1:6 Scale Metropolitan

[rainybox]

Hello everybody. I am a newcomer to TARDIS building (despite having an account for a few years now!), and have recently discovered Jamie Bate. I think his kits look like a great way to start me off with building my own boxes, which will hopefully give way to me building my own things.

Based on his placeholder image, do you think it's accurate enough? Or should I not bother with that because I will be using this project primarily to learn; although I would like something cool to display when I'm finished.

https://static.wixstatic.com/media/392b5a_a5ec884d1cb146cc90ad9b9db6265bb1~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_679,h_767,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/392b5a_a5ec884d1cb146cc90ad9b9db6265bb1~mv2.jpg

[russellsuthern]

Welcome to TB.

Jamie's models are very accurate & will be a great beginners project for you.

Looking forward to seeing how you get on.

Regards,

Russell

[rainybox]

Welcome to TB.

Jamie's models are very accurate & will be a great beginners project for you.

Looking forward to seeing how you get on.

Regards,

Russell

Thanks for the info! I look forward to shawing my progress

[rainybox]

Now I have a few questions about the additional features, i.e., the lamp, handles/locks, windows. Where do I start with those? I want to figure out roughly what I will be needing/spending before I begin. Thanks

[rainybox]

Are these mooncrest parts  appropriate for the build? if so, can i trust the site? I am usually cautious of who I buy from when online shopping.

https://d2j6dbq0eux0bg.cloudfront.net/images/1749109/2728792056.jpg
https://d2j6dbq0eux0bg.cloudfront.net/images/1749109/2661538534.jpg
https://d2j6dbq0eux0bg.cloudfront.net/images/1749109/2688370457.jpg

I'm having trouble with the windows. Does anyone here have any recommendations for materials/shops?

How many mls of paint should it take to cover the whole box? I want to go over it twice with two different blues (inspired by crich's repaints to make it look a bit more authentic).

I've checked the original police box colour thread and the most definitive colour I saw was Pantone 7547; do you know of any paints/mixtures to get a smilar colour (this will be the outer layer because I want mine to be that almost black blue which late police boxes were)?

[whovianjon]

Quickie: are these mooncrest parts  appropriate for the build? if so, can i trust the site? I am usually cautious of who I buy from when online shopping.

https://d2j6dbq0eux0bg.cloudfront.net/images/1749109/2728792056.jpg
https://d2j6dbq0eux0bg.cloudfront.net/images/1749109/2661538534.jpg
https://d2j6dbq0eux0bg.cloudfront.net/images/1749109/2688370457.jpg

Mooncrest has been good with my orders, items arrived pretty quick as well. Depending on you build there are different versions of lamps, on my Logopolis build I'm going for the Fresnel Mk2. I'll keep you updated on my windows when I get there! I have found in the past some sellers on Maazon who do handles and locks for dolls houses etc, just need to get the right size.

[fivefingeredstyre]

Are these mooncrest parts  appropriate for the build? if so, can i trust the site? I am usually cautious of who I buy from when online shopping.

https://d2j6dbq0eux0bg.cloudfront.net/images/1749109/2728792056.jpg
https://d2j6dbq0eux0bg.cloudfront.net/images/1749109/2661538534.jpg
https://d2j6dbq0eux0bg.cloudfront.net/images/1749109/2688370457.jpg

I'm having trouble with the windows. Does anyone here have any recommendations for materials/shops?

How many mls of paint should it take to cover the whole box? I want to go over it twice with two different blues (inspired by crich's repaints to make it look a bit more authentic).

I've checked the original police box colour thread and the most definitive colour I saw was Pantone 7547; do you know of any paints/mixtures to get a smilar colour (this will be the outer layer because I want mine to be that almost black blue which late police boxes were)?

I'd second the applause for Mooncrest. Gary is a top bloke and his kits are excellent.

The Jamie Bate kits are laser cut using a lot of the dims and (I think) decal artwork from here, so the I think they are pretty accurate; although I don't think they come with things like the quadrants for the corner posts, or (if your building a Newbery or TYJ) the bevels for the panel recesses so you will need some extra parts if your building one of those versions.

(From my own experience, adding the panel recess bevels to my scratch builds is the most tedious job in the world...)

[rainybox]

Which boxes have the most unique/noticeable scuffs/charecteristics? I'd love to base my model after one of them. Here is an example of what I am looking for.

[rainybox]

UPDATE: I have decided to go for a 1930's/early 40's box to begin with. I think it would be cool to give my model a different paint job every now and then, slowly (or quickly if I'm impatient!) going through the different colours and states of disrepair as the box spends decades on the street corner.

