User avatar
By JWils23
#4949792
Yea I know it can be tough waiting but it will be worth it. I can’t say enough about how good his parts are. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed in any way, shape or form. The few people that have seen my pack build in person are more interested in the thrower over the pack :lol:
User avatar
By JWils23
#4949961
Had a chance to get some of the other photos off my phone and onto my computer so I'll pick up where I left off with wiring the internals of the gun. This will be a little bit of a bigger update, didn't realize how many pictures I took :lol:

I wanted my pop mech lever to have a little snap so I ran some of the rubber bands RJ sends with it over the catch and screwed in where the rear cyclinder goes (temporary for now until I get my rear cylinder).
Image

Then it was continuing with cable management and trying to get things as tidy as possible. In the previous picture you can see I'd already run the wiring coming from front handle through a clip to keep it in place. I did the same for the switches coming from the trigger box and the gun body along woth the assorted LED's for the gun body.
Image
Image
Image

Here you can see the back of the instrument bar with the wiring in there, still debating if I want to leave the rear cover off like we've seen in production shots and the movies.
Image

Next was securing the main vent light, once again some craft foam comes to the rescue to hold the LED in tightly and centered.
Image
Image

You can see I've installed my vintage Clippard 701 here, I did have to do a lot of filing on the nub to get it to fit with the vent light reflector but it was worth it for that perfect fit.
Image
Image

You may have noticed the little rumble motor in there. I had bought this originally before I decided to add the flashbulb as a fun little feature for when people would inevitably ask to fire the gun. I decided to get it setup by soldering some leads on and then placing it right at the opening for the barrel with the idea being the max vibration should come from right around that area. I currently have it wired up while I wait for my replacement flashbulb from CS Props but this will be something that I can switch between as it's very simple to unhook one and plug in the other. In that spot it clears the pop mech perfectly and doesn't interfere in with anything even when running.
Image
Image
Image

Here is everything plugged into the board (minus the cable running back to the pack) with the pop mech compressed and released.
Image
Image

Now to put the gun track back on and take some more detail pictures of the outside of the gun!
l3w1sb159, tobycj, RedSpecial and 2 others liked this
User avatar
By Michael Scott
#4949966
Impressive job cramming that thing full and keeping it tidy. I’ve wanted to do a pop mech on mine but was afraid I’d end up catching wires in the mechanism. And just my 2 cents, I’d put the plate over the instrument bar.
JWils23 liked this
By tobycj
#4949971
Beautiful work as ever. Makes me hanker after an aluminium wand even more now!

Does Cory's flashbulb use the aux port on the GBFans board, or plug in elsewhere? I was wondering how you were having the rumble motor AND flashbulb set up.
JWils23 liked this
User avatar
By JWils23
#4949979
Thank you guys for the kind words! I’m definitely leaning towards putting the cover on, but I’ll wait until I put on all the labels and dry rubs.

As far as the strobe goes, one part plugs into the GBFans Wand board in the wand tip expansion slot and the other wire goes to the V+ terminal. So while the rumble motor runs off the aux terminals and the flash bulb runs off the V+ side I don’t think they’ll run concurrently. From reading the documentation on the wand board it seems like you can only run on or the other. But since they’re using different terminals I wonder if that changes things. My plan was to just run one or the other and switch out the connections as I wanted but if I could find a way to run both that would be perfection!
tobycj liked this
By samwalton189
#4950346
I’ve just read through your thread. This is the most amazing pack I’ve ever seen! The level of research and dedication you’ve put in is beyond admirable. I think the thread also shows just how awesome this community is, nothing but support from everyone. I can only dream of one day building a pack like this:)
Can’t wait to see the finished article.
I take my hat off to you my good man👍🏻
JWils23, RedSpecial liked this
User avatar
By JWils23
#4950524
Thank you very much for the kind words! I’ve just tried to do justice to the movie that I love so much. It wouldn’t have been possible without this site and all the amazing build threads on here that I scoured for days, weeks, months and years! When you’re ready to build yours there is a wealth of knowledge here and plenty of people (myself included) who would love to help you. Stay tuned, I should have another update this weekend!
User avatar
By JWils23
#4951124
Geez time flies, I thought I'd have an update weeks ago but just haven't had a chance to get around to it. I've been tinkering more with the pop mech, trying to get a solid pop but not one that is too violent because it can certainly pop. I've been adjusting the size of the padding to try and help catch it so the aluminum isn't constantly getting banged on, and I've combined the spring and rubberbands that RJ supplies so that I can have a little less tension on the spring but the rubber band has enough pull to bring it to the fully locked and upright position at the very end of the stroke. Once I get that perfected I'll post some pictures of it.

