Ghostbusters Ecto-1 by Polar Lights: WIP

[David G.]

22 hours ago, FLHCAHZ said:

Looking sharp!  Really nice detailing

Thank you Chaz.

19 hours ago, Steve H said:

Looking really good David. The detail painting on the interior and chassis is great.

Cheers, Steve

Thanks Steve, I appreciate your comment.

David G.

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

I decided that I want to add Proton Packs. After all, they're almost as iconic as the car itself. Even though seeing interior detail will be a little difficult after assembly, I feel that the model just wouldn't be complete without them.

After some searching, I found a very workable pattern at Starship Modeler: http://www.starshipmodeler.com/rv/kr_pax.htm

 

                          

 

As a practice run I first made one example using card stock. I also wanted to see if card stock would be a suitable material to use for making these.

It's not.

 

I then printed out four patterns in scale and using canopy glue, affixed them directly to some scrap sheet styrene approximately 1mm thick. I gave the glue a day to dry and started cutting and filing.

 

After a few building sessions, here is the result.

 

Now I have to make up the ancillaries and attach them and do a little detail painting. Then I'll start on building the racks and gurney.

That's all for now.

As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to comment.

David G.

[FLHCAHZ]

Those look great. Nice idea

[David G.]

12 hours ago, FLHCAHZ said:

Those look great. Nice idea

Thank you Chaz.

David G.

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

So far I've spent almost as much time building these Proton Pack as I have working on the rest of the model. In the end I hope it will have been worth it.

The construction phase is finished, now it's off to the paint shop!

 

I know that they look kind of rough but I have to keep reminding myself that once the model is assembled they will really only be visible as shadows or silhouettes. That, and a little detail painting  goes a long way.

As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to comment.

David G.

[FLHCAHZ]

That is a great detail for this kit.  Well done!

[slusher]

Really nice addition of detail to add to your build, David..

[Oldmopars]

I bet if you to look at the real props used, they are not as nice as they look on screen. I’m sure the dummy props were rather rough. 
I think yours will look fantastic when painted and detailed. Be sure to give them a light dry brushing of silver or other metal color. The props looked a bit used and abused. 

[Mr. Metallic]

Just saw Afterlife over the weekend. It really has me considering building an Ecto-1 myself, with the couple upgrades Egon apparently made to it after he left New York. 

For those of you that enjoyed the first two in the series, this one is a must see

David, you are also inspiring me with your very nicely done build. I'm following closely.

[Oldmopars]

57 minutes ago, Mr. Metallic said:

Just saw Afterlife over the weekend. It really has me considering building an Ecto-1 myself, with the couple upgrades Egon apparently made to it after he left New York. 

For those of you that enjoyed the first two in the series, this one is a must see

David, you are also inspiring me with your very nicely done build. I'm following closely.

Yep, I saw it too. I now want to build another one, but weathered like the movie. I did like the swing out chair, but not sure how to copy that. 

[David G.]

23 hours ago, FLHCAHZ said:

That is a great detail for this kit.  Well done!

Thanks Chaz, I appreciate your comment.

22 hours ago, slusher said:

Really nice addition of detail to add to your build, David..

Thank you Carl, I hope it ends up being worth all the effort.

20 hours ago, Oldmopars said:

I bet if you to look at the real props used, they are not as nice as they look on screen. I’m sure the dummy props were rather rough. 
I think yours will look fantastic when painted and detailed. Be sure to give them a light dry brushing of silver or other metal color. The props looked a bit used and abused. 

I believe that you're correct regarding the movie props Scott, I've seen examples of that first hand. The painting is done and I did dry brush some silver to highlight some of the details. I think they turned out well enough. Thank you for your comment Scott.

16 hours ago, Mr. Metallic said:

Just saw Afterlife over the weekend. It really has me considering building an Ecto-1 myself, with the couple upgrades Egon apparently made to it after he left New York. 

For those of you that enjoyed the first two in the series, this one is a must see

David, you are also inspiring me with your very nicely done build. I'm following closely.

I'll probably see the latest movie at some point but I'm not in any hurry. I liked the first one, the second was... okay. The third one, the reboot, was in my opinion a waste of time. I actually rented it twice through Netflix. I put the disc in the que a second time because I'd forgotten that I had already watched it a few months earlier. It was that memorable.

