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A Met Box Build

Started by fivefingeredstyre, May 01, 2011, 06:10 pm

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Scarfwearer

You may find something useful in this Workshop sub-board: http://tardisbuilders.com/index.php?board=91.0

Crispin

Volpone

Yup. I thought I had a fairly decent plan for weatherproofing, but it is a constant battle.  Between leaks and ventilation it is an ongoing chore.  For me the basic sloped part of the roof is fine, but I keep running into leaks where it joins to the walls.  I may have to have a go at flashing it, but that is going to be a pain in the butt.  I also notice water at some of my screws for the trim.  I'm not sure if this is an actual leak or just a spot where water is able to condense and creates the appearance of a leak.  And in spite of adding a vent under the lamp, I have horrible humidity inside. :(
"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.

fivefingeredstyre

Quote from: Scarfwearer on Apr 10, 2012, 03:18 pm
You may find something useful in this Workshop sub-board: http://tardisbuilders.com/index.php?board=91.0

Crispin
Thanks Guys... I'd kind of resigned myself to attacking the box a couple of times a year with a sealant gun, on the roof tiers and around the signs but I'm always going be on the look out for a neat way of waterproofing.

I coated the top part of my roof in fibreglass, and I'm really pleased I did as that hasn't given me much trouble  (so far...) its just the other horizontal surfaces that seem to be giving me gip...

Steve

lost gallifreyan

Just wanted to say that you're not alone!! As I'm sure you have already found out!

I used this wood sealant two part mix stuff, which is for boats normally, over the entire box before any painting took place to protect the wood from water ingress, but I still think I should have done more!! I'm getting a few leaks on the top corners, and under the left door!

I'm going to keep filling and painting for a while longer before I take more drastic action, but my next step would be to Fiberglas the troubled areas, which you have already done.

The tape idea maybe a way forward, but I for one would like to try and keep the clean lines of the roof detail

I think I'm correct in saying that even the originals leaked, as the water sat on the concrete roof detail would seep through! So it's a accurate original detail none of us intended to reproduce! But sadly have!

On the humidity side, can you get any ventilation into you box? I put a grille in the floor to give air circulation both under the floor and around the box. This seems to be working fine so far!

Well, until we find something better, i think we just need to keep the high maintenance level up!

fivefingeredstyre

I used a two part filler on mine as well :D

Its been chucking down here for the last week or so, and the temporary sealing job I did seems to have gotten over the initial problem as there is still water inside the box, but no where near as much.

I'm planning on taking some time off work in May, and I intend to give the roof section a good going over, in that I will strip the tiers back, re-seal them, leave that a day or so to cure properly, then give the whole tier sections five or six spray coats of the rubberised solution followed by giving the whole box a couple of fresh coats of blue...

I would recommend fibreglassing the top roof section to anyone who would listen though. That's one area that has given me no trouble at all... :)

I've also been toying with the idea of a couple of floor grills as well to allow air to come up through.

And I think the originals did actually leak, as the floor appears to be sloped inside, which I assumed was always to let rainwater out? (and why the door on a real box opens outwards...)

lost gallifreyan

Re-sealed mine today, so fingered crossed!

Hope yours stays dry until you get chance to carry out the required upgrades in May. Let us know how you get on!

I do like your pic of the console room viewed through the open door! Top job

I'm trying to create something very like this in mine for real. I'm using the same version of the console room, first seen in the five doctors. I'm getting the pic coppied (this will be spray painted as the pic wont take the up scalling required to get it to full scale! Also, spray painting means the view can be given more depth) onto some plastic boards to line my box. I'm using plastic as this will survive any further water leaks!!!

I'll update my build diary with the results

fivefingeredstyre

OK... So as I said a while back, over the winter I've been getting problems with the weather proofing. Not so much at the roof part, but at the horizontal joints where the tiers meet (and also where the walls meet the floor.)

First off I stripped all of the old sealant out and reapplied so fresh lines, trying to round out each joint, so that water has less chances of collecting at the intersection.

IMG_3759-1.jpg

Once that had a few days to cure, I then went mad with some primer, across the whole roof...

