Small things part two

There was some work to be done on our packs that was undone last saturday. The injectors are unfilled, and the small loom tube is absent. Ergo, I set out to work..

At first, I cut out six pieces of the said tube..

And crammed some pieces of plastic bag inside the tubes..

And followed that with some aluminum foil. This plugged the tubes so that the entire lenght would not bee needed to be filled.

I then poured plaster in the injectors, and stuck the tubes in the plaster. This way the tube is stuck in the plaster without the need of glue.

I did, of course plug the end of the tubes that was to be inserted into the plaster, otherwise they would be filled with plaster, and this is not intended..



And without long last, I had two packs with tubes filled..


And before long, all three packs were drying. It really helped that the packs can stand upright on their own... After the plaster is fully dry, i can fill the ends completely and sand them smooth. And after that, paint the tubes black..

It's the small things that you do...

For a change, both Nixu and Veka managed to find some time to come working on their packs. This was a pleasant thing, and I am happy at what we managed to do today..

We gave all our packs a thorough sanding with 0000 grade steel wool. It removed most of the imperfections that came up when I painted the packs, ( I DO SO HATE THAT PAINT!!!) and gave the pack a nice dull finish. The imperfections that appeared on the packs can, and will be used when we are making the wear and tear... Hopefully in the near future..

As I had to repair my pack from the damage that Nixu's pack did (bad, bad pack...) I went on to make the weld lines on my Ion arm.

The boyz are busy doing the same..

While the boys worked on their welds, I cut out the first warning labels, and promptly glued it on. Nixu protested the idea, as the welds needed to be painted, but I decided to push forward on this..


Veka is taking his time doing the welds..

He did the same that Nixu did, and added some weld lines that were not on the original packs. This is not any problem for us...

I borrowed a laptop computer for the label work. It is very difficult to tell where every piece is going, as some pieces on the HPProps' sheets are for the gun, and some for the pack...

Still after a while I got the hang of it...

Beer, as witnessed on the two Olvi bottles, has been a driving force on these... All in all, we were drunk when the idea of building these packs was conceived by Nixu...

And as the welds were drying, the boyz started to cut out their labels..

And yes, it is very tedious job... It would have been so much more easier to buy BobaMatt's stickers, but this was the way to go for us..

Here Veka is placing one of the top stickers on.

I had done this already, and the boyz took note on my pack on the placement..

My Ion Arm, welded, but not painted..

Nixu too the opportunity to try his pack on..

Looks good, although the gun is not painted..

There is so much work on these, I can tell you, but in the end the results are speaking..

After the labels, I went on attaching the pneumatic couplings. I used a pop rivet, but did not thighten it so much as to snap the shaft off. This gave me a strong pin onto what the couplings were glued by two part epoxy..

For a while the coupler on the Cyclotron needed a support, and as the one for the Ion arm could not be used before the Iona Arm was painted, I used it to support the other one..

I took the pneumatic elbows out for a quick spray with gold paint, and presto, they were looking very brassy.. Note that the two brass legris straights ARE brass..

I then glued the other coupler on to the HGA.

It really looks nice in there..

I also attached the coupler on the Ion Arm, but did not glue it on yet. That will be done after the paint on the weld lines is dry..

The tubing are giving the pack a real nice look...

Although I ordered enough tubing for four packs, there were enough of the small loom tube for three packs... Well, that is not such a big problem...

Here is my pack, after the paint job, and with the clippard attached. It really, REALLY looks good!

Veka's pack followed en suite...

As well as Nixu's.. Nixu felt bad as he looked upon his pack, for he had wished to do all the work himself.. Well, he has a family, and that comes first. This is a hobby after all..

Some work on GB stuff..

Tomorrow the boyz are coming to work on their packs, and I am just making some final pieces for them.

I had cut the parts for the Booster Plugs, and now it was time to get working on them. I took our a cup of coffee, Stephan's plans, and did some measuring..

And after a happy while, I had these. They fit into our packs, and need to be sanded and painted..

I did then spray the Hose Connectors with gray top coat, but the spray paint died on me, and the paint was fractured.. Sucks, I'll need to sand them again..

Here are the Booster Plugs with filler and gray primer.

And here after sanding and another gray primer. They are looking to fit the bill, and I'll be painting them black tonight.

After a light sanding, (I did use my lathe on this...) the connectors were in need of another coat of paint. I think I will be sticking to the gray primer on these, and then some clear coat of varnish on them.


I then went on to work on my own pack, repairing the damage on my Ion arm. I cut out the base on my pack, as well as the connecting part on the Ion Arm open,
And stuck a piece of wood in the Ion Arm. It is now drying, and after that, I'll glue it to the pack it self. I should have done this in the beginning, but then, the impact would have done some more serious damage, rather than just snapping the Ion Arm off. I could have just glued it back on and be done with it, but as I got the opportunity to add more strenght to the join, why not do it..

Leg Hose Connector works

As the tenants meeting was concluded, I could resume working on the Ghostbusters project again. Some time ago, I cut out some discs from MDF for the connectors. I took my lathe, a vacuum machine as well as an old cardboard box, and made a lathing station for me.

I soon found out that the machine is stable enough that is does not need to be viced to the table.


With some time, dust and work, I had this on my lathe. I did use a breathing mask when working on this..

The connectors seem fine for me..

... So I made three of them. They are not exactly identical, but when attached to the uniforms, this cannot be told. I still need to drill the holes for the hose, and the threads on the base. I was thinking the velcro that was on the nomexes on these, and if it is not enough to hold these on, then the thread is used.

I promptly then primered the connectors, and after they have dried, It's time for the top coat..

Oh CRAP!!!!

Due to the looming tenant's meeting, I had to clean up my mess in our common room. (The place where I do my dirty work). I was transporting our protonpacks to my home, and...

...The shoulder strap on Nixu's pack came loose, and the pack was sent flying towads my own pack!!! I snapped the Ion Arm right of, and shattered the Booster Tube... This stinks!!


I managed to find most of the shards, and super glued them back. I now need to get the milliput rolling, as I will not replace this part. Well, some putty, filing and paint, and the damage should be repairable. Lucky for me that none of the resin greeblies that were attached to the Ion Arm were damaged. As for the damages on Nixu's pack, they were nil.. Only the paint was scratched...

...Well...

I did spot that my Ion Arm was not painted fully, after it had come lose. And, I might a well strenghten the join between the Ion Arm and the rest of the pack. As for the seam... I need not sand it smooth again, there WERE weld lines there, after all...

All in all, I find that this is most instructive. We need to sew the shoulder straps securely on the place where they are connected to the ALICE frame. This will not impede their usage, but will prevent this from happening in the future..