Bench Tested: A Ghostbusters Podcast

What starts as a single project can quickly become an obsession, and sometimes that obsession ends up shaping the Ghostbusters community itself.

In this episode of Bench Tested, Charlie Harsh sits down with Phil Goulet, creator of the widely recognized Aura Video Analyzer helmet and RTV projects, alongside Nan Robinson, President of the Kalamazoo Ghostbusters, accomplished prop builder, Etsy seller, and one of the community’s...

In this episode of Bench Tested, Charlie Harsh is joined by Ryan aka McFonz and Renel from the Capital Ghostbusters, a franchise that’s been combining incredible Ghostbusters craftsmanship with community fundraising since 2016 in support of CHEO, the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario.

The conversation explores the evolution of their builds, from Spirit Pack and HasLab modifications to custom weathering, flight suit...

This week on Bench Tested, Charlie sits down with Archer from Nerd Affiliated for a conversation that goes well beyond simply recreating what’s seen on screen. From flight suits and weathering techniques to proton packs, electronics, HasLab upgrades, and the excitement surrounding Ghostbusters: Night Shift, they explore what truly makes a great build.

They also discuss the balance between screen accuracy and personal creativit...

In Season 2, Episode 3 of Bench Tested, Charlie Harsh sits down with Luke Ellis, better known as The Green Haired Ghostbuster, to talk about the Ghostbusters Community Trading Card Project.

They get into how the project started, how it has connected fans and franchises around the world, and what it says about the larger Ghostbusters community.

The conversation also covers Luke’s own cosplay, builds, fandom, and how people can g...

In this episode of Bench Tested, Charlie Harsh sits down with Dustin Grau and Nomake Wan from GPStar Technologies to talk about the brains behind modern Ghostbusters electronics.

They get into pack and wand integration, firmware development, troubleshooting, installation mistakes, customization, and how GPStar has evolved into a full electronics ecosystem for builders.

From HasLab upgrades to custom packs, this conversation breaks do...

In the Season 2 premiere of Bench Tested, Charlie Harsh sits down with Sepp from Dirt Farmer Industries, a builder whose ideas have quietly become some of the most widely used upgrades in the Ghostbusters community.

From the early days of discovering Ghostbusters to creating the HasBrackets system that has now sold nearly 600 sets worldwide, Sepp shares how a simple solution to a common problem evolved into a must-have upgrade for H...

This week on Bench Tested, Charlie Harsh sits down with David Farrell from the Buffalo Ghostbusters to talk proton pack mods, 3D printing, HasLab upgrades, and what it really takes to level up a Ghostbusters build.

From modifying Spirit Halloween packs and traps to assembling a BenofKent proton pack and diving deep into custom electronics and printed props, David breaks down the lessons he’s learned through years of building, ...

Here’s the truth. Most builds stall out because people chase “screen accuracy” without understanding what actually makes something feel real. This episode fixes that.

In this episode of Bench Tested, I sit down with Indy Magnoli of Magnoli Clothiers to break down what separates a costume from something that genuinely looks and feels like it came off a film set. This isn’t surface-level talk about fabrics and ...

In this episode of Bench Tested, Charlie Harsh talks with Sean Charlesworth about what really makes a Ghostbusters build work. From his early love of the films to building detailed, functional props like ghost traps, the RTV, the Keymaster helmet, and the ESP shock machine, Sean breaks down the difference between props that only look right and props that actually feel right.

The conversation gets into 3D printing, engineering around...

In this episode of Bench Tested, Charlie Harsh sits down with special effects designer and engineer Ben Eadie, who worked on Ghostbusters: Afterlife, to break down what separates props that just look good from ones that actually function under real-world conditions.

This isn’t a surface-level conversation about movie props. It’s a deep dive into how they’re engineered for film, including durability, lighting challe...

In this episode of Bench Tested, Charlie Harsh sits down with Corey and Andrew from C&A Prop Design to break down the side of Ghostbusters builds most people overlook, the parts behind the scenes that make everything actually work.

From early 2000s scratch-built packs to today’s modern kits, they walk through how the hobby has evolved, how they got started, and how a simple frustration with existing parts led to creating t...

In this episode of Bench Tested, Charlie Harsh sits down with Nomake Wan to talk about how a lifelong Ghostbusters fan went from being disappointed by toy sounds to helping shape open-source modding for packs and wands.

They get into his early connection to the gear through Extreme Ghostbusters, how the Hasbro wand pulled him into modding, and how curiosity around one missing sound effect turned into real contributions to Ghostbuste...

In this episode of Bench Tested, we sit down with Chris Nance and Greg Burke from the NorCal Ghostbusters to talk about what it really means to build and wear these props in the real world.

This isn’t just about putting something on a shelf. We get into what holds up at events, what breaks, what actually matters when you’re wearing a pack for hours, and how builds change when they’re meant to be used, not just disp...

In this episode of Bench Tested, we sit down with Chris Hunt from Dragon Workshop to talk about the builder side of the Ghostbusters community and what it actually takes to go from making props for yourself to running a shop.

We get into how Chris got started, how his builds have evolved over time, and how he approaches designing parts that are both usable and accurate. We also talk through what sells, what doesn’t, and what b...

In this episode of Bench Tested, we sit down with Michael from GPStar Technologies to talk about the electronics side of Ghostbusters props and how things have evolved over time.

What started as a personal project has grown into a system that a lot of builders are using in their packs and wands today. We get into how Michael got started, what pushed him to begin developing his own solutions, and how the platform has developed into w...

This inaugural episode of Bench Tested: A Ghostbusters Podcast sets the tone for what this show is all about, the people, the builds, and the process behind the props.

We sit down with Matt Baker to talk about his journey from fan to builder, how he got started, what he’s learned along the way, and his work with the Green Stream Ghostbusters. Then we shift into the fabrication side with Marc from Scavenger Workshop, diving int...