- February 18th, 2016, 12:09 am#4854684
Here it is!
I finished my uniform a few years ago, and have just been wearing that with the Mattel equipment:
Then, as I prepared to wear it all again for this past Halloween, I started going through build threads here, looking for inspiration on the Dollar Store pack I was planning, after a friend sent me a pic of hers.
Around Christmas, my unused sick time at work paid out, so I ordered an Alice frame from eBay in preparation, and was going to wait for my tax refund late January/early February to go bargain shopping (since getting my own place last year, I don't have expendable funds otherwise, even "Dollar Store money").
I was perusing threads & the build plans here, and stumbled across Alan Hawkins' Studio Creations build. Upon finding out how inexpensive it was, I made a decision - do better than a Dollar Store pack.
So, as soon as I got my tax refund, I spent most of it on parts to start my own build of my first pack!
I'm still waiting on the shell (SC shipped today!), GBFans ribbon cable, and heavyprops' resin parts from eBay; but I have KCGhostbuster's bumper, bellows, N-filter, Clippards, ion arm cap, & Legris pieces; order_thru_the_phoenix's tubes & lenses; CPU64's Matty Wand V-hook; spongeface's Matty Wand light adaptor (though I need a GBFans light kit to use it); GBFans splitless loom (with PVC coupler from Menard's that plugs onto the end of the wand perfectly, and the loom screws into), vinyl & metal labels (both sheets should be enough for one pack, right?), Clippard elbows, ribbon cable clamp & hold down, and 9v connector (for when I can finally get that light kit); hockey pucks, and a brass rod for the ion arm (it doesn't have the knurled section, but it's the right thickness & both ends are threaded, so they should nicely screw into the resin).
I'm praying the weather warms up enough to fiberglass the shell, then again to paint when everything is put together, as I'm hoping to have this done by C2E2 (March 18-20), which I know is crazy, lol. But I have a friend who's started his own creative production company, part of which is prop creation, who's not only willing to help, he's excited to.
So...wish me luck! I'll post progress reports, I just got everything in the picture (except the Alice, and loom & coupler) today, and wanted to share.
I'm not going for super accurate, just what I think looks good, which most of is accurate, but I'm not going to sweat things like the SC shell not being 100%, or the Mattel pieces being toys instead of props. I've gotten enough wide-eyed smiles from my usual setup, I'm not too worried about reactions.
I Sharpied the banjos on the wand right before making this post:
I have a sheet of $5 labels I got off eBay for the Dollar Store pack which I'm going to use to fill in the missing ones on the wand (and save the vinyl ones for the eventuality of building my own thrower - I can't be making this little money forever). No pics because I should really go to bed because I have work in the morning, and haven't put them on yet, lol.
I just want to thank everyone here for making such great threads of their own. Just reading through them has been invaluable, and has given me the confidence to take on this task!
I finished my uniform a few years ago, and have just been wearing that with the Mattel equipment:
Then, as I prepared to wear it all again for this past Halloween, I started going through build threads here, looking for inspiration on the Dollar Store pack I was planning, after a friend sent me a pic of hers.
Around Christmas, my unused sick time at work paid out, so I ordered an Alice frame from eBay in preparation, and was going to wait for my tax refund late January/early February to go bargain shopping (since getting my own place last year, I don't have expendable funds otherwise, even "Dollar Store money").
I was perusing threads & the build plans here, and stumbled across Alan Hawkins' Studio Creations build. Upon finding out how inexpensive it was, I made a decision - do better than a Dollar Store pack.
So, as soon as I got my tax refund, I spent most of it on parts to start my own build of my first pack!
I'm still waiting on the shell (SC shipped today!), GBFans ribbon cable, and heavyprops' resin parts from eBay; but I have KCGhostbuster's bumper, bellows, N-filter, Clippards, ion arm cap, & Legris pieces; order_thru_the_phoenix's tubes & lenses; CPU64's Matty Wand V-hook; spongeface's Matty Wand light adaptor (though I need a GBFans light kit to use it); GBFans splitless loom (with PVC coupler from Menard's that plugs onto the end of the wand perfectly, and the loom screws into), vinyl & metal labels (both sheets should be enough for one pack, right?), Clippard elbows, ribbon cable clamp & hold down, and 9v connector (for when I can finally get that light kit); hockey pucks, and a brass rod for the ion arm (it doesn't have the knurled section, but it's the right thickness & both ends are threaded, so they should nicely screw into the resin).
I'm praying the weather warms up enough to fiberglass the shell, then again to paint when everything is put together, as I'm hoping to have this done by C2E2 (March 18-20), which I know is crazy, lol. But I have a friend who's started his own creative production company, part of which is prop creation, who's not only willing to help, he's excited to.
So...wish me luck! I'll post progress reports, I just got everything in the picture (except the Alice, and loom & coupler) today, and wanted to share.
I'm not going for super accurate, just what I think looks good, which most of is accurate, but I'm not going to sweat things like the SC shell not being 100%, or the Mattel pieces being toys instead of props. I've gotten enough wide-eyed smiles from my usual setup, I'm not too worried about reactions.
I Sharpied the banjos on the wand right before making this post:
I have a sheet of $5 labels I got off eBay for the Dollar Store pack which I'm going to use to fill in the missing ones on the wand (and save the vinyl ones for the eventuality of building my own thrower - I can't be making this little money forever). No pics because I should really go to bed because I have work in the morning, and haven't put them on yet, lol.
I just want to thank everyone here for making such great threads of their own. Just reading through them has been invaluable, and has given me the confidence to take on this task!
Last edited by TENIME_art on June 29th, 2017, 8:09 am, edited 1 time in total.