User avatar
By nstevic01
#458820
Been away for a long while, been busy building packs and other stuff. A friend of mine came to me and asked if I would do some work on a pack that he acquired. Turns out it was one of the packs used in the street show/ride arounds over at Universal Studios. From what I understand, this was the ONLY Extreme pack to make it out of the park and avoid destruction. We all know there were a couple of other USF packs to make it out, but they were themed after the movie.

So I did some digging around, and found a few reference photos of the pack. Apparently there were only 2 in this configuration:

Image

Image

Image


So here is the pack, as I received it. No thrower, and the straps were broken.

Image


The current owner of the pack wants it gone through completely, a new thrower made, lights and sounds upgraded, and a few choice mods. After seeing the park thrower, the owner wanted to go for more of a Extreme type thrower vs. what originally came with it.

I began the tear down and laid out all of the parts:
Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image


I added to the "In" side of the pump box. Just used some copper tubing and PVC to give a filter effect:

Image


The Cyclotron had basic flashing LEDs inside, as well as a capacitor wrapped with slime filled tubing:

Image

Image


I removed the LEDs from the Cyclotron and filled the holes in:

Image


I removed the gun mount. A new one will be made for the new thrower:

Image


Removed most of the foam with a wire wheel, I will be doing some more cleanup before painting:

Image


Pack stripped:

Image


First up on the restoration is what I consider the Power Cell:

Image


Found a nice project box that was about the same size:

Image


Cut the sides out:

Image


Added some mesh and reused the copper tubing:

Image


Cut up an old board and connected the copper tubing to some pots to give it a completed look:

Image

Image

Tested out the lighting for the Power Cell:

Image


Began repainting the shell and a couple other components:

Image

Image

Image



The legendary Chris Bryan is working on the thrower for this build. This is what he sent me so far:

Image

Image



That's it for now, I have the motherboard and alice frame in. Just need to get them mounted up.
Last edited by Kingpin on September 10th, 2013, 11:39 am, edited 1 time in total.Reason: Fixed image link
Vee, SPJ, Glenn Frederick and 5 others liked this
User avatar
By nstevic01
#458822
Got some more work done this past week.

Mounted the new motherboard to the frame. The original just had backpack straps attached to the frame itself, nothing was left of that except a tiny piece of strap.

Image

Image


Next up is the Power Cell. The gauge was crooked originally, and I needed to make room for the new Power Cell LEDs.

Image


I removed the gauge, they had covered the edges with plumbers putty to make it seem like it was molded into the pack. Of course the hole that was originally cut was too large to re-mount the gauge. I fabbed up a bezel from aluminum and used that to mount it.

Image

Image


Rough cut out, just need to file it down and make it even.

Image



I decided to try out a hammered finish since the rest of the pack had a texture to it. I will have to sand this back down to get rid of some of the imperfections.

Image


Filled in the top section of the pack with the same grating I used on the PPD

Image


Moving on to the bottom door section. This was originally too wide for the bottom of the pack, so naturally I needed to shorten it.

Image


Removed the end cap, and used my saw on it, seems to fit better now.

Image


The last update for the day is the thrower. Chris sent me some updated pictures of the progress.

Image

Image


Bottom trim piece cut and mounted

Image


That's it for now, more to come.
jackdoud, Vincenzo330, Vee and 4 others liked this
User avatar
By Kingpin
#458830
No doubt it'll be leaps and bounds better than what it looked like originally.

Reminds me of the reasonable attempt at replicating Kylie's costume from the show, a shame that didn't seem to last very long.
By SPJ
#458963
The shape the orginal pack was in was saddening. Your work is inspiring, this just looks awesome. I cannot wait to see the final result.

Will the power gauge be active or just a dead gauge for looks only?
User avatar
By nstevic01
#458965
The power gauge was functional prior to restore, so naturally it will work when I'm done. Only thing I will do is swap out the lamp for an led to reduce the power draw.

But yeah, it was in pretty rough shape. Very well used...and sticky. Something was inside there...

