#4941026
I happened to run out of paint for the rear handle on the thrower, so I went and bought some more. But, somebody must have switched caps, because it was not at all the dusty, matte that I had been using. So, instead of wasting money on another can, or wasting time repainting the whole thing, I improvised and did a quick correction on the front handle so that it matches the rear.

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I think it looks all right. Like it is composed of different materials.
kahuna900, EnderWeggen liked this
#4941205
Well, the home stretch has become the finish line.

To finish the thrower, I needed to add the brass arm between the ignition box and body. That was a total pain. I somehow found a piece of brass-ish rod that was the perfect diameter. I don’t know what it originally came from (maybe an axel inside a printer for the rollers, or a slide track for an old DVD player), but I had been using it as a stir-stick for various adhesive compounds. Using wire cutters, I snipped the gunky ends off and fit it into place. It is slightly fatter than the piece of wire clothes hanger I was going to use, so that worked out. I also fixed the bottom switch decal.

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ThrowingChicken’s wand kit came with resin banjos, but not screws. I went to Lowes and found some super-cheap nylon furniture screws that fit the thread on the GBFans aluminum trigger tip, which actually solved two problems. So, I snipped/sanded the heads into more of a hex shape and painted them with a gun-metal color. I drilled out the banjos using a threaded bit so that they could actually sink into the resin and the trigger tip and hold in place.

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Another tricky situation was how to get the clear wand tip to stay in place inside the gun. I’m not using a pop mechanism, and there are not lights, so I glued the acrylic tube to a length of wooden dowel that was long enough to reach the front handle mounting hole located under the Clippard. Again, using a threaded drill bit, I made a hole and fit the screw in tight. Perfect. That allowed me to affix the trigger tip, the banjos, and the red tube that connects them.

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Then, I secured the gun mount to the shell and the hook to the bottom of the thrower plate. I went with the GB1 style.

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Then it was time for a test fit to make sure all the screws on the gun mount were flush and that the thrower could move freely on the track.

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I finished up the wand with the cliplites ordered from GBFans and painted the top vents, again, for some color.

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Time to finish this up.

Mounted the motherboard to the ALICE frame, then mounted the shell. After that, it was only a matter of slipping the thrower on.

Since I’m not using electronics right now, I opted for the faster alternative and used the same method I did for the ¾-inch loom from the crank generator to the vacuum line by having a small section of dowel that the hose can slip over and hold tight. I still need to trim about 6-9 inches of loom; I think it’s too long. Anyway…

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you…

GLADYS!

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Full disclosure: I haven’t put it on yet. When I finished, I was just in sweats and it didn’t feel right, you know?

Thanks for all who made this possible: A J Quick and the GBFans shop for having exactly what I needed when I needed it (especially this close to Halloween); BenofKent for the excellent bumper (which I managed to screw up and then fix) and the bellows; Karnivorous Kreations for the booster plug, Clippard, and crank knob; my friend Rhett for the resin Legris elbows; GBHQPartsDepot for the resistors; Mack’s Factory for the decals; heavyprops for the acrylic gun tube, bizarrojerry (ebay) for the correct ALICE frame; and alleghenyoutlet (ebay) for the correct pack straps.

And thanks to YOU for coming along. It doesn’t matter if you are reading this days/months/years after I posted. I read plenty of build threads from 5, 10, even 12 years ago. And, as I said the beginning, I’ve been haunting these boards for 15 years.
JWils23, RedSpecial, cristovalc and 2 others liked this
#4941985
Darth_Egon wrote: November 7th, 2020, 8:21 pm Did the throwing chicken wand come with all the screws need for assembly? Also amazing build!!!
Thank you!

The wand did come with screws, but I found that some were incorrect. For example, the kit was supposed to come with a small sheet metal screw to attach the rear handle to the resin body from the inside. But I received one that was 3/4-inch, which would have come out the top of the wand, so I had to buy some of those. Also, the cap head screws I received were stainless, requiring painting to be correct. Luckily I had a few of the 10/32 left from the pack for the handle. But all in all, it was a really good product and I do plan on upgrading to all aluminum in the times to come.
EnderWeggen liked this
#4949013
GBFans wand light kit came so it's time for another set of updates.

Time to break it down, now!

