#4962820
The thrower in the gunner seat is connected to the, well the gunner seat, and was in a metal box by the seat, it may have had its safety function disabled because it didn't need it, or at the very least its a different thrower, so it may not have been working right. though that did bug me too.

People talking about the switches on the haslab pack and hasbro thrower not being perfect or correct, yeah it's annoying, but not enough for me to complain about past this one sentence, since they are two separate toys that we can put together.

As far as the switches and the packs and stuff, this stuff is roughly consistent, but not perfectly, so of course there are problems, and if you study every hand movement and detail as close as possible there will be inaccuracies because this is fiction and they are actors, nothing is perfect.

If you want my own personal thoughts about the switches here they are. Mind you this is essentially fan fiction and using details of all 3 films, so take it as you will.

The switch on the Ion Arm is basically like a main "breaker" for the whole pack. I use breaker in " " because I'm not saying its exactly that, its just a really close idea. Gotta have the breakers in your house on to turn on the lights, but unless they are tripped or you are doing work on something they just stay on all the time, and you use the wall switch to actually turn on the lights (breaker is ion arm switch, wall switch is the thrower switch).

"we really haven't had a completely successful field test of this equipment" I take this to mean they had been working on the packs and trouble shooting them and doing bug fixes, they get the packs all buttoned up and ready for more tests, they break for dinner, eat the last of the petty cash, while Egon works on the 4th thrower, and they get a call. They felt the equipment was ready even though they hadn't done final tests and went with it. Thus the line in the elevator, Peter and Egon's packs are switched on just like Ray's in the cut between Ray's power up and them stepping off the elevator.

They needed the "breakers" switched on because they had been working on the packs previously, Phoebe also had the pack disassembled, thus needed the "breaker" flipped to activate the pack .

In the courtroom they are switched on already because they haven't been being worked on or anything, and the court didn't realize they needed to be turned off at a breaker, the con ed guy was unfamiliar with the equipment, as would anyone else, so how would they know. As it was it looked off, and if they pressed the button on the thrower, nothing would happen, and flipping a toggle switch would activate something, and they would turn it back off assuming the job was done.

But back to the elevator Egon turns on Ray's pack but as near as I can tell the lights aren't on, you see no blue light hitting Egon's arm or anything. Scene cuts, the other two packs are switched on in between, and they step out, Ray draws and turns off the safety (green lever), and someone else says he throws a switch (with no sound), but if not he turns the switch on between then and blasting the cart, Egon turns on the main switch on the thrower start up sound is heard, Peter does nothing.

Next they blast the cleaning lady, Peter's pack is not lit up because he never hit the switch on the thrower because he hasn't pulled it yet, but the other two's are. They then split up, Ray sees Slimer and his pack lights aren't on till he activates the thrower, he must have turned the thrower switch off after blasting the cleaning lady... oops. After that though his lights stay on. We see Egon walking down the hall, but never see his back, so no clue if the lights are still on or not. Peter has still not drawn his thrower, and his lights are still off when he sees Slimer.

The lights sequencing at least from watching the scene in the first movie, is done from the wand, not the main "breaker", or if you want it to flow with afterlife, and not just say stuff has been rewired, throw the "breaker" the lights cycle up (kinda like a powering on test) then turn off till activated by the thrower.

As far as I know this makes everything fit minus, a missing sound effect, or someone flipping a different switch from someone else. Or I'm a moron and completely wrong, could be either.
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By mburkit
#4962831
Speaking from my understanding of the props in GB1 and GB2; the hero packs (GB1/GB2) and the semi-hero packs (GB2) functioned a little differently. Just for simplicities sake, for the GB2 semi-heros, only one switched worked and it was the "Activate" switch, which turned on all the lights of the pack and wand.

As for the GB1/GB2 heros (which I will refer to as heros moving forward), there were several switches and push buttons on the props that affected functioning. There are 4 toggle switches and 2 push buttons on the props. Let me list them with their functions.