I'm glad to have you along on the build Craig, thanks for following along.

15 hours ago, Oldmopars said:

Yep, I saw it too. I now want to build another one, but weathered like the movie. I did like the swing out chair, but not sure how to copy that. 

In my research for this build I've seen photos of the Original Ecto-1 in various stages of neglect and of course, a couple of shots of it for the new movie. I have to say, I did feel a twinge of desire to build one in a distressed state and maybe someday I will. But for right now Scott, I think this one will satisfy my Ghostbusters craving.

Thanks for all the support, I do enjoy your comments.

David G.

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

Here are the finished Proton Packs.

They're a little rough but they'll do.

As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to comment.

David G.

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

Though I still need to make the gurneys on which the proton packs will be mounted, I'm going to go back to some of the more basic tasks so I can have a break from the scratch building for a while.

I pulled these louver plates from a model that I recently finished,  AMT's 1959 Chrysler Imperial. I do like kits that include extra custom parts and that Imperial kit certainly had its share.

 

Sanding the area to prep it for mounting the louvers revealed what seemed to be marks in the plastic where the louvers should be positioned. This was also true of the one on the rear door. That makes me wonder if there are allowances in the mold for the louvers to be cast into the body.

 

All trimmed and mounted, here are the hood louvers. They do look a little clunky but not too bad. At one point I had considered cutting them into the body but I decided not to.

 

I think once they're cleaned up and painted, they'll look fine. I do plan to file more of a slope on the first louver in each set to blend them into the body a little more. That should help.

 

As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to comment.

David G.

[gotnitro?]

Very nice work,  those proton packs are a treat to look at 

[Oldmopars]

I love the proton packs, the weathering looks great. I think the louvers add a nice touch. 

[David G.]

21 hours ago, gotnitro? said:

Very nice work,  those proton packs are a treat to look at 

Thank you Jeff, I'm glad you like them.

20 hours ago, Oldmopars said:

I love the proton packs, the weathering looks great. I think the louvers add a nice touch. 

Thanks Scott, I appreciate your comment.

I did a lot of work on the roof rack and associated details over the weekend so I hope to have some more photos to post soon.

Thanks Again,

David G.

[mustang1989]

Love all the fabbing and imagination going into this build Dave. Awesome work pal.

[FLHCAHZ]

The packs came out nice!

[David G.]

On 12/6/2021 at 4:37 AM, mustang1989 said:

Love all the fabbing and imagination going into this build Dave. Awesome work pal.

Thanks Joe, it's kind of you to say that.

23 hours ago, FLHCAHZ said:

The packs came out nice!

Thank you Chaz.

David G.

[adamelvis]

Great work so far.

 

[David G.]

14 hours ago, adamelvis said:

Great work so far.

 

Thank you Adam, I appreciate your comment.

David G.

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

I've been spending some of my bench time working on the roof carrier. There's one main feature that I've decided I just can't let go unaddressed.

This... Thing.

 

My research indicates that it is supposed to be an HVAC unit. Which makes sense considering that all the vintage computer equipment on board would require some cooling to remain functional.

It's difficult to find a photo of what the unit is supposed to look like. This one is close to canon but from what I can make out from the movie stills, the motor in the center should be white or light metallic, maybe aluminum like a motor casing would be.

 

 

So here we go, jumping down yet another rabbit hole!

 

Now that the damage is done, I need to make a motor housing and find a way to mount it using wire supports. I also have some ideas for a fan to go under the motor.

Suggestions are always welcome.

As always, thanks for taking the time to look.

David G.

Edited January 18, 2022 by David G.
typo

[mustang1989]

Fan blades.........perhaps a 1/72 scale 3 blade aircraft prop with the blade lengths cut down and the edges rounded some to fit the hole and to look like the fan in the pic? 

Good thinkin' on the mods btw. 

Edited December 11, 2021 by mustang1989

[Oldmopars]

3 hours ago, mustang1989 said:

Fan blades.........perhaps a 1/72 scale 3 blade aircraft prop with the blade lengths cut down and the edges rounded some to fit the hole and to look like the fan in the pic? 

Good thinkin' on the mods btw. 

Or a fan from a 1/25 Big Rig. 

[chris chabre]

Coming out killer! the proton packs look awesome!

 

Anyone else look at these caddys and see a slammed crew cab pick up? haha