Hi all! I’m looking for some guidance and outside perspective…
Short: I have a full size spirit that I am interested in upgrading the wand electronics. I would consider the pack as well. I have a haslab 84, of which I would consider upgrading, but would wait for my pack and do it all together.
I have an exoray kit from 2007 for my older pack.
On that, I see there are 6 electronics guys out there. I’m also not sure if the kits are cross-compatible; ie if someone says its for haslab, could it also work for a spirit?
Frankengeek does not seem available
Ninjatunes does not seem available
GBfans seems very simple and direct
GP star seems a bit complicated but also robust
Frutto seems haslab specific
ghostlab42 seems to require buying different pieces, and does not seem to make a full wand set
Any and all help, guidance, and perspective is much appreciated! thank you!
I’m pretty sure GPStar has a a kit that works with Spirit packs but it is intended to still connect with Hasbro Wand. But they do just have a “DIY” kit that is for any pack and wand. Basically if you want to build your pack from a random shell and pipe and wood for the thrower, you use a DIY kit. It is up to you to figure out how to mount. Same applies to a spirit if you use the built on wand rather than buying a Spirit + Hasbro combo.
For all electronics kits, how “compatible” it is depends on how much skill you personally have at fabrication. Any electronics can be adapted to any pack and (almost) any wand with enough elbow grease on your part. Disclaimer for the following, I work directly with GPStar and am a developer on the project.
Frankengeek is working on a brand new wand kit as we speak. Checking their site, they currently have 10 pack electronics kits for the Full Size Spirit available.
Ninjatunes gatekeeps all of his kits behind a Google Doc and mostly posts on his Facebook group (Ninjatunes2001). So you’ll need to reach out that way to find out more.
GBFans is very simple and direct; it’s just left to you to figure out how to mount and wire everything to match your pack. Replacing the Hasbro wand electronics with GBFans is also not a very fun operation (though, devil’s advocate, replacing the Hasbro wand electronics in general is not fun).
GPStar already supports a Spirit Full Size connecting to a Hasbro wand (includes all the parts such as 3D-printed mounts, hose wiring, etc) as a kit. As spooky mentioned you could also go 100% DIY and print your own mounts if you have a 3D printer since GPStar’s mounting parts are all available for free.
Frutto as far as I know doesn’t make replacement electronics for the Spirit pack or the Hasbro wand. They make addon parts for Hasbro.
GhostLab42 has a single listing on eBay right now as we speak for electronics that replace the Spirit Full Size and modify the Hasbro wand to match. If you wanted better lighting on the pack, you would also need to purchase his Spirit Pack Lights Kit or a set of GBFans lights.
If you wanted a solution that would let you control the stock Spirit pack (or a Frankengeek Spirit pack) with a stock Hasbro wand, there is also A2ThreeD on Etsy who offers the SpiritBro Proton Pack Interface Kit.
Those are all of the manufacturers I am personally familiar with. If I forgot to name one it is simply because I am not aware of them. If you have any questions though (especially about GPStar) let me know and I’ll answer to the best of my ability. Best of luck with your project!
Thank you for letting me sit on this. Seems there are 3 reasonable options. Since the kit would be for a spirit full size that I did not do a terrordog/redman supremod, perfect is not needed. I missed out on Frankengeeks most recent run, but due to ease and cost, that seems the right option for this pack.
However, I have been resto-modding my 20 year old kit. It has a 2007 exoray light kit- no sound. Does anyone know of a compatible or add-on sound kit? The pack kit is from Rhett Martin, and the wand body is undersized, so it’s really tight in there, and the kit is fragile, so getting a whole new light kit is off the table.