Monday, October 1, 2018

Homemade Ghostbusters Proton Pack


A couple of people have asked me how I made the proton pack I wore for Halloween a couple of years ago. I don't have pictures of the process,  but I can explain where I got the parts and how I put it together.

First of all, and probably most importantly, I started looking for parts early. I knew I wanted to be Holtzman  but there was no way I was going to spend $700 on a pre-made pack. My budget was more like $50.00... So I started scrounging every time I stopped at Goodwill.

Most of the parts were items I picked up at thrift shops for next to nothing. In fact, the most expensive part of the whole thing was the spray paint!

(Click to make the image larger.)

I used an acrylic tray as the base of the pack, rather than the military frame that lots of people use. The ALICE frame was running between $25.00 and $50.00, so when I saw the tray for $1.00 it was an easy decision.  My husband cut some slits into the top of it for me so I could thread through straps I took from an old backpack.

Most of the other parts ran around the same price - except for the spray paint and the lights. (Everything is better with lights, right?) The best part was finding the light saber on the shelf at The Salvation Army for $1.99. After cutting down the end and drilling holes, a coat of paint, and some added lights - it was close to perfect.

After scrounging all the parts I used E6000 glue to hold everything together. Best. Glue. Ever. It stinks to high heaven, but it's flexible and is great for holding things together that need a little give.


To be honest, there was some sewing involved since I did add the orange and gray ribbon to the jump suit. It was actually cheaper to buy a pre-made jumpsuit on Amazon than it would have been to buy the fabric and a pattern to make one. It may not be screen accurate, but it was prefect for Halloween.

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