- April 24th, 2026, 8:27 am#5008996
This was originally posted on Facebook but I wanted go share it here, as I think this can be a pretty good guide and I want it to become something that gets updated as new labels become available.
Okay, this is kind of a silly post but over the last couple years, I have been pouring over the reference library, reviewing... labels. In that time, I have discovered there is no single end-all, be-all label set. But there are a lot of great makers out there who have created some phenomenal labels and with some mixing and matching, you can pull together a label set that checks all of the boxes..
There are four makers/sellers I have been pulling from: Mack's Factory, Moby Sign Co., GBFans, and Charlesworth Dynamics. I believe all of these makers have their strong suits. It is worth mentioning, this is all based on my observations of images. I have never seen any screen used packs in person (I may have when I was a kid at Planet Hollywood, but that's for another time) so I can't say these are the correct material or anything. It's more like how they visually "read" to me. I'm going to break this down into two sections: the pack and the wand, and I will be providing explanation for each label and reference pictures where needed. Please note: this list relates primarily to the original '84 packs. Obviously, on modern packs, the results will vary.
The overall list is as follows:
Proton Pack Labels
EDA - Mack's Factory, brushed aluminum - when looking at this label in the film, it has a clear metallic sheen to it other labels don't capture as well as a thickness to the label not captured with a traditional vinyl label. While I personally like an aluminum plate here, I currently am using the Mack's label as it looks the most accurate to me.
HGA - Mack's Factory, aluminum plate - easy. Mack's is the closest color and it is aluminum, which is objectively correct.
Crank Generator - Mack's Factory, aluminum plate - this is one where I have taken some creative liberty based on my perception and preferences. Most importantly is the color. The screen used packs use a very red label, and I have seen some labels that have kind of an orangey hue to them. Because of the richness of the red, it makes the text really pop against the contrasting color and appear white. I'm not sure about the material but I assume it is something reasonably thick and robust because it is common to see the right edge hang over the lower crank generator on screen used packs and in my mind, if it were something flimsy like vinyl, it would be tattered and bent now, but it still maintains its shape well.
Synchronous Generator - Mack's Factory, vinyl - this is one I don't have a strong feeling on currently but I like the thickness of Mack's as well as the overall color and it looks right to me.
PPD - Moby Sign Co., "Slightly Darker Red" - for the red danger labels across the packs, I see the color being much darker than most label sets reflect. Moby created slightly darker red labels that are closer to what I see as being the color of the original '84 packs and traps. This will be consistent across the pack.
Bumper - GBFans, aluminum plate - GBFans' latest iteration of the blue bumper label has an incredibly rich, vibrant blue color, and when I look at the packs, this is closer than other labels available. I also prefer the aluminum material used for this. It lends a sense of real-world technology to the look of the pack. This is another one with a little creative liberty taken.
Cyclotron Legris Input - Moby Sign Co., "Slightly Darker Red" - see above.
N-Filter - Mack's Factory, gray vinyl - this was one where I really had to fight the instinct to idealize. While people often use the metallic label for this, I just don't see it as being metallic. The best evidence I can find to support this assertion is in the scene the guys are in Dana's destroyed apartment. As they are heading up the stairs, you can clearly see a difference in how this label catches the light versus the bumper label right above it as the guys walk away towards the stairs. The closest match I can find is Mack's light gray.
Cycloyron/Injector Tube Input - Moby Sign Co., "Slightly Darker Red" - see above.
Mother Board - Moby Sign Co., "Slightly Darker Red" - see above.
Neutrona Wand Labels
Left-Side Gun Body - Mack's Factory light gray "Danger" label - similar to the n-filter label, idealized is often depicted as metallic but clearly, this label is gray when looking at reference shots, and Mack's is the closest.
Rear Trigger Box Lamp - Moby Sing Co. "SLO-BLO" label (matte) - looking at reference shots clearly shows very tall letters with a tightly cropped box around it. Most labels do not capture this detail. The best option is the Moby Sign Co. offering. I get it in matte to match the gun track labels.
And
Rear Trigger Box - Moby Sign Co. "Slightly Darker Red" DANGER label - see above.
Upper Gun Track - Charlesworth Dynamics"F1" label and Lower Gun Track - Charlesworth Dynamics "F2" label - I'm going to discuss these two labels together, but most makers I see offer labels that are too small. Some are too narrow, some too short, some are both. Charlesworth Dynamics offers the largest version of the label that fills the negative space correctly.
I am constantly updating this and I'd love feedback! You might see something I don't. Again, I think each of these makers have created some truly incredible labels and any pack would look great rocking them but it's also impossible for any label set to be accurate across all the wild variations seen on the packs. This list was all about my trying to replicate a very specific pack using the closest available options.
Also, credit to www.theghostbustersreferencelibrary.com/ghostbusters for the images of the original screen used props. The other pack pictured is my pack in its present state. Huge shout out to Spencer Knight for making these side-by-side pictures for comparison.