Pack -
Master Kill switch - Killed power to the pack from the battery. This switch is mounted on the "charge plate" that is riveted to the motherboard under the ALICE Frame

Wand -
"Activate" switch - AT LEAST activated the lights for the Wand; possibly for both the wand and the pack
"Intensify" push button - Fired the Xenon strobes in the front handle of the wand
Top gun body switch - ??? - was definitely wired up, but unsure to what. Theoretically could have controlled the lights of the pack (cyclotron and powercell)
Bottom gun body switch - turned off/on the Vent Light of the wand.
Gun ear push button - set off flash bulb in the tip of the wand as well as lit up the orange hat light on the gun ear

This is the actual functioning of the props. As far as how the sounds linked up with these button/switch presses? There are continuity errors all over the place between all the movies and even between scenes within the same movie. Personally, I like to use the power on sound followed by a fading hum when I activate my pack and wand lights with the "Activate" switch. I place a shorter turn on sound and no hum to the vent light, to replicate the "heat 'em up" insert shot. I have a firing sound with the intensify button, with 1 version of the wind down after I fire. There's also another wind down when I turn off my "Activate" switch, which also turns off my lights.

I am not saying my pairing of my sounds and lights are accurate to the film universe proton packs, since that changes so often. With that said, I feel this is a pretty close enough approximation of what it should be; at least according to GB1.
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By One time
#4962838
jonogunn wrote: December 6th, 2021, 7:54 am I was really honoring that they would set it straight in this movie. I mean Jason Reitman made. A big deal of attention to detail by adding the ion arm switch to “fix” continuity. However it seemed to have stopped there and they didn’t put much thought into the rest.

I’m even surprised they never noticed that the wand tip was extended in the wide shot of the pack prior to the “safety off” line. How the heck did you guys miss that?!?

Then during the police station scene she boots up the wand with the sound effect AND the bargraph finally shows.

Then the car chase the wand tip doesn’t need to be extended. Why make a deal out of letting us know the wand tip extension is a safety feature only to dismiss it in this scene? Why show us the full activation of the pack from start to finish in detail only to contradict it in every other scene?
I agree. This was one of my biggest disappointments with Afterlife.

This is an educated mechanical engineer guess as to how the activation sequence works and what the symbols mean in electric circuit diagrams. Other mechanical engineers please correct me if this doesn't make sense.

1. Giant red pack switch off. Power off everywhere. Nothing works.

2. Pack switch flipped to right, like on Haslab/Afterlife pack (Right side is mechanical engineering safety direction). Pack is either on or on standby. Depending on wand switches. If wand is off, pack is in standby mode. If wand switches are on, pack starts up immediately (Ray elevator interior scene "switch me on").

2.a. Pack switch flipped right while wand was on. Pack starts up immediately. Ray interior elevator scene. "Switch me on".

2.b. Pack switch flipped right while wand is off. Pack in stand by, ready to be turned on by wand:

2.b.1.

Image

Wand right side lower switch is flipped on. Power switch. This symbol means "intermediate switch" in electric current diagrams. This is what it is. It is an intermediate switch after the pack main switch. Toggling this turns the electric generator on. Curium 246 radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) sends power to the internals, like Ray says in Afterlife. Nothing else powers on out of safety considerations. Only slo-blo light comes on. A Slow-blow fuse is a type of fuse which can handle a temporary surge current which exceeds the current rating of the fuse. Immediately after allocating initial power is the perfect place to place a slow blow fuse.
(2.b.1. functionality is Just like the Matty and Hasbro wands).

Image


2.b.2.

Image

Wand right side upper switch is flipped on. Auxiliary systems switch. Auxiliary systems turn on: bar graph, electromagnets ready in anticipation of cyclotron starting, safety lights come on, other systems necessary start. Everything becomes ready for PP to ACTIVATE the nuclear accelerator/collider. (2.b.2. functionality is exact same sequence as Matty and Hasbro wands).

2.b.3.

Image

Activate switch is flipped. Proton pack actually ACTIVATES. Collider/Cyclotron starts. We hear the deep hum. From a mechanical engineering standpoint the position of the Activate indicates it is the final safety. It is separate, close to the trigger, etc. It is the final safety. It ACTIVATES the cyclotron.
(2.b.3. functionality is exact same sequence as Matty and Hasbro wands).

