Pat's Proton Pack Build! UPDATE 5-13-11

Hey everyone, this is going to be my first attempt at a pack. I’m going to go the route of the first movie as far as the color scheme. Here’s a few things that I’ve collected so far. I’ve got the PPD, Booster Tube and Plug, Motherboard, Bobamatt’s incredible metallic labels, Ion Arm, and HGA. As far as the actual shell I’m on the list for one from Alkaline. Its most likely going to be a while before that shows up though, so until then I’m just gonna collect all the parts I need.

Oh, and yes I know the cable ribbon isn’t from the first. That was just something extra I had that happened to be in the pic. Hopefully I’ll get the first movie style by the time this thing comes to fruition.

You’re off to a good start! It’s going to be a long but very rewarding road!

Yeah, I’m looking forward to making this thing. I’ve always wanted to build one but was always a little overwhelmed by how much it involves, especially if you want sound and lights. I think the first order whenever the shell comes is to mount it along with the Alice Frame. Attaching the shell sounds like the hardest part of the build from what I’ve read.

Well, I just got an Alice Pack Frame yesterday from the local Army Surplus for 16 bucks. He said its the LC-1. I didn’t realize that the frame comes in black, and that the LC-2 comes in Olive. I thought it looked black, but I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me.

Here’s a picture of it. What bolts do you use, and what the correct positioning and hole/ drill bit size for the third hole?

the top bar should be about 0.5" to 1" higher than the top of the powercell shelf on the mobo.

http://raccoonrocket.com/gb/reference/gb2/slides/GB2-HD-Ref-110.html

I hate to see amazing packs mounted too low down.

Isn’t is already where it needs to be at? I assumed it was because of the two pre-drilled holes that came with the aluminum board from MMM.

So, when you attach it to the motherboard, you put the bolt, spacer, washer, motherboard, washer, wingnut?

What size of everything do you need?

Well, after some looking around online, it looks like I’ve got the LC-2, with two different types of straps. The guy at the surplus was supposed to give me an LC-1, but as it turns out I don’t think he quite knows the difference, lol.

I removed all the straps (pain in the a**), and painted the frame black, after drilling the third mounting hole about halfway above the Horizontal bar.

Here’s a pic, I drilled the holes for 3/8’’ carriage bolts.

image

Alright, so I’ve got some major time to kill until my Alkaline Shell arrives, so I’ve been working on some of the stuff that I do have. First up is the Ion Arm, which I believe is from MMM. Since I don’t have money to buy all the taps for every screw on this thing, I’m going to drill holes that are snug, and then just use some Crazy Glue Gel once I finally attach everything. I’m sure I will get a few taps, but only for the more important screws and bolts.

Here’s the Ion Arm, with all the holes drilled. For the 4-40 Allen Head Socket Screws I used a 7/64’’ drill bit. For the Dale PH-25 Resistor, I used a 1/2’’ drill bit, and then used an X-acto Knife and went around the edge in a circular motion, trimming away a tiny bit of the edge at the time until the resistor fit in snug. I didn’t have anything bigger than that, so I used the largest bit I had.

For the Ion Arm Assembly I drilled holes using a 3/16’’ drill bit, which fit the screws perfectly. I painted it with Krylon Flat Black, and then weathered it using small pieces of Scotch Tape, which I applied and then ripped off like a

band-aid. It looks like it worked well enough.

And here’s a shot of both of them together.

Here’s a picture of the Ion Arm painted with a coat of Krylon Fusion Nickel Shimmer. I used the paint scheme based off of Filandrius’s build. Just gotta wait a few days before I slap it with a black coat.

those “welds” are fucking ridiculous

Not exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for, but I’ll take it! lol

its more feedback for MMM, not you. im sure you could do much better if you made your own.

Well, another update. I did most the work on my HGA. I chopped off the pre-molded area that the sticker goes on and replaced it with a washer and tiny 6-32 Allen Flat Head Bolt (Courtesy of KagaSakai). Then I sanded off all the paint and repainted the whole thing with silver first, and then a coat of black. This was all after drilling the holes for the Legris Elbow and Clippard Elbow of course. I’m just trying to prep everything so when the shell comes, I can just put everything together.

Nice work ! I like the finish on that paint.

Is it satin black that you’re using ?

Thanks! I actually borrowed the paint scheme from Filandrius, its Krylon BBQ Black with** Krylon Fushion Nickel Shimmer** underneath it. Its great to handle, doesn’t come off easily (tested some weathering techniques), and isn’t too flat, and not too glossy, just the right amount!

Looking good Pat!

Well, I’ve weather my Ion Arm and HGA, and just got some 5/32’’ Legris Elbows in the mail (GODBLESS EXORAY), so I installed them. Its amazing how much bigger they are then the SMC Elbows, I’m glad I spent the extra dough on them.

Here’s some new pics!

Speaking of Elbows, how does the wire stay put, do you glue it?