Mobile TARDIS build - BC style

[russellsuthern]

There's always something!!!!

R

[DTrasler Writing]

Today was the Big Day - come hell or high water, I was going to get a mobile Tardis and my dalek up the mountain and get some photos and footage. (Up the mountain because there's some good architecture at the top, that's why. They used it in "Halo:Forward Unto Dawn".

First I had to drive out to collect a hoverboard I got through Facebook marketplace. Cheaper than new, but still $80. It IS blue, though, so that's a plus. My wife had booked some time at the pottery studio, so I had to drive her over there if I wanted to use the car while she was out, and my eldest (the dalek pilot) didn't finish work until mid-afternoon.

We packed the Tardis into the car. It fits!



Mazda 5 - definitely bigger on the inside.

We assembled the Tardis and I left the kids to watch over it while I drove back down the mountain to pick up the dalek.



The new hoverboard fits nicely, but I didn't charge it enough. My kid kindly volunteered to Flintstone the dalek around so I could try the old hoverboard in the Tardis. It works well!





I have some nice footage of the driving and spinning.

Happy 60th everybody!

[russellsuthern]

That's great!

Looking good & I love the Dalek, too....


Cheers,

Russell

[DTrasler Writing]

Thanks @russellsuthern - the trip up and down the mountain went fairly smoothly, but they both need some TLC before the next outing, Derek in particular. ON the plus side, my wife is now talking about getting a hitch and trailer, so we can transport both AND ourselves!

[russellsuthern]

I could do with one of those , too!

Russell

[DTrasler Writing]

By the way, there's a damage report from yesterday. Apart from the expected wear and tear on the signboxes that were only made from foam...



I have to route the signbox wire THROUGH something so it doesn't get jammed when the roof goes on...



I need to finish glazing the front windows and touch up all the frames with white paint.



Oh, and I have to make the phone cubby deeper. And I need a drinks holder. And somewhere to mount the speaker for the theme music and Tardis sound effects.

[Volpone]

It has a very authentic 1970s & 80s BBC prop department, repaired on the fly look to it. 

[DTrasler Writing]

I went through the long list of vital repairs in my last post, but when I actually got some time in the workshop this week, I did not do any of those things.

We have a few strips of LEDs left over from Halloween, so I took the base that looks like this:



And made it light up like this:



From the front it should look like this:



Not canon, doesn't fix any of the other issues, and is yet another LED remote control I might lose.
BUT it makes me smile, which is the majority reason for building this in the first place....

[DTrasler Writing]

OK, enough prevarication! It's my last day off for a bit, so once I had done the obligatory shopping and tip run, I set to work. I built a new cubby box, this time with a hinged top so I could open it from the inside. Not sure why. Vague idea about people putting drinks in there for me without the bother of opening the door. But how much bother is opening the door?



This time I carefully measured so the phone fits inside even when the door is closed!



Since the whole thing is designed to come apart, there aren't many places inside to put things down. So I've added a small box to the back of the cubby to hold the LED remotes, a drinks holder, and some hooks to hold the speaker.



It's a little ramshackle, but better than it was. Next big step is replacing the back panel with wood instead of the insulation foam. A smaller step is touching up the window frames with white paint. Then again, I have to help my youngest finish an essay (due today!), cook the tea, and iron my shirts for next week. Think my Tardis time is up for today!

[DTrasler Writing]

We were supposed to be going down to America today, but we called it off, so I got time in the workshop again. I'd printed out a smaller version of the cubby sign, and now I cut a piece of perspex to cover it with, and screwed the whole thing up...I mean, ON. There's something off about it, still, but it's better than the last sign, which was covered in Fablon and Hot-Glued to the door. Badly.

[DTrasler Writing]

More progress! I managed to get some more ply from Home Despot today, so I will be replacing the back panel with wood. This will make the back panel more stable, make the whole build more durable, and opens the door to eventually replacing the side panels too. The original idea was to save weight, but it looks like better castors will make that less of an issue. Which means I also have to get better castors.

I have the weirdest Amazon Wish list....

[DTrasler Writing]

Stole some Christmas prep time to move the new back panel on a bit. Can't get my new 3d printer to work (perils of Facebook marketplace!) so I'm trying to find things that make me happy...


All the best of the festive season, if you're celebrating. All the best for the New Year, regardless!

[DTrasler Writing]

Ugh. Had typed out a whole post about my general incompetence, without realising that my login had timed out, and lost the whole thing when I pressed "post". Hah. Long story short, I tried really hard today. Built a jig to help me cut long pieces straight. Cut an inch off my workbench by mistake.



Never mind. Got the long piece I needed and glued them to the new back panel.



Makes the whole thing look a bit dubious, doesn't it? Anyway, while I'm admiring my handiwork, I realise the new panel I have just been lavishing attention on is TOO NARROW. It should be about 2ft 9 inches wide to allow it to be connected to the corner posts, but it's only two feet. It is, actually, just the bit that is visible between the posts. At some point in the recent past I have made a huge error, and I didn't notice.

Luckily, bodging a fix to make up for previous errors is practically my entire modus operandi. Unfortunately, I have to go back to work tomorrow, so nothing else will get done for a while.

[Volpone]

Yup.  Just screw in a strip on each side from the back.  Or if you really want to go cobbled together, duct tape. 

[DTrasler Writing]

Yeah, I think I'll go with option 1. The whole point of making the back panel wooden too was to increase the stability of the build. I have a lot of faith in duct tape, but I'll be cutting corners elsewhere, so I should make a stand where I can!