IMG_3761-2.jpg

After a couple of coats of Primer had been applied I then had a go with a coat of rubberised Car underbody paint...

IMG_3772.jpg

I gave it about 4 coats and it wound up looking like this...

IMG_3769-1.jpg

Looks sad like that doesn't it... :(

After about 4 coats of the rubberised paint, I then re coated the whole roof in Primer

IMG_3774-1.jpg

IMG_3773-1.jpg

And then I gave the whole roof section another couple of coats of blue...

IMG_3798.jpg

I also took the opportunity to replace the glass with something more opaque, as i wasn't really happy with the clear windows. I prefer it like this, but it does look a little smaller inside  :-[)

I've attacked the repairs with a watering can, and it does seem to hold up, but the weather in the UK is glorious at the moment, with no sign of a letup, so I'm just waiting to see if my repairs will stand the test of time...

fivefingeredstyre

Couple more shots with the new windows...

IMG_0492.jpg

I'm not sure if you can tell from these, but I quite like it when its lit up...

IMG_0501.jpg

IMG_3801.jpg

galacticprobe

May 28, 2012, 07:56 am #98 Last Edit: May 28, 2012, 07:56 am by galacticprobe
Very nice! That's a fabulous build!

Dino.
"What's wrong with being childish?! I like being childish." -3rd Doctor, "Terror of the Autons"

Volpone

Your TARDIS looks like it's taking a shower! (although you really wouldn't wear a shower cap AND shampoo, but there you go.
"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.

fivefingeredstyre

Jul 09, 2012, 09:46 pm #100 Last Edit: Jul 09, 2012, 09:51 pm by fivefingeredstyre
Well... I've given it a bit of time, but I'm pleased to report that even with all this rain we've been having in the UK, the roof repairs I carried out seem to be holding up :)

I would recommend that rubberised paint to anyone, it really seems to do the trick. The only word of caution I would add is that you need to ensure every thing is completely dry, with no trapped moisture before you apply the paint, otherwis the moisture expands in direct sunlight, leaving you with a couple of bulges here and there.

Other than than that it seems to work perfectly :)

Tempus Fugit

A beautiful build - truly lovely. The rubberised paint gives it a very pleasing overpainted/aged look so it really looks authentic. I love this.

Volpone

Heh. If I ever get an excuse to do another build, I'm leaning heavily towards doing a Met Box instead of a TARDIS.  That said, for as good a job as you did on your build, it shows how the BBC wound up getting the intellectual property rights for the police box.  An accurate representation of a Met Box somehow looks "off" to someone who's only seen the Dr. Who props. 
"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.

fivefingeredstyre

Jan 18, 2013, 06:25 pm #103 Last Edit: Jan 19, 2013, 12:36 pm by Scarfwearer
How do...

one of the first things any body asks when they see the police box down the bottom of the garden is, "Does the light flash?" and telling people that it doesn't has been getting embarrassing, so i've bitten the bullet decided to change this...

I started off by getting some LED's and wrapping them around an old tin, to act as the lamp body..

IMG_4502a.jpg

I used a beer can, because it seems the right width and height for my lamp lens, and worryingly, I seem to have a few of them spare after Christmas...:o

So with a little help from those lovely people at 3M the LED ribbon sticks to the side of the can like so...

IMG_4504a.jpg

I then knocked up a very rough base for the "lamp"set at the right height for the lamp housing at the roof of my TARDIS...

IMG_4523a.jpg

and fitted it underneath the existing lamp housing from the inside...

IMG_6732.jpg

The LED's are attached to a driver to reduce the voltage and a controller, which enables be to make the lamp fade/flash, like so...

th_VID00603.jpg

Click on the picture and you should see a lovely video of the lamp flashing...

I need to change the colour of the inside lighting to a cool white so that it more matches the top lamp, but I'm quite pleased with the result...

The second question people always ask me is, "Does it make the noise..?" so thats going to be my next challenge...

domvar

I'm sure there is a video of the lamp flashing however I couldn't see that due to those pictures of GLC  ;D