I thought I was l being clever with the launch of Q2&A this month. Until I realised the three posts I’d written up mean that in the quarterly blog, unless I wasn’t to go into statistics of the year so far and indulge in some rather dull pie charts and graphs. Which would send half the fleet into a state of deep, deep sleep.
So I’ve decided to do something I’ve been putting off for a long, long time and document a pet project that started off as a one off purchase, and turned into years of tinkering and learning. Something that isn’t Discvovery as we’ve got loads of that on the way toweards the finale, and something that involes offering a lot of public credit for the help I’d gained stepping outside the Trek fandom to another.
And it all started with finding a Ghostbusters Neutrona Wand on Amazon…
As a kid one of the first costumes my mum made me was a Ghostbusters Jumpsuit. About five of them, really. I did get her to try a Next Gen uniform, but I was a bit nit-picky even back then so that project was abandoned! Instead I had a handfull of jumpsuits, a cardboard proton pack (upgraded to a classic Kenner pack and trap!) and a huge amount of Ghostbusters toys.
I’m not sure what triggered it, but for some reason I just figured… I have the wand. Why not the full pack! With that whim of an idea, I found kits being made by Ben Of Kent Props and a few weeks and a large delivery later, the somewhat insane idea began.
Researching a pack shell was overwhelming. There’s loads more options than you’d imagine and as always with any supplier, reviews are never 100% perfect. Some are overblown. I ended up choosing Ben of Kent (BoK) as I’d seen a couple of the packs, the list of included items were brilliant (so no need to source as much as other suppliers) and he’s UK based which didn’t have me worrying about a ridiculously oversized import fee. All a perfect combination and I couldn’t have been happier. He’s an in-demand guy and ships home made resin shells with some advance work before they’re even packed away. There’s holes to drill and bits to piece together, but the main shell comes with the big holes cut out AND it was primed before shipping!
As a bonus, included in the metal parts was a V-Hook to fit the Spengler wand to easily attach the pre-bought item to a custom built pack (available as a solo purchase). Which is still one of my favourite pieces! Ben was also good for a chat while things were moving and gave some good tips on what extra tools needed to be in my workshop – and t make life better, there’s a Facebook group with experienced builders to share their tips!
I’d tried making props before: A custom designed tricorder using an old tablet and some vinyl as well as a resin cast phaser that ended up so awful that the paint took ten years to dry. I ended up finding I had more skill in sewing and ignored props of any sort until the idea of building a proton pack popped into my head. So this was a bit of a challenge to go right into the deep end.
For someone who was hesitant to change a plug and once hired someone to put up a shelf, figuring out how to wire things up was a bit of a learning curve. Sanding, painting, assembly. That was seemingly the easy part with the right tools and bolts (thankfully Ben is overly generous with the supplies and any questions you might have!). Though the big problem was electronics.
Any sane person with zero skill would go an easier route. There are loads of kits available from the popular GBFans to the awesomely made Rabid Prototyes. Even home made offerings such as MikeS11’s Arduino codes. I wanted to try and learn myself after grabbing some basic code from 3D printing experts Ghosbusters Gear. And I won’t lie: I cheated. A lot. And failed a lot.
There was some evolution of the set up as I couldn’t quite get everything to behave itself. At one point I almost set the office on fire not realising Ardiono’s may have a DC input, but they really don’t like them….
The final form is a bit more complex than it needs to be. It has a TalentCell battery pack mounted to the outside of the motherboard for easy replacement and splits off to power two sides: A USB to power the 5v lighting and background noise (small speakers hidden in the cyclotron and N Filter) and a 12v input to power a separate sound system. The Neopixel Ring and sound board are both wired up tot he Arduino, while the PowerCell lights – which is a multi-purpose light runner from supplied by Hobby Kit Shop – just feeds off its power supply.
The USB input serves two purposes: One, obviously power, but can also be used to reprogram or add additional functions to the PCB. Which makes life a bit easier than taking the shell off to make adjustments to speed or sound.
