]before i begin i want to go ahead and introduce myself since i didnt in my first post. my name is mike. im from houston, texas. im a pre-med major to become an ER and family practice doctor. ive been a fan of ghostbusters but ive become a bigger fan since the video game came out so now ive found this place and have been happier ever since.
anyways, i read and strongly thought about what i wanted from my frsit post and have decided to go with building the pack out of wood. my family owns a cabinet shop and i know i can get free wood scraps and free use of the tools there to make my pack.
the questions i have about this are just to make sure this is what i want to do and how best to go around building the pack. so here they are:
ive looked at many fan packs and read through alot of posts and i know that packs that were either made out of wood or scratch made have looked good from the pics but alot of them werent high quality pics. so can someone tell me from actually experience seeing these packs how well they look compared to resin, fiberglass, and other types of packs? are the other types of packs better regardless?
if wood can look as good or better than the other types of packs, how do you go around making them that way?
is there any good approachs to building a wood pack that i should know about?
thats about all i have. appreciate the help. thanks
Let me start out by saying a lot of info can be found using the “search” function on the top of the screen. It sounds like you have taken a lot of time into looking at previous projects. Scratch building a pack can be very rewarding. Be sure you read through all the plans in the “Equipment section” to choose which direction you would like to go. Stefan’s plans are considered to be the most accurate to date if that is your goal.
Most scratch built packs in the past have been built using materials such as MDF, Styrene (plastic), or foam board. Each has their own advantages and disadvantages when it comes to rigidity, weight, and cost. If you are aiming for a wood pack I would suggest MDF over plywood as the wood grains prove to me more of a challenge to hide in the final product.
Pre-made pack shells such as fiberglass shells are a very good alternative for those who do not wish or to scratch build. Fiberglass shells are very strong and tend to be light compared to some wood packs. In the end it is all personal preference on which direction you would like to go.
The best advice I can give you is to plan ahead before you jump into your build. Building a proton pack for the first time can be a challenging experience and is has much better results when the project is planned out and not rushed. There are several great scratch build threads int he proton pack section which all over different ideas and techiniques to aid you in your project. Good luck with the build and don’t be afraid to ask questions if you are unable to find the answers you are looking for.
Well, what a scratch-built pack ends up looking like is correlated to whoever made it’s skill level. I’ve seen some that look amazing, and some that look not-so-good. Bottom line is you have to find a happy medium that YOU’LL be satisfied with.
It really doesn’t matter so much what you use as it does how you finish it. Here are some pics of my latest build, everything is 1/4 MDF with a cake pan cyclotron
Main tools I used were a table saw, drill press, chop saw and jig saw.
He probably spent a lot of time filling, priming and sanding. That’s the key to making wood or MDF look as good as that. Don’t skimp on the primer and sandpaper (start with coarse and work your way up to fine grit) and you should be fine.
Although by the time you get to painting it, it’s easy to get impatient and rush it. That’s when it’ll look like crap, and like me I had to repaint most of mine, hehe.
Look to see if you have any Habitat for Humanity stores near you if you’re in the states, I’ve gotten a lot of my materials from there for next to nothing.