[Grimmy GB]

Good work buddy! And that's how I did my "#4" as well

[halliwax]

hey Sulli, nice progress! those L brackets look beefy!! hey do u mind helping me out? I see you posted in the thread to find the location of L brackets 1+2 u center them on the squares of the motherboard.

but how did u find the locations for brackets 3+4 ?

I've been doing some back searchs and can't really find the exact answer, i have a guess but don't think it would work unless the motherboard was transparent lol!

keep up the good work buddy! I'm jealous

[csullivan1980]

Did some primer grey tonight on BL, FT, Vac tube and mobo. Sunday they get a coat of flat black.







Suspended the mobo using wire coat hangers. With the help of needle nose pliers I looped the ends more more security.



This will save me time and I was able to get both sides at once.

[gbchef]

Thank you for the pics of the brackets and hose clamp. I am going to be starting on a Chris shell build myself soon and picked up a wiz hose clamp too.

[csullivan1980]

On the way home I stopped by my local radio shack and picked up some 3/4" split loom for just under $8. It fit perfectly with the clamp I bought off of Wiz and PVC couplers from Home Depot.

My only problem is the way the split loom was pack might make it hard to get out of the zig-zag shape.

[csullivan1980]

hey Sulli, nice progress! those L brackets look beefy!! hey do u mind helping me out? I see you posted in the thread to find the location of L brackets 1+2 u center them on the squares of the motherboard.

but how did u find the locations for brackets 3+4 ?

I've been doing some back searchs and can't really find the exact answer, i have a guess but don't think it would work unless the motherboard was transparent lol!

keep up the good work buddy! I'm jealous

Hey Halliwax,

What I did to help me find the proper placement of the 3 and 4 "L" brackets was watching GB1 and GB2.

The best scenes were:
GB1: elevator scene, Gozer temple (after "Choose and Perish")
GB2: courthouse scene.

You can never watch these two enough to get a good view of where to place the 3 and 4 brackets.

The bolt of the #3 "L" bracket will be about 1 1/2" from the top of the shell.
The bolt of the #4 "L" bracket will be about 1 1/2" from where the gun will be mounted.
You'd want to place the bracket center to where the bolt will be; this will require you lifting the shell up and down a few times before you are satisfied with it's placement.

I hope that helps

[csullivan1980]

Halliwax this pic might help

[csullivan1980]

To anyone who hasn't bought an Alice frame this post is for you!

Okay so there IS a major difference between newly made Alice frames versus genuine ones. 1) size, 2) holes for screws and 3) stability!

The black frame I bought a few weeks ago. A Rothco brand, black, Alice frame model 2255, cost $40. The one on the left is a genuine U.S. military USGI LC-1/LC-2 VG, cost $16.75 (eBay).



The genuine frame is slightly larger than the Rothco. The horizontal bar is not set against the AF.



The Rothco's vertical bar is NOT sturdy. With some pressure you can push it down, it flexes. As you can imagine you do not want your pack on this.

The genuine AF doesn't move under any pressure. Remember these things were in wars or seen combat. They aren't made to be flimsy.

ROTHCO: https://vimeo.com/114998621
Genuine: https://vimeo.com/114998678

What prompted this second AF was a discussion I was having with a member of the Bay State Ghostbusters. Looking at one of his albums he had a "broken Alice frame" thread. I reached out and he told me that it broke overtime. Another member of BSGB confirmed his story and I can only hope no pack was harmed when the frame broke.

My advice don't take any chances and go genuine. Obviously I would have saved $20 gong with a genuine but you live and learn.

I plan to prime and paint this frame over the next week.

[halliwax]

thank you for the advice! once I get home I'm going to double check this.

I think I have an idea now of the process

[Grimmy GB]

You could do what Mat did with his vertical bar...
http://www.gbfans.com/community/viewtop ... &start=180

[Lewis Tully]

Don't prime the frame, just spray it black... (If you wanna do what the prop builders did with the original.) I would ALWAYS recommend going with a military issue frame. I am lucky enough to live close to Fort Knox, KY so there is a flea market over there that is always stocked with 10 - 15 frames at any given time. Haven't been lucky enough to stumble upon any LC-1 frames, or straps yet, but I am always searching.

[csullivan1980]

So tonight I tackled making a light kit holder for the bar graph. Now, not having access to a lot of major hardware tool I pretty much have to MacGyver everything I make.

