[GBRich]

This post may contain an affiliate link that helps support GBFans.com when you make a purchase at no additional cost to you.

Hello everyone

Although I’ve been a Ghostbusters fan since I was seven (I’m now 44), I’m new to this forum, and to building proton packs, but back in August I bought my first one, a life-size Spirit pack, and I’ve just spent the last couple of months modifying it.

I thought I’d share my progress so far, along with some photos.

My goal was to get the pack as screen accurate as possible, within the limits of the Spirit pack (it has a lot of inaccuracies). I also wanted to go for a ‘1984 industrial used’ look, so not too heavily weathered, but as if it had been thrown in the back of Ecto-1 a few times and fettled with grubby workshop hands.

When I first got the pack, I realised the cyclotron/bumper/n-filter and wand were the weakest areas, so I decided to completely replace those as well as a few other smaller areas, but overall I could probably live with the Spirit pack’s other weak areas like the booster and HGA.

I’m going to share the parts I used and the process I went through, but for the sake of brevity, I won’t go into too much. I’m more than happy to answer any questions or elaborate if you’d like more info though. It’s certainly been a learning experience!

Just for reference, Proton Props UK have some amazing reference photos that I used here: https://protonpropsuk.com/products/the-84-proton-pack and https://protonpropsuk.com/products/alum ... red-finish. One day I’d love to buy one of their packs!

To start, here is a photo of the (nearly) finished pack (more photos at the end of the post):



Parts List
These are most of the parts that I used. I’m in the UK, so all costs include shipping, taxes, and any import duties. Prices are in £ pounds.

Spirit Halloween Base Pack - £340
Amazon (US imported to UK)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C9KMPMHD? ... asin_title

Hasbro 1984 Wand - £156
eBay (private seller)

ALICE LC-1 Frame - £75
eBay (private seller)

Cyclotron/Bumper/N-filter 3D Print Files - £13.62
Etsy, Tacobelli
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1602566 ... _purchases

Cyclotron/Bumper/N-filter 3D Printed Parts - £109
Surface Scan
https://www.surfacescan.co.uk/

Ion Arm Power Switch - £21
Etsy, Punk Rocket Props
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1112276 ... _purchases

Stickers - £29
Etsy, SR Design Creations
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1434612 ... _purchases

Brass Elbows - £23.30
Etsy, Wertheimers Hardware
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1485727 ... _purchases

Metal Shock Mount - £30
Etsy, Ben of Kent Props
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1583265 ... _purchases

Clippard R331 Replica - £30.50
Etsy, Frango Fett
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/9741273 ... _purchases

Legris Elbows - £28
Etsy, Wertheimers Hardware
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1521408 ... _purchases

1984 Style Ribbon Cable - £73.56
Etsy, TGB Cablery
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1205261 ... _purchases

Metal Cable Clamp - £15.80
Etsy, Ben of Kent Props
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/6758362 ... _purchases

Pack of 5 P-Clamps - £4.96
Amazon
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B015BENBOQ? ... title&th=1

Jenolite Primer Filler (2 cans) - £11.99 each
Amazon
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B015BENBOQ? ... title&th=1

Rust-oleum Flat Black Stove & BBQ Paint (5 cans) - £9.89 each
Amazon
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001W03POA? ... ct_details

Rust-oleum Hammered Black Paint (1 can) - £10.49
Amazon
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001W03PZO? ... tails&th=1

Tamiya Flat Black Acrylic Model Paint - £4.99
Amazon
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000BX230G? ... asin_title

Aluminium Sheet - £9.49
Amazon
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B015BENBOQ? ... title&th=1

Assorted Black Screws - £7.99
Amazon
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0D78R8KLN? ... title&th=1

Assorted Black Bolts - £10.99
Amazon
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CM3VY5NF? ... asin_title

Blue Hose 6.4mm - £6.50
Amazon
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00D3OLJA0? ... ct_details

Red Hose 6.4mm - £4.99
Amazon
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B071D82M44? ... asin_title

Black 25mm Hose - £12.99
Amazon
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09CCZZ4SC? ... tails&th=1

Black 10m Hose - £8.99
Amazon
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09CCSYNLV? ... title&th=1

