CaptainA's 84/89 pack - "Yes, it's true. This man has no skill"

[captainassholay]

TL;DR - Most of this is me navel-gazing about getting to this point before building so scroll down for parts lists and to see all the fun places I screwed up putting this together.

About 7 years ago I dipped my toes into building a basic Ghostbuster costume to be my final “adult” costume to hang out with nieces and nephews on Halloween. Little did I know that buying a child size pack would eventually take me down a Gozer hole of research and purchases I prefer not tally the cost of over the years.

After doing the spirit pack overhaul, then a complete Haslab Afterlife pack overhaul (a side project that I picked up when this original project got sidelined due to seller issues) I decided this would be my final pack. I figured like all good builders I’d document it here on GBFans so maybe some day in the future another buster will look at this thread and realize what mistakes to NOT make.

I’ve been collecting parts for this for last 3 or so years. As I’ve moved recently, I finally have a workspace to actually put all of this together.

Sourcing parts for this pack has been a challenge, from the shell itself to the accessories, some builders in the community can sometimes just “vanish”. If I had waited another year or so I probably could have just fully committed this entire build into the Macks factory line and saved myself a lot of stress, but I figure this pack will have “character” like the great packs others have built before me. The great thing about these things is that the style of them lives in the jank of their appearance.

I’m not the smartest man, or particularly skilled in fabricating, and I can sometimes get impatient and frustrated when things don’t go together right, but my wife thinks I’m handsome so I have that going for me. I am taking the skills I’ve learned from the previous packs into this one, though I am still learning some new things as I go along (primarily that I’m not very good at measurements).

Most everything I’ve learned has been from old posts here, or on the relevant Facebook groups. I fully acknowledge that I am standing on the shoulders of giants when I build this as the community has spent decades documenting their processes. While it’s not always easy to find the exact information you’re looking for, it’s out there. I think it makes the build process that much more satisfying when you finally figure it out.

While I’m not specifically replicating any specific pack from the 84/89 movies, I’d say this will lean primarily towards an 84 where possible.

Parts List

Pack

Shell and Motherboard - ProtonPropsUK Caramacs Prop Shop (found this out about a year after I got the pack)
Vintage LC-1 Alice Frame w/ original Straps and Kidney Pad - Mercari
Resin PPD + Bumper + Some tubing - ProtonPropsUK (as far as I know)
Beam Line / Filler Tube / HGA / Injectors / Vacuum Line / N-Filter / Splitless Loom - GBFans
Booster Tube + Ion Arm - I think heavyprops and/or FreekyGeeky?- Special thanks to forum user Brendan, he saved my ass in responding to my post looking for these parts.
Vintage Legris Elbow Replicas - C&A Prop Design
V-Hook - HeavyProps
Charging Plate - nstevic01
Crank Knob - GBFans
Aluminum Labels - GBFans
Other Labels - Moby Sign
Ribbon Cable - Fincher Technologies
Neckpad - Rust City Studio
Mounting kits for lights - TacoBelli

Neutrona Wand

Aluminum Neutrona Wand Body + Accessories (discs, knobs, banjos, etc ) - GBFans
Hatlights / Arcoelectric Lights / Tubing - GBHQPartsDepot
Grips - ThrowingChicken (cannibalized from previous build)
Dry Transfer Decals - Macks Factory

Electronics & Other MISC

GPStar Extreme Kit
2x FAITAL PRO 4FE35-4 speakers
C&A Props Smoke Kit
Talentcell 24V Lithium ion Battery PB240B1
Paint - Rustoleum Satin Protective Enamel
Screwup fixer - Milliput

I’ve been putting this together slowly over the last month when I have the time. I"m mostly done with the dry fitting of everything before I take it apart for painting. All that’s left to do is trim up some of the hoses and finish the legris straights that are not cooperating with me as I try to tap the holes.

The following posts will show how I got to where I am currently and I’ll try to document this as much as possible as I continue it.

Where it started

Where we are now

So join me, won’t you? As I try to make my dream pack that will look nearly identical to the '84 hasbro packs that are a fraction of the cost.

[captainassholay]

The first hurdle with the pack was figuring out how to thin out some of the fiberglass resin on the inside. I’ve never worked with it previously, my packs before it were just soft plastic that were easy to cut.

The area by the power cell lens was especially thick which was going to keep it too far back from the opening, more than I would want.

