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It's About Time I Made a Box

Started by tinkering_timelord, Mar 21, 2019, 12:44 am

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tinkering_timelord

Quote from: Scarfwearer on Aug 22, 2020, 12:24 pmAgreed! It's coming along very well!
You're definitely capturing the look wonderfully!

If you still want to do the notches later, I think it could be done. I'd probably clamp on some guides and do multiple passes with a handheld circular saw. And follow your wise method of perfecting the technique on a test piece rather than your beautiful posts!

If the panels look too deep (I think we estimated 15mm for Jodie's box) you could probably inset thin ply panels and glue them on, then fill the edges if needed. It'd be a little tedious, but doable.
It's one of those things where you're probably the only person who'd notice, and may be a lot less obvious once the walls are painted dark blue.

No prop replica is ever going to be perfect. Even the contemporaneous TV props vary from each other a little. We've actually been telling them apart at times by the wood grain...

liftoff/loose-pin hinges:
I used these on my recent build.
They come in left and right handed versions, because you can't turn them upside down like regular hinges. So for double doors you'll need the same number of each.
I have a special tip with these: when you mount them, arrange that the top hinge half with the pin is a bit lower than it "should" be. This makes it hugely easier to get the door on. You put the lower lift-off hinge of the door over the lower door frame pin then you can just lift the upper one over the upper pin.
If the hinges on the frame are spaced the same as the door, then as you lift the top one on, the bottom one will generally pop off, and you'll have to try again.


Thanks for the compliment and the advice! It means a lot.

The boards I used are 3/4 inch thick, and 15mm translates to about 0.6 of an inch, so it is very close. I'm planning on adding a bit of wood putty to create the half concrete/half woodgrain texture of the panels, so with the paint and everything else I think you're right that it won't be as obvious.


tinkering_timelord

Quote from: Volpone on Aug 22, 2020, 03:00 pmThe Old School method would be with a chisel and a mallet.  Then clean it up with a file and/or sandpaper.  Chisels don't get used that often nowadays, but there are still more than a few times where I need a quick notch in something or to make a couple parts fit together, where I'll whip out a chisel to do some fine-tuning.  And if you screw up and take out too much material, you can fill it with Bondo.  I've really learned to appreciate Bondo while working on my A-Team van.  Meanwhile I heard from another property manager who uses it for lots of non automotive projects so I won't think twice about patching rotted wood with it or stopping a gutter leak or some other thing. 

I don't think I have a chisel lying around, but I might have to pick one up and do a few tests!

tinkering_timelord

Not much progress to report. The weather has been very hot and humid, and I've been working a lot more hours. I'm hoping to finish in time to put the TARDIS out front as part of the Halloween decorations, so fingers crossed.

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I did put together the interior window and I'm very happy with how it turned out, it also came together quite quickly and easily!

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tinkering_timelord

All four walls are finished! Well... assembled anyways. There's still texturing and painting to be done, but at last I have a full box!

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I ordered the lift-off hinges for the doors which arrived on Wednesday, 3 left-handed and 3 right-handed. Many thanks to Scarfwearer for his tip on the placement of the hinges, the doors are quite easy to lift on and off. Also, it has doors! After looking through tons of photos of the Jodie box, it looks like the lock sticks out from the right-hand door and a notch is carved into the left-hand door to accommodate everything, so I've replicated that detail.

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I've also trimmed up the gaps for the windows so they fit snugly in place, finished the first round of texturing for the rails and stiles of the doors and fitted the phone door in, but it's not screwed in place yet.

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There has been a lot of over-excited running in and out of the box and slamming the doors, really happy with how it's coming along!

phillbarron

That's an interesting detail on the door lock, I wonder why they did it?

I guess it's keyhole placement, but why not just buy a smaller lock?

Not you, the BBC!

Volpone

HA!  I'd forgotten the lock problem!  I wound up just cutting a notch in the door (I forget if I used a Dremel or what), pushing it into the slot and skipping the end screws.  Since it only has to keep honest people honest, I figure the end screw is plenty to keep the lock secure.  Anyway, if you hit my door hard enough to force the lock, they door would likely cave in. 