Black 21mm Hose - £6.99
Amazon
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BC4CRGRP? ... asin_title

Silver Leaf Rub n' Buff - £8.49
Amazon
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07SPHQSHQ? ... asin_title

Assorted Electrical Spade Connectors - £6.49
Amazon
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BJZFP36N? ... asin_title

Stainless Steel Mesh - £4.99
Amazon
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BNKW7DPD? ... title&th=1

No More Nails - £4.99
Amazon
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B013XC64J2? ... asin_title

Red Frosted Acrylic Sheet - £4.80
Amazon
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B3F74JPN? ... asin_title

Velcro - £3.63
Amazon
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B082BBT7L7? ... title&th=1

Rustins MDF Sealer - £7.49
Amazon
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004ISXQ2E? ... title&th=1

Vibe 4" Speaker - £8.99
Amazon
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00SEJ15UI? ... asin_title

Dark Grey Vinyl Sheet - £5.99
Amazon
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C179S4LW? ... asin_title

I already had:

Ronseal Wood Filler.
Masking tape.
Various screws and other fixings etc.
Various grades sand/wet and dry paper.
Black electrician’s tape.
Grey foam insulation/lagging.

Tools Used
Electric drill.
Dremel Multitool.
Electric Jigsaw.
Hand Saw.
Electric (Mouse) Sander.
Various size screwdrivers.
Various size Allen keys.