I tried hitting it with some 60 grit sandpaper and various dremel attachments but all I was really accomplishing was making a dusty garage with little progress.

I posted this question on the How to Build a Proton Pack facebook group and I got a great tip from Austin Young of Rust City Studios, to use a carbide cutting bit

I placed an order for that and a shop vacuum as I figured this would be making quite the mess. After picking it up, the bit made short work of the resin! This one dremel attachment has been monumental in helping me prep the pack.

After carving out the area for the lens, I started drilling and tapping the holes for some of the easier parts of the pack like the beam line and filler tube, nfilter and vacuum line.

Fortunately this pack has dimples in areas to give a rough estimate of where they would need to go. (Later on I would be relocating the filler tube higher up as it sat too low and would be interfering too much with the ribbon cable)

The aluminum n-filter is a bit larger than the resin one that came with the pack so I had to dremel out the space just a bit to allow it to friction fit. It’s extremely snug, I’m considering that once painting is done, I may epoxy this in instead of trying to figure out how I’d screw it into the pack shell.

After that, I decided to install the ion arm. As I’ve followed @edspengler build thread for a long time, he demonstrated a great way to align the holes to the pack was by making a template out of painters tape. He also made a very helpful point in saying that the ion arm template cannot be mirrored due to how the holes line up so that it has to be placed sticky side up.

Despite his excellent advice, I still managed to set the template juuuuuuuuust wrong enough where I could only get 2 of the holes to line up

While I was not thrilled with my first mistake on drilling holes in this pack, the ion arm looked pretty good to me where it was sitting.

Little did I know that my janky drill holes would be a recurring theme with the other parts of this pack.

[spooky]

Dang that boy is thick. I was confused why you needed to cut any away based on the first photo but seeing how much you did cut away made that pretty clear.

[captainassholay]

My next step was fitting the injector tubes. I had a number of aluminum parts on backorder through GBfans, and when these were available, they were the more accurate diameter, which I believe was a more recent discovery.

While I was happy to have a more accurate part, it was a double edged sword as this pack was designed with the original dimensions of the smaller injector tubes. I noticed that no matter where I sat the tubes under the powercell, it was sitting at an angle.

After comparing the dimensions of the area with @edspengler pack, I realized that the curve started earlier on mine. Some buster’s packs have a more pronounced curve, and that’s fine! They’re all beautiful in their own way. I had to shave down the sides of the injector tubes.

I tried filing it down initially with a hand file with a bit of success but it was taking a lot of time. I was also unsure if the closer I got to the welds, it would cause any problems.

I then got an idea to clamp down my rotary tool on the edge of the table and use the carbide cutting bit to see if I could use it like a lathe. Much like the fiberglass, this bit chewed through the aluminum like it was nothing. I’m probably lucky the rotary tool didn’t get loose and send that carbide bit into my flesh but I have to remind myself that the folks who made Ghostbusters did it in a year and I sometimes have to put myself into the headspace of a coked out 80s prop maker if I want to get shit done.

After a few more passes to thin the sides down, I was happy with how it was seating.

Afterwards, I drilled and tapped the holes, only to realize afterwards that I didn’t like where the injector tubes are sitting. I know some packs it sits very close to the front of the powercell window, I wanted mine back a bit more.

This is where milliput would make its first appearance of many.

For the unaware, milliput is a two part epoxy putty. It’s great for filling misdrilled holes, or nicks and dents in things you want covered up. Without milliput, this pack would not be possible, and for that, I am nominating it as builder accessory of the month

I refilled the initial drill holes and moved the injector tubes back more. Fortunately the painters tape template ensured I did not have misaligned holes.

When it comes to installing the electronics, I will likely have to pick screws that have a flatter head to not interfere with the mounting setup for the powercell light.

I did buy the injector tube bracket but I haven’t installed it at the moment. I was under the impression that not all of the packs used them but I think I may be wrong.

After that, I moved on to the HGA and v-hook. The HGA was straightforward as it’s a single screw. While I was initially happy with where it sat, as I continue to look at other packs and reference pics, I fear that I may have put it too far towards the front of the pack. While it’s in a spot that doesn’t interfere with the s-hook on the wand when it’s mounted, I may move it back a little bit. I’d welcome feedback on that if anyone has some.