Here are some more shots of the thrower in its almost completed state. You can see how I ran the wiring under the handle, it's just barely visible when flipped over. I forgot to mention in one of my previous posts how this front handle became the bane of my existence when installing. When I ran all of the wiring I could not get it to sit correctly even with the channel I had dremeled in for the wiring to run through. It took a lot of sanding the ends to get it to finally sit correctly while allowing the wires to pass the way I wanted them to. However once I sanded it I needed to repaint and it took 3 tries to get the paint to take. I don't know what the deal was because the first coat came out great, but then trying to repaint after sanding the paint kept coming out tacky even though I was using the same can of paint and painting it the same way I'd painted every other component. So 3 complete strip downs and repaints later it finally was accepatable and progress could continue!
Image
Image

Here is the front handle held in place by the socket cap threaded through the ear.
Image
Image

Here is the gun track, just missing the discs but I'll touch on those later.
Image

Barrel end with the acrylic tube extended. Good shot of the flashbulb and welded trigger tip.
Image
Image

So with all of that I was just waiting on my rear cyclinder and gun track discs from RJ. But as some of you may have seen on his FB recently he's been dealing with some external issues that have been causing delays. We had talked a little bit about this back in March when he was sending me the bulk of my thrower parts. I decided to pick up a rear cylinder from the shop since they were in stock so that my rear cylinder could go towards someone else on the wait list with RJ and take the smallest amount of stress/worry off his plate. The gun track discs will get here when they get here but they aren't anything that holds up the completion of the gun so I'm not going to stress over those. The rear cylinder from the shop is a beautiful piece and fit perfectly with RJ's thrower. Here you can see it installed with the two socket caps, and then on the outside with the hose barbs attached.
Image
Image

Next I need to install the split loom from the thrower to the pack and then add the green tubing and decals to finish it off!
Nighty80, kahuna900 liked this
User avatar
By l3w1sb159
#4951138
Getting closer!
It always seems to be the speedbumps come when you're so close to finishing, I'd have to say when I come to make another pack I'm going to gather all the parts first before I even start... having to wait mid build for parts is excruciating!
JWils23 liked this
User avatar
By JWils23
#4951213
l3w1sb159 wrote: June 28th, 2021, 10:41 pm Getting closer!
It always seems to be the speedbumps come when you're so close to finishing, I'd have to say when I come to make another pack I'm going to gather all the parts first before I even start... having to wait mid build for parts is excruciating!
You’re definitely right, it’s the little unforeseen issues that pop up at the very end that make it tough. The finish line is in sight and it’s so close but you can’t quite get there.

Absolutely, definitely do your best to get everything in hand before you start building. It’s tough because the wait can be long for certain parts to be found or made and of course you’re excited to build a pack. But it makes a world of difference when you can progress at your own pace and not have to stop for unknown amounts of time while you wait. I started collecting parts for this pack 2.5 years ago and ordered my thrower in Sept of 2019, but unforeseen events like the pandemic really threw a wrench in it. And in context 2.5 years isn’t that long as I know people who have been sourcing and holding parts for builds for 6, 7 even 10 years.
User avatar
By JWils23
#4952107
Yes! I’ll get an update posted this weekend, I just haven’t had much time to work on the thrower and get pictures onto my laptop for a proper update.
tobycj, nevenkman liked this
User avatar
By JWils23
#4952207
As promised I've got a little update on the thrower progress! First was getting the split loom set from the pack to the thrower, took several tries to get to a length that was both close to screen accurate but also comfortable to draw since I have long arms. If I made it too short it was awkward and I was a little nervous I might actually yank something loose when extending my arm, but if it was to long it didn't look quite right. I then attached it with the correct zip ties thanks to RedSpecial, did my electrical tape wraps and attached it to the loom clamp inside the shell. I opted to mount the loom clamp inside the shell as shown in prior build photos, trying to go screen accurate with the loom running through the mouse hole by itself.
Image
Image
Image

Next up it was time for Macks dry rubs, I picked these up 2 years ago and have been waiting to finally get them on and they did not disappoint. It definitely slowed me down though because as with most things on this build I agonized over positioning and go back and forth before I'm happy. I started with the Intensify and Activate rubs and of course this is where I had my only hiccup. When rubbing on the activate transfer somehow the C got slightly tweaked, but I've decided to leave it as it's so minor I'm not sure people would actually notice if I didn't tell them.
Image
Next were the fill circles next to the bargraph and I'm happy with how these came out.
Image
Then it was onto the top of the thrower, red arrow and numerical indicators on the stream adjuster knob.
Image
Image
Here is one that I went back on forth on, the inidcators below the toggle switches on the body. These do vary between some of the pack but I opted to mimic the Venkman thrower with my indicators.
Image
Image
And then finally was the last transfer next to the side discs, I tried matching the placement (height/distance from edge) to that on the spengler thrower.
Image
Image

