*As the title suggest, I’m wondering if anyone here or over at Proptopia ever fabricated a rubber “stunt pack”…In other words using the same mold created for a fiberglass shell or thrower only using foam rubber or similar for the end result…
*I know there’s been a few here alone that have created packs using cardboard, ect. for a suitable alternate for bar-hopping on Halloween et al, however I’m looking for a sturdier alternate for a pack to wear while out, as to not damage my main “uber pack” that [will eventually] cost me untold amounts of money and time to build…
*I hopefully plan to try and achieve this end after constructing my main pack, however I’m looking for pointers in this matter…And maybe to see if anyone here has ever, or will ever offer these type of pack in the future, as my building/molding experience is next to nill at this point…
I have never understood the need for a foam pack…? Unless you plan on doing stunts and throwing yourself about and possibly whacking somebody with it, then I don’t think there’s much need. Even if you did whack some wit it, yeah you might lose your crank knob or your ion knob and a few other bits, but the shell would be pretty much fine (subject to it being a good quality one)
It wouldn’t be any lighter than a fibreglass shell, and most of the accessories would probably be rigid too which would still result in damage to them, so it would be the same as a hard shell in that sense.
If you really want a stunt pack then just make another additional one, but use resin instead of real parts, or home make everything!
I don’t believe there is enough market to spend the time and money making them…
To do it ‘right’ a pack would have to be totally built up and lots of softening of the undercuts as seen in the GB2 packs, details would have to be softer and some totally lost… The idea would be to get an almost all foam pack in a single pull, including all the resistors, fittings, tubes and sorts… This is simply unpractical, as it would require a mold that was a bitch to get castings out of… Gluing detail parts on would be pretty useless, as how well would you expect something glued to foam to actually hold? All in all it’s a novel idea but I don’t see it as practical for use…
I recently spoke to one of the Sci-Fire/Hyper-Firm guys about Ghostbuster stuff. Apparently, they had thought about doing some in the past, but decided not to because of the desire to have electronics in the back/traps/PKEs.
So, I made the comment, “…If not the whole thing, why not just parts, like the bumper?”
They are checking it out.
Would there be interest in a rubber Hyper-Firm bumper?
They make prop replicas (mostly Star Wars blasters and armor pieces) out of a solid, light weight, high-impact rubber. I own a few Hyper-Firm pieces and they are AMAZING!
Based on the price of other hyper-firm products and how involved the process is (including but not limited to the probable need of an internal support armature) I doubt the price will be competitive enough to draw much interest…
I don’t recall every seeing post where people are constantly breaking the bumpers or having issues with the resin ones… For blasters the hyper-firm works well as resin blasters are very prone to breaking or full out exploding when dropped, this was a big problem for many fans at conventions so it works well, not to mention they did a great job on sourcing the real weapons and casting them…
Nothing at all, unless you plan on falling on your back constantly, which is better suited for fan films. It’s like a niche interest within a tiny niche group. Your best course of action would be to put it together yourself with a vac-formed mold. I’ve never done any mold-making and casting work, but I wonder if it really is just a simple pour-and-cure procedure. Would you need use some spray-on rubber first, then fill in the rest with foam rubber? Maybe apply it with an air-brush of some kind. I’m asking because I wonder what kind of rubber you would need to capture the surface details smoothly, and also have it remain durable. It might also allow you to glue on detail parts.
I had thought about a stunt-ish pack for Halloween parties, etc.
Basically using an electric carving knife to shape & carve upholstry foam into the appropriate pack shapes, use fun-foam sheets to make the raised strips & details, foam pipe insulation tube for injectors, etc, and paint the whole thing with black rubbery paint, or roof sealant kinda stuff. Some shapes would be more difficult (ie, booster tube & frame), but fun-foam could be employed for a cleaner finish.
Maybe use 1" closed cell foam for a motherboard?
More involved than molding, but for one or two stunties, should look ok. Could even allow for a simple lighting setup.
