Hello everyone! I’m looking to start my first pack build. I’m a huge stickler for detail so even though it would be my first attempt I want it to be as screen accurate as possible, so I am aware this type of build takes time and money. But I don’t even know how or where to start. I’m looking for any help/advice you wonderful people may be able to offer. I am a mechanic by trade so I am somewhat handy but I live in an apartment and don’t have access to a decent work area and tools. So I would not be to cast/make any parts myself. I’m really looking for pre-cast parts that I can purchase to assemble the pack. Again any help/advice would be greatly appreciated!
First step, determine your budget. A cheap pack might cost a few hundred while a screen accurate will be well over a thousand. Second step, review & study the plethora of build threads here to understand all that is involved. After you feel comfortable with your options, pick up an Alice pack, Motherboard and shell as appropriate to match your budget. The site has a great store and the For Sale thread has plenty of great sellers. Once you get the Motherboard and shell mounted to the Alice pack, you can add parts at any rate your time & budget allow. Good luck !
Yes indeed the search function has become my friend already lol. It’s become very helpful in determining the type of build I wanna do. I’ve decided to go with a fiberglass shell with resin parts(injectors, booster tube, HGV etc). I’ve already managed to track down most of the parts on ebay and starting placing orders. The only thing I haven’t really figured out yet, is what kind of sound/electroncs kit to use. I kind of like the full kit Jupiter-Electronics has but I also hear really good thing about the Proptronix kits. But I haven’t been able to track down a full new kit and check it out. Has anyone used either? Which kit do you guys recommend?
I suggest the GBFans kit but it’s currently on temp leave. Crix makes a nice setup as well. There’s others and I think someone is selling Proptronix on here as well. Surf the For Sale forums.
Just as a heads up, it’s not necessarily condoned using EBay on here as there might be compatibility issues. BUT some sellers on here are also on EBay. Keep in mind that you might get a better deal on here
So, speaking of Crix, he makes fantastic resin parts that (I think) were cast from Vincenzo330’s aluminum parts.
All this being said, I suggest you check out the Feedback forum especially when making purchases; mainly the banned and blacklisted portions.
Oh I’m well aware of the blacklisted sellers. Got screwed by one of them already. That’s what prompted me to build my own pack this time. I actually ordered most of the stuff from Nick-a-tron props. I’ve heard really good things and looked over several builds on here using his shells and parts, and they looked amazing
Parts are slowly starting to come in for my build. It’s like Christmas came early lol. Just trying to track down a few more things. One of which is a battery pack to use for the light /sound kit. However I’m not sure what to go with. I’ve ordered the Crix kit. I know to use the 3v pack for the sound chip, but not sure what to use for the light kit and amplifier. I’m open to suggestions
If you’re crafty, you can build the shell out of a heavy card stock and fiberglass it; that’s what I did with Stephan’s plans and it came out perfect. I also built my shell for under $40.
that does look really good! But I already ordered a shell and resin kit from Nick-a-tron props. Though after doing some more research, it appears that his shell won’t mach up to my motherboard that was cut to stefans plans. But I won’t know for sure until he’s done casting my parts and ships them to me.
Thank you. You’ll find that a lot of the complements for your pack are easy to make yourself and not hard to find. Think of it with the mindset of the guy who originally built the packs. It’s a lot of common-off the shelf items from hardware stores and electronics. You’ll find that most of the stuff can be easily made with PVC pipe, bondo, epoxy, and wooden dowels. Other than buying my light and sound kit, ribbon cable, and booster frame; I hand made everything for my pack. Granted I have my own machine/fab shop to use, a lot of it was done in y house. Feel free to check out my thread for tips or ask how I made anything on my pack, id be glad to help. I currently have my pack stripped down to redo some various things that I rushed to get done for Halloween, so I’ll be posting some more pics in my thread very soon.
Here’s another shot of mine I took 2 or 3 days before Halloween before I got it thrown together.
Looks like I will finally be able to start my build. My order from Nick-a-tron is on its way to me as I write this. I’m super excited to get started on my first build. I just need to track down a few odds and ends like what kind of bolts to get for the bumper, shock mount, gun and mounting the mobo to the ALICE frame. I still need to figure out how to make the fake welds too. I’m also trying to figure out how to classify this build(hero, semi hero). I’m not trying to make a 100% screen accurate pack. My goal with this build is for it be like a brand new issue proton pack. So no weathering, pack damage etc. As it stands right now, it’s a GB2 pack and will have an aluminum mobo, fiberglass shell, resin parts including resistors and clippards, and gun kit. It will have full lights and sound but no extending barrel. I do plan on in the future to slowly swap out the resin parts for aluminum ones and real resistors and clippards. The current parts are bolt on so that shouldn’t be an issue. So what does this build classify as? A hero or semi-hero?
What mods are you looking at doing? There’s typically quite a bit of confusion when it comes to defining build types. Hero builds in the movies were built from fibreglass shells and aluminium parts. GB2 Semi Hero packs were built with fibreglass shells with the Ion arm, booster tube and NFilter cast into it.
In your case you have a Hero style kit because your shell will lack the cast in Ion Arm, Booster tube and NFilter and you will undertake the hero building methods.
Some builders will class your build as a semi hero because you’re using resin parts but that really isn’t the case. Its a hero style build in my opinion
Staadt1, this isn’t us trying to be pack snobs or undo someone’s hard work before they even start. We are just trying to highlight how difficult it is to pigeonhole a build and trying to get across how different people label 1 build differently.
You did good getting a kit from Nick-a-tron. I’ve just completed my build using his new semi hero kit and it was a dream to work with. His shell is simply stunning and his parts are immense. You won’t be disappointed
