"Listen.  Do you smell something?"

 

For those of you that know me, you know that I've had a life-long obsession with filmmaking; specifically the props, costumes and practical effects.  Taking that obsession further, I've found it creatively therapeutic to research original props in order to set upon the task of recreating them.

 

One such beloved prop project was the recreation of the "Proton Pack", as featured in the original "Ghostbuster" films.

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In preparation, I spent quite a bit of time scouring old behind-the-scenes articles, pouring through various fan build sites and watching (and pausing) various scenes in both movies… sort of like piecing together a rather nerdy puzzle.  Once all the information was pooled together, I began my build!

 

As I really wanted this pack to feel like the real deal, I opted to use a resin shell with aluminum “mother board” (the back part of the proton pack that everything gets mounted onto).  Additionally, I tried to source the various original 1980’s era “off the shelf” pneumatic fittings, connectors and valves used on the originals.  So for those of you “in the know”, those are the actual Clippard R-331 and R-701 valves, PH-25, RH-25 and RH-50 Dale resistors, Legris components, etc. complete with antique Alice pack harness.  In total, this particular pack weighs in at 20 pounds.

 

For the detail junkies, I will admit that this pack is a slight mix between the “Ghostbusters” (GB1) and “Ghostbusters 2” (GB2) packs.  The ion arm is an GB1 style which was left unpainted which makes it look more like a GB2, the crank knob is a GB1 style and the ribbon cable is GB2 style.  Additionally, I decided to leave the pack looking a little less weathered, more as a personal preference, allowing it to get a little beat up while fighting ghosts (AKA: Halloween parties).

 

As a final christening, this pack was signed by the man himself, Dan Aykroyd, who was an absolute gentleman and thrilled by my build.

 

All in all, I’m very happy with how this pack came out.  It was a fun project for me, and one that I definitely would like to do again in the future.

 

Oh, and yes… this sucker lights up!

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(Video coming soon)