Process
1. I’d never worked with 3D parts before and so I didn’t want to risk butchering the pack if I couldn’t get them right, so I decided to tackle the 3D parts first before I touched the pack.
2. I bought and downloaded the Tacobelli cyclotron/bumper/n-filter 3D files first.
3. I then got the parts printed at a local 3D printer (Surface Scan UK). They took around 3 weeks to arrive.
4. I then sanded and filled them. There are plenty of guides on YouTube, but I dry sanded 120 > 240 > 320 > 400 grit to get them as smooth as possible and then gave them a first coat of the Jenolite Filler Primer.
5. This highlighted any areas that needed filling (mostly the bumper due to the curved corners) so I filled any gaps with the Ronseal Wood Filler.
6. I waited 24 hours for the filler to dry, then dry sanded again to get the parts super smooth, then gave them a second coat of Jenolite Filler Primer. They all looked perfect so I could move onto the pack.
7. I completely stripped and disassembled the pack removing everything, including all electronics and screw-fixed parts to get it to a bare shell. I used my wife’s hairdryer to remove all the stickers too.
8. I used a Dremel rotary cutter to cut out the cyclotron/bumper/n-filter as per Tacobelli’s instructions (there’s also a YouTube video on how to do this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pyy0mUz-MmE), then used a Dremel grinding/sanding attachment to smooth the cut lines down.
9. While I was at it, I cut out the original Clippard valve from the pack shell and cut out the template hole in the ion arm ready for the Afterlife-style power switch.
10. I then fixed just the cyclotron mount bracket to the pack shell.
11. I gave the whole shell and all the parts a light scuff sand (400 grit), and then gave everything a coat of Jenolite Filler Primer (warm, dry, sunny day).
12. I gave the filler primer 24 hours to dry, then masked up all the areas I wanted to remain smooth (using Proton Props textured shell as a guide), and then sprayed the areas I wanted textured with a coat of the Rust-oleum Hammered Black paint (also a dry, warm, sunny day).
13. For the slip-on crank arm and the original knob from the side of the ion arm, I decided to leave these just the grey primer as they looked good like that.
14. I used the No More Nails to add the fake welds on the ion arm, n-filter, filler tubes and HGA.
15. I gave everything 3 days to dry and then sprayed everything with the Rust-oleum Stove & BBQ paint (cooler, cloudy day after it had been raining).
16. I hit a bit of a snag here. I probably sprayed the Hammered paint a bit too thick in some places, so when I over-sprayed with the Stove & BBQ paint, I got some very minor wrinkling, probably where the hammered paint hadn’t had enough time to cure properly.
17. I decided to leave everything for four more days in my garage with a dehumidifier and fans blowing to try and cure it all properly.
18. The day before I planned to spray everything again, I lightly sanded the wrinkled areas, then the following day (dry, sunny, but cool) I gave everything another coat of the stove paint, which worked out fine this time.
19. I then gave everything a whole further week to dry and cure in my garage.
20. Once everything was dry, I started to reassemble.
21. I cut small sections of the metal mesh to go inside the n-filter and glued in place, behind the round holes.
22. I waited for the glue to dry, and then screwed the n-filter to the cyclotron, then screwed the cyclotron to the pack shell, then bolted the shock mount to the bumper and bolted the bumper to the pack shell.
23. I fitted the new replica Clippard valve where the old one used to be. The screw fixings from the new valve actually screwed/bit into the hole that was left when I cut the original Clippard valve out, which held it in place nicely. I just added a couple of bolts inside the shell to properly hold it in place.
24. For the new Afterlife-style switch, I used electrical spade connectors crimped to two lengths of wire (black and white colour), fixed the wires to the switch. I then drilled a new hole inside the ion arm section to allow the wires to thread through.
25. I then re-attached the ion arm section so that the wires from the switch were threaded through and hanging lose inside the shell, ready to be connected to the electronics later.
26. For all the other external parts (the originals and the new parts from Frankengeek) I either screwed or glued them in place.
27. I fitted the brass elbows and legris, which required drilling larger holes into the pack, and then fitted the new red and blue hoses.
28. I also used the new black looms, including small sections to create new strain reliefs in certain places.
29. I then cut out four round lens covers from the red semi-opaque acrylic using a jigsaw and glued them to the inside of the four cyclotron lens holes.
30. I then refitted all the original electrical components inside the shell.
31. Before I fitted the new 1984-style ribbon cable, I decided to do a weathering pass as I wanted it to be weather both sides before I twisted and fitted it.
32. I gave a first weather pass across everything of watered down black acrylic model paint, loosely dabbed on and off using either a paintbrush, a cloth or cotton wool, to create a light base ‘dirt’ coat.
33. I then gave a second weather pass using the silver Rub n’ Buff to create light scuffs and scratches just on some of the corners and edges that would receive wear.
34. The silver Rub n’ Buff was quite bright, so gave it a third weather pass of very lightly dry brushing with black acrylic over the silver scuffs to bring them down and make them more subtle.
35. I then fitted the new 1984 ribbon cable, metal clamp and p-clamp.
36. I added the stickers and also gave them a light weather pass of watered down black acrylic, as before.
37. To fit the Hasbro 1984 wand, I cut a new v-hook mount out of the aluminium sheet. I basically removed the v-hook from the wand, used it as a stencil to cut round, only I reduced the width by 2mm each side (4mm in total) so that it was slightly smaller and would fit within the wand’s v-hook.
38. I then sanded and smoothed/rounded the corders and screwed into where the original v-hook mount was.
39. To connect the wand to the pack, I used the new larger loom hose cut to 130cm in length. I screwed one end of the hose to the attachment that comes with the 1984 wand, and on the pack end, I used a piece of 25mm pipe to sit inside the end of the hose which also went through the original hole in the pack. I then fitted a couple of bolts onto the part that was inside the shell to hold it in place and stop it coming out again.
40. I then wanted to created a completely new motherboard. I wanted something very sturdy that wouldn’t flex with the ALICE frame, but also that would sit flush with the outside of the pack shell, like more screen azurite packs. I also wanted it to be thick enough so that I could mount a new speaker on the inside.
41. Used two different sheet materials: a 3mm sheet of hardboard and a 9mm sheet of MDF.
42. I cut the 3mm hardboard to the outside silhouette of the pack shell.
43. I cut the 9mm MDF to the inside of the pack (basically used the original Spirit motherboard as a template) and glued the two together using No More Nails.
44. I then created a round stencil/grid of holes for the speaker grill and drilled those with a 4mm drill bit.
45. I also drilled holes and used the Frankengeek mounting parts to test-mount the LC-1 ALICE frame to new motherboard, as well as fixing the mounting brackets to the inside of the shell to accommodate the new, thicker motherboard.
46. I also drilled an extra hole so that I could mount the original Spirit battery pack on the outside of the motherboard, between the motherboard and the ALICE frame, so that I wouldn’t need to remove the entire motherboard every time I wanted to change the batteries.
47. I gave the new motherboard two coats of the MDF Sealer to ensure a smooth finish, and then sprayed it with the Rust-oleum Stove & BBQ paint to match the shell, then gave it a few days to dry.
48. Once it was dry I fitted the ALICE frame to the outside of the motherboard and the new 4” Vibe speaker to the inside.
49. I also used velcro and glue to fix the battery pack to the outside of the motherboard (I cut the wires and threaded them through the hole, ready to be reconnected later).
50. Before properly fitting the whole motherboard to the shell, I connected the new Afterlife power switch using more electrical spade connectors.
51. I didn’t have a replacement white connector, so I had to cut that off the end of the wires of the original Spirit wand to reuse it. I connected the two new wires from the new power switch to the black and white wires of the original setup, leaving the other red and orange wires unconnected as they’re no longer needed (see the photo below).
52. To connect the new speaker, I didn’t have a soldering iron so I had to ‘hack’ this part by basically removing the original blue speaker and wires from the circuit board and using high-strength electrical tape to ’stick’ the new positive and negative wires onto the correct points on the circuit board. Not the best way but it worked!
53. Once the ALICE frame was attached, I cut a section of the foam insulation, cut some strips of the dark grey acrylic sheet and wrapped it to become the padded section for behind the neck.
54. I then fitted the new motherboard to the shell, and everything was complete!

