- September 19th, 2015, 4:18 pm#4844050
This is something I discovered a while back, but haven't had much of any time for props or Ghostbusters, but I want to share this with everyone so I don't feel like I'm withholding anymore:
So, we've beaten the issue of the radios into the ground so many times over the past 15 or so years; surely there's nothing left to discuss, right? No news under the slime?
Wrong.
For the longest time I was confused as to what, exactly, was up with some of the radios in their holsters. Debates went on over which models were used: the short standard versions or the taller PL versions. See this thread in which I put my foot in my mouth acting like I know everything. I don't, and neither did anyone else.
Venkman's radio popped out of his holster a bit, but it was the short PL version. Egon's did too, though we don't know for certain which one he had. Turns out everyone (and I was a skeptic at first) was right about the radios and how they sit in the holsters. Something was off. They don't do that in the stock leather holsters made for the MT500. We also cut the side panels off our leather holsters to make them more accurate, but almost never came across a truly screen-accurate holster. Lots of things never added up.
But then we got the movie on Blu-Ray:
We can see more details in the radio holster, and they don't match what's been commonly available. Take the border behind the snap, or the different placement of the Motorola logo. Some tried to add these details into their fan-made leather holsters, making them more accurate than even Motorola's own MT500 holsters, which is a true testament to the ingenuity of this community.
But what the hell WERE the original holsters?
Ladies and gentlemen...
This, I submit, is the original holster: originally for a Motorola HT440 or HT90. Part number NLN7444A.
It looks pretty, but there's a sad twist. I really can't recommend buying one. They pop up from time to time on eBay, typically for around $50 (which is way more than some of the durable fan-made holsters), and while I and a few other members have purchased them, we still carry leather holsters. Why?
They are brittle. Brittle. As. Hell.
Seriously, they're made of some kind of hard rubber or thermoplastic, and age 30 is not kind to them. So after you track one down, drop $50 on the right model, and wear it once, the slightest nudge will crack it, and no glue known to man seems able to touch it. It seems like a better bet to get people casting these things in flexible resin or rubber.
So, we've beaten the issue of the radios into the ground so many times over the past 15 or so years; surely there's nothing left to discuss, right? No news under the slime?
Wrong.
For the longest time I was confused as to what, exactly, was up with some of the radios in their holsters. Debates went on over which models were used: the short standard versions or the taller PL versions. See this thread in which I put my foot in my mouth acting like I know everything. I don't, and neither did anyone else.
Venkman's radio popped out of his holster a bit, but it was the short PL version. Egon's did too, though we don't know for certain which one he had. Turns out everyone (and I was a skeptic at first) was right about the radios and how they sit in the holsters. Something was off. They don't do that in the stock leather holsters made for the MT500. We also cut the side panels off our leather holsters to make them more accurate, but almost never came across a truly screen-accurate holster. Lots of things never added up.
But then we got the movie on Blu-Ray:
We can see more details in the radio holster, and they don't match what's been commonly available. Take the border behind the snap, or the different placement of the Motorola logo. Some tried to add these details into their fan-made leather holsters, making them more accurate than even Motorola's own MT500 holsters, which is a true testament to the ingenuity of this community.
But what the hell WERE the original holsters?
Ladies and gentlemen...
This, I submit, is the original holster: originally for a Motorola HT440 or HT90. Part number NLN7444A.
It looks pretty, but there's a sad twist. I really can't recommend buying one. They pop up from time to time on eBay, typically for around $50 (which is way more than some of the durable fan-made holsters), and while I and a few other members have purchased them, we still carry leather holsters. Why?
They are brittle. Brittle. As. Hell.
Seriously, they're made of some kind of hard rubber or thermoplastic, and age 30 is not kind to them. So after you track one down, drop $50 on the right model, and wear it once, the slightest nudge will crack it, and no glue known to man seems able to touch it. It seems like a better bet to get people casting these things in flexible resin or rubber.
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