colorblast

[OTO1702]

Hello All,

I am looking in the purchase of 12 colorblast. What is the best way to transport them, I do not want a huge raod case ... I am looking for something small, any ideas ?

Thanks,

Oto

[Footer]

Most places I have seen do foam cutouts in a road case. I am sure if you get a pelican case, you could get an insert cut for them or cut it yourself. You could probably fit 12 in one case.

[gafftaper]

A road case is going to give you the most protection... but they don't have to be huge, obnoxious, or even super expensive. Talk with a road case manufacturer like Hybrid Cases or Georgia Case (note: I've never purchased from either company, just know their names from industry advertising/LDI booth).

Give them a call and tell them what you are looking for. I bet they can find a custom solution that handles your colorblasts in a size that you like.

[Elusid]

A company I work with has 3 or 4 sets of 12 color blasts and they have road cases that fit the 12 color blasts and PSU in the top tray and then that pulls out and all the 4 pin cable for it is seperated into different compartments so it's all in one.

[ship]

If there is budget and intent to travel, agreed that a case company has many options in what size of case they make for them. Given case companies either has done such a case before or at least has lots of experience in making cases that both protect and properly store stuff, I would say for the investment a proper case is worth the investment dependant on the investment involved with storing them. 12x especially used and or older style ColorBlast... perhaps not worth a case costing as much or possibly more on the short end of consideration. This unless you get a case that houses as above the 12x plus cable plus power supply plus x else perhaps in perhaps getting down to at say 50% cost as a cost necessary. This also dependant on how much travel they get. The more travel, the better the case needed. Transport from backstage to stage perhaps not as much need in better storage of them.


Concept being with this - perhaps view the other work this case company does (tour of the place or photos and past work) or has done in the past. View the drawings for the case they intend before approval of the work order and ask questions - you are paying for it and it had at best last plus protect the gear given the added cost in properly protecting the gear. One thing I might note about our own ColorBlast cases good and bad is they are square holes for them to fit into. Good because once we upgraded to the improved “stage” version, they did fit, but on the other hand they did also allow for crap to be also tossed into the cases which at times broke lenses or allowed for doubling up of the fixtures in an other than lens to lens way as a big problem. All it takes is one “found” truss bolt to be as stage hands do, be tossed into the nearest case when not the trash it, and you now might end up with a cracked lens. Our cases are not shape fit to the fixture shape and allow crap to get into the case between lens and what ever gets in there. That for me will have been an important feature but one including me will have never thought of it before the first few lenses got broke due to improper storage - tossing the fixtures anywhere - packing blanket at best between them or stuff getting into the road case that don’t belong.

Initially the manufacturer didn’t sell replacement lenses and for all intensive purposes considered a broken lens to be a non-replacable broken fixture. Didn’t sit well with us in bulk and future buy of them and we did get some replacement lenses by way of that. Of the replacement lenses, the first lens I got I sent to a glass manufacturer and he figured out what type of glass it was for us in producing bulk buy replacement lenses given the intent of the manufacturer. Don’t know if Philips/ColorKinetics sells replacement lenses yet or if economical but they are not that hard to off market replace otherwise. 1/8" Soda Lime HS w/SB 1 Side Tempered Frosted Safety Glass 1/8"x5"x12.1/4". Given this, just very pain in the rear (and hoping you don’t while scraping off the frosted soda safety glass lens siliconed to the frame, nick or hit something inside.) Real pain to replace - glass shavings everywhere in chipping off the frame to replace in something if at all possible your case in fitting just the fixture and not say a truss bolt next to it won’t afford for doing so. I would go for shaped foam that for at least ½ the fixture in support which just fits the lens and separates fixtures if buddied up lens to lens by way of a trusss bolt washer in distance for the amount unsupported in slot in years of experience in what caused this lens to break. This or in doing lens to lens but them fitting in only one way and still not allowing for extra hardware in between - some stray nut to get between lens an nut while in the transport mode.

If budget building your own can be done from say a McMaster Carr type "Stackable Modular Divider Box" in the range of 40355t64 which in innitially trying would require some amount of gluing the dividers into place but once padded some or even if not should work. (I would pad at least the bottom of the case some.) This to the extent your own padded with foam or carpet road case for them be it a Pelecon type case to a road box.

Liking the newer stage versions of the Color Blasts that have the easier to replace lenses, protection for them an slightly safer yokes and brackets. The architectural versions were very hard and labor intensive to replace lenses on. This beyond set screws falling out during transport, unuseful 1/2" NPT mounts that wouldn't easily rig to a C-Clamp or truss ladder (yes a truss ladder), much less had to be drilled out for safety cabling. One note for the newer ones would be 1/2" NPT nipples which are designed to attach one conduit box to another easily sleeve down that 45/64" ID hole down to something more similar to 1/2". Been a while since the last time I looked at the newer versions - I call them stage versions with the rubber edge bumpers, but I believe they still have the 1/2" NPT hole on the yoke (while improved in quality) to rig to needing to be sleeved down to a C-Clamp or Cheseborough.


Hope you don’t have the older version of the power supply - them took hours for me to make able to rig and or safe for rigging in adding steel to them and reinforcing the frame. Totally architectural fixture much less power supply used for the stage but in no way proper for it as improved some over the years. Just had a boss mentioning about some new fixture from that company that he had to grab a Zappi to play test a new fixture due to them following the old Martin concept of non-standard controller wiring protocol. Especially funny given he used to work for Martin. In a serious sense, if you have the old like 12" square box power supply and intend to rig it, don’t do so short of sending it into very few that have experience in doing so at best properly. Send it back and get at least a City Theatrical power supply for them. The old original power supplies are very not safe to rig short of a lot of reinforcement.

[len]

R & R makes one "off the shelf" as well R&R Cases - Lighting Fixtures Color Kinetics Color Blast Cases and I'll bet that most of the other companies have one made up. I've never found a fault with R and R. I have a caravan case that's sturdy, but heavy for its size. I've also used IndyCase Products, Inc. - X-Frame Series and will probably buy their workbox this summer. Seen them before and although they're a little different (exterior frame, etc.) they hold up well and they are a small shop so the customer service tends to be pretty good. I remember them coming out to the shop I worked at to do some repair work on some products. I have some from NY Case company, but you need to get their top level quality for a fixture as $$ as a color blast.