While we’re on the subject of homemade proton packs that deviate from the plans a bit, I’d like to submit my recent (and most likely last) proton pack-building endeavor.
A year ago I had the urge to undertake building our favorite prop because I wanted something awesome for a halloween party I’d been invited to…anyway, long story short, I decided to make a new pack for the occasion. Simply put, I made it only using things I found in stores.
It seemed like a simple idea at first, and it was. I got a ton of interesting looking parts from a varitey of stores (radio shack, walmart), etc. Plus one or two things I had in my dad’s workshop already, and set to work building the thing. It was probably easier than it would have been scratch-building everything, but the task WAS NOT easy by any means!! I ended up ruining the electronics (it ended up having 4 rotating lights in the cyclotron) once, and having to re-buy the item I cannibalized to get them from. Aside from the motherboard, which I cut out of MDF, the whole pack was store-bought. Conclusion? I was looking to see if construction this way would be easy/more efficient, and the answer was a resounding NO. To get a pack to look decent, you need to put it hard work, time and effort. There are no shortcuts to making something look good, period. I probably took the same amount of time as I would have making all the correct parts from scratch.
A few of you vigilant ebay-hawks might have seen this recently, as I just sold it for the sake of my education
Anyway, without further ado, here come the pictures.
I feel the same way…those were great days, because there was no pretensions or sense of superiority, because we were all in the dark…except Norm, that is! I remember when you could count on your fingers the number of people who’d made a proton pack…and prop pics were highly sought after and RARE!! imagine…
that is awesome. I agree with Astantax. I also think that it would be cool to see everyone with their own version of the proton pack. I mean I made my own version of the proton pack. although it’s not that great. if you want to see it this is the link to it on this forum:
You guys are right. I thought I was the only one that missed that stuff… When I was 9 years old my dad and I built a proton pack and slime blower right after GB2 came out. They were not “screen accurate” but they were as close as we could build them at the time and they are still my favorites!
I have to agree. When I started out building mine, I thought it would be easier and cheaper to make my props from scratch rather than buy the parts and get one that looked 100% authentic. The thing is though, it actually cost me around the same, and it was a lot of hard work. However, rather than slap together some kit bought from someone else, I actually got a chance to stretch my creative muscles and really get into it. Since building my version, and seeing the responses I’ve already gotten from it, I’ve already considered working on an authentic one, maybe saving up and getting the correct lights and sounds for it, and sure it would be much more impressive, but even so, I’m pretty sure my original one will always have a special place in my heart that an authentic one would never replace.
Of course all this give me an interesting idea. Everyone here has worked so hard to copy and build authentic GB props, but I have yet to see anyone who has stretched their minds to come up with something new and challanging. If you think about it, it’s been about 20 years since the movies, and if there were real ghostbusters still in opperation today, odds are they wouldn’t be using the same outdated packs from 20 years ago, with technology advancing, don’t you think they would have created some new toys to use. Though we all love the movies and Prop building, maybe rather than focusing on building exact replicas from the movies, what if we were to focus our energy and creativity on building new, updated props using the movies as an inspiration, but not as an exact blueprint.
I’ve just started my first proton pack made completly from home found objects (ok, not completely, but 90% of the materials come either from an art store or home) and it’s very original. By original I mean not very accurate!
I really suck at building stuff (failed wood work in high school) so my pack isn’t near as amazing as the ones on this site. Still, I’m enjoying building it and its just for personal pleasure.
Just don’t laugh when I post pics.
Oh, BTW Astantax, that is an awesome looking pack!
You took the words out of my mouth, and any unspoken thoughts right out of my brain. Back then, propping was all about INGENUITY. The most marvelous thing about making this stuff was that about half of it was built from stuff you probably already had lying around your house - using your imagination and realizing that “Hey…this piece of junk I’ve had for years looks EXACTLY LIKE [part X]…”.
I was one of the prop site pioneers a long time ago, and I’m toying with the idea of making a new site devoted to ORIGINAL props only, and not just ghostbusters. Any and all props from indie and underground movies - things made from scratch, and not bought. A true celebration of the underground. Tell me what you think…only thing is, I don’t have a server or anything like that. In 1996 geocities was more than substantial, but times have unfortunately changed
Ps. with a chill I just realized that this post is almost exactly the same as one I made in 1996, proposing a site devoted to all ghostbusters props. The first response was Eraser99, saying “Good idea! Here’s my site!” lol.
Let’s see what happens this time…
Oh, and thank you for the compliments, Dougy…I was wondering when someone was going to comment! lol I should also add (for further support of my pro-original props statement(s)) that on ebay the pack I made above sold for more than a screen-accurate pack online at the same time. Granted, I had a complete costume set, but…
I like that idea… I’ve even thought once or twice about that same thing over the last year. I’m sure the proton pack of the 21st century would be a little more stream line and not have that “could explode at any moment” look to it. LOL It would be kind of fun to build an “updated” version… Hmm… That might be my next project?
Yeah, and who knows? What if one of us were to build a very kick-ass looking “updated” pack, and they decide to make GB3? What if someone in the prop dept. comes across our little tribe here and takes notice?
Then us off-the-wall, non-plan-following folks would suddenly be 100% correct and original! HAHAHA, how awesome…
I stand corrected. Your right, that is something about the pack that should not be lost. None the less, when I finish my current pack, I will start my stream lined, explode at any moment proton pack! :lol:
Seriously though, is anybody else really thinking about making an updated proton pack? This could be fun!
Interestingly enough, recently my girlfriend and I have been brainstorming a GB3 script and I was sketching out some designs for a new proton pack. Thought I’d share one with you guys, see what you think.
I love where this thread is heading. Let’s see some more custom designs. I must say, Brian, that us Old Timers haven’t lost our touch in building the goods. For a non accurate pack… it just blows my mind. I LOVE it.
Do you remember back in the day of “Franchises”? When the people in franchises really knew each other, hung out and did stuff? I think the best part of all of that were the props, and how they looked. It really looked like everyone knew what the pack had to do, but did it their own way. God… I miss those times. I might just start a new franchise. A REAL franchise. With some thrown together packs. You remember the Middle Tennesee Ghostbusters (MTGB’s)? They were one of the best out there. Man… I feel so old now hahaha.
Matt Sturm - wasn’t he one of them? They had the BEST webpage - in fact, I have some gfx I saved from that site, because I loved it so much. They had fake news stories about their “busts” that were so entertaining…and I loved how one of their listed hobbies was “consuming raw macaroni”. I still use that joke today…ahh, memories.
Oh, and Pagz? That drawing RULES, dude. Excellent work - you ought to add more detail!
Matt Sturm! Oh man his site RULED! Ghostbusters Indiana.
I used to check back every week for new pictures and stories lol. That website has long since been dead, but for reference it WAS http://users.aol.com/gbind/index.html
You’ve got to send me those pics! I just searched the web to no avail. archive.org doesn’t have them on.
I built my own version of the proton pack but with a few similarities to the origional. ive just used random gadget around the house and stuck them together. i will post pics soon.