Well nearly. I’m really pleased with how everything turned out, but I’ve now decided that I can’t live with the original moulded, square corner HGA like I thought I could, so I’m now planning to cut that out and replace with a more accurate version. If anyone has done this and can give me advice, that would be appreciated!

I’d also like to make some upgrades to the 1984 wand, mainly adding actual metal parts to replace the original plastic banjos and gun ring tip, replacing the Clippard valve with another authentic replica, and changing the LED bar graph.

All the parts once they had been primed.


The parts after they had the final top coat of flat black paint.


Close up of the shell showing some of the textured areas.


Close up of the cyclotron and bumper, prior to weathering.


Outside of the new motherboard, prior to painting (to sit flush with the outside of the shell).


Inside of the motherboard (9mm MDF to sit inside the shell with 3mm hardboard to site flush outside).


Inside of the pack shell, prior to the old blue speaker being removed and the new Vibe one being connected.


The pack (nearly complete).


The back of the pack.

[GBL10]

Good Lord that’s Incredible

[GBRich]

Thank you! A lot of work, but well worth it in the end.

[ccv66]

You know it's pretty good when you cant tell its a spirit pack anymore. Good job

[gamera1968]

You, sir, have gone above and beyond with proof, that the 1:1 scale Spirit pack can be completely overhauled.
I'm honestly speechless how well it turned out.

Here, you earned it.

[GBRich]

Thank you, really appreciate that.

There is one caveat though: it ended up being a lot more expensive than I anticipated!

I probably ended up spending over £1,000 including the wand, which is not far off what I could have spent on something like a Haslab pack or a DIY kit from Ben of Kent Props or Proton Props UK, though with those there still would have been more work, and even with a Haslab pack I probably would have still needed to spend more on things like the ALICE frame, ribbon cable, maybe a new motherboard etc.

The Spirit pack has probably still been cheaper overall, but then with those other options, they're also more screen accurate.

Probably the two things that have pushed the cost up are the 3D printed parts and the fact that I'm in the UK so had to pay more for the original pack due to things like import duties. Probably would have been cheaper if I lived in the US.

I also had to pay to get the 3D parts printed, but if I had a 3D printer, it probably would have worked out cheaper, so that can affect cost too.

Still worth it though and I'm happy with how it turned out, though one day I think I'd like to do a proper screen accurate DIY kit.

[OnEdge]

Great work! I can tell lots of time and effort was put into this. I love the texture too! I might steal that for my build

[GBRich]

Thank you! Yeah the texture adds some nice depth.

The Rust-oleum Hammered paint is good and easy enough to work with, but you might want to try some test sprays on something else to get the coverage right. If you spray it too thin, it goes speckly and doesn't give the proper texture, but if you spray it too thick (which is not hard) it goes flat, so you have to get it just right.

You should also give it a lot more time to properly dry and cure before you overspray with another paint than you might think. I'd recommend at least 2-3 days in warm, dry weather, but a week is probably safest, especially when it's cooler.