Console Measurements (was Consoles...)

[karsthotep]

crispin that is amazing, awesome reference material that is going to help immensly for my future console.  Thank you so much.  Oh on another note Beth and I will be back out in september for our honeymoon, would love to see you and your family again..oh yeah and the new TARDIS refit. 

[Scarfwearer]

You're planning a console? That would be great! Any ideas which one yet, or is that too far off in the future?

I'll PM you about the visit.

Crispin

[cyberleader1991]

Crsipin, looking at your 5 Docs console plans again, I figure the bottom panels (on the underside of the top section) to be 26.5" tall; this is only 1/2" shorter than the top, does this sound right to you?

Also what do you get for the bottoms of the base panels? 24"?

I hate to sound like a certain nutbar who keeps getting kicked off these boards, but how can you build this console without knowing the size of the bottom panels? 

So for one top panel, we get 46" - 27" - 17"(are you sure it's not 18"?), with 30.5" on the angled side... I feel like I could start making the mold former for one panel if I knew for sure that 6 of these would form a hexagon that rises at 17 degrees when placed together.

Do you have some program that you can feed these numbers into to make sure that they match up in 3D? It's a bit beyond my math capabilities... 

If I'm gonna build this thing I want it to be perfect... but I'll settle for as good as the original! 

Cheers T

[akahige]

Let's say someone doesn't want to be able to smash a hole in their console with a hammer...   What material options might they consider?  I'm interested in making something that lasts; at least the frame, anyway.  I guess I'm asking what should a "real" TARDIS console be made of.

[karsthotep]

probably alien metals, but I think they are hard to come by around here.

[Mark]

If you don't want a hammer hole in your console, don't let Dr. No3 near it!

(if rumours are true:-))

Is aluminium sheeting still quite expenxive?

[Scarfwearer]

Don't worry Tom, I don't think you're in any danger of sounding like Mr. Lungbarrow :-)

When I built my console, I started with the flat underside of the panels and made an 8' wide hexagon. I put in risers up the sides to reach the height I wanted the slope to be and then laid oversized panels over the top and cut them to size. So I never needed to work out either the diagonal lengths of the panel edges, or the angles. I pretty much just cut things to fit the space available as I went.

I can see that working with fibreglass this is not going to work so well, as you won't want to be trimming the panels once you've made them.
So I guess you need a set of dimensions that are accurate and internally consistent, regardless of how well they match the original prop.

I'm assuming that Anthony Sibleys panel measurements are accurate to about 5mm - probably rounded that much. You can actually mathematically compute what the panel height should be from those dimensions with no more maths than pythagorases theorem and some ratios.
I was wondering how much any inaccuracy in the measurements would affect the height so computed, so I made a quick XL spreadsheet so I could play with the numbers.
Here it is:
Console dimensions computation spreadsheet.
Playing with these by altering the bottom and top panels widths by 0.5cm, I see 5cm difference in the panel height! Even more than I was expecting...
If you have XL on your machine, then feel free to download the spreadsheet and play with the numbers.

If you don't, here's what I got:
.

Oh and the computed angle is 20.76 degrees with Anthony's numbers. I guess I should add something to the spreadsheet to work that out, so you can see how it varies with the lengths...

I guess the takeaway from this is that even computing figures from known measurements may sometimes introduce a wider error range than counting pixels on a screenshot.
It certainly looks like the 9" height figure must be a little low.

I was going to say that I don't have any 3D s/w, but several people here have been playing with Sketchup. Maybe it's time for me to take the plunge...

I should point out that the spreadsheet I made can be used to compute the shape of the bottom panels and also the base, as they are all dimensional variations on the same basic 3D structure.

The bottoms of the base panels would have to be exactly half of the base width at that point, so yes, 24".

OK. I'll post this now and put up some more measurements later...

Crispin

[cyberleader1991]

I remember that story!!! Why did Pertwee do that, again? Frustration? Or was he trying to fix the console? 

[cyberleader1991]

Yikes, that's what I thought...

I was really hoping to dive into making the panels first, but it looks like the way to go would be to build your frame first, to avoid disappointment later...

Boring! 

T

[Scarfwearer]

Let's say someone doesn't want to be able to smash a hole in their console with a hammer...   What material options might they consider?  I'm interested in making something that lasts; at least the frame, anyway.  I guess I'm asking what should a "real" TARDIS console be made of.

I think your budget and shop skills will determine that: you could go anywhere from cardboard to marble... I used 3/8" plywood topped with 1/8" melamine panel, with a wood frame underneath for support. Fibreglass is very strong if it's reasonably thick. a wood box with thinnish metal over the top would be nicely authentic, but hard to work on. I'm going with this approach for my K9 at the moment (though it's on hold...)

I would probably recommend plywood as a good compromise, though you'll want to disguise the grain one way or another.

The other thing to consider is weight: even with thin marble you'd probably need to reinforce the floor...

Well, OK, I'm nostly joking about the marble, but even thick plywood gets really heavy in that sort of quantity. And you will want to move it some day...

Crispin

[Scarfwearer]

I've updated the numbers for the 5 Doctor's console, and added most of the metric versions too.
Still here: Console plans.

(Listening to Kate Bush singing the first 150 digits of π while I write this :-)).

Crispin

[Scarfwearer]

Yikes, that's what I thought...

I was really hoping to dive into making the panels first, but it looks like the way to go would be to build your frame first, to avoid disappointment later...

Boring! 

T

I suppose if I were going to go the GRP route, I'd build the frame first from wood (or metal, as Jarrod is/was doing), build one panel out of wood/MDF as a former and mould the 6 GRP panels from that.
The frame will quickly give you an idea of just how big this thing is...

Crispin

[cyberleader1991]

I have been planning for some time to make the central hexagon of the console from six lengths of angle irons of some kind, with the angle measuring 120^o. These would be the vertical supports, these would be connected horizontally  by regular flat irons. It seems to me that this would be the most logical and practical way to do it.

I've been scouring the 'net for ages, but can't find anyone who makes them.

And I can't for the life of me figure out how Jarrod made his central frame out of square metal tubing. As Austin Powers would say, "Sorry, I'm just not getting it".

Does anyone know if these are available? Or is there a better suggestion out there?

[noimg]http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y165/Cyberleader1991/901542cc.jpg[/img]

Cheers T

[Scarfwearer]

Take a look through Jarrod's picture album, particularly Page 2. There are some construction pictures which show more detail.

Crispin

[cyberleader1991]

Oh, I've looked at those many times, I just can't understand how he's built those corners!!!

I've asked him to draw for me what he did but he's too busy getting married...! 

On the left is what I think he's done, on the right is what I want to do...

[noIMG]http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y165/Cyberleader1991/corners.jpg[/img]

T