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Since I've never done ANYTHING with electronics, especially ones this small, I was wondering if it was possible to hot glue things. Like could I hot glue the LED into the Slo-Blo light cap from inside the wand, or will it fry the wires? What about the board? I have a few other things in mind, but if I can hot glue, I may go that route instead.
cristovalc liked this
#4949016
As far as I know a small blob shouldn't cause problems, but I'm planning on going the craft foam method by wrappinga strip of the foam around the leds and pushing it into the cap to hold it, that way you can take it back out easier if you need.
Side question, what size did you drill your holes for the switches and push button? I've asked elsewhere but I want to make sure I've got the right size as I'm still waiting for my kit but want the holes ready to go.
#4949170
l3w1sb159 wrote: May 6th, 2021, 10:43 pm Side question, what size did you drill your holes for the switches and push button? I've asked elsewhere but I want to make sure I've got the right size as I'm still waiting for my kit but want the holes ready to go.
Keep in mind that the holes were only drilled to accommodate cosmetic switches and buttons, and may not be the correct size for any electronics you buy. I used a 7/32 bit for the stiches and a 1/8 for the Intensify button.
#4949172
So, I’m a madman and decided to upgrade my TC resin wand with newer parts as I install the lights.

Front cylinder had to go to make way for the new one.

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Coping saw took care of it nicely, while keeping close to the body so that there wouldn’t be much need for sanding.

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Next, that heatsink had to go, too. But not because I’m replacing it (just yet).

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Again, the coping saw did fantastic at keeping the cut flush. It did, however, take me one full episode of Amazon’s INVINCIBLE to get all the way through it, so not a speedy choice.

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The reason I’m messing with the heatsink at all is because I was inspired by Freakygeeky’s design for their thrower with the access panel under the heatsink to help with getting to the electronics.

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First, though, I needed to remove the side knobs.

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With those gone, I used the Dremel’s rotary cutting tool to cut the resin away, and then sanded it down, making sure not to extend beyond the outline of the heatsink.

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There is going to be a structural integrity issue at the bottom, and I plan on resolving that once I get the lights and circuity installed.

After that, it was time to remove the plugged vent holes and the opening for the bar graph.

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For those not aware, the TC wand body’s opening for the bar graph is too tall and too narrow for the GBFans light. I used a file wrapped in sandpaper to widen the opening so that the graph will fit snug, but I’m going to have to use a filler on the top and bottom.

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A quick test fit for width shows the difference in length.

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Why am I doing all of this? Because, as I said, I’m upgrading the wand with official parts as I go, dependent on release/availability/funds.

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Hat lights should be arriving today, so I’ll be able to start installing the actual lighting.
EnderWeggen liked this
#4949175
SpiderFan2k3 wrote: May 10th, 2021, 12:18 pm
l3w1sb159 wrote: May 6th, 2021, 10:43 pm Side question, what size did you drill your holes for the switches and push button? I've asked elsewhere but I want to make sure I've got the right size as I'm still waiting for my kit but want the holes ready to go.

Keep in mind that the holes were only drilled to accommodate cosmetic switches and buttons, and may not be the correct size for any electronics you buy. I used a 7/32 bit for the stiches and a 1/8 for the Intensify button.
I'll be using the gbfans kit same as you, just wondered if the holes you had drilled accommodated it.
#4956081
Wow. Lots stuff showed up in the last 48 hours. New thrower (thanks, twmedford23), GBFans pack lights and sound board, and Mack's Factory thrower parts.

Printed off Spongeface's instructions for all the light kits...and I'm freaking out. It's just plug and play, but my anxiety is through the roof about not only getting things hooked up correctly, but also the right placement for all the boards. I've seen things I'd like to do, but I'm not a machinist or have a 3D printer.

And I HAVE searched the boards, but that's no easy task. There's 15+ years of information to sift through and it is difficult to locate specific answers quickly.
#4956195
This post may contain an affiliate link that helps support GBFans.com when you make a purchase at no additional cost to you.

Electronic folks, would these work for a charging port for the blue brick?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MLQCDN3/?c ... dp_it&th=1

They're 5.5X2.1mm, which seems to be the correct size referenced on several blue brick threads.
#4956247
I received my Arcolectric lights (red and white) for my wand. I've read several posts about just replacing the blub with the one that came with the light kit and using it as a lens. That's the route I'm going to take since it won't require a lot of extra work that may possibly screw up the electronics board. How easy is it to do? Just yank on the bottom with a pair of needle-nose plyers unit it comes out?
#4956305
Welcome back to another exciting edition of: Gladys Takes Manhattan.

