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 The Proton Pack is a fictional piece of nuclear accelerative machinery created by the Ghostbusters. It is their primary tool in the 1984 Ghostbusters film for "busting" ghosts. It has a hand-held wand ("Proton Gun" or particle thrower) connected to a backpack-sized particle accelerator. It fires a proton stream that polarizes with the negatively charged energy of a ghost allowing it to be held in the active stream. The particle throwers were originally portrayed as wands worn on each arm. The packs were first tested in the Sedgewick Hotel, which was the initial test run of the ectogoggles, trap, and proton packs. (This is also where they capture Slimer, who becomes the team mascot in the RGB cartoon.)
Proton Pack Components
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Movie Proton Packs
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'The props representing proton packs were created by the prop department at Columbia Pictures. They are made of molded fiberglass shells on aluminium backplates (or "motherboards") bolted to military surplus A.L.I.C.E. pack frames. The basic shape was sculpted from foam; later, a rubber mold was made, from which fiberglass shells were pulled. The "wand" had an extending barrel mechanism and the electronics were quite advanced for the time. They were then finished with various surplus 1960s resistors, pneumatic fittings, hoses and ribbon cable, as well as surplus warning labels and custom-made metal fittings. The overall weight of these props is said to be around 35lbs. The "hero" props were substituted in stunt scenes by flimsy foam rubber pulls from the same mould. The proton packs have a lightbar with 15 blue scrolling lights in a box on the left-hand side and 4 red lights in the circular "cyclotron" portion of the bottom of the prop that light up in rotation. The "wand" also featured numerous light features; the most elaborate versions had fluorescent bargraphs, incandescent bulbs, and strobing flashes in the tip for the visual effects crew to synchronize the famous 'streams'.
Some of the packs from Ghostbusters were used in the film's follow-up, Ghostbusters 2; these packs were slightly redressed with a black crank knob and thinner ribbon cable. The angle of the gun mount was changed to pitch foward slightly to make the prop easier for the actor to use. In addition to these redressed props, one of the originals was hastily cast as a buck to produce basic, lightweight "mid-grade" props (as a solution to complaints by the actors about the weight of the original prop). These mid-grade pieces featured many details cast in as part of the mold, instead of separate fittings. The electronics and mechanisms were also cut down greatly, reducing the total weight. The original GB1 props would appear in close-ups, the mid-grade in all other scenes, and new rubber "stunt" packs were made for whenever the actor needed to take a fall. Several GB2 packs have surfaced for auction—at least one rubber stunt, and one fibreglass mid-grade prop. The auctioned mid-grade prop was lost shortly after sale in an airport baggage mishap. The piece was documented before its loss, revealing much of the shoddy casting techniques used in its creation. All three variations of the GB2 pack have been displayed at various Planet Hollywood restaurants around the U.S. |
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This page was last edited by AJ Quick on May 3, 2008, 3:56 pm
Link to this page: http://www.gbfans.com/equipment/proton-pack/
Links Below This Category:
Clippard Instrument Laboratory Parts - http://www.gbfans.com/equipment/proton-pack/clippard/
Dale Resistors - http://www.gbfans.com/equipment/proton-pack/dale-resistors/
Proton Pack Part Names - http://www.gbfans.com/equipment/proton-pack/part-names/
Legris - http://www.gbfans.com/equipment/proton-pack/legris/
ALICE Pack Frame - http://www.gbfans.com/equipment/proton-pack/alice-pack-frame/
Sage Resistors - http://www.gbfans.com/equipment/proton-pack/sage-resistor/
Crank Knob - http://www.gbfans.com/equipment/proton-pack/crank-knob/
Ribbon Cable - http://www.gbfans.com/equipment/proton-pack/ribbon-cable/
Nycoil - http://www.gbfans.com/equipment/proton-pack/nycoil/
Technical Manual - http://www.gbfans.com/equipment/proton-pack/manual/
Arcoelectric Lights - http://www.gbfans.com/equipment/proton-pack/arcolectric/
Split Loom Tubing - http://www.gbfans.com/equipment/proton-pack/split-loom/
Proton Pack Tubing - http://www.gbfans.com/equipment/proton-pack/tubing/
Hat Lights - http://www.gbfans.com/equipment/proton-pack/hat-lights/
Proton Pack Models - http://www.gbfans.com/equipment/proton-pack/models/
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The Proton Pack is a fictional piece of nuclear accelerative machinery created by the Ghostbusters. It is their primary tool in the 1984 Ghostbusters film for "busting" ghosts. It has a hand-held wand ("Proton Gun" or particle thrower) connected to a backpack-sized particle accelerator. It fires a proton stream that polarizes with the negatively charged energy of a ghost allowing it to be held in the active stream. The particle throwers were originally portrayed as wands worn on each arm. The packs were first tested in the Sedgewick Hotel, which was the initial test run of the ectogoggles, trap, and proton packs. (This is also where they capture Slimer, who becomes the team mascot in the RGB cartoon.)