3. Barrel needs to be extended to fire, as a FIRING SAFETY switch. If barrel is not extended, the SLOBLO light will flash indicating incorrect operation. (3. functionality is exact same sequence as Matty wand).

4. (Optional) Rotating barrel. The rotating barrel, if rotated anti clockwise like in GB1, the wand switches will not be operable. It needs to be rotated clockwise to the right so the grip feels natural. This is a safety feature for storage. It disables the toggle switches in the wand to have an effect. (for storage with a pack where the pack switch was accidentally left on) 2-step safety.

As a mechanical engineer that is how this item would make sense to me as a real world usable tool. If anyone has any suggestions where I'm not making sense, please let me know.
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By Ecto_1X
#4962846
jonogunn wrote: December 6th, 2021, 7:54 am I was really honoring that they would set it straight in this movie. I mean Jason Reitman made. A big deal of attention to detail by adding the ion arm switch to “fix” continuity. However it seemed to have stopped there and they didn’t put much thought into the rest.

I’m even surprised they never noticed that the wand tip was extended in the wide shot of the pack prior to the “safety off” line. How the heck did you guys miss that?!?

Then during the police station scene she boots up the wand with the sound effect AND the bargraph finally shows.

Then the car chase the wand tip doesn’t need to be extended. Why make a deal out of letting us know the wand tip extension is a safety feature only to dismiss it in this scene? Why show us the full activation of the pack from start to finish in detail only to contradict it in every other scene?
Because the wand barrel extending isn't the safety for the thrower. The safety is the "activate" switch.
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By One time
#4962852
Ecto_1X wrote: December 6th, 2021, 6:31 pm
jonogunn wrote: December 6th, 2021, 7:54 am I was really honoring that they would set it straight in this movie. I mean Jason Reitman made. A big deal of attention to detail by adding the ion arm switch to “fix” continuity. However it seemed to have stopped there and they didn’t put much thought into the rest.

I’m even surprised they never noticed that the wand tip was extended in the wide shot of the pack prior to the “safety off” line. How the heck did you guys miss that?!?

Then during the police station scene she boots up the wand with the sound effect AND the bargraph finally shows.

Then the car chase the wand tip doesn’t need to be extended. Why make a deal out of letting us know the wand tip extension is a safety feature only to dismiss it in this scene? Why show us the full activation of the pack from start to finish in detail only to contradict it in every other scene?
Because the wand barrel extending isn't the safety for the thrower. The safety is the "activate" switch.
Why would the "safety" switch be called "activate" as opposed to "safety" / "safe" as opposed to virtually all other tools that have a safety switch ?

Because "Activate" activates it.
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By Ecto_1X
#4962854
One time wrote: December 6th, 2021, 7:08 pm
Ecto_1X wrote: December 6th, 2021, 6:31 pm

Because the wand barrel extending isn't the safety for the thrower. The safety is the "activate" switch.
Why would the "safety" switch be called "activate" as opposed to "safety" / "safe" as opposed to virtually all other tools that have a safety switch ?

Because "Activate" activates it.
Think about it. The activate switch is off and you cannot intensify the beam / release the proton stream. It's really that simple.
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By One time
#4962859
Ecto_1X wrote: December 6th, 2021, 7:13 pm
One time wrote: December 6th, 2021, 7:08 pm

Why would the "safety" switch be called "activate" as opposed to "safety" / "safe" as opposed to virtually all other tools that have a safety switch ?