Started the week by working on my new aluminum thrower. First thing was I had to widen the opening for the bar graph to fit the Spongeface bezel. I only filed the inside section because if I did the outside, there wouldn’t be room for the dry transfers (and it’s already kid of tight as it is).

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Then, it was time to tap the holes for all the wand accessories. I was able to use my father-in-law’s drill press for some the opening for the lights, but wanted the hand drill for the smaller, threaded holes. But before I started drilling metal, I made sure the body was level.

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After careful consideration, I decided to rip out the acrylic lenses that I’d plastiwelded into place last year. What can I say? Decisions were made, and most of them were bad. But I can do better.

BEFORE:
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AFTER:
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Thanks to a lot of elbow grease and many, many, many passes with a variety of gritted sandpapers, I got the surfaces smooth on the fiberglass interior. That left the acrylic pieces, which were in rough shape.

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A little soap and water, some Goo-Gone, and a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, and they were…reusable?

While prying out the power cell lens, I damaged the fiberglass shell because I am incredibly impatient. Had to repair that with the JB Plastiweld.

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Reattached the lenses. This time, however, I went with hot glue, which I had never in my life used before.

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Back to the thrower, I carved a trench on the underside of the frontmost ear of the barrel (not pictured). Then, set the parts out to be hit with primer.

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I do not have a pop mechanism for the wand (yet), so I was debating how to affix the clear emitter. Last time I just used a wood dowel, but I’m installing lights this time and need something hollow. BAM! At work I found an acrylic tube just lying in a box. Perfect size to slip inside the barrel tube and long enough to be held in place.

But how was I going to join the emitter and the new tube? With THIS!

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A “cork” from a bottle of mango Moscato my wife and I found at Costco. I just sawed off the thick end. It was already hollow, so the wires will pass right through.

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Test fit one end into the emitter. Nice and snug.

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The other end into the found tube. Also, perfect.

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Fit the acrylic tube into the barrel tube and tapped a 10-32 hole for the screw right there:

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Then, with everything held in place, I just marked on the tube where it would need to be cut to length.

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Once the tube was cut, I jammed the ribbed end of the cork into it. Perfect fit.

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The inner barrel with emitter in place:

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Prime time!

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While the primer dried, I had to figure something out for the cyclotron lights. I have reflector cups but needed something to mount them on. Luckily, I had some leftover pegboard, and wouldn’t you know, the holes on the pegboard, match up perfectly with the center of the cups?

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And just to be sure there’d be no surprises…

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But this wouldn’t be an update on Gladys without there being a facepalm of a boo-boo, now, would it?

I received my GBFans pack light kit. And the cyclotron lights are not at all what I had been expecting. I anticipated LED bulbs that I could thread through the holes in the reflectors/pegboard.

NOPE. Squares. Which I’m assuming snap apart like a candy bar?

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I’ll have to remove the reflectors from the pegboard and start over.

But I did manage to get a compete test of the pack’s electronics, complete with sound and everything worked like a dream.

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And as for the Arcolectric bulbs, yeah, they just slide out with a little umph. I figured, but was more than a little apprehensive about just yanking randomly on them.

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Next time, on Gladys Gone Wild…

- Fabricating pack light mounts
- Drilling a speaker grate
- Installing Charging port
- Installing kill switch

The Real Ohio Ghostbusters have an even on Saturday, and I’m not sure Gladys will be ready for the dance. Fingers crossed.
#4956601
Chapter 1873: Gladys Finally Gets Her Bling! (or, No More Mistakes!)

The weekend started rough, to put it mildly, and I ended up wasting an entire day on just junk. But, I took some time off to clear my head, rethink my plan, and came back strong.

I let the primer sit on the gun for a few days, and when I got around to looking at it, it was dusty and left black powder all over my hands. It’s just primer, so I wasn’t concerned about the color, but the powder would be a problem.

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So, I sanded it down until I could hold it and my hand came away clean and the surface was smooth.

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I have been debating how I was going to mount my lights since I first pulled the trigger on building the pack. I know the real props had them mounted to the MB, but I have seen some good designs with people mounting them inside the shell. I knew that mounting them in the shell would be easier as far as positioning, but I was nervous about all those wires.

So, I had to fab some brackets. I won’t lie. It was trying. I’d seen great things others had fabbed so I based my designs on those, but I also knew that I’d have to get my measurements right for positioning.

