Hey guys! Just wanted to let you know about my latest custom. It’s the Ghostbusters Ecto Containment Unit. I took the one that originally came packaged with Mattel’s Walter Peck action figure, and really went to work on it. The whole thing has been repainted to give it realistic weathering. Then I used up a lot of resources, particularly on GBFans.com and found reference for all the decals that the Containment Unit had in the movie. I went into Photoshop and made HD versions of all of them, printed them on decal paper, and applied them all over the Containment Unit, even on the Ghost Trap enclosure.
I also installed lights and sounds inside the body. I got really lucky there, since the inside is hollow. Both the red and green lights turn on with the flick of the corresponding switch on the back. There’s also a button, and when you press it it plays the “shutdown” noise from the scene where Walter Peck was the Containment Unit turned off unsafely and causes it to explode.
Because the sound has to be run by a 9V battery, I fashioned a housing for it that fits right on the back and I painted it up and added decals to make it look like an old worn electrical box, to help it blend in with everything else. The lights are powered by a CR2032 battery that you can access on the bottom.
Be sure to click here or on the photo below to check out the full set of photos. You can also see the Containment Unit in action by watching the video below as well.
And if this is something you’d like to own, it’s currently for auction on eBay with just a starting bid of $1.00! Thanks for looking.
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*** Head on over to my Ebay Auctions to see what’s available this week, or commission me if you’d like your very own custom action figure like this one. ***
As cool as the Containment Unit was that Mattel made, it was definitely lacking in the details department. That’s where I came in. The entire thing has been repainted with realistic weathering effects, to bring some character to the piece. The bricks in the wall look dirty and stained, the Containment Unit itself has scratches on the edges, showing the metal underneath and looks a little dirty as well. I wanted it to look like something that gets used a lot, as opposed to looking completely pristine. You can see the difference in the before and after pics below.
I’ve also given the Containment Unit lights and sounds. I installed a circuit inside the body with two switches on the back, and one button. One switch controls the red light, one controls the green light. The button activates the sound. I got the isolated “shutdown” noise the Containment Unit makes when Walter Peck turns off the grid. I thought it would be something cool to add. The lights are powered by a CR 2032 battery that you can access on the bottom, for incredibly easy changing. The speaker is powered by a 9V battery. I had to house it sitting on the back of the wall, so I fashioned a battery compartment and made it look like a big electrical box that you might see in the back of a store or factory that has all the wires and generators to power the building. The compartment is easily removable so you can change out the 9V as needed.
I topped off the display piece by giving it all the decals it had in the movie. I did an extensive search online to find all the reference I could, and utilized some references from GBFans.com and created hi-res versions of the decals and printed them off and applied them. I can’t claim that all the decals are 100% accurate, as some of them just can’t be seen well in any of the shots in the movie, but they are recreated to the best of the collective Ghostbusters fan knowledge.
Ghostbusters is one of my all time favorite properties, so this is definitely a labor of love. I spent a lot of time getting this right, and as my girlfriend can attest to, I used up a lot of curse words as well. But it’s finally finished, and ready to incarcerate some specters. Remember, when the light is green, the trap is clean!
