1984 "Stantz" Ghostbuster Costume - An Introduction

Back on the old Geeking in Indiana blog, I had a section called the “Costume Initiative.” It was where I would post updates on costumes I happened to be working on, like a Star Wars: The Last Jedi Resistance Pilot, or a Vault 101 Vault dweller from Fallout 3. With the retiring of Geeking in Indiana and the move to Geek Building, then Troxell Builds, a special section like that wasn't necessary, because now it's all about stuff I'm making and doing. Still, I did like doing the introductions which gave a history of me and the Costume, what I was looking to make, and all that jazz. So here we are today, talking about the Costume I posted pictures of a few weeks ago, the 1984 Ghostbuster.

A History

I was around 7 years old when the original Ghostbusters film came out, and the main thing I remember was ticking my father off because I REALLY had to pee right as they turned off the containment grid. It was at Sky Vue Drive-In over in New Castle, and we never saw what happened until it started running on HBO months later. We saw Ghostbusters 2 at the Castle Theater in downtown New Castle, and of course, I watched The Real Ghostbusters every Saturday morning. Things were kinda pushed to the back burner in the early 90s, when I really fell down the Star Trek rabbit hole before getting back into Star Wars in the late 90s. Luckily, in 2002, I was fortunate to meet Sean “venkman71” Bishop. We became friends, and with some other folks we made some fiberglass proton pack shells using measurements he'd been gathering from his sources (I'm not sure what the statute of limitations on that is, so it's just sources). I had one of those pack shells until I finally got it built in 2006, and the finishing was a rush job for Halloween. That pack ended up in the Storage Unit of No Return out in California, so I didn't have anything when a group of us rented out a theater to see Ghostbusters: Afterlife during the pandemic. By this point, I had started to get back into at least looking into making a new costume. I had a new ‘’TROXELL” name badge and a new No Ghost patch. I was slowly buying bits off GBFans.com whenever I had the spare scratch, and I found the 3D Printed Ghostbusters Props group on Facebook. This is what really got me back into wanting to remake the costume.

A Plan

The interesting thing about the 3D printed proton pack files is you can print each “section” of the pack individually, much like how a bunch of resin parts got put together to make the mother mold for the fiberglass pack. Well, filament comes in different colors including, well, clear. This revelation got me on the path I am now.

While I'm not looking to cosplay Dan Ackroyd's character, I AM looking at replicating Ray's gear in the 1984 film. The reasoning for this is actually kind of simple. There's no SINGLE DEFINITIVE pack or costume to replicate. Parts on each were a little different, they didn't all carry ghost traps, PKE Meters, and Ecto Goggles, so if you're like me and enjoy making costume and prop pieces as screen-accurate as you can, you kind of have to grab one character from one scene in one movie and focus on that. I'm choosing Stantz, and specifically the Sedgwick Hotel “version” for a few reasons. First, he has the goggles and Ghost trap, both of which I really like. Second, his pack in those scenes had a broken corner up by the blue light bar, which made it look like a pair of lights were up there. I believe they replicated this with actual lights in Ghostbusters: The Video Game, which I forgot about a few paragraphs up but I did, and still do, play the heck out of. I'm planning on replicating this by printing that section out of clear filament and scraping the black paint off.

Anyway, this is getting long. So, right now, the question is, where am I sitting with this costume?

A Rundown

First up, we have the “uniform.” The flight suit is a Tru-Spec, which is “close enough” for now,

and it's what a lot of the Ghostbusters cosplayers use, so it does look “uniform” in a group. You've seen what I have for that, what with the patches, the elbow pads (volleyball knee pads), and the belt. The boots are jump boots with a side zipper, so that is one of the next pieces I'll be buying, because black Doc Martens just aren't the same. The belt has a pair of key fobs that I BELIEVE match Stantz's, though I do need to double-check to make sure I haven't misplaced one. I still need to make and attach the “belt gizmo” and holster to it, as well as make a radio and holster for it, which is where I have run into an issue.

All the radios you see for the costumes, including the ones they sell at Spirit Halloween, are based on a Motorola MT-500 radio, which I have some fantastic files for that I've already printed. HOWEVER. It seems that Ray, in addition to not saying “YES” when he was asked if he was a god, carried a completely different Motorola, the HT-220, which as you can tell is making me SO HAPPY.

So, for right now, I'm sticking with “close enough.”

The Ghost Trap is going to be simple, because I have a HasLab “2 in the Box” set of Ghost Trap and PKE Meter on order, and I just can't replicate a trap for as cheap as that excellent toy runs me, so that's also “close enough.”

The Ecto Goggles are the piece I'm looking forward to making as soon as I'm done making the Belt Gizmo. I have had some 3D files printed for a while now, and I'm going to clean those up so nary a layer line will be seen before replacing some printed parts with metal, making the cushion around the frame, and making the head strap, before popping it all together with real snaps and rivets. 

This leaves the Proton Pack. The big piece. Luckily, I don't have to worry about making it vent or have an overheating effect, or anything like that. I have to replicate this piece that was built in the early 80s, made out of really thin fiberglass, that used one of those big flashlight batteries on the inside to light everything up. I've already printed one version of the Proton Pack, but it's not what I'm going to be using. As I've gotten better printers, and learned more about what it takes to print a solid replica, I'm slowly reprinting parts of it and stashing them away. I also already have actual Clippard valves, Legris elbows, and other bits that I'm not going to have to print copies of, but instead, figure out how to attach them to the 3D printed pieces. I'm going through the same with the particle thrower, except I'm also trying to figure out the mechanism to make the tip of the thrower pop out. Once I have all that figured out and together, I just need to buy a “motherboard” to mount everything to, and a reinforced Alice Pack frame from one of the Circle City Ghostbusters, and the pack is good to go, along with the rest of the costume.

A Closing

So, I'm going to start finding an hour or two every week to work on the costume, starting with the gizmo. I still need to order some wires, and I need to figure out how to light everything up. Once that's all together and figured out, I need to cut and dye the leather holder for it before I can move on to the Ecto Goggles.

So keep an eye on the Wednesday updates, where I'll be posting WIP pics. Then, when I'm finished with a part, I'll do a Ghostbusters Costume Update, with the WIP photo album and write up of where I got it, what I did, what issues I had, and so forth.

I hope this is something that interests some of you. I know it's a well-tread path, one I've even walked myself. However, I know I've learned a lot in that time, and if I write down something that helps someone down the line, then I feel it was worth my time to document it.

Wish me luck, and I hope you all enjoy the ride.

Tony