Started with the power cell. I went to Lowe’s and picked up a sheet of 6”X18” aluminum sheeting for under $15. It’s not super thick, which is good because I don’t have the tools for serious metal work.

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NOTE: I redacted the measurements I’d written because I miscalculated and made it way too tall and narrow. Also, for some reason I flipped the bracket upside down and started mounting the light board on the section that was to be attached to the MB.

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And, yes, I know the board is upside down. I needed it to lay flat to mark the holes.

Well, here it is, but inverted. Don’t worry though, I didn’t permanently affix it, yet, so all I had to do was flip it.

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The height and position was spot on, so I marked the edges to remember.

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BEWARE: The following contains scenes of explicit violence against sheet metal and unabashedly poor planning. Viewer discretion is advised.

The grand plan was this: to have two small brackets/shelves for the cyclotron lights and mount the speaker between them.

I measured out the size the brackets needed to be and spaced the bends for the top and bottom.

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I cut them out, drilled the holes for the nylon spacers, and test mounted the light boards. It was Godawful. I mean, just janky. I didn’t factor in extra space for the bends and I was overly rough with the drill, so one side was bent inward.

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Back to the drawing board. Literally. I went into Illustrator and made a template. I majored in Literature, not math, but I came away with something accurate, straight, and well-meaning.

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Marked the drill holes and held the template down tight.

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Made sure it was level.

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Checked my lines and measurements. Looked good.

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I even began the install of the lights.

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So, what went wrong? It was too tall. I needed those size spacers because of the connection ports for the wires. And I thought, I’ll just re-bend it. Nope. The aluminum was too thin and the leg snapped off when I straightened it. And I was out of aluminum.

6 hours. Gone. Frustration level: George Costanza.

But I received my Clippard actuators so I fit the one on the gun body just so that I could walk away with a win for the day.

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My Ohio group had an event on Saturday night, and I took the day to just mellow.

Sunday. Printed off a 1:1 cyclotron plan and fit it to the center point.

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Went back into Illustrator and drafted up a template for a single shelf. Knowing it would have to sit perfect, I marked the center of the cyclotron. Another trip to Lowe’s for aluminum.

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Used the light board to find the hole positions, then cut it to length.

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This sheet was too thin for the drill press, but not for a Dremel. This way I could get straight holes without the bit skipping.

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Thought I did have to use the power drill for the ½” holes, but with the wood under it and clamped down tight, it wasn’t a problem.

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Some filing and grinding and the edges are smooth. Measured out the bends. The fatter Sharpie helped show me the extra space needed for the angle.

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Time to bend. Since I’m going to be running wires through the ½” holes, I didn’t want to risk any possible slicing, so I ran a strip of electrical tape over them and poked a hole with some scissors. (Not pictured: I had to cut about ½” off the bottom sides of the shelf so it would fit and still allow the MB mounts to be bolted on.

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Remember when I said that I’d flipped my power cell bracket? Well, I fixed it. I also cut out a little notch for the cyclotron light wires to hang down without adding unnecessary tension to them. And, yes, I idiot-proofed it this time (TOP).

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Time for the install. I had a very specific idea in mind for how I was going to go about keeping things organized: color-coded lights, wires, and connection ports.

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This is why I had to cut the notch out. Even with the longest spacers, I couldn’t get the board to sit with the wires plugged in.

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Come on, baby, and do the twist! This is why I color-coded everything.

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And here’s the payoff for alignment. Used superglue to hold a metal rod in place on the center point of the cyclotron. Once it was lined up, I checked my position with the paper template and then marked on the MB where it would sit. Here, you can see the cut notches for the MB bolts.

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The underside with wires in place and spacers attached.

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Finally, got the power cell the right way and attached to the MB with electrical tape. Same with the cyclotron light shelf. Screwed on the light boards and was ready for the test to make sure I had the sequence right.

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I did!

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Test fit the shell on to triple-check spacing and that metal rod came right up through the hole I used to mount the bellows. This is what I’ve been waiting for.

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Once I knew everything was in place, I went ahead and placed the reflector cups. Those cups are 2” high, and are the reason I can’t mount the speaker under the shelf. I could have gone without them, but I like the intensity they add to the lights.

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It was nearly 10PM so I was done with the pack. The gun however, needed its first coat of flat black paint.

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Next up:

- Cutting the mouse hole
- Mounting the sound board
- Mounting the speaker
- Attaching the ribbon cable for the gun
- Installing kill switch
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