Bonus keen eyed observers will see that the v-hook, which has a fairly straightforward way to be installed (just align it with the top line of the top rib) is still uneven despite my effort. I continue to tell myself to embrace the jank.

[captainassholay]

I decided to switch it up and start on mounting the motherboard to the alice frame.

I nabbed what was advertised as an LC-1 frame on Mercari of all places. The person provided a singular very bad pic, but I figured for $75 I’d take the risk.

After it came in, I was pretty happy with what I saw! Everything was in rough but good shape I was especially surprised to see that the toggles still operated very smoothly for adjusting the straps. It’s hard to beat actual weathering for giving it that lived in feel.

The frame was later confirmed to be genuine from Toby on the How to Build a Proton Pack facebook group. I’m still looking around for an original belt strap but I typically don’t wear those when I’m wearing the pack anyway.

Another thing that worked in my favor was that the motherboard was already pre-drilled with the mounting holes so that was one less thing for me to be concerned about. After measuring and double checking for what felt like forever, I hit the bar with a center punch and drilled with a step bit. I really didn’t want to screw this up as even this couldn’t be fixed with Milliput. Fortunately everything went smoothly

I then decided to tackle what was my least anticipated part, the booster tube.

The pack and tube were essentially a perfect match as far as the angle where the bottom of the tube meets the pack. Feeling overly confident, I drilled the dimpled holes on the pack where the tube would go and then marked the tube from the back with a marker using the holes I just made. I drilled. After I lined them up I tapped the holes and after I went to screw them in, they didn’t line up right as the bottom was not sitting flush and not holding tightly to the shell, I somehow ended up making the holes too big and also just bad.

The second time I did it, the tube was straight and flush, but now I somehow managed to push it too close to the ion arm.

Third time was the charm and I was happy with where it sat at this point. The tube still didn’t feel sturdy enough so I ended up putting some lock nuts with a teeth washer on them to help it bite into the back of the pack more.

I don’t know if I’m using them correctly but so far it’s holding it in better. I plan on using loctite after I start finishing up the pack so I’m hoping that adds some strength as well.

I decided to finish up by installing the booster frame, but in my haste, incorrectly tapped and threaded the holes to be for M5 screws, instead of M4.

I continue to tell myself to embrace my self-inflected jank.

[captainassholay]

For the n-filter, I needed access for the smoke kit and lights, so I drilled out a number of holes using my largest step bit and then hit it with the carbide cutting bit to remove the excess. I did a test fit for my C&A smoke kit and have enough clearance for that and the n-filter light from the GPStar kit.

The bumper came with the pack, again with a dimple on center point so I was able to mount the bellows easily enough. The bumper will need a little sanding to smooth out the rough bits but I’ll do that right before I paint.

I noticed after test fitting the bumper, for its arms to reach near the back of the motherboard, the bumper and screw for the bellows would be touching the face of the cyclotron. I had to find a sweet spot distance wise to give a little bit of a gap but not too far forward as to make the bumper look awkward.

I’m considering grabbing a Macks factory bumper when they’re available again to see if it will give me some extra space.

After I settled on the distance. I tapped and drilled the holes for bumper and then marked the shell where they’d go.

Fortunately I only messed up on one of the holes which required me to call in Milliput once again.

I missed progress pics during mounting but the PPD went in easily.

I then moved on to mounting the replica legris elbow using a 1/8’’ NPT pipe tap. This sucker was big, it chipped away a little at the outer part of the shell as I was tapping it but I was able get that in. I may clean up surface area around it a little with milliput before painting to make it look more uniform. I believe that’s once its painted black though, it’ll likely be hard to see.

It has not been so easy right putting in the legris straights.

The angle to drill and tap this area directly was a challenge. My power drill is too large to get a good angle on where the holes went as it kepts bumping into the area where the clippard valve goes. I did manage to get it drilled out by putting the drill bit as close to the tip of the chuck as I could to get that extra distance I needed.

The space was too tight for me to use the hand tool for tapping the holes so I had to put the tap in 7/16 socket that had enough space where the extension goes where I could seat the tap into it pretty securely.

Getting the legris straights to thread proved difficult, one of them tapped fairly cleanly but the other one was too loose so I had to milliput it.

[beric]

You are doing a great job! Every pack is unique! This is your pack.

Measure twice, cut once…measure again, cut again…cut again…cut again…measure…oh, the joy!

