#4982315
People are undervaluing that shell. You're extremely lucky to have one if you have one. Based on other people reports of where they were on the list i don't think hes pushing out more than 20 a year. Legacy is about 200 on the list so unless the fabrication speed goes up it's going to be an 8 year wait for people at the back of the list. People at the back (like me) will probably see every other part released and be waiting on the shell, they'll have the opposite problem.
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#4984239
I emailed Mack's Factory a long time ago with some feedback. Never got any response. You'd think they'd be tripping over themselves to respond to someone wanting to give them several thousand dollars. Yeesh. What is going on over there?
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By ccv66
#4984248
When my order position becomes available, my link wasn't working. I emailed them. I got several emails back right away. I emailed them a few weeks later with a general question about the rest parts availability, crickets.

I think if your a customer with a problem, they'll take care of you, but they must be bombarded with ETA emails.


Their shells and bumper are the best in the business. Worth the wait, but definitely wish they move faster
GBKid1984 liked this
#4984257
I basically said, hey I really like the cut if your jib, but I can't in good conscious buy anything from you when its been three years and there's been so much disorder.

There's been so many companies that have promised officially licensed Proton Packs and either under delivered or vanished with peoples money. You're clearly struggling with the resin packs and only offer a hodgepodge of random parts.

What if you focused on something smaller in the meantime like getting the neutrino wand parts out the door so people have something to complete and enjoy your craftsmanship to show the public you can finish something to improve trust.

So either my email gotten eaten or they took offense. Either way, I feel like I'll be dead before I ever see a full kit from them.
#4985031
Well hey, our quarterly item release is out: NW123 - Emitter Retractor Kit. You can select a delicious, nutty walnut flavor or sandblast it.

There's also what looks like the exact same thing for a fraction of the price coming soon: NW123 - Emitter Retractor Kit - DR. Factory rejects maybe?

Both of the resin pieces for the pack (bumper and booster frame) have disappeared from the store entirely, which isn't promising.
By tobycj
#4985074
WhoaFoogles wrote: August 4th, 2023, 7:05 pm Well hey, our quarterly item release is out: NW123 - Emitter Retractor Kit. You can select a delicious, nutty walnut flavor or sandblast it.

There's also what looks like the exact same thing for a fraction of the price coming soon: NW123 - Emitter Retractor Kit - DR. Factory rejects maybe?

Both of the resin pieces for the pack (bumper and booster frame) have disappeared from the store entirely, which isn't promising.
The booster ladder, idealised and legacy, is still in the store when I looked.
User avatar
By da_rambler20
#4988757
Unfortunately, life has thrown me some curveballs and I have decided to sell off the Mack's Factory parts I have purchased. I have a FS thread in the sales section!

Let me know if you have any questions or want to get a jump start on the wand with all the fittings I currently am selling.
By ccv66
#4990226
I got the wand this week. Pretty happy with it. Looks sharp, well made. However I think the third party aluminum wands are heavier built. I don't know how much it really matters, it's still stronger than resin. I think you'll be happy with either route you go. Really hoping for some legacy grips
By tobycj
#4990227
ccv66 wrote: January 7th, 2024, 3:31 pm I got the wand this week. Pretty happy with it. Looks sharp, well made. However I think the third party aluminum wands are heavier built. I don't know how much it really matters, it's still stronger than resin. I think you'll be happy with either route you go. Really hoping for some legacy grips
Arron did confirm somewhere a while back he's working on legacy grips too
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#4990646
Round 2 of the aluminum wand bodies is up for pre-order if you missed the first go-around: NW101 - Neutrona Wand Body - Aluminum

In other good news:
On Facebook, Mack's Factory wrote:My shell manufacture is now confident in their production capabilities and fulfilling orders. With this change I am switching from a waitlist to taking pre-orders. This means that while there is inventory currently on hand, that can ship within two weeks or less, all orders received as pre-orders will ship as soon as the parts are produced and packed.
Get you a shell right now, no more waitlisting: Regular, Legacy

Just a matter of waiting (checks calculator) 12 more years for the rest of the parts, if the current average pace of 3.25 parts released per year is maintained. Would be lovely if finally sorting out the shell issues lets them work on developing the smaller bits more easily.
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By gerard55
#4990673
Yeah the parts do take quite some time to come along, with the name Macks Factory I think many were under the assumption that parts would be available quicker.

The website also seems to not have a few things listed for the wand, the obvious ones being the front handle, pop mech, grips, trigger box etc, they're not appearing even on wait list items. The wand body does look nice but you buy that and then its another waiting game to see if the parts you need become available in the next few months. I suppose some gb fans parts like the side knobs, gun rail, top knob etc would likely all work with the gun body, but that still leaves the front tube sections of the wand, trigger box, grips etc.

I thought the trigger box came as part of the wand body but obviously not on a second look
#4990675
Their original storefront used to have listings for the entire parts catalog, but it seems like he has some issues managing the listings and pulled them all down. There's even a "Test DON'T BUY ME" item listed currently, which lends some credibility to the annoyances of the backend. My 12-year estimate was made mostly tongue-in-cheek, but that's literally how long it'll take if a new part only comes out every 4 months, providing the original parts list was complete.
By tobycj
#4990691
gerard55 wrote: January 15th, 2024, 8:45 pm Yeah the parts do take quite some time to come along, with the name Macks Factory I think many were under the assumption that parts would be available quicker.

