[JoeLuna33]

Hello boys and girls and welcome to my newsest project. I had been away for some time and recently came back with my GBSC buddies making our RGB/Movie hybrid packs and I am here today with another project on the table.

Recently my group and I met one of the newest members here, ovwthrillseeker. He had recently bought a pack from eBay from b*b's prop shop. It was one of the Matty wand versions and he was having propblems with it after only 3 months of ownership. The ion arm was falling off, one of the filler tubes was loose and about to fall off, and the Matty wand was malfunctioning as well. He bought a new wand from Matty Collector and replaced the one that came with the pack and after attaching it the same way BPS did the new one started acting up as well. That should be a lesson to anyone who wants to intergrate a Matty wand into their pack. Tampering with them causes them to malfunction. Anyway, ovwthrillseeker decided that he wanted to upgrade his pack and he commissioned me to do the pack body while he builds a Throwing Chicken thrower for it.

Here we go........

The pack as i received it:



Lets open it up, shall we?


Lights from Zombie Amusements (banned recaster):


The rechargable battery set up, aka rechargable Duracell batteries in a Radio Shack battery holder:


The trademark?


I can't be 100% certain, but this might be a TV speaker?


So with that I set off to fully dismantle the pack to begin the refurbishment.

[pyhasanon]

Geez, I heard of how bad VB's packs can be, but this is the first I've "seen" them...

[Vincenzo330]

I almost accidentally gave that post bad karma. It was my instinct when I saw that mess.

[PssdffJay]

I hate how low he mounts the Alice frame. In his how to video he makes some sort of convoluted answer as to why but it was all nonsense. I'm glad this pack is now in good hands to be fixed up.

[Vincenzo330]

I'm sitting here trying to keep my lunch down... Is that 1/2" split loom instead of 3/4"? Is the circuit board touching the motherboard on the underside? Is that motherboard even metal?

[PssdffJay]

Just googled the speaker model number.

It IS from a zenith tv. I found some on eBay for $10.

[Demon Vice Commander]

Even when Bob steals good reference material, he can't even recreate it into his packs. This thing is pretty sad...

Joe, you should take a few more detail shots of the shoddy construction, warped sections, and inaccurate part placement. It might be useful for Bob's page in the blacklisted section.

[ovwthrillseekr]

I wish I would have known about this site before I purchased it from him. I'll never forgive myself for that. Can't wait to see it refurbished Joe. Thanks again!

[JoeLuna33]

I hate how low he mounts the Alice frame.....

Don't worry that will be addressed.

...Is that 1/2" split loom instead of 3/4"? Is the circuit board touching the motherboard on the underside? Is that motherboard even metal?

1. I think its 5/8" loom. Its not 1/2' and its not 3/4"
2. Yes it is. Its bolted right to the board
3. Yes the board is aluminum

....Joe, you should take a few more detail shots of the shoddy construction, warped sections, and inaccurate part placement. It might be useful for Bob's page in the blacklisted section.

First and foremost this thread is to document the commission refurb of ovwthrillseekr's pack. I am taking very detailed photo during the build to document the changes made. I will highlight inaccuracies as I go but I dont want this to become another pile on thread.

[PssdffJay]

Don't stress about it. Bob puts on a convincing song and dance. If I had had the cash on the spot, I would have bought his too. Luckily, I had to save up and found this site.

[Rodimus]

Lights from Zombie Amusements (banned recaster):

I thought Blob used Jupiter's Light Kits, this is the first I've heard of him using Zombies.

[YHSCraig]

This is like the "She's All That" of proton packs with JoeLuna playing the part of Freddy Prinze Jr. trying to make the ugliest girl in school into prom queen material. Spoiler alert..he does.

[Sephiroth]

I'm very interested in seeing Joe work his magic on this pack. There's a lot of work that's going to be required to refurbish it. I wonder what he will tackle first. I'd start by ripping that "manufactured by" plate off the motherboard.

[Vincenzo330]

Ok, yeah that loom definitely looked undersized, even just from that photo.

For the light kit, what I meant was, is there any gap between the underside of the circuit board and the motherboard or are all of the solder joints and components actually touching the metal motherboard?

If it's touching the motherboard that would explain pretty easily why the electronics stopped working. I'm no rocket scientist but you'd think that a "professional prop shop", like good ol VB has, would know what the term "short circuit" actually means.

[drjameshouse]

I'm no rocket scientist but you'd think that a "professional prop shop", like good ol VB has, would know what the term "short circuit" actually means.

You mean that Johnny 5 guy?

