I'm back with an update to my GB2 Proton Pack, almost a year later. You know what they say, "a pack is never done, only abandoned" and that's pretty much true. I worked a lot since last time to make it as accurate as possible. Well now I truly consider it done (yeah I know :rolleyes) Here's a few things I did on it since last year:
I replaced the battery setup from a bunch of D-cells to a removable, rechargeable battery pack. I only have to plug it in with a small adapter, instead of having to remove the shell from the motherboard to replace the batteries. :eek
I completely repainted the machined aluminum "shock mount" on the bumper. I painted the ribs (in and out) with a gold pen, then I hit the whole thing with a matte clear coat. Now it really looks like the screen-used bellows.
I replaced the R-331 Clippard valve on the pack with a R-701. The particular pack that I replicated (Ray's) has 2 R-701s instead of the "standard" R-331 on the pack (which was used only on Venkman's pack, pretty much)
I replaced the incorrect "fuse" label on top, and the label on the bumper. For both I used Joe Luna's great metallic labels, which are spot-on. I cleared coated them in matte too because they were too shiny (for my pack :lol)
Speaking of the bumper, I replaced my old one with a cast of a screen-used bumper. It's a lot less clean, but the messier the better. I also managed to match the paint job with the one on the pack (which was 2+ years old)
Last but not least, I replaced my 4mm Legris elbows replicas with real vintage ones.
So that's pretty much it! I know the pack is not 100% accurate to the screen-used one, but 100% accuracy is pretty much impossible with these things. Too many variables, and not enough reference! Plus I'd have to replace the shell itself, and that's a big no-no. I'd rather build a new pack!