Svee
New Member
Hey all. Been ages since I was here and decided it was high time I put my model making hat back on and popped back on the RPF. I'm currently trying to convert the Eaglemess (now distributed by Fanhome) Ghostbusters Ecto 1 into Ecto 1A from Ghostbusters 2. I know very little about 3D modelling or electronics so this will be a steep learning curve lol. Nothing ventured, nothing gained though eh 
There are a lot of changes to the car from the original. A totally different rear bumper, different interior/equipment in the back, loads more decals on the bodywork and then of course, the roof rack. This is where ECTO 1A differs mostly from Ecto 1. The frame has been extended to reach over the front lightbar and higher at the back to house the rear lightbar much higher up. The contents of the roof box is different, there;s a huge storage tank on the back, the list goes on. Most notably the addition of 2 LED message boards and different light bars which are now multi-colour and not just blue.
I figured my first task would be to change the lightbars. Ecto 1 had 4 rotating blue lights and transparent blue tops, Ecto 1A has 6 rotating lights going (from passenger side to drivers) amber, red, green, red, green, amber on the front and amber, blue, green, blue, green, amber on the rear, and clear transparent tops. I didnt know if resin printed cogs would be any good strength-wise so I decided to use the cogs that came with the kit originally as they are injection molded plastic. After a crash course in tinkercad, a lot of swearing and a few prototypes, I ended up with a chassis that had the 2 extra lights in the middle, had room to house the original motors supplied with the kit and new, more accurate reflectors and still fit within the original footprint of the original lightbars.
Once I knew That was possible, I moved onto the clear tops for the lightbars. I have an FDM and SLA printer at home so wondered if I could get a really nice, clear finish from a resin print. I had seen others manage it so with a little research was able to get a decent result. I took the clear resin printed top and got busy with some 2000 wet and dry sandpaper to make the surface as smooth as possible. Then hit it with some clear coat and the results were much better than I expected. I also painted the section that sits ontop of the cogs and the reflectors in black, then chrome using a moloto chrome pen.
Whilst doing all that, I also worked on the roofrack frame. I did toy with the idea of just printing the extra bits and attaching them to the frame that comes with the kit, but that frame is a hollow "U" shape and I really wanted something solid. I decided to print a completely new frame in ABS.
I had an arduino mega 2560 laying around so I figured I'd use that and see just how much I could run off it. I designed a new roof box with mounting spots for 2 arduino's (just in case I needed another one) and printed it in white PETG. I also used the two yellow oxygen tanks that came with the kit originally as these didnt change in appearance or mounting place between the two cars.
Then it was time to mount the rear lightbar and wire it up to the arduino and make sure everything worked as it should. There were a couple of teething issues, mainly with the cogs in the lightbar seizing due to a bit of extra plastic on one of the cogs but a bit of sanding sorted that out.
And this is where I'm currently at. I've designed and printed the rear lid for the roof box which the arduino will hide beneath. This will be held in with magnets so I can get to the arduino easily if needed. I also painted the radome yellow with black stripes as on Ecto 1 it's white with red stripes. I also needed to paint the green storage tube red and mount it on the side. Oh, and I also drew up the new decals in photoshop using photos of the car from filming and behind the scenes shots as a reference. I'm still undecided how I will tackle these though. I'd really like to paint them on and use something like dry rub transfers for the logos but we will see. I think the secals will be the last thing I do so not to damage them whilst working on the rest of it.
If you're interested I have made a youtube vid on my progress so far. you can find it here...
Modding Ecto 1 Part 1
More soon
There are a lot of changes to the car from the original. A totally different rear bumper, different interior/equipment in the back, loads more decals on the bodywork and then of course, the roof rack. This is where ECTO 1A differs mostly from Ecto 1. The frame has been extended to reach over the front lightbar and higher at the back to house the rear lightbar much higher up. The contents of the roof box is different, there;s a huge storage tank on the back, the list goes on. Most notably the addition of 2 LED message boards and different light bars which are now multi-colour and not just blue.
I figured my first task would be to change the lightbars. Ecto 1 had 4 rotating blue lights and transparent blue tops, Ecto 1A has 6 rotating lights going (from passenger side to drivers) amber, red, green, red, green, amber on the front and amber, blue, green, blue, green, amber on the rear, and clear transparent tops. I didnt know if resin printed cogs would be any good strength-wise so I decided to use the cogs that came with the kit originally as they are injection molded plastic. After a crash course in tinkercad, a lot of swearing and a few prototypes, I ended up with a chassis that had the 2 extra lights in the middle, had room to house the original motors supplied with the kit and new, more accurate reflectors and still fit within the original footprint of the original lightbars.
Once I knew That was possible, I moved onto the clear tops for the lightbars. I have an FDM and SLA printer at home so wondered if I could get a really nice, clear finish from a resin print. I had seen others manage it so with a little research was able to get a decent result. I took the clear resin printed top and got busy with some 2000 wet and dry sandpaper to make the surface as smooth as possible. Then hit it with some clear coat and the results were much better than I expected. I also painted the section that sits ontop of the cogs and the reflectors in black, then chrome using a moloto chrome pen.
Whilst doing all that, I also worked on the roofrack frame. I did toy with the idea of just printing the extra bits and attaching them to the frame that comes with the kit, but that frame is a hollow "U" shape and I really wanted something solid. I decided to print a completely new frame in ABS.
I had an arduino mega 2560 laying around so I figured I'd use that and see just how much I could run off it. I designed a new roof box with mounting spots for 2 arduino's (just in case I needed another one) and printed it in white PETG. I also used the two yellow oxygen tanks that came with the kit originally as these didnt change in appearance or mounting place between the two cars.
Then it was time to mount the rear lightbar and wire it up to the arduino and make sure everything worked as it should. There were a couple of teething issues, mainly with the cogs in the lightbar seizing due to a bit of extra plastic on one of the cogs but a bit of sanding sorted that out.
And this is where I'm currently at. I've designed and printed the rear lid for the roof box which the arduino will hide beneath. This will be held in with magnets so I can get to the arduino easily if needed. I also painted the radome yellow with black stripes as on Ecto 1 it's white with red stripes. I also needed to paint the green storage tube red and mount it on the side. Oh, and I also drew up the new decals in photoshop using photos of the car from filming and behind the scenes shots as a reference. I'm still undecided how I will tackle these though. I'd really like to paint them on and use something like dry rub transfers for the logos but we will see. I think the secals will be the last thing I do so not to damage them whilst working on the rest of it.
If you're interested I have made a youtube vid on my progress so far. you can find it here...
Modding Ecto 1 Part 1
More soon
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