Category Archives: MODS

Honeywell 6000

While building our 1:8 scale Ghostbusters Ecto-1, I noticed that a big detail was missing from the interior. While this prop was never seen in the films, the Honeywell 6000 maintenance controller (model 4WMPC001BA1) did exist and was located behind the oscilloscope stack inside the left rear door of the Ecto-1. It can be seen here in this capture from the official Ecto-1 restoration video:

There has been chatter online that they will supply this part in a later stage of our build, but I am not holding my breath.

Instead, I reached out Corey Hollingsworth at Scaled Modz about their Driver’s Side Workstation Mod Set. Normally, this product includes a custom 3D-printed oscilloscope stack and Honeywell panel, fully painted with lighting. However, I did not want the lighting, nor the oscilloscope stack, and Corey graciously agreed to create a non-lit version of just the Honeywell panel for me for €80:

Installing this mod is as simple as removing the backing paper on a pre-installed adhesive strip and sticking the panel into our model.

In the picture of the real car above, the Honeywell appears to be butted up against the Driver’s Side Rear Workstation. But, on my Ecto-1, I temporarily placed it a little farther back until I receive the body/doors. Then, I will adjust its location depending on how it looks:

This mod is really nice! I really appreciate being able to have this detail in my Ecto-1 model. Thanks go out to Scaled Modz for this one!

Proton Packs Stow Mod

In Special #1 of our 1:8 scale Ghostbusters Ecto-1,  we received the four Proton Packs. However, after assembling them, it was quickly obvious that they did not include any way to attach the Neutrona Wands to the packs themselves. This makes storing them and displaying them quite awkward:

I have seen other builders drill out the packs and add magnets, but I recently discovered a mod that provides a much simpler solution. This is the Ghostbuster Proton Pack – Stow Gun Upgrade from Partwork Upgrades! Included in this mod are six (6) 3D-printed Wand Clamps with matching screws. Two mounts and screws are provided as extras and are not pictured here:

Installation


Step 1

Retrieve one of your Proton Packs. Then, remove the HP screw holding the Particle Thrower Rear Plate to the bottom of the Particle Thrower, as seen here.

I found that Steps 1-3 are only necessary if you might need to remove the Wand Clamps later on. Otherwise, I recommend just skipping to Step 4 and gluing these Wand Clamps in place:

Step 2

Fit one of the Wand Clamps to the Particle Thrower Rear Plate and pass one of the supplied screws through them both, like this:

Step 3

Fit this Wand Clamp assembly back into the bottom of the Particle Thrower and press the screw/pin into the existing screw hole.

Pressing this assembly into place is the documented procedure from Partwork Upgrades, however it takes a LOT of force to seat the threaded screw into place. Since this screw is plastic, doing it that way felt like the screw would bend or break. Instead, I opted to actually use the threads on the supplied screw with a drop of 3-in-One oil and was able to use my screwdriver to secure the screw into place much easier:

Step 4

Repeat the previous steps with the remaining Wand Clamps to complete the mod of all four Proton Packs.

On my second Proton Pack, my ‘use oil and screw it in’ process did not work. The plastic head of the screw stripped out, and when I went to remove it and try another screw, it broke off. This resulted in me just using CA super glue to attach the rest of the Wand Clamps and this worked just fine:

Step 5

Slip the Wand Clamps onto the side of your Proton Packs.

It is worth mentioning here that I have a length of 22 gauge Craft Wire inside my wand cables from when I built the packs. This allows me to bend my wand cables into a shape I like and they will stay that way, as shown:

Once completed, this is all four of my Proton Packs now happily holding their own Neutrona Wands:

Thoughts


I knew someone in the modding community would come up with a solution to fix our loose, floppy Neutrona Wands. In short order, our needs were answered by this Ghostbuster Proton Pack – Stow Gun Upgrade! I am grateful to the team over at Partwork Upgrades and look forward to using some of their other products in the future. Thanks to you all!

Front Seatback Covers

Now that the front seats are built on our 1:8 scale Ghostbusters Ecto-1, you may notice the backs of them are not very good looking. It is full of bars and screws that are not realistic at all. If only we had a way to hide all of that?

To solve this problem, I recently received these new Front Seatback Covers from Mike Lane:

These are custom made precision-cut pieces of flexible plastic that match the shape of the seat backs perfectly. We simply peel the appropriate cover from the backing paper, align it to the seat back, and press it into place. The pre-installed adhesive does the rest. You can see how big of a difference it makes:

I quickly did the other side!

These Front Seatback Covers are a super easy and quick mod that will improve the appearance of your own Ecto-1. I love em!