Ghostbusters Proton Pack Build/Community Help

lilykill

Active Member
Morning All,
Im looking at building a Proton Pack and Thrower but I'm having problems from the off. I'm a designer for a steel company and I'm used to using detail and assembly drawings to create any of the models I need to design anything needed, But for a prop so adored I'm very surprised most people just have to go through the same monotonous process of printing a picture they found out to roughly the right size and just going from there.

My aim is to call upon some of the community who have proton packs to give me a handful of dimension of the pack/thrower so I can build a full size model and make detail drawings to aid in myself and other enthusiasts future builds.

I did see on the GBfans website there were some drawing created by somebody but I haven't been able to find a copy of them. Ive got some dimensions from pictures of peoples builds when I was trying to find reference images but thats it. Also, any other 3D models I've tried to find are amateur if that and are done on software like SketchUp which never exports when and is never fully manifold.
I have already stated creating the model by sketching over a superimposed image but I need these extra dimensions for verification.I would need overall heights and widths of the back board along with diameter of the cyclotron, and depths of most of the items,

My goal from this would to obviously aid myself in the build but also aid others. I just do not get the rationale of somebody who creates a great prop and keeps the information or 3D model if there is one, to themselves... but I digress.

So can anyone help a fellow enthusiast??

Cheers
 
If you google "Ultimate Thrower Plans" you'll find the 4-view thrower plans on GBfans I made a few months back. They're the most accurate to date. If you can print them out, they're 1:1. Stefan's plans are the most detailed for the "pack" portion, but they're quite outdated.
 
I was the one that created the Elite plans a few years back, based on seeing the hero thrower in person 2 years ago (to correct issues with the initial batch of measurements such as poor measuring technique, parallax, etc.) If you have a specific few dimensions you need assistance with, I'd be happy to help you out.
 
After looking at all the plans Ive started to create the 3D model I will use to aid the build. I found the Stephen Otto plans were good but a little bit to exact. If anybody can accuratly measure to the nearest 0.1 of a mm then your more skilled than I. So Ive just simplified the model to sense-able dimensions that I know are accurately achievable.
build.jpg.
The picture above is of the model so far, on the left is the solid body model and on the right is the model built and sized to building supplies I have so I can just make a cutting list for the sheeting when I'm ready.

Hoping some of you can answer some of my questions that I'm having difficultly finding the answers to.
What is the paint finish on the pack? is it matte black or just standard gloss black that is worn to lose its sheen.
The 4 lights on the cyclotron, are the red plastic lenses supposed to be transparent or opaque?.
Is the wiring for the ribbon cable just a collection of twisted pair cables or a specific ribbon colour make-up?
Additional question for people with packs with LED lights. What do you use to control the Pulsing strip of LED's on the Power Cell?
 
The paint finish is a mix of textured and smooth and most use a semi-gloss or flat.

The 4 lights on the cyclotron are originally transparent but some people will sand the inside to diffuse the light a bit better to make it look better.

The ribbon cable is different for both movies and there is a specific color make up. The GB-1 is a series of cables with some gaps in-between them sealed in a clear protector and the GB-2 version is much more colorful with no gaps. I know there is a more specific answer to this question I just don't know it.

GBfans.com makes a light board that controls both the cyclotron and the power cell lights. They also make a sound board that connects to it that makes all the movie sounds and links to the light board to make it cycle with the sounds, also a board to the thrower that has lights and switches to control all 3 boards. Mostly plug and play. There are other choices as well that are more simple if you don't want all that. I just picked up a board from Jack Doud that just does the lights for the pack that just makes them cycle in what ever speed you want with no control after you set it. But the price was right for my wife's budget pack.
 
The finish is more of a satin than anything, and it seems to be what most people use. There's a texture in certain areas too.

The cyclo lenses are meant to be clear, without reflectors behind them, just the lamp (or LED). It's supposed to be a point light, not diffused.

The wiring on the GB1 cable is an unknown, as no one has yet actually ID'd the real part, if indeed there is one. The cable from GB2 is commonly known as Spectra Cable and can be found pretty readily,

The powercell lights are 15 lamps (or LEDs) driven through a pair of decade counters (4015s). It's actually a pretty simple circuit to make yourself, though there are other options, depending on how reliable and accurate you want to be.
 
Best of luck with your build. If I can build one, you can build one no problem!

http://www.therpf.com/f9/proton-pack-just-time-halloween-227097/

Thanks. If I can get mine looking as good as that I'll be happy.

