Matts Child Size Tardis

[chinandler]

Hi every one, glad to join in and share!
I've made my 2 kids a child size tardis. It doubles up as a lamp in my living room. Please have a look at the build video! It not finished yet. still need to add some police box signs!

(Ignore build No.1 it was a quick "tardis fix" for my son while i made him build No.2)

I have some newer pics than the video shows so will put them on here asap.

So far it has only cost £75 to build, is that good?

M@tt

[wayne venomous]

Excellent! This is exactly the sort of thing I'm building for my daugher! 

I'm trying to keep the costs down on my build too. So far it's cost me about £8 - £5 for wood glue, £2 for wood screws. The frame is mostly made from an old Ikea bed.

As I mostly rewire classic cars for a living, I'll be using all the old bulbs and switches I've saved up to make some lighting effects.

[chinandler]

thanks. I'm thinking of maybe putting a 2d/3d type console on the inside back wall an some internal lighting, it'll give them something to do when they are playing. At the min they're just standing in a dark box!
I'd like to add sound effects too but i can play them through my stereo which is in the same room, the kids wont mind either way. So for now that'll keep em going.

Have you any updates on your build yet? I have a list of all my materials used, cost and where i bought them from. if your interested.

spent:

mdf board for sides from spurrs  (local diy shop)
1220x610x6mm   x4   = £17.56
---
inside structure posts B&Q
2400x38x25mm    x2   = £5.32
---
Chip board base and top B&Q
1220x607x12mm   x1   = £5.25
---
Screws Screwfix
20mm x 200 + 30mm x 200   = £3.03
---
inner hinge batterns B&Q
2400x38x25mm      = £2.66
---
steel hinges x2 B&Q
38mm            x2   = £1.96
---
outside corner columbs B&Q
2400x50x22mm   x4   = £11.04
---
cls timber/police box sign B&Q
2400x63x38mm      = £2.34
---
handles B&Q
£2.28 x2      =£4.78
---
quarter detailing Wickes
9x9x2400mm      x2   =£4.10
---
pre-base skirt & roof raising batterns B&Q
2400x50x22mm    x2   =£5.52
---
battern detailing for side panels Wickes
2400x33x19mm    x8   =£6.99
---
base skirting B&Q
2100x44x15mm    x2   =£4.90

Window beading from spurrs  (local diy shop)
         =£2.00


TOTAL:£77.45


M@tt

[wayne venomous]

That's quite a list! It might seem like a lot of money but have you seen what Argos are selling for £45?! (and it's out of stock!)
http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?storeId=10001&catalogId=1500002201&langId=-1&searchTerms=TARDIS

I'll probably be updating my build diary thread tomorrow - haven't been able to take any pictures as the bits are crammed in the spare room with loads of other junk and my Daughter doesn't know she's getting this as a present. I've made most of the main parts of the frame so tomorrow I'll be building on that. Might put together some sketches of the console too - the idea at the moment is to make it a corner console possibly with mirrors around so it gives it the feeling of being larger on the inside.

Oh yeah, if you want some cheap lighting/random props for the inside, Poundland is the place!
These "parasol" lights are very handy:

Very futuristic and light things up very well. All they need is 4 AA batteries.

Here's one of the parasol lights installed as lighting in my 1970's Caravan:

I've actually modified these so all the lights are operated from a single battery pack and have seperate switches.

You don't have to go for this type of light either as they often have things like cycle headlights and garden solar powered lights. There's also any number of sparkley random tat in the toy and party sections too.

[chinandler]

Here's a few more pics.
Thanks for the heads up with poundland!

[wayne venomous]

I do like to see a TARDIS lit up at night! 

Just edited my last post - for some reason I posted up the same pic twice.
White LED lighting does seem to give any interior a "futuristic" feel. I've noticed this on a lot of cars I've rewired and replaced bulbs with LEDs - normal incandescent bulbs seem yellow in comparison.

[chinandler]

totally off topic, but I also have a 70's caravan. 4 berth Super Sprite Major. Your pic looks very similar.

anyway ... Back to the Tardis!

It does look good in the evenings all lit up. I'd like to eventualy get the sign boxes and windows lit.

[wayne venomous]

Mine is a Sprite Alpine, so that'll be why it looks similar.

Again, I'd say LEDs are the way forward for lighting up the windows and the Police Box sign. The main thing is you can fit LEDs into very compact spaces where other lighting methods simply won't fit.

As for lighting up the windows, how about putting a white LED in each corner of the window - quite similar to how I do a lot of speedometers - this is an old VW Beetle speedometer I did a while back;

This was done in blue to match the rest of the car but white LEDs are just as easy to do.

[Rassilons Rod]

Those camping lights are a superb find and highly appropriate

[wayne venomous]

I've noticed a lot of places sell different versions of camping lights too. Some with more LEDs, some with mega powerful LEDs in the centre, some even remote controlled!

How about something like this as a TARDIS top lantern?



One thing's for certain, there'll be a lot of stores selling them off cheap as camping season comes to an end and they need to make way for Christmas stock! 

[chinandler]

[chinandler]

A little update.
I've finally finished the console! Mini Tennant console

[chinandler]

Today I chopped out the old windows and put in some frosted textured plastic windows. Its been a long time coming! I've had the plastic since December.
The new windows let in the natural light and in the evening they will let out the awsome console room glow  javascript:void(0);
I also gave it a dirty wash to give it more of a worn, well used look. Then 'dry-brushed' some highlights.

I'm happy with the final look. The windows finally finish it off.