I’ve been starting to research for my first pack build and have been going back and forth between an MDF build and a vac shell from Studiocreations. How thick are the walls on the studio creations shell? Is it something that could be easily dented or crushed if you knocked it into a wall as you turned?
Mine has been going strong for three years now. There are some soft spots on the shell but their not in places that would take abuse. You would really need to slam it around to damage it. Trust me I’ve been in crowed bars, cons, and have even fell over a few times and there’s no signs of damage aside from the usual scratching of the paint.
Sent from my DROID2 using Ghostbusters Fans on Android
Having built two, I can tell you they’re pretty solid. The only gripe would be they are very shiny when painted. But otherwise, they beat having to straight up scratch build and are affordable.
Theres been a few builds I have ran across where the builder renforced it with fiberglass mat inside the vac shell. .
I’ve built 2 and I’m working on number 3. His newer shells are a little tougher than the old ones were (when I say old I mean the ones circa 2-3 years ago) I’ve always used expanding foam in the inside to fill empty spaces and give the shell more rigidity. Just make sure you leave enough room for electronics or you’ll be digging it back out
Sent from my ADR6400L using Ghostbusters Fans on Android
I’ve noticed that the 3rd generation are more sturdy than the G2 version, Socko. My buddy’s pack is a G3 and it’s pretty sturdy. I’m currently rehabing a G2 version which is admittedly a pretty decent. I know that SC shells aren’t as accurate as a fiberglass shell or a D-42 but the G3 is a very nice, lightweight shell for the money and it’s so much easier to run lights than in a scratch built pack.
Thanks for all the info guys, I really appreciate it. This definitely seems like a good route for me to go. For a first pack, I’m fine with some inaccuracies.
Great idea Socko on the expanding foam for support, that’s brilliant.
DarkSpectre, this is the first I’ve seen of different generation StudioCreations. I’m assuming that what they sell now is G3? Are there other difference generation to generation other then rigidity?
Well they’re all about the same as far as durability goes, pretty decent overall. Yeah they’re currently on the 3rd generation. The first generation had the wrong number of ridges on the gear box and had the “cakepan” cyclotron. The G2 has the correct number of ridges on the gearbox and the cyclotron is more rounded. The G3 has all the correct ridging on the boxes and the cyclotron is much closer to screen accurate.
How much body work, if any, do you think is needed for the shell? Things like filling in any cracks or sanding any areas.
Since you mentioned lighting earlier, do you keep the power source for the wand in the pack as well, or does the wand get a separate power source?
And to add the kitchen sink in of course, for sound, where is the common area for speakers? I’ve seen lots of packs that do it but could never see where the speaker is!
Fairly minimal. You’ll have to do some minor cutting to the powercell for the display window and to run the injector tubes though. The pulls are very clean so you shouldn’t have to fill in anything. You will have to combine the 2 halves since it comes in 2 parts but that’s extremely easy. What I did was get the shell parts lined up and run some hot glue in a few spots to keep it together then run some bolts in a couple of places to lock it together.
The 9 volt that powers the lights are housed in the gun. it makes it easier to replace and it give the gun some weight.
A few friends have cut openings along the ridges on top of the gear box and mounted a speaker beneath it.
Another tip for an SC shell, Make sure that one you put a piece of 2x4 inside the gunmount. Otherwise the plastic will buckle from the weight of the gun.
Hope this helps
For some perspective here’s what an SC shell looks like:
The 2nd generation shell i’m rehabing - WIP
My buddy’s finished 3rd Generation:
Studio Creation shells are good shell to start with for a first build. Drilling in to the plastic is a lot more forgiving then drilling into a fiber glass shell. If your on a small budget then it is a good shell to work with. Hear is a pic of mine if it helps give an idea of what they can look like when done.
G3s don’t have a built in n filter.
All good tips and things I’ve done personally. I also run a bead of caulking in the seam between the too pieces on g3s to make it look seamless. I’ll post some pics of the one I’m building now next to the d-42 shell and the alkaline shell I have for comparison.
I’ll also post some pics I just got yesterday from the guy who commissioned me to build him a studio creations pack before last Halloween. To show you how they hold up over time
Sent from my ADR6400L using Ghostbusters Fans on Android
Wow guys I’m really impressed with all these shots, they’re getting me really excited to get going. Keep em coming!
Thanks for the 2x4 tip DarkSpectre, that would’ve been heartbreaking!
This is the correct StudioCreations site right?: Studio Creations - Ghostbusters Proton Pack Tutorial