Proton Packs • Re: kman's neverending HasLab mod thread...

Sooo... I've been busy, I swear LOL I just haven't had a lot of real progress to report, waiting for various orders to come in.

Up now is Wand upgrades. A few pack upgrades remain (particularly the wire shroud around the Clippard), but they're on hold until my Redman motherboard comes in. We're in February now, so hopefully soon? (Orders were supposed to close 2/1)

And after getting all ready to do a bunch of wand upgrades this weekend, of course, a few days ago Hasbro decides to drop the 84 version of their Wand, so I ordered that, and now it's not coming until mid-week.

Still, since I had some time blocked out this weekend, I got some stuff done.

Let's start with parts for planned upgrades, though, shall we?

First and foremost, we have the metal side knobs. courtesy of GBFans:



I decided the other metal bits (the top adjustment knob and the knurled knob on the front) are actually accurate enough, and already metal, that it's not worth swapping them out.

Next, I have the 701-R Clippard valve, also courtesy of GBFans. (That split loom will go on the pack, too... probably... and the knobs are to upgrade my Spirit goggles, once I'm ready to wade into that rebuild)



I also have these SPST switches to upgrade the awful plastic rod on the ear of the Wand, up by the mode switch:



BUT, all these bits and bobs are basically planned to go into the "final" wand, which I'm using the 84 as a base, so I can't do much with them until I get that in hand.

HOWEVER, a buddy pointed out a mod to the tip of the orange-tipped Spengler wands that I wanted to actually do. And then another occurred to me. Honestly, these mods are so easy I feel like most people should consider them. They really add something, over the stock wands, at minimal to no cost and effort.


Hasbro Wand Mod #1 of the Day:
(This applies to both the Spengler and 84 wands)

If you have a Spengler wand or even the new 84 wands, they have a weird cap at the tip of the wand, attached to the "metal" ring and trigger setup. On the early silver-tipped wands, it was easy enough to ignore, but really hard to ignore when they changed to bright orange tips instead. Many people just color this silver (as I did, initially). Silver Sharpie is a pretty perfect paint match, even, so it's stupid fast and easy:



BUT more accurate is to cut that cap at the end off. With the orange ones, you still need to touch it up, as the whole thing is actually orange plastic (silver painted on), as opposed to the silver plastic of the early models.

Step 1 is to remove the whole tip. That stuff is literally rubberized plastic, so it comes off pretty easy... some will literally pull right off, others (like mine) are glued on somewhat, and are harder to just pull off. But it only took about 1 minute with my wife’s hair dryer (on high) to warm up the tip enough that it came off quite readily. Anyone should be able to do this, no issues. The whole thing comes right off in one piece:



Next step is to use a sharp blade (utility knife or exacto) to cut the cap off. Just slice that cap away carefully at the seam. It cuts easy, being soft rubber. Note the orange interior.



I grabbed my silver Sharpie (which was getting a little dry... I'll hit this again later) and threw down some paint, and you can see how nicely it matches.



Then just glue the ring back on. I recommend doing this with the extending tube in the closed/retracted position, to make sure you're positioning it correctly (and straight!) Note when you’re gluing back the ring, I’d be cautious about using regular superglue (aka CA glue). CA glue is notorious for causing hazing on any nearby clear plastic. (Sort of a white foggy film). I’ll be using e6000 on mine, to make sure this doesn’t happen.

I may clean this up a little more later, or may not bother, since I'm planning to upgrade to metal anyway, but here's the end product:



And lit:



Easy!


Hasbro Wand Mod #2 of the Day:
(This also applies to both the Spengler and 84 wands)

Since I had a whole bag of these switches, and only need a couple, I decided to install a "Sacrificial" dummy switch, to replace the solid plastic lump on the ear. (By the orange mode switch) This solid stick of plastic has always bugged me, and the real deal looks SO much better. Repeat of the photo above, but it shows the black fake switch nicely:



This mod is non-functional, currently, but maybe could be made functional, IF I actually take apart the wand and install from inside, instead of drilling one extra hole. Then you can do some extra wiring and install a real LED, lots of stuff. Today, I wanted quick and easy, and I did NOT want to open and tear down the wand, so the one extra hole on the bottom (easily plugged) enables that. This is technically a destructive mod, but it’s pretty darned mild. Two holes, really.

Tools used: Utility knife (or Exacto), Drill with 15/64” and 3/8” drill bits (or metric equivalents), filling clay foam or putty/milliput

Switch used: Twidec/10Pcs 1A 250V AC 2 Pins SPST Black Normal Open Mini Momentary Push Button Switch with Pre-soldered Wires PBS-110-XBK
https://a.co/d/fpxbmuS

(Note you can get black switches, or mixed black and red, depending on which wand you’re replicating)

I did a quick test-fit of one of the switch lock nuts, and sure enough, the real nut lines up perfectly with the molded black plastic one, and this will match things nicely.



Step 1) Cut off the black plastic nub (fake switch, just the top cylinder, not the fake nut yet). A small hole will be revealed.



Step 2) Drill the new hole where the one you just uncovered is. Ultimately you want to match the switch body, nice and snug, which seemed to be 15/64 for me. You May want to start small and step up to the 15/64 size in increments, to keep it nice and centered.



Step 3) Once you’re happy with the top hole, Carefully drill straight through and out the other side (bottom of the ear). (Same 15/64 bit) If you look inside, you now can probably see the thin white wires that go to the orange mode switch.

Step 4) Clean up the fake nut on top (carefully cut it away with your knife).



Step 5) Drill the larger 3/8 hole in the underside, so the whole switch can fit through. Be careful… those wires are inside for the orange switch. They aren’t really in the drill path in any I’ve seen, but you still don’t want to thrash around wildly in there. Also make sure your bit doesn’t bite the plastic and suck itself all the way through and make the top hole too big.



I'd do a quick test fit, at this point. You should be able to get the switch in place through the new bigger bottom hole, and see how far those contacts extend out the bottom. I spent a minute messing with the wires, to see if they could be stuffed inside for future but no, not really.



Step 6) Cut down the electrical posts / contacts at the bottom of the new switch, so it can fit in place without wires sticking out the bottom. (NOTE: If you are able to open the wand entirely, you could skip steps 5 and 6, since you’d have full access from inside the ear, the switch could be made functional)



Step 7) Remove the nut and washer (if present) from the switch, and thread the switch in, from the larger bottom hole, so the top protrudes through the top hole.

Step 8] Put the washer and nut onto the switch from the top, and tighten snugly. (Take a beat to admire the new switch!)



This is what you're left with on the underside:



Step 9) Fill the hole in the bottom with putty or craft foam, and paint if needed. I used a plug of black craft foam clay, so I could easily remove it later if I want, no real finishing needed, as it’s barely noticeable. Another option would be using some of the accurate heat shrink tubing to cover the whole thing, then you really don't need to worry about the hole.

This short shows the plug material in it's worst shape, with light reflecting on the shiny plastic but NOT the plug. How often to people look closely at the underside, though? It's honestly so not noticeable I considered just leaving it open. The foam clay, being so easy to pull back out, seemed like a good compromise.



Besides, this is a more accurate idea of what people see, if they EVER see the underside, there. A little sanding and paint would disappear it even more. You could always use something more permanent like Milliput or SteelStik, too, but again, I wanted the ability to easily get back in there, if/when I want to replace this switch with a functional one.



Step 10) Bust some ghosts!

More updates coming, as orders come in...

Statistics: Posted by kman — February 4th, 2024, 10:26 pm

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