Boosting the booster.

Equipment Proton Packs
1

In my neverending quest for even more accurate parts it was time to turn my attention to the booster frame. Thanks to some very helpful members I was able to get ahold of the correct rubber mat, DIXON pencils and masonite board. I was going to start from complete scratch but seeing as i was totally happy with the overall dimensions of my current frame, stripping the master down and re-building it up seemed a better option (dont worry I have a resin master kept aside).

The "brick" pattern rungs will be made by building one, casting it 3 times and inserting them inside the frame. Keeps them identical and saves on time :)  Im also thinking of casting the pencils before chopping them up for piece of mind and to hide the lead inside.

Heres a quick shot of my parts collection. Will be updating this thread as the build progresses :slight_smile:

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2

Thats gonna be great Nick, im looking forward to seeing more of this :slight_smile:

3

Simply can’t wait. :slight_smile:

Don’t forget that the backside has a curve to fit the booster tube! But you already knew that. :wink:

4

Nick, the booster “sides” where the mat lays does not have a taper. It’s actually flat. Just wanted to let you know incase you were unaware.

5

Thanks for the words of advice. I knew about the backside curve but not about the flat sides. That actually makes things easier for me :slight_smile:

6

I’ll be doing this as well in the coming weeks, I look forward to seeing how yours comes out. I can’t tell from the glare on them but do you have the correct large-font, large-dash 1388 pencils or the newer small-dash style? I’m still looking for a second vintage pencil. :sigh:

7

Hmmm I’m not sure. Here’s a closer photo. The font on one pencil is thicker than the other…

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8

how much difference is there between pencils?

9

Not a hell of a lot, it’s a very nit-picky thing to be sure. :whatever:

Here’s mine, accurate one on bottom, newer one on top:

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10

Seems both mine are accurate (apart from 5/10 part and the fact they are mediums).

11

You don’t really see anything past the dash though. I think one of them is a “2” but the other is cut off so only the dash matters. :whatever:

12

Sweet!

13

Can’t wait, I need a new booster frame

14

Looks great Nick seriously can’t wait. Quick note im sure you just laid it down however for the pic but you have the Masonite pattern vertical in the picture, for the correct pattern you’ll have to turn it horizontal. I marked it along the edges with marker which way the pattern should run. It’s tricky thats what I did it, the pattern is only accurate one way from what I noticed. Look forward to more progress Nick.

15

Thanks Chris. Yeah just laid it down for the photo, wasnt paying attention to the direction.

16

So how do the numbers on this part compare to stefan’s plans? Are there more correct measurements for people who want to make their own frame?

17

The accurate booster frame was 3.125" across the top. Not 100% on height, but it can be scaled.

18

The 3.125" for width that chapter listed is right in line with my notes with my overall height being closer to 5.875" in the center. (based off the PH pack) The boosters themselves vary ever so slighty with certain measurements partly due to the warping and what not.

Stefans .75" specs for the outside edge portion (mat and pencil area) are very close.

19

Thanks for all the info! Ill be cracking on with the frame master in the next few days.

20

Right after pouring over reference photos ive come up with this template for the new frame. Just need a bit of input on how you all think it looks…

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