On the lower rear are a few switches so they’re in easy reach while wearing the pack. One switch controls power to everything. The second lets you switch off the background noise if needed or desired. The third is a push down switch that’s part of a two-way system. With both the red crank switch (seen in close ups bellow) and the alternative switch are on, it activates a separate set of loudspeakers connected to an MP3 decoder. That way you can control what switch activates the “Party Mode”.
Better yet – it has a USB switch attached to the lower side of the motherboard so you can feed a USB cable to it and have different USB modes: Either Ghostbusters mode, or just a really, really loud Cyclotron sound. The MP3 decoder can also be fed by other inputs and connects to my phones bluetooth with the touch of a button.
For ease at the time, and fitting in with the home made aesthetic, there’s a DC line from the shell to the motherboard to feed the powercell lights as I basically just duct taped them in place. And yeah, the powercell is set to Warp Core Mode instead of being screen accurate because, Starfleet….
Before I got started there was a running joke I’d seen of a pack never being complete. It didn’t take long to know what that meant! Over the two years of work, loads of parts have been replaced and upgraded. Originally I had a speaker port to connect the pack to the Hasbro wand tubing. That ended up getting replaced with a car charging port I found on Amazon and the tubing was cut in half to add something close to the modern version of the pack.
While BoK supplied a load of cabling and metal parts – including athe lovely V-Hook, ion arm and shock mount – I went with Charlesworth Dynamics for extra brass fittings while adding some generic bicycle and air compressor parts for my own added details including a secondary tube connecting to my idea for a smaller version of the Video Game slime tank.
A few other elements were partly inspired by the Afterlife look, and partly inspired by boredom including taking a couple of small chunks out as damage to looking at a tube during a very dull phone call and deciding to slice it up and mash random wiring in it’s place. The wiring rack was a nice addition from Mutations & Creations who made a very nice print of the Frozen Empire element thats shortened to fit into a traditional style layout. I may end up grabbing a few more prints from them down the line…
The red switch under the crank generator was from Punk Rocket Props, which works very nicely, while the hasbro and grip was modified by cutting off the stock rubber and using a replacement filler piece from NerdyNotionZ layered in purple tape. I’d also replaced a few of the stickers from BoK with metallic ones courtesy of EctoLabs (though I did weather them a bit too much!).
I know the whole thing pales in comparison to some of the work I’ve seen from members of Q2 all over and that this patch job of a machine is largely down to the amazing work of other creators with me just putting parts together and getting it to look the way I want it to. I’m a big fan of creating something unique over staying screen accurate with certain things, and this project really let me dive in to the “home made and patched up with whatever I find” style. Mostly as it was patched up with whatever I found. the split-open tube is pretty much just stuffed with Cat5E cabling I’d already swapped out with Cat6 and was just laying around.
While I wish I had even a fraction of the skill and talent I’ve seen both in the Q2 and the world, with this being a constantly evolving project that I was able to tinker around with and learn new things, I’m oddly proud of the end result.
Of course, Ghosbuster fans around the world have done far better and I’ve seen some utterly mad customisations for those like me who want to create “their” pack and not a direct replica. But I’ve learned a huge amount and hopefully doing some basic Trek props down the line will be far easier!
