I've been whining about time and resizing issues but now that we've got a slick new board and I've got some time, a few update pics. If you followed what was going on...shoot. My TARDIS got built in Oregon. It rested on dirt, with plastic sheeting under it. Quickly, I levered it up and put bricks under the corners to get it off the ground. After around 6 years I loaded it in a truck and took it to Kentucky. Had a nice concrete slab that I parked it on. Turns out this was terrible because it allowed water to pool and rot the TARDIS from below. I did raise it at some point but the damage was done. Also, the roof was originally tar-paper over plywood, painted. It wore and developed leaks. I fiberglassed it in Kentucky. Then I moved about 3 miles down the road. The rot at the bottom, having a door that compromises the strength of the shape (and not having a solid bottom--read upthread if you want more on that choice) meant it got moved, but not without damage. It sat for a bit until I had time to do some repairs. I did frame up a solid base at this point and thought life was good. Trundled it to its current location.
As she aged--and rotted--I did assorted tile projects in assorted houses and wound up with leftover sheets of cement board (like drywall made of concrete) that were used to reinforce structural integrity. This added weight. Now this TARDIS was originally built as a storage shed. And I had a stack of van wheels from my A-Team van project, so they got loaded into her. Among the problems with this is that the soil the TARDIS was parked on was relatively soft--and not uniformly hard. And the weight of a stack of wheels affected settling. Add in rot to the base that, once started, is awfully hard to beat and the TARDIS started to warp; to twist and settle.
When I got some time and money I managed to get her up off her old base (not easy with the amount of rot everywhere) and stick salvaged 4x4 timbers under her for a new base. I got the shape as true as I could (there's still a bit of warp, as you'll probably see). I've been using something called "thinset" mortar for texture, repairs, and to add bevels to the trim but at this point I opted for actual concrete to build up the bevels on the base and add strength. She becomes more and more accurate (as far as composition) to a police box the older she gets. Here she is, squred up and on her new base:
Squared up as best I can with concrete and fiberglass patching laid on:
Painted:
Now, if you've been following me here, I'm an advocate of "The color of blue doesn't matter. Go as dark as you can without being black. Actually mismatched paint aids the weathering look," but this time my blue was noticeably more purple while the old blue had a greener hue. And it was jarring enough that I couldn't just put a patchy, sloppy job on and have the color mismatch add to weathering because it looked so odd so I had to go for an even coat. (Note the window trim, which is the original color and how different it is--in the bright light this really is purple, but your brain (luckily) corrects it to dark blue). Let me see if I can find a final pic. I did drag out my crude SJA badge so she's got kind of the "Genevieve" livery right now:
She's old, but hanging on. As always, there are things to do to improve her--and never enough time or money. And yes, Oor Willy, you can add fiberglass after paint. It probably isn't optimal but it will work.
As she aged--and rotted--I did assorted tile projects in assorted houses and wound up with leftover sheets of cement board (like drywall made of concrete) that were used to reinforce structural integrity. This added weight. Now this TARDIS was originally built as a storage shed. And I had a stack of van wheels from my A-Team van project, so they got loaded into her. Among the problems with this is that the soil the TARDIS was parked on was relatively soft--and not uniformly hard. And the weight of a stack of wheels affected settling. Add in rot to the base that, once started, is awfully hard to beat and the TARDIS started to warp; to twist and settle.
When I got some time and money I managed to get her up off her old base (not easy with the amount of rot everywhere) and stick salvaged 4x4 timbers under her for a new base. I got the shape as true as I could (there's still a bit of warp, as you'll probably see). I've been using something called "thinset" mortar for texture, repairs, and to add bevels to the trim but at this point I opted for actual concrete to build up the bevels on the base and add strength. She becomes more and more accurate (as far as composition) to a police box the older she gets. Here she is, squred up and on her new base:
Squared up as best I can with concrete and fiberglass patching laid on:
Painted:
Now, if you've been following me here, I'm an advocate of "The color of blue doesn't matter. Go as dark as you can without being black. Actually mismatched paint aids the weathering look," but this time my blue was noticeably more purple while the old blue had a greener hue. And it was jarring enough that I couldn't just put a patchy, sloppy job on and have the color mismatch add to weathering because it looked so odd so I had to go for an even coat. (Note the window trim, which is the original color and how different it is--in the bright light this really is purple, but your brain (luckily) corrects it to dark blue). Let me see if I can find a final pic. I did drag out my crude SJA badge so she's got kind of the "Genevieve" livery right now:
She's old, but hanging on. As always, there are things to do to improve her--and never enough time or money. And yes, Oor Willy, you can add fiberglass after paint. It probably isn't optimal but it will work.