[PssdffJay]

"YOUR MOTHER WAS A SNOWBLOWER!"

[JoeLuna33]

Well since you all liked seeing the mobo and electronics so much. How about the shell itself?

Here is the inside:


The shell is very brittle and there is next to no resin used in the fiberglass process:


I have to admit, the Legris castings aren't to bad. They are unpainted but they are nice. The HGA on the other hand, well it speaks for itself


There is a fake weld on the bottom of the booster tube but it doesnt meet up with the shell. Makes no sense to me.


More fake weld and epoxy where the ion arm and shell meet. Also all resin resistors.


More hot glue welds on the injector tubes:


Beam line and filler tube don't have base plates and are just globbed on with epoxy. One even came loose and was just held on by the rivet.


Dixie bracket used to mount the Matty thrower to the pack. It was loose and wobbly. No backing plate inside the shell either.


The bumper is super rough. Its like no clean up was done to the parts out of the mold.





Yes the "bellows" is made of washers.


Thats all for now. The deconstruction and clean up now begins!

[pyhasanon]

Wow... while my pack is in no way any better shape than this, I am sickened by the quality and "workmanship" of the so-called Video Blob's build, most especially due to the premium price that is paid for his shoddy work... I am glad I decided not to go through him for my pack, and I am glad that ovwthrillseekr is getting this refurb done...

[Hoot]

Man i can't wait to see what else you do to take this MFKR and make it right....

[Darthdono74]

Also saw this pack up close.
Sadly it needs a fair amount of work to be the pack it deserves to be and as Joe stated everything was pretty rough, and either very loose or ready to fall off

Once Joe is done,
This thing will be super nice.
Can't wait to see the finished product as well

[Demon Vice Commander]

First and foremost this thread is to document the commission refurb of ovwthrillseekr's pack. I am taking very detailed photo during the build to document the changes made. I will highlight inaccuracies as I go but I dont want this to become another pile on thread.

Fair enough. The photos really do speak for themselves.


A few other things I'm seeing:

- The Ion Arm end cap is much too long.
- No bolts on the resin resistors.
- No washers on the Bumper bolts.
- The entire vacuum tube-to-gearbox assembly is just a mess.

[Rodimus]

Anyone wanna send this thread over to Blod himself?

[JoeLuna33]

Anyone wanna send this thread over to Blod himself?

No and please do not use this to start a war with him. If that is how anyone plans to use this thread please keep away from it.

[thebigone2087]

It amazed me he thinks those are so good, especially for what he charges for them. Saddest fiberglass job I have ever seen. Man this is going to be epic when Joe is done... not to add any more pressure or anything

[Rodimus]

Anyone wanna send this thread over to Blod himself?

No and please do not use this to start a war with him. If that is how anyone plans to use this thread please keep away from it.

Sorry wasn't serious Joe. Could use explain to us more how the Matty wand was connected to the pack, very curious bout that.

[julz]

I just threw up a little... Joe you are a glutton for punishment and it looks like you have your hands full on this one!
I can't believe these things go for the price they do, it's some if the worst craftsman ship I've seen on a so called "premium pack"
It's in good hands now though , I look forward to seeing the end result.

[JoeLuna33]

Well it's not as bad as you'd think Julz. The only main parts going back on the shell is the ion arm and booster tube. The hga, injector tubes, and beam line and filler tubes are all being replaced with my resin hero castings. I also had a Volguus bumper casting that I will be using as well. The bumper BPS uses is way to small so I figured I would use what I had on hand to make things better. It's been a very productive day and I will have some progress pics up later tonight.

[pyhasanon]

It amazed me he thinks those are so good, especially for what he charges for them.

I don't think it's a case of him believing that his builds are good, he knows they're crap, but doesn't care, and will continue to cheat the ignorant out of their money every chance that he gets...

[Cory GB Maine]

I don't think it's a case of him believing that his builds are good, he knows they're crap, but doesn't care, and will continue to cheat the ignorant out of their money every chance that he gets...

I really don't think this thread is at all to bash the quality of the work (we have plenty of threads for that already) it's about the rebuild. I am really interested in this and don't want to sift threw all the off collar comments about BPS to get to the rebuild posts. Just my 2¢.

Joe how is the shell structurally? Is it solid enough to hold up or will it need reinforcement to withstand the test of time?

[pyhasanon]

I really don't think this thread is at all to bash the quality of the work (we have plenty of threads for that already) it's about the rebuild. I am really interested in this and don't want to sift threw all the off collar comments about BPS to get to the rebuild posts. Just my 2¢.

I agree and I apologize... Let's carry on... ^_^