There will be some changes to the look, only because of the condition of the original parts. I'm trying to reuse as much as I can, keeping replacement to a minimum.
SPJ liked this
User avatar
By nstevic01
#459024
More work done tonight, refinished the yellow canister at the top:

Image

Image


Refinished the copper tubing on the side of the pack

Image


And began the cyclotron mods...I moved the 8 LED mounting hole to the base of the cyclotron. They seem to fit better here.

Image

Image
By bromie
#459093
I never used to like packs that weren't movie packs, but builds like this are really starting to change my mind! You don't see many decent Extreme packs either so i love this thread :-D

You've done an amazing job so far, the only problem is that i'm checking this thread for updates way too much!!! :lol:
User avatar
By nstevic01
#459179
Labels may be a combination of existing and new ones. There are a few things that wont be revealed until the owner gets the pack since he is following this thread.

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 4
User avatar
By nstevic01
#459442
You can thank our very own cpu64 for that. We told him what we wanted and he did not disappoint. Hopefully it should be arriving today.

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 4
User avatar
By XxEctOxX
#459472
This is very cool, and i bet kinda fun to work on. The gun is slick(nice work cpu). So question, any idea when this pack was originally built?
User avatar
By nstevic01
#459474
Yeah, it's a blast. Im enjoying every minute of this build. I get to be really creative with it in my interpretation of how things would really look inside. They pack was originally built back in 2001 if my sources are correct. Kinda sad that this was the only extreme pack to make it out of the park.

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 4
User avatar
By Hoot
#459475
It does suck but you do realize this will make you the expert in the field of EGB Packs now. This looks amazing. I can remember getting up early at Zero Dark Thirty for school (high school at that) and watching this show. This brings back memories....and second thoughts of sleeping in :S

Well done either way man. I am impressed and quite loving the progress!
User avatar
By XxEctOxX
#459483
nstevic01 wrote:Yeah, it's a blast. Im enjoying every minute of this build. I get to be really creative with it in my interpretation of how things would really look inside. They pack was originally built back in 2001 if my sources are correct. Kinda sad that this was the only extreme pack to make it out of the park.
that is sad, but cool in the same instant. You get to work on a one of a kind piece ! Its turning out great, and hope the owner is happy with it.
Ron Daniels liked this
#459484
nstevic01 wrote:Labels may be a combination of existing and new ones. There are a few things that wont be revealed until the owner gets the pack since he is following this thread.

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 4
Dammit! Nathan figured out I was following this thread....can't wait to see it when I get back from Miami next week.....should make our trip to Mickey's Not So Scary that much more fun.
Ron Daniels liked this
User avatar
By nstevic01
#459520
Here are a few more updates with tonight's progress. I got to work on this "yet to be named" section of the pack. Since I am batshit crazy when it comes to details, I decided to put together my own boards and solder interconnecting wires. I still have a bit more to go on it though.

Blank canvas, ready for filling in.

Image


Chopped up some various boards I had laying around, one from an old school network switch, and the other from an old multimeter.

Image


Test fitting the pieces in the area

Image


Wired in a second board that I got from another larger multimeter. The network port is from the above old school switch. All of the leads were soldered in for authenticity. :)

Image


Backside

Image


Little more mounted. I decided to move the network port, it was interfering with some of the other components that will be mounted in the box.

Image


This was as far as I got tonight, had to go out for pizza with the family. Hopefully I can finish up that box tomorrow. In the mean time, if you guys have any suggestions for the name of this area of the pack, I'd like to hear them.
Kingpin liked this
By bromie
#459577
WOW! :shock: Every time i see an update i love this pack so much more!

It's making me want to build an EGB pack in the future! It must be great to not be restricted by a current design and have the creative freedom to make it exactly how you want it. Keep up the good work!

They aren't all completely original, but how about some of these for part names:

Electronic Control Module (ECM)
Power Distribution Module (PDM)

These are based on bits off real particle accelerators:

Ion Source (made up of a Plasma Generator and an Extraction System)
Magnet Cooling System
Beam Recycler/Beam Accumulator
Booster Circuit

Keep up the good work! :nicejobyoudid:
User avatar
By nstevic01
#459688
I do like Booster Circuit.