This wraps up all the dry rubs for the thrower, now I just need to do the two danger decals and gun track decals to wrap it up. I clipped my vintage green tubing to the length I wanted but ran out of time on getting it installed so that will get wrapped into my final update. So here she is, so close to being complete and I couldn't be happier with how it has turned out!
Image
Last edited by JWils23 on July 28th, 2021, 12:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
nevenkman, TooCoolForZuul, RedSpecial and 3 others liked this
User avatar
By JWils23
#4952287
Thank you! Getting those dry rubs on really make the thrower pop, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get giddy as they were going on.

I’m keeping it first call at the Sedgwick fresh to start and letting it weather as time goes on and it’s handled more. Both the pack and thrower have started to collect little scratches and scuffs along with a little coating of dust. I think this will look better versus me trying to do it artificially.
User avatar
By JWils23
#4952755
I was tinkering around on Instagram today and saw that Mack’s factory had released their legacy booster frame. So I clicked on it and started checking out some of the other offerings and I notice their rear cylinder comes with a long hose barb and a short hose barb. Seeing that I’m at the point where I’m going to install my green tubing can anyone confirm two different sized barbs being correct? It’s hard to tell a size variation from any reference shots but seeing that they’ve had access to the originals I have little reason to doubt them.
User avatar
By JWils23
#4953931
Been a bit since I last had some time to work on the thrower, but I got a nice little package in the mail from RJ that had my gun track discs and S hook last week so I figured that was the kick in the butt I needed. I started by painting the discs, and leaving the bottoms unpainted like the originals so when you flip the top disc for the S hook you see the unpainted aluminum. I didn't take any pictures of the painting, I assumed no one would be terrible interested in some little discs being sprayed :lol:

I attached the discs and also added the gun track labels from Mack's factory for good measure. You'll notice the S hook is missing, I have to do a little tweaking on it because right now the tolerance is so tight between the gun track and the HGA that the hook just barely rubs on the plate label and if left uncorrectd will leave an ugly streak on it. I just need to bend the hook less than a 1/16" flatter and it will clear.
Image
Image

I next added the SLO-BLO decal, which is driving me nuts because it looks like its crooked (or maybe it just does to me) but I've measured it and it is perfectly even end to end.
Image

With the danger label I tried to match the Venkman thrower and I almost nailed it. Just slighty off if you look at the how the words were cut off by the cover. Last but not least was the final danger label on side of the body.
Image
Image
Image
Image

The last task was to add the green Clippard tubing to the rear cylinder and TBIB. I was lucky enough to snag some vintage tubing a while back for this. A mistake I made when I built my TC thrower was having to big of a loop, so I made sure to really tighten it up on this one. I tried to match the size/curve and logo placement to the super hero thrower. And then added the little green cover to the pop mech lever.
Image
Image
Image

Then just for sh*ts and giggle, since I had all my labels out and I know I'll likely never find any of the blue 3814 Clippard tubing I added some of my Macks Factory dry rubs to the tubing running from the PPD to the resistor on the ion arm. Trying to match the super hero placement.
Image
Image

And with that this project is virtually done! I'm going to take some "glamour shots" this week to add to this thread to finish it up so this won't be the final post but I'm so happy with the final product!
Image
tobycj, Nighty80, kahuna900 and 4 others liked this
User avatar
By RedSpecial
#4953951
Absolutely amazing and full of the details that our obsessive asses love to drool over.
I've thoroughly enjoyed following this thread from start to finish.

Looking forward to seeing those glamour shots!
JWils23 liked this
User avatar
By JWils23
#4953966
Thanks to all of you, I’m glad you all enjoyed the ride as much as I have! I certainly couldn’t have done it without all of you helping me along the way! It’s definitely bittersweet for me and I think that plays into why the finishing the finals details have come so slowly, I didn’t want it to end. But with Halloween approaching I have plenty of ideas for projects to build for the house so that will keep my hands and creative itch busy.