The website also seems to not have a few things listed for the wand, the obvious ones being the front handle, pop mech, grips, trigger box etc, they're not appearing even on wait list items. The wand body does look nice but you buy that and then its another waiting game to see if the parts you need become available in the next few months. I suppose some gb fans parts like the side knobs, gun rail, top knob etc would likely all work with the gun body, but that still leaves the front tube sections of the wand, trigger box, grips etc.

I thought the trigger box came as part of the wand body but obviously not on a second look
The gbfans trigger box fits the Mack's wand, and was made in conjunction with Mack's.
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By kman
#4990780
Anyone know the timeline of Mack's Bellows switch? It's spendy, but a proper flexible pneumatic bellows would be more worth a little extra, compared to a solid (and heavy) hunk of aluminum in the same shape, which most higher end alternatives are.
#4990783
kman wrote: January 17th, 2024, 2:28 pm Anyone know the timeline of Mack's Bellows switch? It's spendy, but a proper flexible pneumatic bellows would be more worth a little extra, compared to a solid (and heavy) hunk of aluminum in the same shape, which most higher end alternatives are.
A lot of Mack's products which were previously available are now showing as "preorder", so it's possible they've just been cleaned out recently and they need to restock their inventory.

The bellows have been sold before so it's just a matter of them doing another run. There's a Mack's Facebook group where they sometimes post updates, and you can potentially post there and get an answer (sometimes they don't have one because of third party suppliers). Occasionally Mack's also posts "secret" runs of leftover parts they're trying to clear out (also sometimes in the Spengler's 1984 Workbench group), they're usually damaged or defective (bad welds etc). But if you're doing a beaten up/weathered pack that's another possibility. Looks like that's why they added the new "Junkyard" category on their website, for items which aren't good enough to charge full price for but still useful to some builders.

Alternatively the gbfans bellows are what I used, and they're similar to the Mack's bellows in that they're flexible and hollow (unlike the benofkent bellows which seem to be a chunk of solid aluminium). They have a 100 day lead time at the moment but sometimes they show up in stock well before that.
kman liked this
#4990836
As the wand is without a gun track or front grip at the moment do we know if the gbfans gun track will fit and the best v-hook comparable with gbfans gun track mounting holes?
By SpikeAPD
#4991152
For those with a legacy shell, I just got mine and it seems a little off but that might just be because I have an idealized shell and I’m drawing comparisons. 1) The finish is uniformly flat instead of the more satin looking finish in the site photos and 2) it has really thin walls, particularly around the cyclotron with some give. It only weighs about four pounds. Anyone else experience the same thing?
Image
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By ccv66
#4991183
Got my legacy awhile ago, its more satin than matte and it's about 6 Lbs. As long as the shell looks detailed, not sure if it would bother me. I'm probably going to hit the shell with matte or satin clear coat after weathering. I don't care about the weight since I'm putting aluminum parts on it. So I'll probably go Captain Overkill on reinforcing the inside of the shell
#4991567
About to get an Idealized Macks shell. Part fitment wise, what has been probably the closest fitment equivalent shell that people market to. Doesn't seem that anyone specifies Mack fitment, mostly haslab and spirit.
By ccv66
#4991580
There isn't enough mack factory packs in the wild for there to be a big 3rd party aftermarket . For the most part all the shells are going to be different. Any part you get from the GBfans store will look good but will most likely need some fabricating. Besides the clippard valve, very few things will just bolt up. You either hack stuff together to get it to work or wait a very long time for mack factory to release it
OscarMyers83 liked this
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By OBSIDIAN
#4991765
What are we supposed to use to mount the front grip to on the Mack's aluminum wand? Are we supposed to use a plastic pipe? It has a hole on it like we're supposed to attach something to it. I wonder why that piece wasn't part of the aluminum body.
csullivan1980 wrote: January 18th, 2024, 10:28 am As the wand is without a gun track or front grip at the moment do we know if the gbfans gun track will fit and the best v-hook comparable with gbfans gun track mounting holes?
By tobycj
#4991774
OBSIDIAN wrote: February 2nd, 2024, 1:19 pm What are we supposed to use to mount the front grip to on the Mack's aluminum wand? Are we supposed to use a plastic pipe? It has a hole on it like we're supposed to attach something to it. I wonder why that piece wasn't part of the aluminum body.
No, the front handle assembly is aluminium. There's a smaller diameter tube that goes in the existing short section, and then one the same diameter as that short section goes over the top, which has the front ears and rear grip lock welded to it. The grip then attaches to that tube. I would strongly suggest reading some of the older build threads on here that included aluminium wands as part of them, and checking The Ghostbusters Reference Library out too. Mack's is still developing the front handle, so be patient and wait for that to come out, or try and get one from Freekygeeky when he restocks soon.
OBSIDIAN liked this
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