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Ghostbusters 1 Neutrona Wand Gun Ear Tape!

Posted: May 5th, 2020, 9:11 pm
by mburkit
I know DanAKA has been trying to drag you jerks down rabbit holes lately in regards to the Super Hero Pack, well do I have one for you today. It's specifically regarding the gun ears on the throwers in GB1 and how they changed during the production of GB1 and then into GB2.

The TL:DR of this post will be that I do not think they drilled a whole in the bottom of the triangle gun ear to fish wire through to the legris banjo in GB1. I believe that was done during refurbishing in pre-production for GB2. Same goes for the Heat Shrink Wrap on the rectangle gun ear with the hat light and push button. I believe that in GB1, they let the wire hang from the push button to the banjo and at times covered up those wires with a matte finished tape of some sort, similar to what is seen on the side of the powercell of the hero pack (such as black masking tape). Please read further and look at the photos if you want to discuss.

With that out of the way, lets look at some photos!

The first 4 photos are of the Stantz pack. 2 Are from during production of GB1 and 2 are how it sits now in the UK. In both screen caps you can clearly see that the wire that goes over the gun ear to the banjo is just hanging there.

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As it sits now, there was a hole drilled and the wire was fed through it. They also replaced the legris banjos with nycoil banjos and put heat shrink wrap around the hat light gun ear.

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The next 5 photos are photos are of the Spengler Pack. You can see that throughout production, the bottom of those gun ears looks different.

Definitely bare wire hanging to the banjo.
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You can also see that throughout production, sometimes the wires are covered and sometimes they are not.
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They appear to be covered on the pack once it was put on display after filming concluded.
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This makes me feel that, once again, they used black masking tape or some other matte black tape like gaffers to cover up the wires. As the pack looked during its time up for auction within PiH, the hat light gun ear also had heat shrink wrap on it.
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The last 3 screen caps that I have of Venkman firing on slimer and the team firing at Gozer for the first time shows more of a mix of bare wires and possible matte black tape covering stuff up. When Venkman fires on Slimer, it looks like the wire to the banjo is covered but the wires for the hat light and push button are bare.
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As they shoot at Gozer, you can see all the wands have the hat light/push button covered but you can also see some of the silver of the bottom of the electronics peeking through on the Stantz thrower, as I believe the tape is peeling off.

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One last example of a pack that we see this bare wire to the Legris banjo but tape over the rest of the wires is on the OMNI cover photo.
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After realizing all of this, I decided to cut off the heat shrink wrap off my thrower and replaced it with gaffers tape. This is what I feel they had done to the packs at least when they first fire at Gozer with all the wiring covered in tape.
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Thanks for reading!

Re: Ghostbusters 1 Neutrona Wand Gun Ear Tape!

Posted: May 6th, 2020, 3:47 am
by starburst
Z

Re: Ghostbusters 1 Neutrona Wand Gun Ear Tape!

Posted: May 6th, 2020, 11:21 pm
by NotSabbat
pretty sure thats heat shrink tubing over that wing. Cant say that gaffers wasnt ever used, but from the pictures Ive studied it looks like heatshrink over a hollow box.

Re: Ghostbusters 1 Neutrona Wand Gun Ear Tape!

Posted: May 7th, 2020, 11:41 am
by mburkit
NotSabbat wrote: May 6th, 2020, 11:21 pm pretty sure thats heat shrink tubing over that wing. Cant say that gaffers wasnt ever used, but from the pictures Ive studied it looks like heatshrink over a hollow box.
The issue with that is, why would they be removing and and adding it back throughout filming? The order of filming in GB1 was roughly: NYC outside shots > Roof Top sequence at the Warner Bros lot > Sedgwick scenes.

So if you look at the images I shared, you can see on the roof top scenes, it goes back and forth between having both gun ears covered to one gun ear covered. Then parts of the gun ears are covered in some shots on the Sedgwick sets on WB and differently at the Biltmore shoots.

Another reason I don't think it was heat shrink wrap is because in most shots in GB1, you can the silver of the nut on the push button. If you look at the packs after GB2 with heat shrink wrap, they just cut a whole big enough for the push button itself to poke through with the nut most likely under the heatshrink wrap.

Could it have been heat shrink wrap? Maybe. But I don't see they cutting it off unless they were constantly rewiring those components. Or it could have been gaffers tape that kept having to be replaced as it fell off throughout production. I subscribe to the theory that it was tape needing to be replaced as it kept coming off.

Re: Ghostbusters 1 Neutrona Wand Gun Ear Tape!

Posted: May 7th, 2020, 12:50 pm
by Glenn Frederick
Looking at the image used for the poster it looks to me like there isn't anything covering the wires or the bottom hat light bases, could it be glare off the tape/heat-shrink?
Please correct me if i'm wrong but didn't someone in production once say that the actors would sometimes get shocked by handling the props? They're not wearing gloves in that picture and they do have the Sanyo boards so that photo had to be taken before the LA filming.

