Ghostbusters Fans is proud to present the first full scale Ghostbusters FAQ. We aim to archive all of the questions that are most commonly asked by fans and visitors to our site. This FAQ will be frequently updated by those that know the answers. For a listing of each category covered by this FAQ, please see the main page
here.
[Revise]Q. How much does a Proton Pack cost?
A. This will vary on how accurate you want it. Expect to see them on Ebay starting at several hundred dollars ranging to in the thousands, especially closer to Halloween. There are many factors that are taken into account. You can make your own from next to nothing and junk found around the house to constructing them out of wood or other material to buying resin and real found parts. The following link will provide information on various aspects and components of the proton pack http://www.gbfans.com/equipment/proton-pack/
You will find when you are making it yourself that things will start adding up faster than you think, whether it's wood, paint or anything else. That is part of the reason they are expensive to buy one. Some parts are hard to come by and people spend a lot of time, money and hard labor working on these things. It is a luxury to have one, not a right. Often you will find making one yourself much more rewarding.
The fact is light kits and other resin pack shells and other parts you might see may seem costly but they are costly to create and make available for everyone. It is possible to make a very good proton pack with things you might have around the house or garage. People have even made packs from cardboard! Below are a few examples of what can be done with time and a little bit of patience.
Radar's $64.71 proton pack & wand
Bradester's Dollar Store Proton Pack! |
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[Revise]Q. How can I mold my own Proton Pack?
| A. Making a mold, and castings of a Proton Pack is very difficult and expensive process. If you do not know where to start you might have problems in completeing the project. There is however a great resource that goes into detail on how to make Proton Pack shells. Visit this page at GBProject.com: http://www.gbproject.com/plans/mctut/index.html |
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[Revise]Q. What are the best plans to use to build a Proton Pack?
A. There are essentially three different sets of plans out there for building a Proton Pack. (All of them can be obtained in the Equipment Plans section: http://www.gbfans.com/equipment/plans/). The first and oldest set of plans was created by Norm Gagnon, they are by far the easiest plans to follow for a newbie to building. They use general household parts to build the replica and other commonly available parts. The problem with Norm's plan is that they aren't very accurate, a few of the measurements are off by as much as an inch. You can download Norm's plans here.
Arguably the most accurate plans available are by Stefan Otto. They were developed by using CAD software and pictures of the hero Proton Pack available in the Reference Section. They are the most difficult to follow for someone who is inexperienced with reading blueprints. You can download Stefan's Proton Pack plans here.
In between Norm's and Stefan's Proton Pack plans are Sean Bishop's plans. They were created by measuring the actual Proton Packs used in the films. The measurements are essentially the same as Stefan's plans but may be off by a few fractions of an inch. They provide important commentary while building and should be referenced along with Norm and Stefan's plans. You can download Sean's Proton Pack plans here. |
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[Revise]Q. What are the main differences between the GB and GB2 Proton Packs?
A. Several of the differences include:
-Different color Raytheon Crank Knobs. Gray for Ghostbusters and black for Ghostbusters 2.
-The Ribbon Cable is very different in both movies.
-The particle thrower in Ghostbusters 2 is mounted at more of an angle to make it easier for the actors to draw.
-The Ion Arm is slightly different in both movies.
-The particle throwers tip on the GB1 pack has a mechanism that allows it to extend. |
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[Revise]Q. What is the difference between a Hero and Stunt Proton Pack?
| A. A Hero pack was made for all the close up shots and shots that require moving lights and such; therefore it is very detailed. A stunt pack was made for backgrounds shots and for scenes where the performers had to do stunts, so they were made more durable but less accurate. The stunt packs where made from foam, while the hero packs were pulled fiberglass shells. |
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[Revise]Q. How much does a Proton Pack weigh?
| A. According to various sources in Ghostbusters, the average proton pack weighs around 30 - 35 lbs fully loaded with batteries. In Ghostbusters 2 packs were developed that weighed a lot less by having different batteries. |
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[Revise]Q. What is the right size of ALICE Pack Frame?
A. When purchasing an ALICE Pack Frame you may be presented with several different sizes. Do not let these sizes fool you, all ALICE pack frames are the same size. It is the actual ruck sack that attaches to the frame that differs in size.
**There are some real differences in ALICE frames that can make a bigger difference with mounting a 1:1 proton pack.
"Real" ALICE frames are tall, as 'most' are, and the center, vertical bar is almost an 1/8" thick, aluminum, being very strong. These mostly also should come with two holes drilled out already in the base flat bar of the frame. The 'gold' frames usually come with all this would be a good purchase, along with some black paint. These work well for attaching a pack directly against the frame or using 1" spacers as done in the movies. (Spacers were to help ensure actors would not injure their heads as the top part of the pack sits directly behind the head...and is quite painful to headbutt accidentally.
Some ALICE frames are shorter than usual, but still have a strong center bar. Depending on wearers height this may work, but doesn't work too well with an entire 1:1 pack replica. This can be confusing and if enough attention is paid you can notice the difference and save yourself from having to buy another frame.
The "cheaper" ALICE frame comes painted black, at the correct height, but with a very thin, much weaker center bar. This can become a problem as the weight of a 1:1 pack mounted to the center bar, as it was in the movie, will cause sway back and forth as the wearer walks, which could cause injury, or just a down-right annoyance, to the wearer. Unless some rubber bumpers are placed between the proton pack and the alice frame, OR the pack/motherboard is attached to the ALICE frame via another method besides the center bar, the pack will definitely sway back and forth. These "cheaper" frames also do NOT come with the lower two holes already cut out. |
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[Revise]Q. What direction do the Cyclotron lights rotate?
| A. Normally clockwise, but Peters pack on the roof of Dana's apartment ran counter clockwise so both are acceptable. |
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[Revise]Q. What should I make my motherboard out of?
| A. The original "Mother Boards" were made from 1/8" aluminum. If you cannot obtain thin sheet aluminum you could use any kind of strong thin wood such as plywood or MDF at up to 1/8" in size. Also it is important to cut your motherboard to fit your components last. That way you don't have make adjustments later. |
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[Revise]Q. Where did all of these weird Proton Pack terms come from?
| A. The terms being thrown around the Proton Pack section were mostly created by the prop builders around 1999 - 2000 when they wanted an easy way to communicate about the parts between each other. A complete listing of the terms can be found on the Proton Pack Part Names page; also, a lot of the part names are actual scientific terms. |
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