So i worked on the "Booster Ciruit" section of the pack today. Feeling that it was missing something, I changed the input of the pump to something a little more industrial looking.

Image


I then put the lower card back in, relocated the ethernet jack, and added in a "sensor" made out of some old water rack parts.

Image

Image

Image

Image


I moved on to the upper pipe on the filter, originally it just went into the open section of the pack. So I found a fitting for it, and while I was up there, I replaced the upper cross bar with some stock aluminum.

Image



Naturally all of the car audio components and cables had to go. I modified the top of the "Booster Circuit" to accept a flex cable fitting.

Image



Began to route the flex cable

Image



This little connection turned out to be in the way, so I removed it. Just my luck, the hole was big enough for the other end of the flex cable. I will be relocating that jack lower down on that side of the pack.

Image

Image



As of right now, here is how she sits. We are making progress! I am waiting on a couple of LED boards to arrive so that I can install the power cell.

Image
Kingpin liked this
User avatar
By XxEctOxX
#459714
too bad you couldn't do the ATV as well, u have the experience ;)
User avatar
By nstevic01
#459722
We did an ATV of sorts with a powerwheel for our son.

http://www.gbfans.com/community/viewtop ... 13&t=29800

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 4
User avatar
By nstevic01
#460012
Ok, more updates guys.

Mounted the speaker, I dont really like the color of the cover so I may paint it a hammered silver.

Image


I fabbed up a bottom plate for the frame, this is where all of the switches and charging port will go.

Image

Image


Finished mounting the cyclotron. It's really cool when lit, but I wont be able to post the video until the owner sees it. We want it to be a total surprise.

Image

Image


Also started mounting the electronics for the audio, lighting, and venting...

Image

Image


That's it for now!!
User avatar
By nstevic01
#460380
OK, so now I can now finally reveal some more of the pack now that the owner has seen it. Ryan had wanted to have it at least wearable for Packs in the Park last night. So I worked long nights pretty much all week to include getting up EARLY yesterday to get it buttoned up. Everything went fine, except in the last 5 mins....the volume control shaft broke and pulled right out of the potentiometer.

First up, the Cyclotron test:




Got some better shots of the thrower

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image



Wired in the LEDs for the PPD

Image



Body is starting to come along

Image

Image



Got the Bargraph LEDs swapped over to blue....it is BRIGHT

Image




Mounting the Bargraph

Image

Image



Started wiring on the thrower, there was not alot of room to work with.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image



Owner getting his first look at the pack.




A couple of night shots







There is still much work to be done. We are hoping to have it completed by this Friday for his next event. All in all, it was a successful test run of the batteries. We got well over 5 hours on the lighting, audio we were unable to test due to the volume issue.
Kingpin, Carpeteria, Sutton621 and 1 others liked this
User avatar
By Kingpin
#460450
Oh. My. God.

The Pack looks astounding, the new lights really take it to the next level... and the plasma ball in the Cyclotron is not just inspired, but looks brilliant. :)

You've also done something I never thought possible: you've made me want to build an Extreme Ghostbusters-style Pack... and I disliked those designs for being too bland in the cartoon. :P


One of my favourite elements is definitely the gun you've built for the Pack, and the functionality you've worked into it... fantastic work, nstevic.
User avatar
By nstevic01
#460460
Well I can't take credit for the thrower. Our very own CPU64 (Chris Bryan) built that based on my request. He literally blew me away with the mechanics of it. He can literally fabricate anything.

But thankyou everyone for the kind words. The project isn't finished yet, what you saw is about 70% complete. We still need to finish the wiring, labels, custom audio, and venting setup.

We should have a finished product by the end of the week.

Hey and welcome

My Little Pony/Ghostbusters crossover done by my d[…]

Great work identifying the RS Temperature Control […]

I read Back in Town #1. Spoilers : Hate to b[…]