Made a few things including the pain in the ass bumper today. The shock mount is just a mock from my full size pack.
Looking good!
The RGB pack you originally made for your stepson was nice, but this is really excellent.
So after 3 years I decided to see this project through. Got a motorboard cut and mounting brackets in place as well as the powercell lights in place. Budget is slim so I’ve been using what I’ve found in the bottom of the junk drawer. Cyclotron lights and wiring should be finished by Friday.
](http://s631.photobucket.com/user/cwkelley75/media/proton%20pack/C725BF91-1B0F-4F8F-AFAB-1E630F16FD39_zpslpwx3h09.jpg.html){kind=link}
holy cow that came out awesome
That is pretty sweet. I’ve never had the patience working with cardboard, or maybe my technique sucks lol. I’m much better with wood or plastic. That thing is awesome though can’t wait to see it completed
'Thanks, I was actually going to buy a fiberglass shell from gbfans,but I had the idea to do it this way and I couldn’t resist. Working with the cardboard has been really east. I just cut it on a little 9" bandsaw and taped it together with clear tape. Took me about 2 day to cut this pack and two full size. The fiberglass on the inside and the resin on the outside makes it really sturdy too. I just love doing these scratch builds. Hope to have the N-filter and Lightning finished within a week. One lesson learned, no need for foil tape on the outside. It just causes issues with paint adhesion.
Would you be willing to share more about what you used for the resin/fiberglass? Also, about how you mounted to the motherboard? Did you glue the cardboard pieces together? I see you taped the cardboard to make the pieces, but I was wondering about connecting of each piece to the board, etc.
This is a fantastic pack!
Alright, I’ve started a cardboard build! I got pretty far using this post and plans from this site. Couple questions…What glue did you use? Can I fiberglass and resin individual pieces before gluing. My tape sucks, so everything is extra fragile. Thanks!
Also, I am assuming the resin filled in some imperfections. What did youngish to sand and smooth out the resin?
I taped every edge of the cardboard. The resin filled nearly everything and covers the tape and you’ll never see it. I would fiberglass and resin it once it’s all together. If I were to do it over, i would have done two coats of resin on top, I don’t think i would have needed to do any sanding.
Excellent cardboard pack so far. I plan on going a similar route.
Some questions: how easy and inexpensive is the fiberglass and resin?
Any recommendations on where to buy at a brick and mortar store?
Also, what types and brands of resin and fiberglass did you use?
What kit did you use for the power cell lights?
I’m on a tight budget of around $125 to 150, which will include my uniform as well.
Thanks for the pics and how to. 
Thanks for the positive feedback.
The fiberglass resin/hardner plus the fiberglass will probably cost about $20. Any hardware store or auto parts store will carry it, even Walmart stocks it. I used bondo brand but any brand will be about the same…I’ve researched marine epoxy resin because its cheaper but I don’t know how it would work. I also used an adhesive caulking to do all the edges and joints to make smooth transitions ($7)
For powercell lighting I used this kit
http://www.bakatronics.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=344
But they make this one now which would be perfect for a full size pack:
http://www.bakatronics.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=741 — Power Cell
I used this for the Cyclotron (Modified):
http://www.bakatronics.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=342
I did all the soldering and wiring from these kits, honestly I bought several of those kits years ago before gbfans had there kits. The GBfans kits may be cheaper and a better option. You would need a soldering iron, solder, LED’s and wire to do the lights the way I did them. I will post pictures of the wiring tonight or tomorrow if time permits. I finished it up yesterday but just have to route the wires and tidy it up little.
Anytime!
Thanks for the quick reply. And that should help a lot since like I said, am on a tight budget.
Any photos or how-to regarding the lighting would help much. 
This pack is really awesome. I did one for my son out of foam and cardboard as well, but this looks way nicer. How did you make the bumper? I found it was the most difficult part to make. Very time comsuming lol.
I made the bumper out of wood (1/8" or 3/16 pine?). And it is the biggest pain IMO too.
Hot glue gun or something else?
I was proud of my progress until I realized that everything has to sit perfectly flat so there aren’t gaps when against the motherboard. Will have to double check my work tonight. I only pieced together the top half of the pack, so plenty early for revisions.
The bumper was glued with wood glue, a good wood glue joint is stronger than the wood itself. I’ll try to get some electronic pics up soon. Its rough because i did it years ago with minimal soldering experience. I’ve since got into R/C racing so soldering has become second nature. So how its done is not how I would do it today, it would still be the same concept but it would be cleaner. It works though.
One think I should have did pre-resin, I should have cut the cyclotron out for the n-filter. I can go back and do it, it just would have been easier.
So you did the all the edges of each part or just where the separate pieces touched? You are so awesome for sharing your amazing pack and your techniques!
I made every piece separate and every piece hac all the edges taped. When I joined the pieces together I glued them and used an adhesive caulking to make all the joints look uniform and to help bond it. The reason for taping all the cardboard edges is because the center section of the cardboard is just a wavy piece of cardboard that has gaps in it. The tape seals that off and once you apply the resin, makes it look solid.
Hopefully I described that well enough, if not let me know and I’ll try again lol
Adhesive caulking? What type b/c I’ve seen several variations like silicone and whatnot.
Once again, thanks for all the help as I’m going to start on my neutrino wand and a few boxes (or at least try to) tomorrow.