Because "Activate" activates it.
Think about it. The activate switch is off and you cannot intensify the beam / release the proton stream. It's really that simple.
If the Activate switch -Activates- the cyclotron the same thing is valid. You cannot intensify the beam / release the proton stream without an activated cyclotron. I think it really IS that simple :)

The safety that prevents firing would be the extending barrel. Same as the Matty wand.
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By Kingpin
#4962904
One time wrote: December 6th, 2021, 7:36 pm If the Activate switch -Activates- the cyclotron the same thing is valid.
Given there's already an activation switch on the pack, the "Activate" switch on the gun seems more likely to govern the Proton Gun itself.
By oidoglr
#4962993
jonogunn wrote: December 7th, 2021, 1:00 am I feel like it’s unnecessary to complicate the safety feature .The movie officially says it’s a safety therefore it’s a safety for the entire wand. When the tip is retracted you cannot fire.
I really wish they hadn't used that line. A character that's never operated a proton pack referred to it as a safety and yet multiple other shots show that the barrel being extended doesn't prevent a discharge leads me to believe it was just an assumption by a novice of an unlabeled function of the barrel extension lever.
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By Kingpin
#4962996
oidoglr wrote: December 8th, 2021, 9:06 am A character that's never operated a proton pack referred to it as a safety and yet multiple other shots show that the barrel being extended doesn't prevent a discharge leads me to believe it was just an assumption by a novice of an unlabeled function of the barrel extension lever.
The thing to bare in mind is that a scene that was deleted from the final film was set a short while after we saw Phoebe fixing the Pack. it would've featured her trying out the Proton Pack for the first time, leading her to whip up a batch of proton-popped popcorn.

Whether the scene would be considered canon with it being deleted is anyone's guess of course.
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By Welsh Pirate
#4963146
One time wrote: December 6th, 2021, 5:01 pm
jonogunn wrote: December 6th, 2021, 7:54 am I was really honoring that they would set it straight in this movie. I mean Jason Reitman made. A big deal of attention to detail by adding the ion arm switch to “fix” continuity. However it seemed to have stopped there and they didn’t put much thought into the rest.

I’m even surprised they never noticed that the wand tip was extended in the wide shot of the pack prior to the “safety off” line. How the heck did you guys miss that?!?

Then during the police station scene she boots up the wand with the sound effect AND the bargraph finally shows.

Then the car chase the wand tip doesn’t need to be extended. Why make a deal out of letting us know the wand tip extension is a safety feature only to dismiss it in this scene? Why show us the full activation of the pack from start to finish in detail only to contradict it in every other scene?
I agree. This was one of my biggest disappointments with Afterlife.

This is an educated mechanical engineer guess as to how the activation sequence works and what the symbols mean in electric circuit diagrams. Other mechanical engineers please correct me if this doesn't make sense.

1. Giant red pack switch off. Power off everywhere. Nothing works.

2. Pack switch flipped to right, like on Haslab/Afterlife pack (Right side is mechanical engineering safety direction). Pack is either on or on standby. Depending on wand switches. If wand is off, pack is in standby mode. If wand switches are on, pack starts up immediately (Ray elevator interior scene "switch me on").

2.a. Pack switch flipped right while wand was on. Pack starts up immediately. Ray interior elevator scene. "Switch me on".

2.b. Pack switch flipped right while wand is off. Pack in stand by, ready to be turned on by wand:

2.b.1.

Image

Wand right side lower switch is flipped on. Power switch. This symbol means "intermediate switch" in electric current diagrams. This is what it is. It is an intermediate switch after the pack main switch. Toggling this turns the electric generator on. Curium 246 radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) sends power to the internals, like Ray says in Afterlife. Nothing else powers on out of safety considerations. Only slo-blo light comes on. A Slow-blow fuse is a type of fuse which can handle a temporary surge current which exceeds the current rating of the fuse. Immediately after allocating initial power is the perfect place to place a slow blow fuse.
(2.b.1. functionality is Just like the Matty and Hasbro wands).

Image


2.b.2.

Image

Wand right side upper switch is flipped on. Auxiliary systems switch. Auxiliary systems turn on: bar graph, electromagnets ready in anticipation of cyclotron starting, safety lights come on, other systems necessary start. Everything becomes ready for PP to ACTIVATE the nuclear accelerator/collider. (2.b.2. functionality is exact same sequence as Matty and Hasbro wands).

2.b.3.

