Anovos Productions LLC announced yesterday, although I wrote about it today (GBI Blog Post, April 30, 2016) they’ll be selling a licensed Proton Pack Kit. Proton Pack frame sold separately. Lights and sound kits to eventually come.

Matty Collector also neither offered kits or a complete Proton Pack prop toy. I suppose we were fortunate enough to have a Neutrino Wand.

It had me thinking of early ghostheads who built a Proton Pack as early as 1984. Something I had sorta forgot anyone (outside production on the films) had even attempted until I joined the Ghostbusters on-line community during the early years.

Before I was around 19, I was a 13 year old reading The Real Ghostbusters Magazine. (Ghostbusters Firehouse) In the Fall 1990 issue, (Ecto-Containment PDF File) their was an article about Peter Mosen, the king of the Ghostbusters fans. You know (or knew) Peter Mosen in the 1980s because of his official association with Columbia Pictures and being one of the few official Ghostbusters outside the “Ghostbusters” cast. i.e.: SDCC, ECTO-1 replica, birthday parties. He was also in Ghostbusters II not getting through a dinner date on News Years Eve.

Having just a Ghostbusters uniform would have been a Ray Stantz animated wow moment. Peter Mosen had (at the time) all the equipment and ECTO-1s to boot!

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Welcome, You’ve Got Mail

The earliest spooky charging hq sites offered news and more. Bill Emkow The Ghostbusters Homepage had the go to Ghostbusters web site to go to when there was news and you wanted to converse with other ghostheads. Basically a ’90s message board.

That’s where I found out Norman Gagnon built a Proton Pack (and more) from watching and pausing a Ghostbusters VHS tape. Norman’s attention to details is still amazing. Because in part that’s who Norman is, he also made plans for the pack, wand, Ecto-Googles, Ghost Trap. uniform, and a Slime Blower. Norm’s plans still remain highly regarded.

Norman Gagnon coined the infamous ghosthead term for fans of Ghostbusters. He was also in one of the earliest franchises.

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If You Have The Tools, You Got The Talent

Their were also Shawn Marshall and Bryan Ambacher. They built their Proton Pack replicas in 1984. Within 5 months of Ghostbusters June premiere! Fortunately for ghostheads they documented the process. And put their 1984 Proton Packs on-line during Ghostbusters 30th Anniversary.

Vaguely from memory and a friendship around 16 years ago, their were also the guys from another early franchise, The Middle Tennessee Ghostbusters. I believe they also built Proton Pack replicas and more. To me, they were also the first franchise that had a Ghostbusters “ectomobile.” A light blue (60s I think) VW Bug.

Besides being into the franchise side of Ghostbusters early on, they were the first to build a Ghostbusters International web site. I had them to thank for getting involved around 2003 with running GBI through the years.

**Update**

When I was writing this blog post I thought of at least one more ghosthead. By the time I published the post it was around bed time.

During the 1980s Alex Newborn, another respected ghosthead also built a Proton Pack (probably with other prop replicas) and put together a Ghostbusters uniform. In more recent years Alex Newborn has made more modern Proton Packs for his two sons and himself.

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Building Makes Ghostheads Feel Good

Because my tools don’t actually involve carpentry I bought my only Proton Pack replica in summer 2000.

I’d be surprised if their weren’t others in the ’80s or even early ’90s. I haven’t really checked. If you built a pack replica between 1984 and circa 1996 please feel free to comment.

Sources:

• Sony Pictures Entertainment
• Welsh Publishing Group, Inc.