[3mil]

Hey guys,

New guy here - I'm going to attempt a proton pack build for my 6 year old for this coming halloween. He hasn't put down the Ghostbusters PS3 game in weeks, and he's busy watching the cartoon as I type this, so its safe to say he's got the bug

At this stage, the plan is to build a pack out of either MDF or perspex... leaning toward perspex as it'll probably be lighter and end up with a better overall finish. I'd love to get it Vacformed for even less weight, but I don't have the resources (or the space) to build a vac form table right now, unless someone can point me to somewhere where I can get it done. Thats assuming that Vacforming keeps the detail and sharp lines (I have no idea - just asking). I'm based down Frankston-way.

I'm planning on buying the thinnest sheets I can from Bunnings, but I'm not sure how to cut them to guarantee a straight line. I know its smaller scale, but if I'm going to put the effort in, I want it to be good

I've grabbed the various plans from here, so going to sit down this weekend and work out what measurements I'm going to need.

Does anyone have any tips / tricks they care to throw out there?

[Some_Guy]

It all depends on what you want to do. Do you want it to be movie accurate, do you want it just so your kid has fun with it, do you want it sturdy and almost unbreakable...

A lot of people who make packs for their kids use things from around the house. I've seen packs just about everything from wood to tupperware.

But, if you want to go the ridiculously accurate route; here's a thread of a smaller scale pack by Austin. Mind you, though, this pack was not made for roughhousing. (What kid doesn't do that?)
http://www.gbfans.com/community/viewtop ... =2&t=21368

Hope it helps.

[Charlie Richter]

Going smaller will be hard on detail. That is for sure. Id say the best bet is to go small and close enough. If you give it the right small touches it will come out sweet as. 3mil MDF will be tricky for a small build, but good luck.

[Ecto-1 fan]

Or, may I suggest (if it's not sacrilege) the backpack-style one on our favorite auction site? I know it doesn't have a lot of detail, but it's small and should take the appreciation of a 6 year old well. (shrug)

[ThrowingChicken]

There have been a few scaled pack builds. Try doing a search. Really it isn't that much different from building a full sized pack.

[3mil]

Thanks for the info guys.

MDF sounded like a good idea, but I think I'm going to avoid it - going to check out perspex (plexiglass) pricing today and see how thin / strong I can get it.