Credits & Parts List:
- Ben of Kent: Base Proton Pack Kit with metal parts, Trap and Pedal Kit, Alice Frame
- Charlesworth Dynamics: Brass Fittings, Trap Upgrade Parts
- ElettricZan: Trap Electronics Kit
- Punk Rocket Pops: Breaker Switch
- Nerdy NotionZ: Wand Grip Gap Filler
- Mutations & Creations: Wire Rack
- Ghostbusters Gear: Cyclotron Code
- EctoLabs: Metallic Labels
- Carl Smith & Pack Man: Trap Metal Part Upgrades
- HobbyKitShop: Powercell Lights
- KSG Kreations: Belt Gizmo
About the author
[Retro Review] The Doomsday Machine
Responding to a distress call from the USS Constellation, the Enterprise race to the rescue but they arrive too late to save the day. Coming under fire from an alien entity, the Constellation has been heavily damaged and with only one survivor within it's charred shell; Commodore Matt Decker... Still in shock from the attack, Decker isn't able to say if it was an alien ship, or a creature that tore his ship apart. It doesn't take long to track the aliens flight path. It's not from around these parts, entering the Galaxy and on course towards populated areas that would undoubtedly be next in it's devastating path. Beaming on board with an away team, Kirk aims to try and get whats left of the ship back up and running while getting Decker to safety. But during the transit, the […]
Under Pressure: ‘Orders Of Magnitude’, Strange New Worlds S4E08
Boarding as a hero and legend, Admiral Joe Reeger arrives, take command and leaves Pike stranded as he leads the remaining Enterprise crew on an urgent mission. With a visiting (again!) James Kirk picked out as first officer, Reegers mission and motivations come into question and puts Kirk's leadership to task... Writers: Alan B McElroy Director: Sharon Lewis One thing about season four that's been a highlight through some uneven episodes is how it's guiding it's characters form our first contact with them in this series, and how we originally met them sixty years earlier. While it's been more obvious with Spock's pivot towards being closer to his logical side, we've had Chapel make the choice to become a permanent part of the Enterprise and Scotty's move towards being the 'miracle worker'. Even Pike seems to be on the […]
Days of Our Unreal Lives: ‘Like Chronitons Through The Hourglass’, Strange New Worlds S4E07
Waking up in sickbay with a comical bandage on his head following a shuttle accident, Pike quickly notices things are a bit off. The lights are too bright. The medical staff are behaving oddly with dramatic pauses aplenty. And he's fairly certain space madness isn't a genuine diagnosis. As the hour continues with devious secret siblings, dramatic feats of medicine and family drama aplenty, Pike is drawn further into the strangest of all worlds; the soap opera. Writers: Dana Horgan and Bill WolkoffDirector: Anna Dozoka Soap opera's are mental. And for a theme it's even more mental than it seems. But considering soap opera's are basically just overly dramatic premises with long lost relatives you'd never before heard of, absolutely insane scenario's that make Maggie Simpson shooting Mr Burns seem normal and plot twists so insane you genuinely have to […]
Star Trek Day 2026: Celebrating 60 Years of the Final Frontier!
Sixty years ago the world was introduced to a sci fi series that planted a seed of adventure, imagination and inspiration that would blossom into a juggernaut of media. After launching with the Man Trap on September 8th in the United States, the series would later grow into a pop culture icon spawning 9 Live Action Series, 3 Animated Series, 13 Feature Films & more including Streaming Events, Shorts and a huge amount of offshoot media across games, comics and books. With generations of fans discovering new era's and new adventures for decades, today we celebrate not only that first flight of the USS Enterprise and it's original crew, but an entire franchise that continued to grow, evolve, building a world of adventure, inspiration and hope for a better future! As we celebrate Star Trek at 60, we'd love to hear how […]
Away Team, Assemble! The USS Tesla Set To Beam Down to Epic Comic Con!
Returning to Glasgow this September, the Tesla Crew are once again in action at Fan Frontiers Epic Comic Con in the SEC Hosted by Fan Frontiers, Epic Comic Con has been one of the core places to meet the crew of the Tesla since it’s origins as Acme Comic Con and has become a firm part of the diverse and welcoming fan centric communities hosting everything from Rebel Legions to Ghostbusters! Taking their regular spot once again the Tesla crew will have Star Trek props and collectables on display as the team get ready to share the wonders of the final frontier! With possibly the biggest and most intriguing line ups to date, Epic will be hosting some surprises including Lord of the Rings' hobbit Duo Billy Boyd & Dominic Monaghan, What We Do in the Shadows Star Kayvan Novak, […]
