Ghostbusters Fans is proud to present the first full scale Ghostbusters FAQ. We aim to archive all of the questions that are most commonly asked by fans and visitors to our site. This FAQ will be frequently updated by those that know the answers. For a listing of each category covered by this FAQ, please see the main page
here.
[Revise]Q. What kind of car is the Ecto-1?
| A. The Ecto-1 and Ecto-1a were both based off of a 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor Combo which could have been used as either a Hearse or an Ambulance. Both vehicles used in the film were originally Ambulances. |
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[Revise]Q. How much does a Proton Pack cost?
A. This will vary on how accurate you want it. Expect to see them on Ebay starting at several hundred dollars ranging to in the thousands, especially closer to Halloween. There are many factors that are taken into account. You can make your own from next to nothing and junk found around the house to constructing them out of wood or other material to buying resin and real found parts. The following link will provide information on various aspects and components of the proton pack http://www.gbfans.com/equipment/proton-pack/
You will find when you are making it yourself that things will start adding up faster than you think, whether it's wood, paint or anything else. That is part of the reason they are expensive to buy one. Some parts are hard to come by and people spend a lot of time, money and hard labor working on these things. It is a luxury to have one, not a right. Often you will find making one yourself much more rewarding.
The fact is light kits and other resin pack shells and other parts you might see may seem costly but they are costly to create and make available for everyone. It is possible to make a very good proton pack with things you might have around the house or garage. People have even made packs from cardboard! Below are a few examples of what can be done with time and a little bit of patience.
Radar's $64.71 proton pack & wand
Bradester's Dollar Store Proton Pack! |
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[Revise]Q. Where does the yellow hose go to?
| A. The yellow hose on the uniform remains somewhat in mystery. The hose was connected to the middle of the left thigh through a rubber boot. Where the hose ends up is open to interpretation... in some scenes of Ghostbusters (early filming dates) the hose appears to just wrap around the belt or placed somewhere on the back of the belt. In later scenes (with later filming dates), the hose can be seen going into some kind of connector on the center belt in the rear. |
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[Revise]Q. What function does the yellow hose serve?
| A. Many have compared the yellow hose to that of an Air Force pilots urinary relief system. It's real function in the Ghostbusters Universe is unknown. Many can speculate, but it is open to your own interpretation. |
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[Revise]Q. What was the PKE Meter built from?
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[Revise]Q. Where does the real PKE Meter currently reside?
| A. The real PKE Meter is in the hands of a private collector. |
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[Revise]Q. What movies has the PKE Meter appeared in?
| A. The original PKE Meter was built and rented by a prop house in California. It has been rented out and appeared in a number of films other than Ghostbusters. The list includes: Suburban Commando, They Live, & others. (update this list if you know more movies it was in). |
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[Revise]Q. How can I mold my own Proton Pack?
| A. Making a mold, and castings of a Proton Pack is very difficult and expensive process. If you do not know where to start you might have problems in completeing the project. There is however a great resource that goes into detail on how to make Proton Pack shells. Visit this page at GBProject.com: http://www.gbproject.com/plans/mctut/index.html |
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[Revise]Q. What are the best plans to use to build a Proton Pack?
A. There are essentially three different sets of plans out there for building a Proton Pack. (All of them can be obtained in the Equipment Plans section: http://www.gbfans.com/equipment/plans/). The first and oldest set of plans was created by Norm Gagnon, they are by far the easiest plans to follow for a newbie to building. They use general household parts to build the replica and other commonly available parts. The problem with Norm's plan is that they aren't very accurate, a few of the measurements are off by as much as an inch. You can download Norm's plans here.
Arguably the most accurate plans available are by Stefan Otto. They were developed by using CAD software and pictures of the hero Proton Pack available in the Reference Section. They are the most difficult to follow for someone who is inexperienced with reading blueprints. You can download Stefan's Proton Pack plans here.
In between Norm's and Stefan's Proton Pack plans are Sean Bishop's plans. They were created by measuring the actual Proton Packs used in the films. The measurements are essentially the same as Stefan's plans but may be off by a few fractions of an inch. They provide important commentary while building and should be referenced along with Norm and Stefan's plans. You can download Sean's Proton Pack plans here. |
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[Revise]Q. What were the Ecto Goggles built out of?
| A. They were originally military Night Vision goggles with different lenses. They are model: AN/PVS-5a. |
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