I'm going to be moving into a new house soon and want to build a bit of a man-cave. I've worked out how to make faux walls, secret bookshelf doors, holographic ghosts and singing 3D moving sculptures in my Victorian library but I wanted to know what your opinions were on the tardis entrance way.

It's basically a storage unit at the bottom of the garden at the moment. I'm going to put up a garden fence in front of it to make it look like it's the end of the garden and put a tardis at the entrance to give the "bigger on the inside" illusion. What I wanted to know is this:
Do I build it out of concrete / brick etc to keep structural integrity and skin it first?
The unit will be insulated and water proof. I even want it soundproof to use as a recording studio for podcasts etc but building an "authentic" wooden tardis poses too much challenge (for my skill set) in making it anything other than an acoustic / water weak point.

Can I really call my plan a "TARDIS build"?

Quote from: gerkintrigg on Jun 22, 2018, 05:58 am
Can I really call my plan a "TARDIS build"?

If it looks like a TARDIS, then it's a TARDIS Build. (Keep in mind that there have been several different TARDISes in various guises during the show's run, especially in the Classic years, so this could theoretically cover a wide range of shapes, from a Greek column to a full-sized Concord aircraft!)

Building one from brick, though (going on the assumption that what you've got so far is a Police Box version, and are keeping it that way) isn't going to be cheap. I'm not a mason so I wouldn't even know where to start on a project like that, or how to finish it, but I have priced bricks for laying down a walkway and found it to be cost prohibitive without a loan, and that was just for the bricks. I didn't even price the mortar needed... and my back wouldn't have let me lay brick for a walkway anyhow. So that ended up as a home equity loan project because it was needed.

I'm sure others that have some masonry skills will have better advice than I can muster. But good luck with this project. I would be very interested to see how it turns out.

Dino.

Quote from: gerkintrigg on Jun 22, 2018, 05:58 am
I've worked out how to make... holographic ghosts and singing 3D moving sculptures in my Victorian library

OK, glossing over the rest for a moment... is anyone else really interested in seeing/learning more about these aspects? Holograms and moving sculptures? Sounds like a great idea for a Tardis interface, or interactive display!

I wouldn't worry about whether or not it counts as a "TARDIS" or not.  It almost certainly does.  We've had TARDIS chicken coops.  TARDIS bookcases.  TARDIS garden bars (pubs?)  There's at least one basement recording studio and a couple wonderful "builds" that consist solely of a door at the end of a hallway. 

All that said, I can't quite get my head around what you're explaining, so apologies if I'm missing the point.  That said, I'm big on illusion and what you're calling "skinning" (I think.)  When I first built my TARDIS, the windows weren't real.  Just silver plywood with plexiglass and frames glued to them.  And the mass of my TARDIS ever increases as I add more layers of "frosting" to deal with wear, rot, and just making it look cool.  If I ever get the time, I want to coat all the wood with premixed "thin-set" mortar for more of a concrete look (and added structural strength.) 

But I'm rambling.  Bottom line: If it's blue, has windows, signs, panels, and a light on top, people will tell you it is a 100% accurate TARDIS.  (Except for us. We can actually spot TARDIS details.  But I like to think we are tolerant and inclusive.) 

Thanks for your comments. I've been away for about 6 months doing up my new house but it seems this is coming to an end now as I've nearly completed the new kitchen and two bathrooms, full rewire etc.

My main focus is now going to be on the garden and in particular, my magical library with tardis entrance hall. I've made the entrance touchscreen interface using a custom animation I designed. I would be happy to post a video of it. Would it be best to add a link?