I used the search feature and couldn’t find a thread on this but if someone else knows of a thread i’d be much appreciative. I have a finished thrower and am at the point to add lights. My question is obvious as I only want the best as we all do here. What is the best light kit? I hear Jupiter is good but it seems as though the gbfans kits are easier and compatible with more plug and play options, including sound, but unfortunately are not available. I bought a pack from a friend that had no lights or sound and it needs some additional tlc so for the $300 i spent I have room to spif it up a bit. So if the gbfans kits are worth the wait than wait I shall, based on feedback of course. As always thanks for the help!
Sorry about the long post, I get excited thinking about working on this pack!!
Let me reply by asking you, if I wanted to buy a car, what is the best car to buy? That is impossible to answer without more specific information. Do I want an exotic sports car? Or do I want a Toyota Prius that will protect virginity for the life of the car?
It’s all subjective Mr. Ryan. To you personally, what does “best” mean to you as far as light kits are concerned.
If best means easiest to wire…GBFans for sure. It’s completely plug and play with their sound board and pack kit. AJ is above andn beyond outstanding with customer service.
If best means price, then I’d suggest…well…the cheapest you can find.
If best means screen accurate, then I’d suggest Jupiter electronics.
There are tons of different answers to your question. I would recommend being more specific about what you currently have in your pack that the kit will be hooked to, as well as what your budget is.
Me personally, I have a GBFans sound board and pack lights with a Jupiter Electronics wand light kit and to me…it’s the best. But ask someone else and I may be way off base concerning what is best.
If you’re smellin’ what I’m sellin’…let us know, and there are PLEtNTY of people that will reply and help you out.
…except Hoot…he’ll just make a video, cuss you out, scream for a cigarette and continue with his build.
As he said above, the parameters for “best” are opinions really. Theoretically there is a series of kits available on here.
I like my GBFans kit (whole set) because it was stupid easy to set up and to be honest I wanted to support the community anyway I could.
Crix makes a damn good kit but requires to actually do some work to get it installed.
Jack Doud makes a nice looking kit but I know squat about it ( sorry jack)
Jupiter has a film accurate wand kit. He doesn’t sell here and is not active in our community but to some hes a good man and stands by his product. Couldn’t tell you im unfamiliar.
There is another kit out there but due to my recent history and others on here’s history with that proprietor between fraud and other transactions and interactions he is banned and blacklisted.
As the others have said it all depends on what you’re looking for. I have my own opinions and will obviously be biased towards my own light kit. My suggestion is to look at my kit, Crix’s, Jupiter’s, R2Devo’s and the GBfans kit, see what options they have and their prices then decide what it is you want for your pack. I can confidently say that my kit is the most screen accurate to the main hero pack but some people like the various fun options other kits offer. Maybe you’re looking for the kit to fit or mount in a certain way. Maybe you have specific power requirement. Maybe you have a deadline for finishing your build. It’s up to you to decide what’s “best” for your build.
If you’re looking for a light kit that best recreates what was seen only in the two movies, your best bets would be going for the Prop Forge Proton Pack/Gun lights, followed by Jupiter’s kits.
If you’re looking for functionability, then I believe the GBFans kit is the one to go for, as I believe the GBFans kit (unless I’m horribly mistaken, which I have been in the past) offers additional lighting features as seen on the Pack in the video game.
I believe all three kits will be restocked at the same time in about 2-4 months now.
I’m not sure why everyone discounts the GBFans kit as not being movie accurate enough. We have added many awesome features, but they can be turned on and off through the use of DIP switches.
I personally handled a Hero pack with the GBFans electronics last week, and it was the first time I had seen the whole kit in use and installed. I honestly couldn’t believe how insanely awesome it was. When you consider all it can do, and how absolutely simple and fool proof the installation is… well. I’m biased. It rocks.
I have the sound kit and am holding on the GBFans light kits but the options the kits give the builder are really fantastic and the easy instillation is great. The electronics were the one part I was really worried about, having no experience doing that sort of thing and dealing with such delicate pieces but thanks to the design of the kits it shouldn’t be a problem at all.
I can’t really speak for the gbfans kit but I’ve heard it’s really good. Jacks prop forge lights are fantastic though! The thrower bar graph alone is worth purchasing is for!
The only thing not “accurate” with the gbfans thrower kit (which I have only seen in videos) is the white hat light and the top blinking light do not seen to have the right sequence. The top light is supposed to blink (on/off/on/off ect) the the hat light should remain on. Instead they blink back and fourth. Kind of minor and not really noteworthy unless you are going for 100 percent above and beyond screen accuracy. BUT, let’s be honest here…when you go to an event or a con, people dont care and probably dont know what any “standards” are for screen accuracy. They are just in awe of the gear they see infront of them, add working lights and sounds, they probably just crapped their pants. It doesnt matter which kit you buy, just take the time look at the product (demo vids and description), figure out if you need anything extra to install ( some kits require special switches and extra wiring to make light and sound work together) and figure out what will make you the happiest. Just like in life, happyness is key!! There is no point in sinking a butt load of cash into something you wont be happy with.
Foreword: Jesse pretty much covered the point I was going to raise.
Admittedly I have no familiarity with the operation options of the GBFans kit, I can only comment on what I can observe, but based on this video:
-There’s one flashing light too many.
I’m assuming one of those is meant to be the non-sunken hat light, on the front of the Proton Gun.
If that second flashing light can be switched to stay steady with one of the DIP switches, then good… but if not, then that’s why I’ll continue to view the kit as not being the most visually accurate out there.
My current kit is a proptronix which I am working on getting him to come back out with. They were very good kits and offered great functionality. I also have the deluxe MMM sitting in a box with his newest cables and I’m interested in seeing how it works when I build the next pack.
I really like the kits you sell on the store. I’m using some of the non-hero features as I didn’t do a full hero build on my thrower and I’m building on what my existing pack. The power up sequence on the thrower and pack lights is a very nice touch. Also love having a line in finally ( I know other kits do )
I also love the simple installation of the kits, just plug in the ribbon cables, set your DIP’s, and speed pots and good to go after wiring up power and speakers. Much easier than modding the Exoray light kit in my old thrower to work with another sound solution (as Exoray had discontinued his production of sound boards before I got my pack) so I had to replace switches and so some fun soldering.
Compared to my old PropReplica’s sound chip + 7amp + older speakers with my the GBFan’s sound kit and the 50W speakers, then GBFans kit is a lot louder and clearer with the updated speakers, never tested the my old setup with the new speakers.
As far as accuracy, I cannot really tell as I just have a blast with the additional features but I’m sure it’s a great pairing for a hero pack.
I have my first convention in less than two weeks with my new thrower and GBFans kit and I just know it’s going to be a hit as much as it has been with me.
What I’ve noticed with my kit is that you can make the non-sunk hat light by the clippard stay on solid when the pack isn’t fully on. Like in the “Heat 'em up” scene on the roof just before he hits the switch (Graph/Slo-blo/Front hat solid + optional thrower ear on/off). However, once you hit the switch the light starts flashing and I haven’t seen any way to change that via the dips. Maybe I’m missing something?
Additionally, mine seems as if the sounds/theme song play just a tad quicker than they do in the movie. Like they are sped up a bit. It’s not very noticeable and I absolutely LOVE the kit for about a dozen other reasons but I thought it was worth mentioning.
