Finalizing the vacuum line In order to shape/straighten the loom that is inserted into the hole that I had previously cut with my Dremel (in the crank generator portion of the shell), I still needed to mount the dowel with Bondo. In order to do so, I cut a piece of loom about two inches long, placed the dowel inside it, then inserted the two into the hole in the shell. This allowed me to correctly position the dowel inside the shell without the force or resistance that would come from a longer piece of loom (since the longer loom needs to bend outside the hole, it can apply a force on the dowel). This, in turn, made it much easier to apply the Bondo.
My apologies for forgetting to take a picture of the dowel with the shorter loom from the outside of the shell, but here it is from the inside:
The dowel is now solidly attached to the shell with Bondo all around it. It is now firmly stuck to the shell. I really like the way the longer loom (the one I measured to use on the shell) bends now when it exits the crank generator. It is much straighter and cleaner.
Yes, I know there are labels in that picture, and looking back at it, I believe I stuck the label a little bit too high on the crank generator (I am willing to live with that). More on the other labels in a bit!
Installing the Nycoil tubing and placing the metallic and vinyl labels Since I planned GB1-style pack, I really based a lot of my decisions on the following two GB1 reference pictures (thanks PssdffJay). Unfortunately, most of our reference pictures are from GB2, so for decisions that required other perspectives (such as side views), I chose to extrapolate, look at other GB1 build threads and ask questions to other GBFans builders.
GB1 reference picture 1:
GB1 reference picture 2:
Installing the tubing and placing the labels were pretty straight forward, so I will try to show pictures of where I placed them rather than blabbering too much.
Please note that I decided not to use the labels that Benofkent Props included in his kit. Rather, I am using Joe Luna's metal labels, the GBFans vinyl labels and the GBFans dry rub labels. As a side note, I tried to update my parts list on the first post of this thread, but I no longer have those editing privileges. I will need to ask a moderator for the proper permissions.
Now let’s start with the Ion Arm.
For the time being, the tubing and loom are only attached by compression, so I did not apply any glue for the time being. I found the yellow tubing to be difficult to pull over the Dale resistor contact. I pondered whether or not I should trim the contact to help pull the tube over it without stretching (as bishopdonmiguel had done). In the end, I did not trim the contact and I let the tube stretch a bit.
In the picture above, you will notice that I still need to work on the blue Ion Arm tubing. The Legris elbow on the end cap is not properly positioned, so I might need to use some glue or something to achieve the correct placement. I will also need to glue the tubing and the loom onto the long Dale resistor.
As you can see, Joe Luna’s metal labels are simply stunning. I think they really add to the realism and authenticity that I was looking for in my pack.
As for the loom that covers the ends of the Nycoil tubing, I had a hard time figuring out what the proper length should be. Bishopdonmiguel specified that they should be 30 millimetres in length, while PssdffJay brilliantly suggested counting each “rib” of the loom from the reference pictures. My counts revealed this to be 11 “ribs,” which, when all was said and done, measured 30 millimetres. Great advice from two experienced pack builders!
Here is a picture of the Nycoil tubing and loom on the injectors, with a GBFans vinyl danger label:
Even though the tubes are very solid on their own, I used some zip ties to make sure they will not come out of the injector block. I plan to do the same thing with the thin red Nycoil tubing that enters the Legris straights.
I had an unexpected issue with the loom that covers the blue tube that enters the PPD. When I drilled the hole in the PPD, I forgot to countersink the hole to account for the diameter of the loom! Luckily, I had access to a drill press and I enlarged the mouth of the hole to a diameter of 3/8” using a step bit (the closest but size I had to the outer diameter of the loom). This worked perfectly.
Here is a side view picture with the Legris elbows, the Legris straights, the Nycoil tubing, loom, metal HGA label, vinyl PPD label and yellow label.
Hijacker made the grey elbows for me using the same SMC elbows that are offered in the GBFans store. I must say, they look great! As for the Nycoil tube that goes from the filler plug to the HGA, I chose the red of the hero packs rather than the blue of the semi-hero packs (even though you can’t really see it). I consider my pack to be very close to a hero pack, despite using a few resin components (even though I originally planned for a semi-hero build). For this reason, I will borrow Bishops term “hero-esque.”
Although the GB2 Stantz and Spengler packs have a small red danger sticker next to the Cyclotron elbow in the reference pictures, I did not know if that sticker was on the GB1 packs.
Spengler pack reference picture:
I talked to PssdffJay and he decided to put one on his pack, so I decided to do the same. At least there will be some degree of consistency between our packs next time we are suited up at an event.
From the picture above, one can notice that I did not place the silver/grey danger label or the red schematic diagram label that are meant for the N-Filter. This is because I am waiting for my dry rub schematic label to arrive in the mail.
Here is an overhead view of my pack shell so far with the metal label on the right side of the bumper:
Other notes Originally, I planned to use clear frosted lenses on my shell. From the pictures above, you may have noticed that I substituted them with clear transparent ones. For the record, the new clear lenses are cut to the same dimensions (33 mm or 1 5/16" in diameter and 5 mm or 3/16" thick) than the frosted ones that I prepared about a year ago. All of the lenses (including the blue powercell lens) are held by Lepage Super Glue Ultra Gel, which I applied to the shell surface using a tooth pick.
Unless someone can indicate otherwise, I believe the only missing piece is the ribbon cable. Unfortunately, I found that the ribbon cable that I purchased from Neon Props was not wide enough. The edges of the cable fit between the socket head cap screws of my GBFans ribbon cable clamp. Therefore, I purchased a new one from Fincher Technologies, which measures a more appropriate 78 millimetres (it looks like 76 mm in the picture below). I am waiting for the cable to arrive in the mail as well.
If anyone notices that something is off, awkward or flat-out missing, please let me know. There is still time to make changes or corrections. I am always looking for feedback!