As for why the BBC wouldn't just get a smaller lock, at this point in civilization everything is standardized.  A night latch deadbolt is a certain size.  I mean, they could've just ginned up a fake.  It isn't like the lock actually has to work.  Heck, for a good chunk of the original series they had the ankh/spade key that didn't actually do anything--the Doctor just pushed it into the slot, jiggled it a bit and opened the door.  Even when they had Yale locks, I suspect they were never actually locked. 
"My dear Litefoot, I've got a lantern and a pair of waders, and possibly the most fearsome piece of hand artillery in all England. What could possibly go wrong?"
-The Doctor.

tinkering_timelord

Quote from: phillbarron on Sep 12, 2020, 09:45 amThat's an interesting detail on the door lock, I wonder why they did it?

I guess it's keyhole placement, but why not just buy a smaller lock?

Not you, the BBC!

It is to do with the keyhole placement, I just had a look through my reference pics and found that the notch is there, but I've put it on the wrong door! I think I must have used a larger night latch than the original, but I guess it still works as a solution haha


tinkering_timelord

Here's the picture I must have been thinking of.
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phillbarron

Quote from: Volpone on Sep 13, 2020, 01:44 amHA!  I'd forgotten the lock problem!  I wound up just cutting a notch in the door (I forget if I used a Dremel or what), pushing it into the slot and skipping the end screws.  Since it only has to keep honest people honest, I figure the end screw is plenty to keep the lock secure.  Anyway, if you hit my door hard enough to force the lock, they door would likely cave in. 

As for why the BBC wouldn't just get a smaller lock, at this point in civilization everything is standardized.  A night latch deadbolt is a certain size.  I mean, they could've just ginned up a fake.  It isn't like the lock actually has to work.  Heck, for a good chunk of the original series they had the ankh/spade key that didn't actually do anything--the Doctor just pushed it into the slot, jiggled it a bit and opened the door.  Even when they had Yale locks, I suspect they were never actually locked. 

They do come in two sizes though! I've got the shorter one on my doors.

phillbarron

Quote from: tinkering_timelord on Sep 13, 2020, 04:05 amHere's the picture I must have been thinking of.
IMG_1242.PNG

That's interesting! So they've got a lip running the whole length of the door on the inside as well as the outside?

That'll keep the draughts out.

tinkering_timelord


russellsuthern

Looks great- really authentic.
That last pic looks like it came straight from the show.

I'm expecting to see Jodie stepping out of it any second!

Russell

Volpone

The texture is very neat.  And your version takes all the neat things about the JW box (taller bottom rail, window details...) and skips the things that annoy me (the line across the top and bottom of the corner posts...)

Excuse me for not going back and reading, but is the blue just the base coat?  It might be the lighting (most of us know how blue changes with different light) but it is a little light and a little green in some of the pictures.  But I can see where adding weathering would bring it right where it needs to be.  (If they had went with a lighter blue for the base coat of the 2005 RTD TARDIS, the final prop might not have looked so slate grey. 
"My dear Litefoot, I've got a lantern and a pair of waders, and possibly the most fearsome piece of hand artillery in all England. What could possibly go wrong?"
-The Doctor.

tinkering_timelord

Quote from: Volpone on Sep 21, 2020, 02:52 amThe texture is very neat.  And your version takes all the neat things about the JW box (taller bottom rail, window details...) and skips the things that annoy me (the line across the top and bottom of the corner posts...)

Excuse me for not going back and reading, but is the blue just the base coat?  It might be the lighting (most of us know how blue changes with different light) but it is a little light and a little green in some of the pictures.  But I can see where adding weathering would bring it right where it needs to be.  (If they had went with a lighter blue for the base coat of the 2005 RTD TARDIS, the final prop might not have looked so slate grey. 

Thanks! The texture is probably the most rewarding part of the build, definitely worth the extra effort. And yes, the current color is just a teal base coat. I'm planning on doing a wash of cobalt blue and black paint, so the finished box will be much darker, and hopefully a close match of the actual prop.

Volpone

I suspected as much. Very well done. I expect it will turn out very well.  From your description, it sounds like you've picked a very nice range of colors to get a great weathered look. 
"My dear Litefoot, I've got a lantern and a pair of waders, and possibly the most fearsome piece of hand artillery in all England. What could possibly go wrong?"
-The Doctor.