After much thought and prototyping using some cardboard I figured a giant "L" bracket would work for the light bar.

My local container store sells acrylic plastic boxes 4"x4"x5 1/16. Using a Dremel kit I was able to quickly cut the box into two "L" brackets (one for backup).

From trial and error I figured out the proper positing on where to screw the light kit. Once my mobo dries from painting I can mount it directly to the board.









https://vimeo.com/115228957

[csullivan1980]

Christmas came a bit early for this guy.

[NickoRay]

^ Where is that going?

[csullivan1980]

^ Where is that going?

Going to place it on the outside of the mobo probably behind my right shoulder. It's made out of plastic but looks like metal. Feel it adds a nice touch to the pack.

[Lowberg]

Looks great so far

[Lewis Tully]

Where did you get the tag? Very cool idea.

[csullivan1980]

Where did you get the tag? Very cool idea.

My fiancé got it from Etsy. They have a ton a cool GB handmade artwork and crafts. I got about three awesome pieces of artwork from there.

The badge is made of plastic but looks like metal. Not sure if I'll screw it to the mobo or rivet it.

[Lewis Tully]

Looks like a rivet job to me. Like those Warning labels on big machinery. Again, very cool!

[Riggs45]

Coming along amazingly! The tag is very cool to, cant wait to see it on the pack. Very nice touch, kudos to your fiance! Great gift

[csullivan1980]

This big day is here: Mounting day!!!

Pchrisbosh1: mobo & shell
Ejgunth87: aluminum L bracket kit
Demon Vice Commander: spacers
Nick-a-tron: hose clamp
Rothco brand Alice frame (temp)

[csullivan1980]

After a long, long evening it's mounted.

Since the beginning of this project I dreaded the mounting for fear I'd mess something up. But in the end it wasn't all bad and when I took my time I found it to be pretty exciting.

Following Kind2311's plans exactly everything went smoothly. Except when my brand new heavy duty riveter broke, ugh. After a trip to Home Depot I was back on track.







The first "L" brackets holes I drill just a little too close. You can see the slight overlap but it didn't cause any harm.









Using tape and the measurements of the "L" bracket I drew where the brackets would be on the other side of the shell. This worked great for me and I'm pretty confident that the holes were drilled nearly center.





















Another view from the inside













After everything was drilled and placed I wanted to go back and drill a hole in the middle of the cyclotron so the bumper would be more secure.



Once that was don't it was time to mount the Alice Frame, spacers, mobo and shell.

Here are the results.



Now I'm still deciding on where I want to add my eye candy. I figured if I want to show it off I need it to be in a place that will be seen.



I wore the pack for a little while and it's amazing how much weight there is once it's mounted. 10lbs at least.

[NickoRay]

Looks so awesome. Can we get a full portrait shot from the front??

[csullivan1980]

Another productive day!

After mounting the Alice frame to the mobo to the shell I took it apart to tackle one of the major parts of the building: mounting the power cell lights.

I have to say that I did NOT use any plans or tutorials for this part and used my own ingenuity. That hardest part was finding the right placement for the light holder I made from an acrylic plastic box.



















I intentionally placed a switch on the outside of the mobo so I can reach it from behind.









Only downside was this was the only corner to have a little gap. I'll try to fix it or place some ac form strips between it.





Turning ON (bottom view)
https://vimeo.com/115534996

Turing OFF (top view)
https://vimeo.com/115535005

I do plan to give the mobo one more coat of flat black to cover up the rivets and screw heads.

[Grimmy GB]

Did that have the gap before you installed the powercell light bracket? I haven't seen a PCB build yet with a gap like that.

[csullivan1980]

Did that have the gap before you installed the powercell light bracket? I haven't seen a PCB build yet with a gap like that.

I seriously doubt it. Might just have to trim the top of the light holder I made.

[Grimmy GB]

Did that have the gap before you installed the powercell light bracket? I haven't seen a PCB build yet with a gap like that.

I seriously doubt it. Might just have to trim the top of the light holder I made.

That was to be my suggestion. You're on top of it though ^^

[csullivan1980]

Fixed the gap! Yay!

[JC Arkham]

You're doing a fine job there sir. Keep it up. And keep having fun doing it.

[csullivan1980]

Even on my lunch break I make it home for a bit of adjusting





The original screw I bought were too long. So I went by the hardware store before work and got a few (Metric) M3 x 10 screws with M3 Hex nuts

Worked much better. I'd advise to stay away from lock nuts.