[ecto88mph]

I am building a proton pack using the studio creation's shell. Got it in the mail earlier in the week and went ahead and glued it together using epoxy. Going to try and post pictures as I go about this whole thing plus give credit to those I buy from. If I forget to give a shout out. Forgive me if I do not mention a few of you as I have gotten quite a few supplies already and forgotten who exactly I bought them from.

So right now my goal is to get the shell as prepped as possible for the build. As I stated I used epoxy to bind the two shell parts together. I want to use some kind of material to fill in he crack between the two parts and then fiberglass the inside for extra strength. My goal of this build is to make something that will last a long time. Something I can put on my living room wall and really look nice. There is a local Con here in June so that is my target as far as time goes.

As for the whole GB1 vs GB2 pack. Im thinking this is going to be leaning more towards the GB2 pack. I really liked the tattered and worn look they had in that movie vs the brand new ones in the first movie. Plus I liked that versions ribbon cable better.

Anyways looking forward to the build and discussing it with you all.

More pics to follow!

[BustinScottie1977]

Looking Foward to seeing this come together.

[Cwkelley75]

Awesome! I see you went with the vacuum form. Not a bad choice! I can't wait to see this build come along. Maybe you need some kind of silcone caulking or something for the joint?...I'm not sure, but check with others to see if the fiberglass resin reacts to the plastic before you fiberglass it.

[ecto88mph]

Got a lot of parts cut tonight, however I did not get to fiberglass it. Got a bunch of the tube parts cut just need to attatch them. Has anyone ever used fiberglass with a studio creation shell? Also I bolted the shell together ontop of the epoxy gluing it together.

[ecto88mph]

::UPDATE::

Well I am back at it again, it has been a crazy past few months and have not had a lot of time to work on the pack. I have been working near 7 days a week and well not going to get into that.....

Anyways I did some work on the pack today, nothing earthshattering but it is starting to look more like a proton pack, so i guess that is a step in the right direction.






as you can see I don't have a ton of space to work on this, nor do I have any wood cutting tools, kind of slowing me down.



drying out on the deck (used glue to attach a lot of things)

So here is my plan going forward (in steps)
Pack:
1. Fiberglass inside of pack
2. bondo/fill cracks between two parts and other assorted places.
3. cut (out of wood im guessing) squares that go around the bottom of pack and attach them
4. make and attach Ion arm
5. Attach wooden tube/bar things (the two that are about in the middle of the pack area.
6. cut holes
7. Paint (really looking forward to this)
8. attach cosmetic things (tubes, wires, labels, ect)
9. Polish (paint details, ageing, ect)
10. Lights/Sounds
11. Attach to back plate and mount on Alice pack



Anyways right now I am trying to figure out how to do the squares around the bottom. What is a good material? I am thinking MDF maybe about 1/4 thickness. That seems to look right?

If there is anyone in the twin cities areas that has extra square pieces laying around or is willing to cut out a set for me, i would be happy to pay them for there troubles. Apartment pack building is not so easy.

[ecto88mph]

I got the idea to build this pack way back on Halloween 2012. I was at a local event called Zombie Pub Crawl when i ran into some guys dressed in full gear. As a long time ghostbuster fan i was blown away at home amazing their packs and costumes were. After talking to them and having them explain that they made their packs I was hooked. This was my first introduction to amateur prop making.
So finally started back up on my proton pack build. It has been almost exactly a year since I stared this project and a lot has changed in my life. (mostly the reason it has taken this long). I recently became a homeowner and moved into a house. Changed jobs, and finish graduating from college. So needless to say it has been a busy time for me and not enough time to work on the pack.

Also in addition to hitting a block from lack of time. I also hit the financial block, and more importantly a skills block.

What i mean by a skills block is that I am not handy in the least bit. The extent of my skills was hammering a nail in the wall, so this has been a challenge. But I have pressed on. Last September I got a dremel for my birthday and that has been a huge help.

Anyways so I set out to work on my pack. Here are the results of the latest work.


Note: I am not going for full screen accuracy, I simply do not have the money/Skills to pull that off. I am simply trying to put together a some what decent pack that I can wear to maybe 1 con or on Halloween. The rest of the time I want to hang in on the wall in my "movie room". Not saying criticism isn't welcome, just keep it in mind that still building a lot of these skills.









I also put together a jumpsuit (was a hit on halloween)


Also put together the "welder" ecto goggles from the plans norm poster.


I have the Ion arm on order and should be here soon. more to come.

[Krenzy]

Looks good so far! Was it my group or the Ghostbustin 911 guys you met up with at the crawl? We've been to a few as well, and I'm assuming they have too. Side note, are you going to see Ernie Hudson at Wizard Con in May?

[ecto88mph]

I am now, going to have him sign my pack! Wow May is a big month for con's.

[Krenzy]

Is it? What else is going on? I'm not a con guy; I've been to Crypticon once but that's it.

[ecto88mph]

Yeah I'm not a con guy ether but I want to start going. In may their is spring con, Minneapolis comic con, and doctor who con.

[spanakadakawaka]

Hey Man,

Good start so far! I'm finishing my studio creations pack now: http://www.gbfans.com/community/viewtop ... 97#p423697. To fill my seam I just used a ton of bondo and patiently sanded. Spray painting the pack with a hammered texture before the black top coat will help even out anything you couldn't get quite even.

Another SC pack was finished recently by Alan Hawkins and it's a beaut too! http://www.gbfans.com/community/viewtop ... =2&t=34312 I want to say for his seem he actually just cut a piece of thin plastic that covered the entire seam area and glued in place for a nice flat surface.

We both used fiberglass in our shells too. It was the first time using fiberglass for me but it wasn't bad at all, aside from the smell. Definitely do it somewhere well ventilated. Fiberglass is very much worth it and helps give the pack a nice solid feel and provides good support for areas such as where the gun will mount.

[ecto88mph]

Thanks for advise and nice look packs.

I recieved my ion arm in the mail over thanksgiving time. it was slightly larer then i had planned on but i think i will find a way for it to work.

On a side note my proton pack project took a finacial setback yesterday when i impuslivly desided to buy a xbox one. But this is not a huge issue just have to chill out on the buying parts. However I am still going to try and pick up the matty thrower next month. My plan is to just use the sounds made by the toy and not install anything other then lights in the pack.


I have a friend coming over later in the week and we might end up fiberglassing it but more then likely we will just end up playing battlefeild 4. More updates soon..ish

[ecto88mph]

Update November 2nd 2014

Well here I am near the end. Almost done. been working on this build now for some time. Changed jobs twice, moved three times and bought a house. Mostly just been working on it when I had the extra time and money. Well all I have left to do is put in the light kit in the pack (just lights, not doing sounds), and attach the pack properly with L-brackets (currently using temp zip ties)

First weathering attempt......Came out too glossy


Second attempt with flat black


Warning labels added


On display in basement

[venkman30]

Looks great. There have been a bunch of these builds. Me, syckotheklown, and others as mentioned as above. I really like these shells. Your pack looks really good.

[Silverstreak]

Looks fantastic! How did the fibreglass interior work out? I had a lot of trouble with mine.

[ecto88mph]

Well I had never used fiberglass before...so I had no idea. I started out very carefully following instructions, but by the end I was just mixing the resin and hardner all haphazardly. I sanded the inside well before hand as well. It made the shell more stiff and hopefully added more strength. I would highly recommend adding fiberglass.

[ecto88mph]

OOF I searched the forums and found this, this pack got sold a long time ago, but looking back on it... Ouch not as clean as I remember it. Anyways sold this pack in 2018. Oh well, learned a lot making it.