I think it's finally time to unveil what I was working on for the past few weeks (or months) I've been upgrading a LOT of details on my current pack, to make it as close and accurate as possible to the screen-used pack that was sold privately (or more simply the Ray GB2 pack) So here goes!
On this first pic you see that I've switched the (incorrect) red tubing that I had under the HGA loom for blue. Well you don't see it, but it's there. I also used a longer length to better replicate that detail on the GB2 Ray. I also removed the paint from the V-hook spacer (that detail was unique to the Minnesota PH hero pack)
Over here you see that I did the (fake) weld between the ion arm and the booster tube, using a plastic 1/2" rod instead of an aluminum rod (my booster is ABS, can't really weld that) I also switched the blue Nycoil tubing between the resistor and the PPD with a lighter shade. That one is longer too, to go over the ribbon cable instead of under. You can also see that I modified the split loom boots to match the ring counts on the real pack.
Speaking of ribbon cable, I replaced the 1 1/8" ID P-clamp (which was used on the Minnesota PH hero and on the Sony lobby hero) with a 7/8" ID. IMHO I think that this particular size of clamp was used on the GB2 Ray and on the semi-hero packs. I also re-twisted my Spectra strip to better match the screen-used one. Last detail: I modified the installation of the PPD; now it faces straight back (instead of being at an angle, like on the Minnesota PH)
Up here I added an extra Philips screw on the top motherboard mounting point (a detail unique to the Ray GB2 as far as I know) and replaced the Sage resistor with a Pacific. I've kept the "GB1" setup for the ion arm cap/Clippard fitting combo because the GB2 Ray still has his (square fitting on the ion arm cap instead of an hex fitting on the ion arm itself)
Not much to see here, except to note that I left all the GB1 labels on the cyclotron and the N-filter. Also I made sure to use the correct screws for the ribbon cable clamp and the Clippard valve (6-32 and 8-32, respectively) Oh and if you find a cat in that pic there's a no-price attached to that.
Major update (for me) and one that really makes the GB2 pack: I've finally added the correct 1/4-20 slotted button screw to the shock mount. I even matched the angle of the screw to the GB2 Ray.
While the Philips screws that hold the shell are unpainted (at least on the pack I'm replicating) the bumper ones are painted black. So I painted them and distressed the paint to match the weathering (I also dulled the finish on the unpainted ones, even if it's hard to see)
Now that has to be my favorite update. As far as I know no one ever put this on their pack, so I had to.
I don't really care which letter Ray's pack had in the court scene, I just like this too much not to use it.
Now for the back of the pack. I had added an extra coat of foam on the ALICE frame padding, because I thought that all the converted hero packs had it. Well I was wrong. The GB2 Ray doesn't, so it had to go. I took this opportunity to re-do the padding entirely, adding the white color in the inside, and using genuine gaffer's tape this time. Looks good, methinks.
In this pic I'm trying to show my ALICE frame setup. I used 3 Philips 1/4-20 screw to replace my (incorrect) 3/8-16 carriage bolts (at least for a GB2 hero pack) I sandwiched the frame between washers, used thin 1" long anodized aluminum spacers, and screwed the screws real tight. Not sure if the GB2 Ray is exactly like this, but both the Sony lobby hero and the Minnesota PH are like this, so there.
I also removed the round rubber spacer which I used for the top mounting point. This was removed for the GB2 pack for some reason.
I replaced the LC-2 shoulder straps with padded LC-1 straps, just like the 3 hero packs. I couldn't pad the LC-2 because they were only used on the semi-hero packs. So that's a complete GB2 hero setup: padded LC-1 shoulder straps and LC-2 waist pad, on an ALICE LC-1 frame (semi-hero packs used a painted LC-2)
And here's an ensemble shot of the back of the pack. You may notice that instead of a fuse label there's a big gray square; while the gray square is accurate to the Sony lobby hero pack, the GB2 Ray still has his fuse label. Only waiting for Joe's label for that. (Can't wait for that one)
And a few beauty shots of the front. Left side...
Straight on...
And that shot right there, that I've been waiting to post for a long time now. That's the money shot, because it's the same angle as that pic of the GB2 Ray. Here it is for comparison:
So please me know what you guys think. And thanks for watching!