I am thinking of crafting an interchangable war-time beacon for this so that I can make it look like one of those boxes inside of those walls of sandbags/bricks, but I am having trouble figuring out the materials I'll need. Any advice?

[Andrew Harvey]

Sounds exciting! I should just use thin sheets of balsa or plastic card. Those beacon covers look like they would just lift on or off, so its just a matter of a square box with a pyramid top.

[rainybox]

Sounds exciting! I should just use thin sheets of balsa or plastic card. Those beacon covers look like they would just lift on or off, so its just a matter of a square box with a pyramid top.

Thank you! I am very new to arts and crafts, this is no doubt going to become a summer project of mine!

[rainybox]

Would you say that the WWII beacon was placed directly on top of the standard lamp? To me in some photos it looks like it does, but in others it looks like it replaces it (albeit it is on a mark 1).

[Andrew Harvey]

I should say so. I cant imagine at that time they would have been bothered with removing all the beacons and replacing them with those covers. Like tape on all the windows and covers on headlights, they most likely just put something over them to stop the lights showing. I imagine there were many different types too, outside the London area. People would have used what ever came to hand!
  Will you bother to make the sand bags and the air raid siren on the pole? That would indeed be a classy bit of diorama building.
  I note that you say you are new to model making and arts and crafts. Well, you are in for a really great time! A new world of possibilities lies before you! Sometimes its frustrating, ( I myself am today sculpting dozens of tiny hands in 1/48th scale for metal cast kits- 'Fiddly' isn't even the word!) sometimes you have to do things which seem boring and repetitive but at the end you are always learning and developing new skills. Its very rewarding! Good luck!
  I am sure I am not the only one using this Tardis Builders who is looking forward greatly to seeing your finished model.

[rainybox]

Thanks that was really helfpul, I would love to do the sandbags and siren, but I will probably do that after I'm happy with the model's paint job/weathering. I hope to get into the film industry one day, so model making and cool little dioramas are bound to look good on the ol' CV (if I can get the hang of it!). Dunno if I will be able to do things quite on the scale you do, I've seen your profile. Wow!

What do you think I should use for the windows? I was thinking of perspex, but am unsure of how to achieve the pebbled effect or tinted pane. How familiar are you with grain gel, I found some products on hobbycraft that could be useful?

[Andrew Harvey]

Hello again Rainybox. I am not familiar with Grain gel. The windows I put in my boxes are usually made from clear sheet styrene or from packaging like the sort of thing ready made salads come in at the co-op. I had never thought of texturing the ones on my models as they are quite a bit smaller than the 1/6th- 1/7th scale jobs some folks are making here. ( I made the ones in those pictures at 1/17th and 1/48th). Perspex would seem to my mind a bit thick.
  I suppose if I were to try and achieve a textured window, I would sculpt it in an epoxy putty first then make a mould in silicone and take a casting in clear resin. That way I would most likely do the frames as an integral part so all I had to do would be to cast the lot. It would be an easy job to make the window one that could be opened if so desired. A simple spigot sticking out of each bottom corner would do the trick. ( Of course you would need to make an 'arm' with a hook or a triangular wedge with a right angled lip to stop the window falling all the way in!)
  Milliput or Kneadatite greenstuff is great for sculpting. Or both. Look up the website for them. I use styrene strip for things like window frames, nice and neat, and all you need is polystyrene cement. Liquid poly (I always use Revell's as it has a handy needle like depositor)* is best. Incidentally, always use PVA when gluing clear parts on models. It stops the clouding that some other glues create. As it dries clear, you can also cut and peal away with a sharp scalpel, any excess or over spill.

  I once worked in the film industry in Bristol back in a different incarnation. I got into it by accident, and I didnt stay at it for very long. Most of the things they will have you building are cartoon style figures, but its good to learn how to make moulds and take castings. Bone-up on your human and animal anatomy - figure sculpting and drawing are vital. Scenery building is pretty easy, and usually all gets thrown in a skip at the end of a shoot. Lots of polystyrene foam ( That annoying pollutant the washing machines come in) PVA glue and sand and all painted dark earthy colours and covered in flock. We used bags and bags of model railway flock ( Woodland scenics do the best ones, the rest all seem to be very garish) and bags of died lichen. I could not believe the waste! I use lots of bits of smashed up slate and mudstone for my scenery here, Slates have no scale when they are shattered and as I think I said before the dust is a good weathering powder.
  Good luck with it all!

*= Depositor; Ive been reading lots about insect anatomy and keep thinking 'ovipositor'! There is a proper name but a cannot think of it! Applicator? Oh...B....cks to it!