60 Year Mission Celebrations!
This month Star Trek celebrates 60 years since the continuing mission launched and this year we've decided.... one Star Trek Day isn't enough. We're having a whole month of celebration! With plans including virtual meets, Europa chats, competitions and more, we're inviting the whole fleet to jump on board, get involved and join the fun of celebrating sixty years othe final frontier! Virtual Meet Sunday September 6th 8pm Starbase Europa 60 YEAR MISSION Meet the Fleet in Celebration with an evening of catching up, sharing stories, maybe a few bad jokes and general shenanigans! As we open a month of celebrating one of sci fi's most enduring franchises, grab a drink, pull up a chair and have a few laughs to begin the month! Discussion Sunday September 6th All Day Starbase Europa STAR TREK DAY 2026 From dusk 'till dawn, […]
Related
Admirals Blog: Gamma Quarter 2403
To say it’s been a sad few weeks for Q2 would be an understatement. There have been fewer constants than Mark Mitchell within the past, Gods knows how many years. The rulebooks? Thats him. Academy? Thats all Mark. Sure, things got updated and edited over the years, but he’s been the backbone of the fleet for as long as I remember. Mainly as I remember him making my Academy exam when I joined the fleet on a whim. It’s because of people like Mark that I stayed. The fleet has always been the people. And he was one of the best people. I was honoured and humbled by the amount of people who went to say their goodbyes to him and while I felt a real sense of loss, it was also a day filled with joyful memories. When it […]
Mark Mitchell; 1969-2026
It's with great sadness we report that our Director of Operations, Mark Mitchell, has sadly passed away suddenly earlier this week. Mark was one of our longest serving members and a huge part of what helped shape what SFCQ2 is today. Having served in leadership as a CO, throughout fleet support and originating the role of Director of Administration, Mark's unyielding dedication to the club and his multiple contributions over the decades undoubtedly make him worthy of his Legend handle. From writing the entire base for our modern Academy to being vital in the fleet restructure, to offering support and advice to countless members to support leadership and direction, Mark's efforts serve, and will likely continue to serve, as the backbone of everything that makes Q2 with his primary goal always being to offer the best of everything and push […]
Gamma Quarter 2403 Promotions & Citations
Throughout it’s entire existence SFC has grown, evolved and thrived due tot he commitment and passion of our officers and crew. Keen members can make a huge difference within their unit or the fleet as a whole, and we like to ensure members are rewarded and recognised for all they bring to the organisation. Starting this quarter, we're opening every new period within the fleet celebrating those who have made an impact and engaged in being a positive influence in their unit or in Q2 overall. The most obvious form of rewards comes from our naval-based rank structure. Utilising the same base rank structure seen on screen, SFC takes members through their journey as a Starfleet officer by giving members a chance to rise throughout the ranks from Ensign to Captain. Having had an active and exciting year, Lt Commander […]
Sixty Year Mission…
It's been a really weird year already for the world of Star Trek fans. We started 2026 with a new venture into a strange new future with Starfleet Academy. Then just as the show had won people over, we found out it's the latest in a long list of recent productions to get a cancellation order, is a bit of a weird way to start the 60th anniversary of a legendary franchise. The past few years we've kind of spoiled. Growing up it was exciting to have Deep Space Nine run alongside the Next Generation. In modern times we had multiple shows going at once with Discovery's launch spawning a new world of story telling from revisiting Picard in his post-Starfleet years, to animated comedy with Lower Decks, to finally telling the story of Captain Pike and even a peek […]
Power of Three: Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The To Do List.
It's been a weird kind of year in the Admin office. Between work (real life work and fleet life work), life and now summer holidays, finding time to catch up hasn't been the easiest. Which makes it a bad time to be doing a full review of every single thing in Q2 from the ground up to try and overhaul and improve as much as we can and balance some of the most base Admin tasks there are. So first off, thanks to all who have been patient waiting on me to get back to everyone and for waiting an extra couple of days for changes, updates, application and usually a but longer for replies that – after a bit of a wait – must be incredibly underwhelming! Also thanks to Admiral Arlow who had me randomly dropping by while […]
Beta Quarter Plans and Progress..
Since the 50th anniversary of SFC as a whole, we've been on a mission to revitalise and update several elements of Quadrant 2, working on improving services and experience fleet wide for all members. Following some background changes and a lot of work in the Alpha Quarter behind the scenes, we're moving into the next phase with some more visibility in whats coming next! Balancing life and fleet life is always a trial. All too often things can lapse or take time due to finding that right balance; especially as life now is a little more chaotic than it was ten years ago and the things we'd take in our stride tend to take a little bit longer now. That balance has been on my mind a lot in the past year, particularly in how Q2 has changed and grown […]