Okay, this is kind of a silly post but over the last couple years, I have been pouring over the reference library, reviewing... labels. In that time, I have discovered there is no single end-all, be-all label set. But there are a lot of great makers out there who have created some phenomenal labels and with some mixing and matching, you can pull together a label set that checks all of the boxes..
There are four makers/sellers I have been pulling from: Mack's Factory, Moby Sign Co., GBFans, and Charlesworth Dynamics. I believe all of these makers have their strong suits. It is worth mentioning, this is all based on my observations of images. I have never seen any screen used packs in person (I may have when I was a kid at Planet Hollywood, but that's for another time) so I can't say these are the correct material or anything. It's more like how they visually "read" to me. I'm going to break this down into two sections: the pack and the wand, and I will be providing explanation for each label and reference pictures where needed. Please note: this list relates primarily to the original '84 packs. Obviously, on modern packs, the results will vary.
The overall list is as follows:
Proton Pack Labels
EDA - Mack's Factory, brushed aluminum - when looking at this label in the film, it has a clear metallic sheen to it other labels don't capture as well as a thickness to the label not captured with a traditional vinyl label. While I personally like an aluminum plate here, I currently am using the Mack's label as it looks the most accurate to me.
HGA - Mack's Factory, aluminum plate - easy. Mack's is the closest color and it is aluminum, which is objectively correct.
Crank Generator - Mack's Factory, aluminum plate - this is one where I have taken some creative liberty based on my perception and preferences. Most importantly is the color. The screen used packs use a very red label, and I have seen some labels that have kind of an orangey hue to them. Because of the richness of the red, it makes the text really pop against the contrasting color and appear white. I'm not sure about the material but I assume it is something reasonably thick and robust because it is common to see the right edge hang over the lower crank generator on screen used packs and in my mind, if it were something flimsy like vinyl, it would be tattered and bent now, but it still maintains its shape well.
Synchronous Generator - Mack's Factory, vinyl - this is one I don't have a strong feeling on currently but I like the thickness of Mack's as well as the overall color and it looks right to me.
PPD - Moby Sign Co., "Slightly Darker Red" - for the red danger labels across the packs, I see the color being much darker than most label sets reflect. Moby created slightly darker red labels that are closer to what I see as being the color of the original '84 packs and traps. This will be consistent across the pack.
Bumper - GBFans, aluminum plate - GBFans' latest iteration of the blue bumper label has an incredibly rich, vibrant blue color, and when I look at the packs, this is closer than other labels available. I also prefer the aluminum material used for this. It lends a sense of real-world technology to the look of the pack. This is another one with a little creative liberty taken.
Cyclotron Legris Input - Moby Sign Co., "Slightly Darker Red" - see above.
N-Filter - Mack's Factory, gray vinyl - this was one where I really had to fight the instinct to idealize. While people often use the metallic label for this, I just don't see it as being metallic. The best evidence I can find to support this assertion is in the scene the guys are in Dana's destroyed apartment. As they are heading up the stairs, you can clearly see a difference in how this label catches the light versus the bumper label right above it as the guys walk away towards the stairs. The closest match I can find is Mack's light gray.
Cycloyron/Injector Tube Input - Moby Sign Co., "Slightly Darker Red" - see above.
Mother Board - Moby Sign Co., "Slightly Darker Red" - see above.
Neutrona Wand Labels
Left-Side Gun Body - Mack's Factory light gray "Danger" label - similar to the n-filter label, idealized is often depicted as metallic but clearly, this label is gray when looking at reference shots, and Mack's is the closest.
Rear Trigger Box Lamp - Moby Sing Co. "SLO-BLO" label (matte) - looking at reference shots clearly shows very tall letters with a tightly cropped box around it. Most labels do not capture this detail. The best option is the Moby Sign Co. offering. I get it in matte to match the gun track labels.
And
Rear Trigger Box - Moby Sign Co. "Slightly Darker Red" DANGER label - see above.
Upper Gun Track - Charlesworth Dynamics"F1" label and Lower Gun Track - Charlesworth Dynamics "F2" label - I'm going to discuss these two labels together, but most makers I see offer labels that are too small. Some are too narrow, some too short, some are both. Charlesworth Dynamics offers the largest version of the label that fills the negative space correctly.
I am constantly updating this and I'd love feedback! You might see something I don't. Again, I think each of these makers have created some truly incredible labels and any pack would look great rocking them but it's also impossible for any label set to be accurate across all the wild variations seen on the packs. This list was all about my trying to replicate a very specific pack using the closest available options.
Also, credit to www.theghostbustersreferencelibrary.com/ghostbusters for the images of the original screen used props. The other pack pictured is my pack in its present state. Huge shout out to Spencer Knight for making these side-by-side pictures for comparison.
- By mrmichaelt
- By hawkbatsquadron