The paint finish is a mix of textured and smooth and most use a semi-gloss or flat.

The 4 lights on the cyclotron are originally transparent but some people will sand the inside to diffuse the light a bit better to make it look better.

The ribbon cable is different for both movies and there is a specific color make up. The GB-1 is a series of cables with some gaps in-between them sealed in a clear protector and the GB-2 version is much more colorful with no gaps. I know there is a more specific answer to this question I just don't know it.

GBfans.com makes a light board that controls both the cyclotron and the power cell lights. They also make a sound board that connects to it that makes all the movie sounds and links to the light board to make it cycle with the sounds, also a board to the thrower that has lights and switches to control all 3 boards. Mostly plug and play. There are other choices as well that are more simple if you don't want all that. I just picked up a board from Jack Doud that just does the lights for the pack that just makes them cycle in what ever speed you want with no control after you set it. But the price was right for my wife's budget pack.

The finish is more of a satin than anything, and it seems to be what most people use. There's a texture in certain areas too.

The cyclo lenses are meant to be clear, without reflectors behind them, just the lamp (or LED). It's supposed to be a point light, not diffused.

The wiring on the GB1 cable is an unknown, as no one has yet actually ID'd the real part, if indeed there is one. The cable from GB2 is commonly known as Spectra Cable and can be found pretty readily,

The powercell lights are 15 lamps (or LEDs) driven through a pair of decade counters (4015s). It's actually a pretty simple circuit to make yourself, though there are other options, depending on how reliable and accurate you want to be.

Ok great, atleast I have a better idea of what I need now. Would you know a source in the UK to get the Spectra cable?
I was hoping to do the lights and sounds on a raspberry Pi but i dont think there is enough I/O's on the board to control everything. Would anyone know the price of the sound board and LED board off the GBfans website? I tried to check myself but the site seems to be down.
Predatormv, How much was the board to control the lights?.
 
I don't remember the price of the GBfans boards as I didn't buy them ( I will be for my 2nd pack build), their store is down for the month of Nov for a revamp after the big Halloween rush.

The board I bought was $45 as he was doing a sale. It's normally $50.
 
You can use a Raspberry, but it's a bit overkill. For an accurate hero setup, you only need to be able to input 4 switches (1 pushbutton and 3 toggles). I know the Prop Forge kits cover the pack and the wand, and easily integrate together and have a movie accurate light scheme.

You should be able to find Spectra on eBay fairly easily. For as much as people like to make out that it's uber rare, it's not.
 
You can use a Raspberry, but it's a bit overkill. For an accurate hero setup, you only need to be able to input 4 switches (1 pushbutton and 3 toggles). I know the Prop Forge kits cover the pack and the wand, and easily integrate together and have a movie accurate light scheme.

You should be able to find Spectra on eBay fairly easily. For as much as people like to make out that it's uber rare, it's not.

The only reason I was thinking of using the raspberry Pi is because it would be the easiest way for me to program all the LED's and play sound and stuff. But I would prefer to buy just plug-n-play purpose built card but I dont want to fork out like £80-£100 for about £10 worth of electronics. I'd be happy just to have a good looking prop, but its just a case of if its a affordable price then I'll do it. But otherwise it'll just be on show on the wall.
 
What sort of speakers are used for these kind of things? I can imagine the sound getting kinda lost at conventions/parties. I have a little cube that plugs into my phone and is rather loud (and USB rechargeable). I bet a couple of those would work well.
 
I know a lot of guys use 2, 4" speakers mounted to the motherboard with speaker holes drilled into it for the sound. They get plenty lound
 
I have 1 4" speaker in my pack and with the GBFans soundcard that has an onboard amplifier it is more than PLENTY loud!
 
What sort of speakers are used for these kind of things? I can imagine the sound getting kinda lost at conventions/parties. I have a little cube that plugs into my phone and is rather loud (and USB rechargeable). I bet a couple of those would work well.

I have 1 4" speaker in my pack and with the GBFans soundcard that has an onboard amplifier it is more than PLENTY loud!

Like Ive said before, It depends on cost. If its affordable Ill add sound and lights, if not, ill just make the prop but leave the internals with tubing to run cables later on when I want to add the extras.

And Im just looking to enjoy the build rather than show it off. I'd be to scared to take it to parties just incase it gets damaged.

Here's where I've got to with the model so farModel.jpg

I'm debating whether to build the movie prop or the game prop. Ive made configurations of each setup in the model and since my mate also want one now I'm trying to make the decision for both of us.
 
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