I'm sort of a movie memorabilia collector. Not authentic props from movies, more like highly-detailed models and such. I also love to build things with my own hands. The more chanllenging the better. So I flipped when I saw the plans by Paranorman for the proton pack. I downloaded them from this site, actually. But, there seem to be some things that aren't too clear in the plans, at least to me. I was hoping someone could help me out.

1) what is the best material to use for building the various boxes like the power cell, the “main box” on the gun and such. from the drawings, I'd guess you use thin cardboard if it's just a prop, but does that look real?

2) The proton gun plans seem incomplete. There are a few details in the pictures that aren't mentioned in the plans like:
-what is the part labeled “block” on the back of the “main box” where the film canister attaches, and the part right next to that with the green wire leading to the canister and what looks like a little red button and a small white lable (for that matter, what are those as well),
-what is the knob looking thing above that by the heat sinc,
-what are used for the little red and yellow lights next to the “light source” as well as the yellow LED bargraph display, and,
-what is used for the clear plastic tip of the barrel?

I haven't started building yet. I'm still in the planning stages. Next stage is to price all the parts. I want to make sure I do a good job on this.
Thanks for any help anyone can give, and sorry for the long post.

First off, never use cardboard unless your going to vacu-form it. What plans are you using to construct your proton pack? There are numerous sets of plans that you can use, plus lots of reference photos.

Oh, just realized what the tip of the gun was. I was looking at it wrong, so forget that question.

I'm using the June 2001 plans by Paranorman and the Green Guy.

The thing about the gun is that not all of it is figured out of what everything is, so not everything has a name. I suggest for really detailed plans, go here.

http://www.gbprops.com/proton_packs/

And Download the 19 page proton pack plans. They are very informative, and you don't get lost in the names of things or flashy designs and such.
The material is really just a preference on what your more comfterable working with. Some prefer wood, others plastic and even others a combination of the both and then some. So it's up to you on what you want to use!

Thank you for your help. I'll take a look at those plans as well.

juxton,

Just so you know, alot of people on this site are slow and don't seem to read every word people write. For all of you who have replied to this already…... But as far as material goes….don't use cardboard….it's too weak. I am also using norman's plans and I'm using 1/4 in thick plywood. It's cheat and strong. Not only that, but in the movies, they used two different kinds of material…rubber for the stunt packs and plywood for the rest of them. So if you're going to go authentic, use wood. And if you're worried about it looking fake, one of the recomendations I saw before was to spray paint the whole thing silver first….then spray it black. I may just leave it at that, but, from there, you can sand some of the corners so the silver shows through, and that will make it appear as if it's made of metal. But if you make some mistakes, it's OK, the big part of your project, the most important part, is the little details. Such as the sticker and the LED and the rainbow ribon and all the expensive stuff you have to add. If you screw that up, then you pack can look bad. So don't be too anal about the boxes.

good luck,
D V D

also,

forgot to mention, the best place to look for help on building this thing is to go to ASAP. the site is http://pub23.ezboard.com/fpropreplicasfrm26 it's a great site for prop help.

easy

Thanks stembob! I've written out a very extensive list of parts on this since it seems the list that came with the plans is either incomplete or wordwrapped off my screen, and I'm going out pricing parts tomorrow. This is probably going to end up being a “build in installments” thing, but I'm really looking foward to it.

I always thought that the stunt packs were made out of foam.

The “Super Stunt” packs are made of foam.. as on display in Dallas and Lake Tahoe(??), and Tennessee Planet Hollywoods..

The normal stunt packs as on display at Washington DC Planet Hollywood, are made of either fiberglass or resin.. I can never remember..

The Hero's are made of the same stuff.. but with more details and lights and more functions.. A hero is on display here in Minnesota..