[captainassholay]

While the milliput was drying for my next attempt at the legris straight, I put in the pack volume control from the GPStar kit that attaches to the crank generator. The post length of the volume control, coupled with the thick resin layer inside the pack meant I had to drill this thing down a lot with the carbide cutting bit. If you’re like me and haven’t had a lot of experience with cutting through this stuff, it makes a mess and I cannot stress the importance of having a shop-vac running while doing it.

I’ll probably clean up the area a bit more on the inside before I finish it up as I don’t think I have enough clearance for the actual plug to connect to the board.

I eventually get it through the shell enough where the nut was able to catch the threads on the post to hold it against the pack.

If your volume control has a plastic post like mine, be careful when tightening the set screws of the crank knob as you’ll see that it set some deep marks into it. Not sure if that’s normal but I’m glad I didn’t tighten it more than I had.

I then ran the tubing to the for the injectors. I’ll use e6000 or something else to keep them in once I’m wrapping things up. I thought initially I had read that the 84 packs didn’t use hose barbs for that area but then I saw some say it did but that’s an easy fix in the future if I go that route.

I then screwed up a bit when eyeballing the length of tubing needed from the PPD to the ion arm. I cut it too short so it would be very tight against the ribbon cable. I was bummed out because I spent a bit extra for the more accurate '84 blue tube from GBHQpartsdepot and wouldn’t have enough for the rest of the parts.

I had already cut the length of tube from the HGA to the beamline, which felt like a bit of a waste since it’s covered up pretty much entirely with split wire loom as it is, outside of the ends since I wanted them to peak out a bit like I saw in some reference photos.

Then I had an idea…

and it worked great! I ended up using some heat shrink tubing to attach the ends to the darker blue tube. Nobody will be the wiser, unless you meet me in person and point it out to everyone.

I then made another pass at the final legris straight. I’'m not sure if the milliput is just easier to tap then the materials the pack is made of but this went a lot smoother. It threaded well and is in very solid.

Looking at the pics again I wish I had spaced them out a hair more from each other but SCREW DOING THAT AGAIN.

At this point I have pretty much everything dry fitted. I’m currently in the process of taking it all apart so I can start painting. Weather has been either super hot or super rainy so I’ll have to time it right.

I did a test run on some extra resin parts where I spray painted it silver as a base coat and then hit it with a top layer of the paint I’m using for the pack and it actually scuffs up pretty well to show the silver paint underneath, so that will be my first pass for the PPD and bumper.

I initially planned to paint the pack shell with a silver base coat as well but I think I’m just going to do it for the resin parts as the remaining aluminum pieces will weather naturally on their own and I don’t want to risk a weird paint adhesion issue with the shell given that it has a textured surface and cleaning paint off it would be a nightmare.

[spooky]

I did something similar for my blue tube to fix it being short. By time I got to the ion arm top, the blue tube kept kinking because it was too short. So I stole a longer piece from the side of the pack and then taped two smaller pieces and hid them under the split loom. Felt like a genius even though it was my fault for not even loosely measuring before cutting.

[captainassholay]

Split loom covers up all manners of sin!

[ebobhazard84]

The Spengler and Superhero 100% use the bracket for the injector tubes. In my research, I have not been able to locate it on the other hero packs, but I hypothesize they’re there, as this would be a super fragile connection point and could break easily and wreak havoc on the shell.

Also, I see you’re a fellow Masshole.

[captainassholay]

You’re right about it being catastrophic if the injectors get yanked on without the bracket and the more I think about it the more it concerns me. I took the bracket this morning and saw how it would line up with my current configuration.

The few issues I’m seeing are:

1. Due to the size of the injector tubes being thicker than older versions, I originally put them farther back under the powercell window to look a bit more uniform so the corner of the injector tube plate isn’t sticking out.
2. Where I have the filler tube, it’s just about to interfere with where the bracket would go.
3. I’m not sure if the picture conveys it but the alignment of the holes on the bracket don’t necessarily line up well with the surface of the tubes. (edit: I read the description of the bracket on the gbfans shop and it said them not lining up is canon??)

I think this would require me to:

1. Realign the injector tubes under the powercell window to match the holes on the L bracket -or- just drill new holes in the bracket and shave down the top of the bracket so it’s not peaking over the tubes
2. I think I may need to move the beam line again to give more clearance for the bracket

Either way, I’m going to have to grab a hand rivet gun from harbor freight and do a few practice rivets before I attempt this on the tubes as that’s pretty much a one and done situation and given my history so far, accurate first attempts have not been my strong suit.

