine, though. Stupidly, I didn't let the rest of the goggles
dry properly and painted them cammo green. The result was less than desirable.
The paint went on ok at first, but then started to crack and bubble up. What a
gong show! I ended up having to sand the first coat of cammo paint off & lost a
day to cleaning them up. Note to self: don't be in such a hurry next time!
#4811130
Skipping ahead, I was very much impressed by people being able to wire their
goggles to light up. I knew I wanted my goggles to do the same thing, but I'm
as inept at electrical stuff as I was with sculpy. So I came up with a cheap, but
viable (IMHO) alternative. On a visit to the dollar store, I found these finger LED
lights that kids can use on, well, their fingers. 4 for a dollar! I grabbed two packs
and picked out the blue lights (they come in clear, red, green blue) painted them
black and attached them to the frames.
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Then I added stickers (printed out from Staples onto label sheets from HBprops)
and hot glued on knobs I picked up at a surplus store for 0.75$ and voila! My
el cheapo, totally inaccurate but good enough in a pinch ECTO goggles!
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#4811131
All I need to complete them is to refine the straps. I've only got the single band
that came with the goggles, but I hope to get a nice 3 point anchoring band
down when I get back home.
These goggles are a bit bulky, and I'm sure they'd shatter like so much fragile
glass if they ever got dropped, but i can see through them when they're over
my eyes and they're good enough for now!
#4811169
I likey! It's so cool to see builds like these. Good job! Also, we bought a TON of those finger LEDs from the Dollar Store for my wife's Maleficent cosplay.
#4811190
Naptime wrote:Image
Dude, that looks frickin' awesome! I would be totally proud of myself if I made a prop that looked that badass! Outstanding job!
#4811197
Dan AKA wrote:Welcome to the world of building Ghostbusters props, it's great to see people still starting where many of the big time builders started, and they came out pretty cool! Great job, can't wait to see your next little project!
Thanks! I can see how addictive this can get! It's a slippery slope!
#4811198
Grimmy GB wrote:I likey! It's so cool to see builds like these. Good job! Also, we bought a TON of those finger LEDs from the Dollar Store for my wife's Maleficent cosplay.
Those LED's are going to save my bacon! I'm going to use the red ones for my traps!
#4811199
pyhasanon wrote:
Naptime wrote:Image
Dude, that looks frickin' awesome! I would be totally proud of myself if I made a prop that looked that badass! Outstanding job!
Thank you! I've been following your uniform & pack build threads with much
interest (and a bit of envy!) Your stuff looks fantastic!
#4811204
iam8114 wrote:Looks good. Everybody has to start somewhere.
Thanks for the kind words. I have to admit, while I'm proud of what I've built,
all I can see are the mistakes I made. They're relatively minor, but I know they're
there. Ugh. I can see how OCD this can make people! It was a constant battle
between wanting to be screen accurate vs. what I was capable of & what I could
afford to do. Added onto that was the time constraint I was under - I'm away from
home until mid October, which severely limited my options. Despite all of this, I
had a really fun time building these. The next set will be even better!
#4811212
OCD and slippery slope? Whatever do you mean?...

Those are awesome! Did I miss how you did the lines on the lenses? They're not on the photo of the PVC but they are there later on.

Is the paint still tacky after the final coat?
#4811218
PssdffJay wrote:OCD and slippery slope? Whatever do you mean?...

Those are awesome! Did I miss how you did the lines on the lenses? They're not on the photo of the PVC but they are there later on.

Is the paint still tacky after the final coat?
Lol. I had to constantly chastise myself for being too obsessive over detail on my
quick and dirty builds - you'll see more when I get around to posting my scratch
pack & trap builds!

As for the lines on the lenses, I must've posted an old picture of the PVC connectors
I bought. I swear I must've gone to Home Despot at least 50 million times to try
and find pieces for my builds! I ended up finding better bases for the "lenses" -
they had a threaded bottom which helped me to secure/screw them into the holes
I cut in the bass wood. They were in the electrical section for PVC tubing. Male
connector/adapters or something like that.

I also was able to find the ribbed washer type dealies there too.
(Christ, I'm PVC tubing illiterate - I think they're called lock nuts?).

After the final coat of cammo paint, the paint dried up fairly quickly - enough for
me to attach the knobs, stickers and lights. I guess stripping off the previous coats
of primer and paint helped create a barrier between the vinyl and new paint.
To be honest, I kinda rushed the finished product because I was leaving the next
day, so they were slightly, ever so slightly tacky, BUT, I'm confident that by the
time I get home they should be completely dried.
#4811236
Alan Hawkins wrote:I love em! Great job man!
Thanks, dude! Loved reading about your pack builds!
#4811237
phillbarron wrote:Looks great!

You know they're not screen accurate because you've been staying at photos for ages ... to everyone other than the people here they're clearly the goggle-things from Ghostbusters.

I made some welding goggles too and the paint did eventually dry up fine.
True enough! There were times I was wondering why I was obsessing over details
few people would really know or care about - but still, I think it's a matter of
personal pride. I've seen plenty of, how shall I put it gently... craptacular props &
costumes in my time and I didn't want to fall into that category. So, while my
goggles weren't screen accurate (a term I'm becoming more and more familiar with)
I believe that they are as you pointed out, "clearly the goggle-things from
Ghostbusters". I also wanted them to look like they could actually work, which
meant I wanted the "hero" look quality to the final product. I think I got pretty
close to achieving that goal. Thanks for the encouragement!
#4811238
But seriously, even with me knowing what "screen accurate" should look like, I really like how these turned out! Color me impressed!
#4811247
pyhasanon wrote:But seriously, even with me knowing what "screen accurate" should look like, I really like how these turned out! Color me impressed!
You have no idea what that means to me! Thanks for the compliment. It means a lot coming from you. I've been super impressed with the quality of your uniform and pack build. You've set a great standard for all the newbies to strive for when putting together any of our props.
#4811248
phillbarron wrote:Have you thought about adding some adjustment screws to the lenses when you get back?
I have, but I'm not sure what to use for them or how I'm going to attach them
without messing up the lenses. I'm considering leaving well enough alone. I still
have two traps to build, the rest of my proton pack, neutrona wand and uniform
to finish off. It's a bit frustrating being away from home and having all this time on
my hands and being unable to work on my stuff! On a positive note, I'm learning
how to solder in my down time while I'm here - trying to jury rig a light kit for my
pack!

Do you have a link for your goggle build? I'd love to see them!
#4811254
Haha. Nevermind! Just found them. Impressive!
#4811271
Naptime wrote:You have no idea what that means to me! Thanks for the compliment. It means a lot coming from you. I've been super impressed with the quality of your uniform and pack build. You've set a great standard for all the newbies to strive for when putting together any of our props.
Dude, you give me way too much credit, but thank you, those words are inspiring to me! If anything, I owe it all really to this awesome community! All of my stuff is from ideas, inspiration and skills derived from everybody on this here website! Seriously, I am a newbie as well, I haven't been here for that long, just have a lot of good mentors to follow! However, I should be having some updates soon! Crossing my fingers! Looking forward to seeing more of your awesome skills! While I love screen accuracy, I have a very special place in my heart for creativity!
#4811574
busybuildr wrote:I'm really liking the "additions" to the goggle body and the LED's. Great creativity !
Wear them proudly - that is some top-notch work ! !
Thank you for the words of encouragement!
#4811807
Thanks, guys! I'm really digging how supportive this community is to each other.

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