I have a theory that maybe the wires wasn't meant to be covered up but after someone got shocked by putting their hand so close to wire that the crew added tape to the gun ear for safety like when they also added the Motherboard foam?
They could have went that extra step for safety while getting ready for GB2 by running the wire though the Gun Ear and adding the Heat Shrink since there was more scenes with actors using the Proton Packs while not wearing Gloves like the Court room scene and Louis trying to catch Slimer?

Re: Ghostbusters 1 Neutrona Wand Gun Ear Tape!

Posted: May 7th, 2020, 1:05 pm
by starburst
starburst wrote:Z
When the hell did I post that [emoji2957]

Great spot on that, tiny little detail of film making history!

It would be interesting if it was that the tape kept coming off so they replaced it with the shrink wrap.... I’d assume likewise for anyone running Packs at conventions shrink wrap might still be the better option unless your going for the movie accurate experience?

Re: Ghostbusters 1 Neutrona Wand Gun Ear Tape!

Posted: May 7th, 2020, 1:40 pm
by ccv66
Could you imagine doing something on a tight deadline, then people spend the next 40 years scrutinizing it.

Re: Ghostbusters 1 Neutrona Wand Gun Ear Tape!

Posted: May 7th, 2020, 8:16 pm
by NotSabbat
ccv66 wrote: May 7th, 2020, 1:40 pm Could you imagine doing something on a tight deadline, then people spend the next 40 years scrutinizing it.
Thats the dream, isnt it? Do one thing awesome enough that people spend 40 years trying to figure out WTF you did :D

Re: Ghostbusters 1 Neutrona Wand Gun Ear Tape!

Posted: May 8th, 2020, 2:17 am
by signeddiamond
Or maybe a quickly assembled prop made out of rummaged aircraft parts and handled by actors all day might have issues with wiring and the removal of the tape was just to get at the wires to make little fixes.

Re: Ghostbusters 1 Neutrona Wand Gun Ear Tape!

Posted: June 7th, 2020, 2:37 pm
by abritinthebay
It doesn’t look like gaffer tape at all to me, but I could believe it was vinyl electrical tape. Would also make sense from a safety point of view.

That would also explain why it could be removed (or replaced), but that could also be shot order: the scenes without the tape might have been filmed around the same time, before tape was added.

Re: Ghostbusters 1 Neutrona Wand Gun Ear Tape!

Posted: September 26th, 2020, 1:47 pm
by c.fago
Thanks to mburkit, I'm absolutely convinced he's right, regardless of whether it's gaffer tape or vinyl. I believe this solution was adopted during filming, while in pre-production the electrical wirings were exposed. In addition of course to the rounded edges of the heatsink, the lack of the heat shrink tubing together with the lack of the rear toolbar cover (again thanks to mburkit research) are the two biggest difference compared to the hero GB2 version, yet ignored by even the most discerning pack builders. Perhaps this is due to a mere aesthetic preference, since undoubtedly the solutions adopted in GB2 are more valid from a strictly design point of view.

Re: Ghostbusters 1 Neutrona Wand Gun Ear Tape!

Posted: September 26th, 2020, 6:16 pm
by c.fago
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Just found this pic I never seen before. It's obviously from GB1 pre-production given the immaculate conditions of the throwers (with black paint on both the barrel collar and the small side knob). You can clearly see there's no cover on the back of the ears but just bare electrical parts.

Re: Ghostbusters 1 Neutrona Wand Gun Ear Tape!

Posted: September 26th, 2020, 6:21 pm
by RedSpecial
Edit: ha looks like we posted that at the same time :P

Thanks for reminding me about this.
Someone ( Sorry I've forgotten your name) has recently used AI to enhance a number of images including some early promo shots

Check out that particular area on these enhanced shots:

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Re: Ghostbusters 1 Neutrona Wand Gun Ear Tape!

Posted: September 26th, 2020, 6:37 pm
by c.fago
Yeah, great enhancing job, now the wirings/tape are very visible!

Re: Ghostbusters 1 Neutrona Wand Gun Ear Tape!

Posted: September 26th, 2020, 6:48 pm
by RedSpecial
There wasnt any doubt in my mind that Matt was correct but this makes it undeniable.
The potential AI enhancement could have for improving reference material is quite exiting.

Re: Ghostbusters 1 Neutrona Wand Gun Ear Tape!

Posted: September 26th, 2020, 8:11 pm
by Lowberg
You guys are awesome.

Re: Ghostbusters 1 Neutrona Wand Gun Ear Tape!

Posted: September 29th, 2020, 11:17 am
by mburkit
Thanks for adding some more photos to this post. They definitely highlight what I was pointing out.

