Ghostbusters costume

[deathproof]

I hope this is allowed - while working on my WED-15 replica I'm also putting together a Ghostbusters costume for Halloween. Nothing too fancy - got the overalls and patches on Ebay. I'm building a ghost trap and a proton pack.

The ghost trap is about 75% done. Got the one side done today. I'll do the other side tomorrow and, time permitting, attach the cable and handle. Then I just need the sticker set and it's about ready to go.


I'm just doing this quick and dirty. It's unlikely I'll don the costume again in the near future but you never know. I'll keep the jumpsuit but the ghost trap and proton pack are pretty fast and cheap. Building this stuff to be movie-level props is probably a few hundred dollars which I can't afford to spend right now. I'll see how it goes early next year closer to Dragon-Con or whatever the big Philly conventions are.


Using plans found here, I decided to just cut down a cardboard box and reinforce it with duct tape.



Since I'm going the quick and dirty route, I decided to just cover the whole thing with duct tape and spray paint it black.





I looked in the trap, Ray!






Here's the original trap from GB1:




What I did today:




The tubes are two ball point pens cut down and painted. The dial is from an archaic KVM switch we had in the basement.



I spliced together a couple of heavy duty computer power cables. Those will be rolled up and secured with 1 or 2 black zip ties. One end will be inserted into the back of the trap which will let it hang off my belt. The handle was from an ancient squeegee I found in the back of the bathroom, painted black. Since I don't intend to remove it from my belt I won't bother with the wheels. I'm keeping the little dials and switches to a minimum, too.




The "motherboard" for the proton pack - basically the thing all the components connect to. I used a piece of 1/2" foam core.




I got a cheap bookbag at a local drug store from which I will remove the straps. My plan is to use a few pieces of thin plywood at the top and bottom to both strengthen the foamcore but also to provide a better surface for attaching the straps. That will probably be the final part of the proton pack. In the movie the pack was attached to a military Alice backpack frame. I could get the frame - with or without straps - for anywhere from about $10 - $60 on Ebay but like I said - I'm trying to keep this cheap. Plus it's going to be mostly cardboard and foamcore, so it shouldn't weigh too much.

Once I finish cutting out the motherboard I will attach the bottom round pieces, then move on to the other boxy components. I can get a few wires and such from my shop for the little details but I probably won't actually have the thing light up. (although my monitor tech offered to help wire it up for that. I'll have to see how time and money permits) I'm having some lettering for a sign for my shop made at a Sign-a-Rama and I am going to ask if they have any scrap pieces of polystyrene they don't want. Anything I can get for for free will be a bonus.

Once the components are attached to the motherboard I will spray the whole thing black and then add any additional paint/wires/details. I got a set of stickers on Ebay as well.

Last will be the positron glider (the gun part) which shouldn't be too hard.



So right now the whole project is about 20% done. WED-15 is likewise around 20%. I also need to start building a shadowbox for my mom's birthday in November. Lastly, I got the plans for my R5-D4 build which were $150 goddam dollars. I'm hoping to have the money to purchase the polystyrene sheets by the end of November.


I don't know what lit a fire under my ass to start building. I've been helping a friend of mine to work on his house the last few weeks. So far I patched and repainted his front steps which came out very nice. Planning on putting up the edging for a doorway next week. Maybe I just got sick of video games. Who knows.



Apologies ahead of time if this isn't allowed here but I thought some folks might find the prop building to be of interest.