Image

Activate switch is flipped. Proton pack actually ACTIVATES. Collider/Cyclotron starts. We hear the deep hum. From a mechanical engineering standpoint the position of the Activate indicates it is the final safety. It is separate, close to the trigger, etc. It is the final safety. It ACTIVATES the cyclotron.
(2.b.3. functionality is exact same sequence as Matty and Hasbro wands).

3. Barrel needs to be extended to fire, as a FIRING SAFETY switch. If barrel is not extended, the SLOBLO light will flash indicating incorrect operation. (3. functionality is exact same sequence as Matty wand).

4. (Optional) Rotating barrel. The rotating barrel, if rotated anti clockwise like in GB1, the wand switches will not be operable. It needs to be rotated clockwise to the right so the grip feels natural. This is a safety feature for storage. It disables the toggle switches in the wand to have an effect. (for storage with a pack where the pack switch was accidentally left on) 2-step safety.

As a mechanical engineer that is how this item would make sense to me as a real world usable tool. If anyone has any suggestions where I'm not making sense, please let me know.
I've always wondered if those symbols on the front panel switches had real meanings to them, but I could never figure out the right search to find out. Could you elaborate on why you're saying the upper switch is for aux systems? I still can't really find anything for that label. Also, doesn't "auxiliary systems" usually refer to extra features or backups, not stuff necessary for primary functional operation?

I'm also not understanding how a power switch for the power generators would qualify as an intermediate switch. From my understanding, intermediate switches are for a three-way switch system. Like, so you can turn the same light on/off from three different locations without having to worry about what position the other switches are in relative to each other. A regular ON/OFF switch would only be needed to operate the power generator. Or a two-way switch system between the pack and wand would make sense. But a third, intermediate switch would be kinda useless.
By ZLevee
#4963438
jonogunn wrote: December 7th, 2021, 1:00 am I feel like it’s unnecessary to complicate the safety feature .The movie officially says it’s a safety therefore it’s a safety for the entire wand. When the tip is retracted you cannot fire.
Phoebe says “safety’s off” a moment after extending the barrel, but that’s also after a bunch of other switch presses. The comment doesn’t necessarily refer to the last switch pressed.

Also, several other sources over the years refer to the “activate” switch as the safety.
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By jonogunn
#4963440
ZLevee wrote: December 12th, 2021, 10:35 pm
jonogunn wrote: December 7th, 2021, 1:00 am I feel like it’s unnecessary to complicate the safety feature .The movie officially says it’s a safety therefore it’s a safety for the entire wand. When the tip is retracted you cannot fire.
Phoebe says “safety’s off” a moment after extending the barrel, but that’s also after a bunch of other switch presses. The comment doesn’t necessarily refer to the last switch pressed. Several other sources over the years refer to the “activate” switch as the safety.
No one naturally does that. That’s not how people talk. If she said safely off right after extending a barrel then it means it’s a safety feature.

Other sources can “suggest” activate means safety off but afterlife confirms the barrel tip extension is a safety feature.
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By ZLevee
#4963445
jonogunn wrote: December 12th, 2021, 10:38 pm
ZLevee wrote: December 12th, 2021, 10:35 pm

Phoebe says “safety’s off” a moment after extending the barrel, but that’s also after a bunch of other switch presses. The comment doesn’t necessarily refer to the last switch pressed. Several other sources over the years refer to the “activate” switch as the safety.
No one naturally does that. That’s not how people talk. If she said safely off right after extending a barrel then it means it’s a safety feature.

