Write a quick introduction to introduce yourself.
User avatar
By Sea_Marshall
#4947618
Hello.

Long time Ghostbusters fan and recently got into costuming in 2017ish. I discovered the Bay Area Ghostbusters at local events and its great to see the culture alive and well. I've recently introduced my small child to Ghostbusters and she latched on, so I've been channeling my fandom into her. My wife called me out and claimed I was getting the kid interested so I'd be able to buy Ghostbuster props and costumes... she's not wrong, heh, but it's nice to rediscover Ghostbusters with my kiddo. On top of that, Afterlife looks great and having young protagonists will likely inspire and embolden some kind of creative force within her. I'm all in.

I've created a small instagram account that will chronicle my Ghostbuster playtime and prop building journey: https://www.instagram.com/ghostbusters_playtime/

I hope to spend the better part of this year and next working on various items, either the costume or building a prop kit of some kind. I have started chipping away at the Mack's Factory list of goodies and aim to fill that out as a slow collection. Once acquired, I'll sit down and build it with my kid. Big dreams here! Can't wait. I've started looking at other makers and perhaps I'll get in on a build while the Mack pack comes together.

In the spur of the moment, I picked up the Hasbro Spengler wand and it's awesome for an out of the box prop and a choice price point! Are folks modifying these? Swapping out metal parts? I'm familiar with modifying props, so I'd be interested to learn more. I'm hoping to do a Ghostbuster theme for Halloween this year (get the family in on it) since I saw Spirit put out a half decent costume set. I'd shop for quality suits and boots, but the trap and PKE meter didn't look too bad. I'd imagine modifiable as well? A bit of paint and weathering? I'm familiar with costuming and prop weight. The plastic stuff would do the job but who doesn't want a hefty piece on quality equipment?

Great to learn more and hoping to get involved this year.

Marshall
User avatar
By Kingpin
#4947638
welcome aboard, Marshall! :)

Some folks have modded their Spengler Wands, some have modified them to remove the tape-covered grip on the rear handle, and the "shotgun" grip on the front barrel.
User avatar
By deadderek
#4947639
Hey if you're building a Mack's Factory Pack, come join the Facebook group dedicated to just that: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2806200899664790
User avatar
By Christof
#4947647
Sea_Marshall wrote: April 4th, 2021, 9:20 pm Hello.

Long time Ghostbusters fan and recently got into costuming in 2017ish. I discovered the Bay Area Ghostbusters at local events and its great to see the culture alive and well. I've recently introduced my small child to Ghostbusters and she latched on, so I've been channeling my fandom into her. My wife called me out and claimed I was getting the kid interested so I'd be able to buy Ghostbuster props and costumes... she's not wrong, heh, but it's nice to rediscover Ghostbusters with my kiddo. On top of that, Afterlife looks great and having young protagonists will likely inspire and embolden some kind of creative force within her. I'm all in.

I've created a small instagram account that will chronicle my Ghostbuster playtime and prop building journey: https://www.instagram.com/ghostbusters_playtime/

I hope to spend the better part of this year and next working on various items, either the costume or building a prop kit of some kind. I have started chipping away at the Mack's Factory list of goodies and aim to fill that out as a slow collection. Once acquired, I'll sit down and build it with my kid. Big dreams here! Can't wait. I've started looking at other makers and perhaps I'll get in on a build while the Mack pack comes together.

In the spur of the moment, I picked up the Hasbro Spengler wand and it's awesome for an out of the box prop and a choice price point! Are folks modifying these? Swapping out metal parts? I'm familiar with modifying props, so I'd be interested to learn more. I'm hoping to do a Ghostbuster theme for Halloween this year (get the family in on it) since I saw Spirit put out a half decent costume set. I'd shop for quality suits and boots, but the trap and PKE meter didn't look too bad. I'd imagine modifiable as well? A bit of paint and weathering? I'm familiar with costuming and prop weight. The plastic stuff would do the job but who doesn't want a hefty piece on quality equipment?

Great to learn more and hoping to get involved this year.

Marshall
Howdy Marshall! I'm Chris, with your neighbors to the north the NorCal GB! The BAGB are rad and part of the crew that helped welcome me into the fandom as well! As far as your questions regarding the Spirit gear, you can find much more in depth comparisons and breakdowns in the Equipment sections, but in my experience the Spirit packs are made from a pretty soft plastic that's easy to cut and work with. It IS about 70% the size of a Hero prop but for something that's easy to wear for hours on end, and possible for a kid to wear it's a great option. The Flightsuit should be fairly easy to find for a decent price, especially if you're patient and save a search on eBay, the boots can be on the pricey side if you want the exact screen used ones, however in my experience as long as you're wearing tall black boots no one who ISN'T a Ghosthead will notice. The Spirit PKE and Trap are great starting points for inexpensive entry-level props. They don't do very much, and you may find yourself wanting more effects from them over time (That might be projection on my part lmao), but they're more than close enough that the average fan will just see the prop and not the "mistakes". As for the Spengler Wand, a lot of folks started by just swapping a lot of the fake/cast pieces with the real and/or Aluminum part, it is largely made that they are just swappable without any modification. Which is amazing. There is/was a group of folks working to figure out how to mod the electronics of it so it can be routed out into a speaker in the Proton pack, as well. Wow, that was meant to be a succinct answering of questions that encouraged you to read more on the forums but uh... Wall o' text. In any event, welcome aboard dude, and feel free to PM if ya got any questions!
#4947653
deadderek wrote:Hey if you're building a Mack's Factory Pack, come join the Facebook group dedicated to just that: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2806200899664790
Thanks for the invite! I actually left Facebook to remove costume and prop building temptation. Its for my own good haha. But as you can see, it didn't help much.
Christof wrote: Howdy Marshall! I'm Chris, with your neighbors to the north the NorCal GB! The BAGB are rad and part of the crew that helped welcome me into the fandom as well! As far as your questions regarding the Spirit gear, you can find much more in depth comparisons and breakdowns in the Equipment sections
Hey Chris! Thanks for the info. I'm all about info dumps to spring board new members! I do the same and its greatly appreciated. I've yet to dive into equipment specs but I've created a spreadsheet for the uniform and found everything, just need to pull the trigger. I 3D print but was hesitant to start equipment builds without studying first. After I dig around to site, I may print and fiberglass a few parts while awaiting replica parts for a 'hero' build. If anyone can recommend files for printing, I'd be happy to take a look. Maybe I'll find a thread here.

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone! As long as there's a steady paycheck in it, I'll build anything I see.
Christof liked this
#4948310
quick update to this intro thread.

As I pick up items to work on I'll put out a work in progress thread accordingly if anyone is interested in the builds.

I've just placed an order for everything necessary to complete the base uniform, including a pair of 995 Corcoran boots! Uniform WIP to come later. Exciting stuff.

I have a Spirit Trap on arrival and I hope to upgrade parts and repaint it for a nice prop. I picked up what I could for the trap body upgrades and will work on the pedal parts at a later date. Can't wait!

Ecto Goggles should be getting coats of green and hardware installed soon. Super fun easy build.
Christof liked this
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