[MovieSean]

THIS....right here....is why I LOVE this community, trying to get people that cant afford the fiberglass kits, or even franchises looking to start out and buy a few packs. This will be awesome when you get through with it! In true AH fashion no doubt! Good luck on the builds and I will def order a few kits when they come out!

[nohero]

Awesome to find this thread.

I've just ordered a SC pack and am looking for a cheaper build option.

For the newbies, would your resin kit plus the SC pack be most of the components needed?

What would remain?

[Azurial]

I think youd still need the Clippard tubes and ribbon cable.

[Alan Hawkins]

He is correct. I'm not planning on doing hardware etc. Just trying to cut out the fabrication a bit.

[Alan Hawkins]

April was a busy month! Did my first Emerald City Comic Con and a GB wedding in Chicago and now I'm back to this build! Today was fiberglassing the shells. (I have a more detailed tutorial in my main Studio Creations thread if you need more info)

First I started with the front brace. This is a piece of thin styrene that I cut to cover the center seam. It has two purposes. One it looks a LOT cleaner than just filling that seam. And two, it provides structure that allows you not to have to rivet or bolt the two halves together. This means that the shell is a bit taller than what peoples builds normally come out too. To start I make a pattern out of paper and then cut that out of styrene. A simple FOR SALE sigh will work great for this.

Paper pattern


Ready to cut from Styrene


Like so


I just place it with with hot glue, once you fiberglass the back it is more of a cosmetic deal as the fiberglass provides structure. Also, remember to cut a path for your cables and wires to go through.



This time I also places some styrene up top to make the sides there stiffer. I may have to figure out a better method for my Ion Arm because of this, but it always bugs me how flimsy the pack is at those points.



Now both are fiberglassed!



More to come!

[nohero]

Looks great. How have you joined the two shell halves?

[Alan Hawkins]

I lay them flat, attach the two edges first and on this build I have placed rivets where the shell halves touch together. Then I make a brace that gets hot glued to the front. I fill some gaps with two part putty on the front and then fiberglass.

[Alan Hawkins]

Got a good portion of my kit done today.



Top Left - Pack foot and Injector receiver.

Beam Line and Filler Tube top and base. Two types of PPD discs (both will come with the kit.)

Booster tube bottom and plug.

Getting my bumper ready to cast is next.

[pseadynamo]

Having seen your latest SC pack in person I can say it's amazing! ...and also surprisingly loud for 10w amp which might be due to a thinner shell material?
I like how you've reinforced the areas up top where the Ion arm attaches. I am still planning an SC pack build as I have wanted something lighter for longer parade walks, zombie run, Halloween breakdance party, etc.
Would be a cool trick to extend the Matty wand sounds into a battery+amp+speaker inside the pack for those that don't want to make a thrower from scratch.

[pseadynamo]

I was just on another thread for amplifiers and saw that Spongface sells an adaptor board for the Matty wand. He is really on top of it when it comes to new circuit boards.

[Alan Hawkins]

Today was a good day. Got the first parts of my kit started and added parts to the new packs. What great about this process is that I get to actually try them out in a real world setting.

Base post for the 1" PVC pipes -



With bolt -



My end cap -



Set with Loctite glue -



Cap glued in and sanded -



BOOM! -



PPD caps -



Once again, Loctite -



Base and injector receiver thingy -



BOOM! -



This is going to make creating these packs a lot less work. Just cut pipes and set the parts, sand and move on!

[Batfly]

Very nice, clean, and practical!

[Alan Hawkins]

BOOSTER TUBE TIME!!!





I'm really happy with how this came out. It's going to be a lot easier to make this part. Just cut a straight section of PVC pipe and attach it to the shell. Drink a beer, move on with your life...

More to come!

[Alan Hawkins]

Building the N-Filter has never been one of my favorite things and I wanted to figure out a better way than casting the whole thing in resin. So here is my solution. Using a standard PVC coupler I made a plug that I will cast and either add a bolt through the bottom or cast the bolt in the resin.









I'll add the holes and the weld details next. The holes will be pretty shallow, people can either paint them or bore them out deeper. I would just paint them white myself.

[gamera1968]

Looks great so far and I'd be down for a complete kit if the price is reasonable.

[PssdffJay]

Have I told you I love you, lately?

[Alan Hawkins]

ALWAYS nice to hear.

I just don't know enough yet about this kit to offer pricing as I'm still designing it. But I plan on staying an interest list once these packs are complete.