Other sources can “suggest” activate means safety off but afterlife confirms the barrel tip extension is a safety feature.
Except that, as has been established by many others here, Afterlife contradicts itself all over the place with the barrel and the switches etc. And the switch sequence in that scene doesn’t match any of the other switch sequences we know. As a result, I just don’t think that you can really take Afterlife switches as canon, and as someone else said above, everyone might as well accept that several interpretations could be valid, and there really is no canon.
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By Kingpin
#4963469
Inconsistencies with the switches aside (and this is nothing compared to inconsistencies with the switches on the TARDIS console), with the exception of the Gunner Seat thrower, the majority (if not totality) of scenes where we see the throwers firing is with the barrels extended... It seems a reasonable conclusion to make that extending the barrel is what deactivates the thrower's built-in safety feature.
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By gerard55
#4963490
oidoglr wrote: December 8th, 2021, 9:06 am
jonogunn wrote: December 7th, 2021, 1:00 am I feel like it’s unnecessary to complicate the safety feature .The movie officially says it’s a safety therefore it’s a safety for the entire wand. When the tip is retracted you cannot fire.
I really wish they hadn't used that line. A character that's never operated a proton pack referred to it as a safety and yet multiple other shots show that the barrel being extended doesn't prevent a discharge leads me to believe it was just an assumption by a novice of an unlabeled function of the barrel extension lever.
The wand in ecto is designed to be that way, Ben Eadie had a comment stating that they looked it at from a military pov where space in a vehicle was more of a consideration so the wand barrel extension wasn't a thing on that wand.

As far as activation sequences go i always thought the hat lights could be visual indicators, the orange one at the back of the gunbox and at the front of the barrel flashing should mean all safetys off, ready to fire, so you have a visual cue as well.
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By Gamma_x
#4963519
In the courtroom scene, when ray picks up a pack. We heard a click of a switch and his thumb is right near the location of the red switch. Then So I think the redundant safety switch theory is correct. For both to be turn on to activate the cyclotron.
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By Kingpin
#4963705
Gamma_x wrote: December 13th, 2021, 1:58 pm In the courtroom scene, when ray picks up a pack. We heard a click of a switch and his thumb is right near the location of the red switch.
Sadly the "switch noise" is probably something attached to the A.L.I.C.E. straps either banging against the table, or even part of the audio effects for the fire burning on the judge's bench.

Meanwhile Ray's hand is grasping the Injector Tubes, going nowehere near the location of the Afterlife switch, or the area Harold mimed it to be.

I strongly suspect that when they were making GBII they'd forgotten about the "on switch" completely.
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By Turtuv
#4964271
jonogunn wrote: December 7th, 2021, 1:00 am I feel like it’s unnecessary to complicate the safety feature .The movie officially says it’s a safety therefore it’s a safety for the entire wand. When the tip is retracted you cannot fire.
i saw the last film 3 times and i clearly saw that in one of the final scenes there is Trevor that fire the wand with the tip retracted. I'm waiting too have the blu-ray disc to look at it frame by frame
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By ProtonPack83
#4964294
I'm just glad the original guys had their wands extended like they should be with their 84 packs on - that was a highlight for me. I'm guessing the rest is simply forgotten little details by a crew more concerned about story and character than the gadgetry. Happens in movies all the time - I'm still pissed the Rey activates the Skywalker lightsaber from one of the blade extension knobs instead of the actual switch. JJ had no clue...nor did Disney.
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By Kingpin
#4964298
Turtuv wrote: December 27th, 2021, 3:18 am i saw the last film 3 times and i clearly saw that in one of the final scenes there is Trevor that fire the wand with the tip retracted. I'm waiting too have the blu-ray disc to look at it frame by frame
The Art and Making of the Movie book features a notation of "shortened tip only" on page 99, backing up the belief the gunner seat didn't have an extending barrel like the standard Packs.
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By Turtuv
#4964301
Kingpin wrote: December 27th, 2021, 10:33 am
Turtuv wrote: December 27th, 2021, 3:18 am i saw the last film 3 times and i clearly saw that in one of the final scenes there is Trevor that fire the wand with the tip retracted. I'm waiting too have the blu-ray disc to look at it frame by frame
The Art and Making of the Movie book features a notation of "shortened tip only" on page 99, backing up the belief the gunner seat didn't have an extending barrel like the standard Packs.
I have the book, but I have to read it yet. I remember in that scene Trevor shoot with the tip retracted. we have to wait the home video release to see it better
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By jonogunn
#4964303
Turtuv wrote: December 27th, 2021, 3:18 am
jonogunn wrote: December 7th, 2021, 1:00 am I feel like it’s unnecessary to complicate the safety feature .The movie officially says it’s a safety therefore it’s a safety for the entire wand. When the tip is retracted you cannot fire.
i saw the last film 3 times and i clearly saw that in one of the final scenes there is Trevor that fire the wand with the tip retracted. I'm waiting too have the blu-ray disc to look at it frame by frame
Wasn’t that the gunner seat version? With that one the tip never extended so that would still be in line with continuity. It’s only the pack that has the safety feature
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By Turtuv
#4964306
jonogunn wrote: December 27th, 2021, 10:53 am
Turtuv wrote: December 27th, 2021, 3:18 am

