The Original You Might Say

[Mark]

Metropolitan Police Box ideas and resources thread.

I'm planning on building a full sized TARDIS/Police Box based on the original 1929 Mackenzie Trench design.

I have about 70 various pictures of details from the Crich box and am putting together some blueprints based on measurements I personally took from this box.

If you're building the same and have some reference material on real Met Boxes, or have any box building tips, please post here.

[noIMG]http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y194/Mark7081/TM1170.jpg[/img]

[Mark]

Hows this for starters?

On my last visit to Crich I noticed this hiding in the corner of the box under the desk (never seen it before )

[noIMG]http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y194/Mark7081/600a0c98.jpg[/img]

It looks suspiciously like a spare base for the roof light.

As far as I can figure, this cast iron structure drops down on-top of a pre-formed section on the roof (there are holes on each side in the middle for screws?).

Often wondered how the bulb was changed 

You can, if you look closely, see the holes where the supporting poles for the domed top of the lamp goes.

If you check the interior drawing of Mackenzie Trench's blueprints you can make this structure out.

The great thing about this is that I was able to accurately measure the diameter of the space for the glass lens (19.5 cm)

[bach4me]

Thanks for starting this thread!  I know I will watch it with great interest.  Though, I think probably my aims are a bit different than most.  While normal, rational people would be content to use wood, I plan on going all the way and use concrete.

Speaking personally, interior shots would be most useful.  There are relatively few good views of the inside, at least not of an interior that isn't falling apart!

By the way, where exactly in the box is the above iron bit?  Despite your description I'm still having a hard time picturing it in my mind.  (But then, I can be rather thick at times!  )

Benjamin

[Mark]

Sorry Benjamin, what I meant was that I found it stored inside the box, its actually the base on which  the fresnel roof lamp sits.

[noIMG]http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y194/Mark7081/Lamp.jpg[/img][noIMG]http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y194/Mark7081/LampBaseSpare2.jpg[/img]

I actually quite like the idea of casting a replica box from concrete, although I think it needs careful planning so it all fits together right.

Have you seen the interior detail of the box on the G.M. Trench blueprints? If you look close you can make out the joints for the various sections.

[bach4me]

Oh, I see.  Now I get it! 

After staring at those plans for about a week I did finally see the joints.  But what I'm getting hung up on is how the sign box figures in to the puzzle.  On Ward Westwater's site he mentions the "ringbeam", and how it holds the structure together.  I'm assuming the sign boxes are part of the ringbeam, but I havn't quite figured out how.  With two tons of concrete involved I'm certainly not going to guess!    I emailed Ward, but have yet to get a reply.  Though, thankfully, he's probably busy getting ready to work on another police box!

Benjamin

[dalethetimelord]

Ward is currently away restoring a nuclear bunker.

[ironageman]

I’ve no idea how you’re going to get all those heavy bits of concrete into place.  Just carrying a paving slab is enough to put my back out.  Three cheers and full marks for authenticity though!

Yes, I’d say that the plan shows a ring â€" or two, if you like; the base is a ring too.  You can see the top signs forming a ring on the simplified ‘mk3’ box â€" see the picture on the Tardis Library. It’s clear that the side panels slot into it, and that the corner posts can’t fall as the side panels slot into them too..…

.....and as far as I can tell, the fronts of the signs ‘hook’ the corner posts, so they really can’t fall.  I've a nice picture to illustrate this but nothing I do seems to work.  How are you people getting pictures on this place?  I've even published the picture to the web and linked to it but still no success!  (Or don't the pictures show in 'preview' mode?)

[1138]

Say,that's some bizzare text you got going on there

[ironageman]

yes...^wacky _stuff seems easy enough...

can't get pictures to appear though!

[purpleblancmange]

Ironageman,

In Photobucket, copy the "IMG" link (3rd one down under the picture thumbnail) then paste it directly "as is" into the message window.

The link you provide will have IMG in square brackets at the start and /IMG in square brackets at the end - leave it like that.

The preview picture does appear, but you have to scroll to the top of the page above the message window to see it.

Hope that helps.

Purple

[1138]

Here you go,this is what it looks like

[ironageman]

Thanks, dudes!

It won't link from an MSN group photograph, that's where I'm going wrong.

{little photograph removed...see later posting with a bigger picture}

Oh, bother, that's titchy.  I'll get the hang of this.  Anyhow, you can see what I mean, I think.  The corner posts seem to 'slot in' to the ring beam.

[Mark]

I've thought long and hard about this "ringbeam" thing and have come up with an idea.

Maybe the sign boxes are all part of one casting (ie. the ring) an it is this that spans the four posts (the beam) holding the walls in. The ringbeam is prevented from slipping down to the floor by the top of the walls and the angle parts that are on the corner posts inside the box.

the shape of the cast (see my picture) and the top of the posts would prevent the posts from simply falling out.

The weight of the roof sections keeps everything in place and is distributed evenly because of the ring beam.

I've tried to put this into pictures to make it easier to get my point across.

[noIMG]http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y194/Mark7081/signboxpic.jpg[/img]

Anybody any views on this hypothosis?

You can't really tell how the box is made by physically looking at it (I tried at Crich but couldn't find the joins )

[bach4me]

.....and as far as I can tell, the fronts of the signs ‘hook’ the corner posts, so they really can’t fall

That's what I thought until I saw some photos of beat up boxes like Crich:







With the paint chipping away like that, it looks to me like the part of the post directly over the sign boxes is actually part of the sign boxes.  It really looks like there are seams.

While this may solve one problem, it does not give a clear indication of how the posts proper are secured to the structure.  I'm not at all sure how they slot in.  Of course I could be totally of base... maybe there is more than one way to make a police box?

Benjamin

[Mark]

Well spotted, I'd never noticed (never looked if I'm honest!). Can't believe I didn't pick up on that.....

[noIMG]http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y194/Mark7081/CornerPostCloseup.jpg[/img][noIMG]http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y194/Mark7081/CornerPost.jpg[/img]

.... I was close enough after all  doh!

Somewhere out there, more detailed plans for the box construction must still exist. I've got the Trench blueprints hat others have, and the only real info on construction is for the desk and phone cabinet. There's no way anyone could build anything from these plans so there must be more detailed ones.