[Alan Hawkins]

I've been thinking about this since the Matty Thrower came out. It occurred to me that they would probably not make a full aluminum hook for the thrower if they came up with a pack to go with it. It would be the same plastic the thrower was made of. Just made as beefy as they could. So with that in mind I got some TOUGH CAST high tensile strength resin and made a buck.







Test video -



It's pretty strong. Now, I won't offer any guarantees. If you want my honest opinion, I would spend the extra money and get an all aluminum hook for your $250 value toy. BUT! If you are strapped for cash, and need something that will work this might be the path until you can build a proper thrower from Nick or TC.

[Hybrid]

Love this build. Sir Hawkins, you are a genius.

[Alan Hawkins]

Love this build. Sir Hawkins, you are a genius.

Aww, shucks! Thank you sir!

[Alan Hawkins]

This is going to be a longer post as I have been lack in keeping this thread up to date (sorry..) So my builds and kit creation is going along quite well so far (knock on wood) doing these two packs at the same time has helped me visualize and then actually test my parts as I make them.

I have been hoarding these parts for Jack D. for some time and finally made my Booster Frame -



PPD and Injector tube bottom, plus the tube receiver thingy -









Injector Tube Base and end cap -





Build so far -



I need to do a two-part mold for my bumper. I have not had the best of results when doing these in the past. So I decided to watch a ton of tutorials, I even posted in the RPF facebook group and after all of that I did a test on my Bellows.





Pretty happy with that!

Now on to my bumper. As many of you know, the SC shell is a bit smaller than a normal shell. When I have attached a regular bumper to one in the past I end up adding spacers so that the bumper sits properly, But it doesn't a always look quite right. When I finally made a quicky SC pack for myself (and since I was broke when I did it.) I made a bumper from scratch and made it to fit the shell. To have it look right I beefed it up a bit in it's proportions and made it a 1/4 overall shorter than a normal bumper. Which means that this part will only work on a SC shell. I also didn't fill in the back since I figured I could do that later.

The bumper as it sat on my pack -



Started working on the back -



Body work -



I paint it a bright color so I can see flaws -







Now that I have all of that worked out I start the process of molding it.



Let me just tell you something, if you are like me and have never made a bumper, put hours into getting it just right, then spend more hours making a mold and casting it, then let me tell you something. THIS IS HARD WORK. The people who have been providing this community with bumpers over the years deserve a medal! I thought I would spend easily half the time I have on this and will spend hours more. Thank you bumper makers! YOU ROCK!

More to come.

[Venkman's Swagger]

Incredible and inspirational in equal measure sir.

[Alan Hawkins]

Incredible and inspirational in equal measure sir.

Thank you sir!

[Venkman's Swagger]

Incredible and inspirational in equal measure sir.

Thank you sir!

You're welcome

[Alan Hawkins]

Let me tell you a story... About a man. A man who thought he had his sh*t together. It's a love story of sorts.. A sad love story...

It all started with a lovely lady named "Blue"



Blue is going to break my heart.



The story started so simply. Our two heroes had found each other at last.

Some crazy kinky things happened, as they sometimes do.



But, when you are in love? It's all good!

Things where going great!



Then.. Our hero used spray on mold release! And tragedy struck!

(image removed do to graphic content. Not really.. I just couldn't take a picture of it. Just could not.)

Sometimes, something so perfect can JUST GO so wrong! Will they reconcile? Can they salvage their forbidden love????

I'll let you know after this first bumper cures in it's heartbroken mold...

[Alan Hawkins]

Yeah, things got ugly.





But, I think if I can get five pulls I can provide the bumpers I have promised to friends and use the revenue from that to try a second mold.

It's got an ugly seam, but no warpage -





Always learning...

[DarkSpectre]

Alan, your work continues to amaze me. I love my SC shell and my buddy loves his. You're techniques are awesome!

[Alan Hawkins]

Alan, your work continues to amaze me. I love my SC shell and my buddy loves his. You're techniques are awesome!

Thank you!

[Alan Hawkins]

I had to redo my N-Filter solution. I had wanted to make a part that some one could just pop into a PVC coupler and move on with life, but spacing issues and logistics of molding just didn't make that seem like a great idea. I instead decided to make a base and a top, so you would still only need to place a coupler on there, but you will have to drill the holes.







As you can see, I just placed a few allen head bolts in the bottom and that will hold it in place, and if for any reason you want to remove it, you can.

I added these and the bumpers and bellows to the packs. Next up is the HGA and Ion arm!



More to come...

[robandliv]

I am ready for you to start selling this little extra parts!!!!! Such a great idea.