Stay tuned for some cover shoot material :lol:
tobycj, RedSpecial, Nighty80 and 1 others liked this
User avatar
By JWils23
#4954660
So here we go, took a little longer than expected because I took so many pictures I had to wade through them and delete things that were duplicates or seemed redundant. I have a lot of pictures so this will be a long post but I hope you all enjoy. I want to say thank you again to everyone on this forum who has contributed to this thread, let me pick their brains in PM's and made build threads in the past that I could pour over looking for details, tips and tricks. To Chris for making such an awesome shell and genuinely being such an awesome guy who I've had the pleasure of getting to know over the past year and a half. RJ over at Freeky Geeky who made several of the aluminum parts including the entire thrower. Eric G for also providing a number of beautiful aluminum parts on this pack. Ron and Arron for some phenomenal lineage parts and the great dry rubs and labels. Doug for the great electronics kits, especially the incandescant LED kit which just looks amazing. The Finchers for the beautiful ribbon cable which makes the GB1 pack. Tommy Medford for the red and yellow Nycoil tubing. And last but not least, a big thank you to AJ for running this site and allowing someone like myself to document this project. Not to mention doing such a great job of stocking the store with great parts and lately the awesome replica parts he's been able to get produced. If I forgot to list anyone I'm very sorry, I tried to keep detailed notes of who and where I got things but please know I'm very grateful!

With that said, lets get after it! I was going for a "Spenglers workbench" kind of a vibe, I grabbed some extra parts I have and scattered them around. Also got some of my uniform stuff out to litter the workbench, I figure these guys would probably have stuff scattered about at all times. I'm by no means a photographer and I took all these on my iphone but I did play with the aperture a bit and adjusted to a warmer setting to try and mimic what we saw in the film. Enjoy!
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

Let me know if there is anything else anyone would like picutres of, inside the shell, mobo etc and I'll gladly take more. Once again thank all of you for being along for the ride on this one with me. It's been a life long dream to build my own full size proton pack. To anyone who browses this thread or this forum who thinks they can't build their own, I felt the same way but trust me you certainly can and I'm proof of that!
Last edited by JWils23 on August 30th, 2021, 10:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
obiwanjabroni, tobycj, twmedford23 and 7 others liked this
User avatar
By JWils23
#4954768
tobycj wrote: August 28th, 2021, 4:50 pm:crunch:

Bravo! Such an awesome build, love it! So when do you start your GB2 pack?! :lol:
Thank you so much!

It’s going to be a little bit before the GB2 pack starts, I need a little break from packs to do something different. Thankfully I’m building some props for Halloween right now, we won scariest house last year so I feel like I need to step up the game to protect the title :lol:

I have my lineage shell/mobo which will be the base for that. I’ll have to start hunting for all the GB2 goodies, so let the next hunt begin!
By oidoglr
#4955025
I'm just getting started on my journey - completed a BoK 84% wand this week, and now onto modifying my Spirit pack (with a tacobelli cyclotron, bumper and bellows as well as Spongeface cosmetics and some other various upgrades), and I couldn't have been able to do what I did without all of your exhaustive documentation of the work you've done on this and your Spirit build. Thank you so much for all you've contributed!
JWils23 liked this
User avatar
By Q-man
#4955152
JWils23 wrote: August 4th, 2020, 9:54 am
Lowberg wrote: August 4th, 2020, 8:30 am Looks so good dude. Those legris elbows look awesome, are they replicas?
Thanks bud! Nope, they’re actual Legris elbows but they’re 3/16 instead of 4mm. Just slightly bigger but still hold the 4mm tubing well. There’s a guy on eBay who sells them pretty regularly, in fact he just put up a bunch last night. I went through and found the ones that looked the best (minimal cracking/wear) and snagged them.



I went the same route we were probably bidding against each other, and yes they do hold nicely but as I wait for parts. I found if you carefully twist a 6-32 into 4mm tubing(about 1/4'' then cut off excess) the 3/16 elbows will act like a 4mm.
As I wait for the rest of my parts watching builds come together so nicely really helps, beautifully done. Image
Image
JWils23 liked this
User avatar
By JWils23
#4955202
oidoglr wrote: September 2nd, 2021, 12:53 pm I'm just getting started on my journey - completed a BoK 84% wand this week, and now onto modifying my Spirit pack (with a tacobelli cyclotron, bumper and bellows as well as Spongeface cosmetics and some other various upgrades), and I couldn't have been able to do what I did without all of your exhaustive documentation of the work you've done on this and your Spirit build. Thank you so much for all you've contributed!
Thank you for the kind words! I’m glad my threads have been of value and helped you out, that all I could ask for! Plenty of peoples threads on here really helped me and I’m glad I could keep that experience alive. Best of luck with your build and if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask.

Make it that pack, sell it for $599. (While I […]

Yeah, we've been building this thing for ten[…]

Someone on FB found it. NARDA ELECTROMAGNETIC RADI[…]

It appears that some time today someone who […]