I think I’ll just screw the bracket into the shell though instead of using the other two rivets as I want to be able to remove it if needed.

Also, yes, hello fellow Masshole!

[beric]

great advice ebob! This is one of those details that makes me curious as to where the line is between it being a pack made by egon and worn by a character, or a prop made in the shop and worn by an actor. This is one that could clearly be either/or or both, as those tubes should really be supported. What other details fall in line for the mix between pack and prop? I saw on a fb board about the tape under the wires at the end of the wand. If Egon made this, he would have had to have run wires to the electronics…but the prop guys also had to make them work…

[ebobhazard84]

When you look at the original four hero packs, the injector tubes are pretty close to the front of the powercell. I’d say maybe like, a quarter of an inch to an eighth of an ichh away? I can add some pics later when I’m not working.

Here are a couple pics of mine. I have a Positron Props shell but I use those newer GBFans injectors so you can see how I have things lined up.

[ebobhazard84]

Ok, here is a pic of the Stantz tubes:

Here is the Venkman:

I don’t see a bracket on Venkman’s but that could be the result of the pack being used as the casting pack of the semi-heros. Maybe they just said, “meh” and threw it back together.

But with both of those, you can see the approximate location of the tubes compared to the front of the powercell.
I don’t know if that’s helpful at all.

[captainassholay]

Today I pushed the booster tubes towards the front more and decided to install the bracket.

I spent a while marking and measuring out spaces. Did a few practice runs with the rivet gun and bit the bullet. Everything lined up great!

I have the bracket attached to the shell with a couple m3 screws just so I can remove it to paint it. Not sure if I’ll go forward with doing the other two rivets.

The whole thing is very sturdy now! Thanks for the advisement.

I’ll be moving the filler tube for the LAST time and after that I’ll continue taking off the rest of the parts and prep for painting.

[ebobhazard84]

That looks great! I do love how secure they feel with that bracket there. Glad I could help your build out in some small way. I have dying for another pack build (but need to save my money for my coming wedding) so it felt good to chat through a question.

[captainassholay]

Just a brief update today - painted the pack last weekend with the exception of the PPD and Bumper, since they’re resin they require more filling + finishing.

The aluminum parts and shell turned out well. I hit the aluminum parts with superfine steel wool, wiped them down with acetone and followed up with a tack cloth before painting.

Somehow, I was still able to get a few strands of cat hair on them but I consider those little easter eggs for anyone that gets close enough to see it.

The shell I was the most nervous about painting due to the nooks and crannies and worrying about missing some spots or painting too heavily in some areas. I had a very bright LED that I used to inspect the pack as I painted it and I’m happy to say I avoided any major issues.

I’ve reinstalled a few pieces after letting things dry for 2-3 days. It’ll be a few weeks until some of the labels I forgot to order come in, but thats likely for the best to give the paint additional time to cure as I don’t want anything peeling off.

[captainassholay]

Eeeeeeeeeugh.

I had everything reattached to the pack, labels and decals were mostly on. My goal this weekend was to start test fitting where I would mount the stands for my electronics.

I did a test fit of the powercell, the lens was fitting where I wanted, but the actual powercell board was too long for the space I dremeled out. I figured I needed to dig it out a little more and…

I just started BUSTIN-BUSTIN–BU-BU-BUSTIN through my shell, which did NOT feel good.

I swore, a lot.

Fortunately it’s right in the corner where the powercell meets the pack so it’s set a bit farther back also it’s under the ion arm, it’s not like I carved a 5th hole into the cyclotron, but still.

So anyway, I started puttying

I’m not super happy, it could be worse, but this one is gonna stick in my craw. Fortunately the black milliput matches well enough, I might hit it with a quick spray of paint just to match it more, but I probably won’t.

The close up pics are showing a substantial dust buildup on my pack since I’ve painted it last week. I think if I just keep it in the garagee until Halloween I’ll get some nice natural dust weathering on it.

Hopefully I’ll have some good progress this weekend on other parts.

[cantignie]

Tbh I kinda love it. It looks like a weld, and adds to the homemade ruggedness look. As Bob Ross would say, “there’s no such thing as mistakes, just happy accidents.”