User avatar
By thekid
#453750
As many do, I've been watching these boards for a while. I bought a shell and bumper last year but funds and time ran short. Finally I have a chance to get back to building. Last year I got a Mikenelson1982's 84 shell and bumper. I just bought the GB Fan's Motherboard (which is amazing) but as I just read fits great with their shell, but doesn't line up great with Mikenelson's.
I have no problem buying the GB Fan's shell (I've been planning on making 2 packs anyway) but my question is does anyone know a Motherboard that would fit the Mikenelson shell.
My guess is MMM's probably would but does anyone know for certain? I'd ask Mike but he fell off the face of the earth.
#453755
If I recall MikeNelson shell wasn't 1:1 with Stefan's Plans, he made some changes (updates since stefan's plans were made). The MMM motherboard is. My guess is it wouldn't fit perfectly either. Although in the original thread http://www.gbfans.com/community/viewtop ... 31&t=29060 he says it does fit the MMM motherboard, so I guess roll with that. Or maybe someone who has the shell will chime in.

Your best bet for a perfect fit motherboard is to make you own. Just get some 1/8" aluminum sheet and trace it like here: http://www.gbfans.com/community/viewtop ... =2&t=24286

Then cut it out with a jig saw. That's how the originals were made.
#453761
drjameshouse wrote:If I recall MikeNelson shell wasn't 1:1 with Stefan's Plans, he made some changes (updates since stefan's plans were made). The MMM motherboard is. My guess is it wouldn't fit perfectly either. Although in the original thread http://www.gbfans.com/community/viewtop ... 31&t=29060 he says it does fit the MMM motherboard, so I guess roll with that. Or maybe someone who has the shell will chime in.
I know it's been a while since anyone might have built a pack with his shell so it's a long shot. It's not the worst fit on the GB Fan's motherboard but I'd like it a little more exact. I agree that my best bet may just be cutting it myself. I'm PMing some people who bought his shell and seeing if they have any thoughts. Thanks for your help already.
#453767
I used an MMM motherboard. It wasn't a perfect fit. I was able to use bondo to give the illusion that it fit perfectly. All in all, it really wasn't a bad fit just a few small adjustments at the top of the crank box and just under the power cell. I will try and take some pictures when I get home so you can better understand what I'm talking about.
#453941
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Here's what is looks like. It's not perfect, but for the most part it works well. The powercell sits a little high but I'm hoping the injectors will hide most of that anyway.

I just ordered a bunch of resin parts from Nickatron but anybody know where I can get a Booster tube and N-Filter?
#453958
thekid wrote: I have no problem buying the GB Fan's shell (I've been planning on making 2 packs anyway) but my question is does anyone know a Motherboard that would fit the Mikenelson shell.
My guess is MMM's probably would but does anyone know for certain? I'd ask Mike but he fell off the face of the earth.
I also have a mikenelson shell. I ended up making my own motherboard from a piece of aluminum i got at a local metal supply company.. If you go that route make sure you have a way to consistently cut the metal.

Just be careful when you drill the holes for the legris straight fittings that go behind the PDD, the Resin is thin there and it cracked when i drilled mine

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otherwise its a good shell. if you have anymore questions let me know, and goodluck!
User avatar
By thekid
#4852926
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It's been a long time since I've updated but I've been slowly gathering more supplies and I've decided to tackle the Neutrona Wand first.

What I've got:
Nick-a-tron resin kit:
  • Gun Box and Lid
    Gun Track
    Heat Sink
    Rear Cylinder
    Rear Instrument Bar
    Trigger Box
    Side Discs
    Hat Lights (I plan on upgrading these with ones from the GB Store)
    Thrower Dials
    Front Palm Rest
    Lock Block
    Thrower Ears
    Trigger Tip Ring
    Gun Grips
    Green Tubing
    Red Tubing
GB Store:
  • Clippard Brass Barbs
    LED Cliplites
    Clippard R 701
    Banjo Fittings
    Clear Acrylic Tip
    Light Kit
    Rumble Motor
Now time to get to work.
User avatar
By thekid
#4852945
This post may contain an affiliate link that helps support GBFans.com when you make a purchase at no additional cost to you.

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For the Gun Box I used a dremel to cut out the Bar Graph which I’ll go back in and fill with putty. I’m also hoping Spongeface gets restocks of his Bar Graph Bezels. I used an “F” drill bit for the switch holes to the left of the Bar Graph as well as the Cliplite next to the vents.

I used a 27/64 bit for the buried hat light, I’ll have the probably sand down the inside as it is still buried fairly low. For the vents I drilled with a 1/8 bit and then dremeled the slits. Since I’m used the connecting cable from the Wand Light Kit to the Soundboard, I started with a small pilot hole through the Gun Handle’s port. The resin was weak and cracked so I punched out a hole large enough to run the cable and sanded down the sides. To get the wiring from the Rear Instrument Bar and Trigger Box, I used a 5/16 bit.

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To run the Gun Ear/Wand wires I used a 27/64 bit through the front cylinder. The 27/64 was also perfect for the Clippard’s rear nub. A 1/8 bit worked for the brass rod’s placement hole and for now I used a 7 bit to run the front hat light’s bulb through until I can get a proper socket/hat light.