Re: Ghostbusters 1 Neutrona Wand Gun Ear Tape!

Posted: October 8th, 2020, 8:57 am
by c.fago
Still about the differences between GB1/GB2 hero throwers, I've read somewhere the statement that the Legris banjos in the first movie had the old model brass screws instead of the steel ones, but I never found any convincing pics of this detail.

Maybe it is an off topic question, but please let me know if there is any picture I missed again, as well as about the lack of the instrument bar cover I totally missed the Peter's rooftop pic where the screw hole are stll visible.

Re: Ghostbusters 1 Neutrona Wand Gun Ear Tape!

Posted: October 8th, 2020, 5:33 pm
by One time
It looks like semi gloss black electrical tape, not matte.

Frequent application of this tape could be explained by the fact that it tends to lift and peel off with time when pushed into and around small spaces and folds. So maybe they had to keep applying it?

Re: Ghostbusters 1 Neutrona Wand Gun Ear Tape!

Posted: October 9th, 2020, 2:28 am
by c.fago
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At least this looks very dull, especially by comparing it to the reflections of the gloves or the black cable on the other ear entering the banjo. But it is true that electrical tape usually tends to peel off if applied on flat surfaces without stretching and wrapping, while gaffers tape is far more tenacious.

Re: Ghostbusters 1 Neutrona Wand Gun Ear Tape!

Posted: October 9th, 2020, 10:24 am
by gerard55
Is the wand in the omni poster using a different barrel tip? To me it looks more pointed and not just a circular end piece, could just be a glitch because a flash was presumably used or lighting from the picture made it look different.

Re: Ghostbusters 1 Neutrona Wand Gun Ear Tape!

Posted: October 9th, 2020, 12:48 pm
by Kingpin
gerard55 wrote: October 9th, 2020, 10:24 am Is the wand in the omni poster using a different barrel tip? To me it looks more pointed and not just a circular end piece, could just be a glitch because a flash was presumably used or lighting from the picture made it look different.
It's the standard tip, the details of the true edge have just been lost against the brightness of the background (like the red cable from Power Cell Injector on the left side of the Pack).

Re: Ghostbusters 1 Neutrona Wand Gun Ear Tape!

Posted: October 9th, 2020, 2:14 pm
by gerard55
Kingpin wrote: October 9th, 2020, 12:48 pm
gerard55 wrote: October 9th, 2020, 10:24 am Is the wand in the omni poster using a different barrel tip? To me it looks more pointed and not just a circular end piece, could just be a glitch because a flash was presumably used or lighting from the picture made it look different.
It's the standard tip, the details of the true edge have just been lost against the brightness of the background (like the red cable from Power Cell Injector on the left side of the Pack).
Thought it might have been that, just a visual artifact from the pic.

Re: Ghostbusters 1 Neutrona Wand Gun Ear Tape!

Posted: October 11th, 2020, 8:55 pm
by c.fago
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Just found this other one.

Re: Ghostbusters 1 Neutrona Wand Gun Ear Tape!

Posted: October 16th, 2020, 4:33 pm
by RedSpecial
Its odd how pristine the packs look here, especially the throwers yet the uniforms look fairly worn with Dan's showing what looks like shaving foam residue above the right breast pocket and sleeve.

Re: Ghostbusters 1 Neutrona Wand Gun Ear Tape!

Posted: October 16th, 2020, 7:30 pm
by Nuclearjungle
That's an interesting look at the packs in the early stages; there's no neck foam on the ALICE frame, and Egon's leg hose appears to actually be connected to the pack.

Re: Ghostbusters 1 Neutrona Wand Gun Ear Tape!

Posted: October 17th, 2020, 3:09 am
by c.fago
The throwers also lack the s-hook.

Re: Ghostbusters 1 Neutrona Wand Gun Ear Tape!

Posted: October 17th, 2020, 6:40 am
by Prologic9
The S-hooks and Neck foam weren't added until they completed location shooting and went back to CA. They're missing in all of the New York exteriors.

Re: Ghostbusters 1 Neutrona Wand Gun Ear Tape!

Posted: October 17th, 2020, 11:03 am
by SeaSnoops
Prologic9 wrote: October 17th, 2020, 6:40 am The S-hooks and Neck foam weren't added until they completed location shooting and went back to CA. They're missing in all of the New York exteriors.
We know that this was the first shot filmed for the movie, and it looks to me like the neck foam is there (but not the s-hooks, which is something I never noticed).
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Additionally, I think there's neck foam here too:
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Re: Ghostbusters 1 Neutrona Wand Gun Ear Tape!

Posted: October 17th, 2020, 10:16 pm
by Prologic9
My bad I wasn't clear, I was talking about the protective foam they put at the top edge to protect their head/neck when leaning back. I'm not sure what to call it, Motherboard Foam?