i saw the last film 3 times and i clearly saw that in one of the final scenes there is Trevor that fire the wand with the tip retracted. I'm waiting too have the blu-ray disc to look at it frame by frame
Wasn’t that the gunner seat version? With that one the tip never extended so that would still be in line with continuity. It’s only the pack that has the safety feature
I don't remember, onestly. could be, at this point. I have to watch it again
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By Kingpin
#4964317
jonogunn wrote: December 27th, 2021, 10:53 am Wasn’t that the gunner seat version? With that one the tip never extended so that would still be in line with continuity. It’s only the pack that has the safety feature
Despite what the film poster suggested, the only thrower Trevor uses is the one fitted to the Gunner Seat.
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By MichaelGil
#4964384
Giving this some thought I think both switches can coexist here..

Since the equipment is a cobble of Military and scientific parts, would it be reasonable for a different power supply circuit and then an on/off switch on the wand? We could debate Power flow/power distribution all day long...

Since Jason Reitman wanted the switch look like a breaker in Afterlife perhaps it is a main power bus versus arming the wand
for use?

my 0.02 cents..
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By Welsh Pirate
#4968948
mburkit wrote: December 6th, 2021, 12:53 pmAs for the GB1/GB2 heros (which I will refer to as heros moving forward), there were several switches and push buttons on the props that affected functioning. There are 4 toggle switches and 2 push buttons on the props. Let me list them with their functions.

Pack -
Master Kill switch - Killed power to the pack from the battery. This switch is mounted on the "charge plate" that is riveted to the motherboard under the ALICE Frame

Wand -
"Activate" switch - AT LEAST activated the lights for the Wand; possibly for both the wand and the pack
"Intensify" push button - Fired the Xenon strobes in the front handle of the wand
Top gun body switch - ??? - was definitely wired up, but unsure to what. Theoretically could have controlled the lights of the pack (cyclotron and powercell)
Bottom gun body switch - turned off/on the Vent Light of the wand.
Gun ear push button - set off flash bulb in the tip of the wand as well as lit up the orange hat light on the gun ear.
Are these set in stone? Because I've recently become convinced that the "Activate" switch was a kill switch for the wand. Take a look at the hotel scene; as they're first getting off the elevator, both Aykroyd and Ramis flick their "Activate" switches, and no lights on their wands turn on. It appears that the gun body switches are both down on both wands. Now, compare with the Do-Ray-Egon sequence in GB2. We see most of the wand lights come on just by flicking the "Activate" switch, despite it still being a GB1 hero. However, looking frame by frame on UHD footage, it looks to me like both of the gun body switches were pre-loaded to their up and closed positions. Hence, they turn on as soon as the wand kill switched is closed. So, here's my two cents on how the original prop functioned:


Pack -
Charge Plate Switch - Killed power to the pack from the battery. Probably also activated pack lights.

Wand -
ACTIVATE Switch - Killed power from the pack to the wand.
INTENSIFY Push Button - Activated strobes in front barrel
Top Gun Body Switch - Activated bar graph, "SLO-BLO" light, and white hat light near front silver knob.
Bottom gun body switch - Activated vent light. Probably also started the blinking vent light
Gun ear push button - set off flash bulb in the tip of the wand as well as lit up the orange hat light on the gun ear.


For the life of me, I can't fine a moment in the first two movies where the vent hat light is on. I'm not sure it was ever wired to anything.

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