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I sanded down the Trigger Tip Ring and Thrower Tip Converter to properly fit the Acrylic Tube.

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Again I used an “F” bit for the switch hole and a 5/16 bit for the Intensify button hole. To run the wires through the Rear Instrument Box I used a 5/16 bit.

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I drilled a 27/64 bit hole For the button on the Gun Ear. I cracked the bottom but since I have wires running through there so I dremeled a slit to help run the wires underneath.

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I ordered a 1.25” OD aluminum tube from Amazon. Using the Matty Collector Neutrona Wand as a reference, I found the front handle to be about 7” and the rear about 8.5”. Looking through the forum, I found the correct rear measurement to be 8.25.”
User avatar
By thekid
#4853012
This post may contain an affiliate link that helps support GBFans.com when you make a purchase at no additional cost to you.

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For the Rear Instrument Bar I used an “F” bit for the Cliplite hole and a 5/16 bit for the wiring from the Trigger Box. I made my first attempt at tapping for the Clippard barbs which was not perfect. I used an 8-32 tap but I think I stripped the threads. I’ll have to epoxy the barbs in for additional support.

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I cut the Gun Handles and brass rodfor the Green Lever. I bent the brass rod at about .75” which fits well for the depth I drilled in my Gun Box and cut it at 2.5”. All of them need to be filed and leveled.

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I’ll need to get new green tubing. The one that came with my Nick-a-tron kit doesn’t fit quite as snug as I’d like it to.

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I love seeing it come together. Here’s a comparison next to the Matty Collector Neutrona Wand.
#4873174
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I used a 10-32 NC for the Banjo Fittings. The screws aren’t long and don’t stay well so I’ll probably have to epoxy them as well.

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I used a 29 bit to go through the Gun Track and Gun Box lid. The screws included in V-Hook aren’t quite long enough to go all the way through both.

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Testing out lights and getting the wires through.
#4873188
This post may contain an affiliate link that helps support GBFans.com when you make a purchase at no additional cost to you.

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I epoxied the Thrower Ears to the front Gun Handle and applied Aves Apoxie Sculpt Modeling Compound to create the fake welds. Like others, I rolled up small beads and pressed them together. I also used the 7/64” bit and tapped with a 6-32 NC for the two 6-32x5/8” screws. I ordered all my screws from Fastenal.com which allowed for a wide variety in small quantities.

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To thread wires through the Gun Handle to the Thrower Ear I drilled 27/64 bit hole through the Handle, Tip Converter, and Acrylic Tip. The screw through the Thrower Ear is a 6-32x5/8”.

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I put some Apoxie Sculpt inside the Gun Grips to level them evenly against the Handles. In the rear Grip and Handle I used the 7/64” bit for the rivets/screws though I haven’t settled on what I’ll use there.

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The Hat Light thread was expanded to 5/16”. The Front Palm Rest and Rear Cylinder were attached with a 10-24x3/4” screws. The Heat Sink has four 4-40x5/8” screws connecting it to the Gun Body. The Top Knob has a 4-40x1” screw and fake welds. The Front Knob and Side Knobs next to the Heat Sink are connected with 8-32x5/8” screws which is the same as the screw between Side Knobs. The green tubing on the lever was corrected with that tubing from GBFans.com.

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The Instrument Bar and Trigger Box were epoxied together, I also drilled some support self-threading screws which cracked a corner of the Instrument Bar. Fake welds were added and the screws are two 6-32x3/8”.
User avatar
By thekid
#4879139
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My makeshift paint area on the patio.

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I dry-sanded with 220 grit sandpaper and applied two coats of Rust-oleum Primer from Lowes. I bumped a few parts before the primer had cured which had to sanded with later coats but that will help with giving it a worn/used look.

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After the Primer I dried I applied the first coat of paint. For the body I used Valspar Metallic Silver. The Gun Grips were coated with Rust-oleum Flat Brown.

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Second coat

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First coat of black paint. I used Rust-oleum Specialty High Heat Ultra which initially looked glossy but when fully dried had a great flat look. I would highly recommend it.

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Second coat of black and finally assembled.

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Finally finished the Particle Thrower! Vinyl decals applied most of which look good though in some spots I would have preferred the dry rub. I’m learning a lot from my first build. I was going to use Micro Mask before applying to black paint to see how that worked with weathering but I’m glad I thought better of it. Simply using a low-grade steel wool on most of the edges gave it just the right amount of weathering that I wanted and revealed the silver coats underneath.
Now to start working on the pack.
OCP_Model-001 liked this
User avatar
By thekid
#4902262
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I took this several years ago when I first began collecting pieces for my pack. Most of the resin parts were from Nickatron. The motherboard and Clippard were from GBFans.

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Slowly gathered and began to screw various parts to the shell.

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Nickatron’s HGA came with molded screws which I removed with a dremel.

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Adding in actual screws I ordered from Fastenal.com

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The pack assembled with more parts and the completed thrower.
twmedford23 liked this

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