Ghostbusters Ecto Goggles
In late 2011 members of GBFans positively ID'd one of the lenses used on the ecto goggles in the original Ghostbusters. As usually happens the part is a rare and expensive piece that you'd have to fight collectors for if you can even find one. Fortunately the company also made some similar lenses that are relatively easier to find and way less expensive.
I had picked up a real set of PVS-5A night vision goggle frames in a run on GBFans the year before. I didn't have any real desire to make the goggles at the time but the price and opportunity was too good to pass up. With frames and lenses in hand I figured I might as well put them together. I cut two plates out of 1/8th inch aluminum to make the mounting plates. I cut holes for the lenses in the outer plate with a jewelers saw. The plates are held together with hex bolts.
Once the plates were fitted I gave them a coat of green paint. Matching the color of the frames wasn't easy, I wound up mixing various acrylics together and using my airbrush to paint them. They don't quite match but are good enough for my purposes. While not accurate to GB1, I added some weatherstripping to act as padding on the frame edges which should hopefully help keep them from sliding on my head too much.
I couldn't find any sort of screw ring that would match the threading of the lenses so I had to permanently attach them to the lens plate. I positioned the screw posts of the lenses in more or less accurate positions then glued them on with JB Weld.
With the lenses attached I could then add the warning labels to them.
After discussing it with a friend of mine we came to the conclusion that the original prop probably used leather for the head straps. I picked up some 4oz black leather off-cut strips from Ebay and the accurate ladder buckle and d-ring from Strapworks.com. I cut the leather down to 1" strips then attached snaps with a set of button pliers. The upper strap was attached to the D-ring with rivets which was then pop riveted onto the frame.
All in all I think they came out well. The weight of the lenses pulls them down when they're on my head so they're hard to wear for any length of time but this is a common problem with most ecto goggles. The frames themselves are relatively fragile so these will probably be relegated to display only instead of a costume accessory.
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