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Mobile TARDIS build - BC style

Started by DTrasler Writing, Sep 01, 2023, 10:33 pm

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DTrasler Writing

Spent an hour or so last night filling in the horizontals and then painting the panel. I can't fit the thing until I can do a full stack, which can't be indoors because there's isn't room (height-wise). Luckily, there's rain forecast for Saturday morning. If I can get the front panel in, and the other two corner posts, then put the crown on, I can position the back panel and add the extra pieces I'll need to screw it into place. If I get it square and sorted, I might stick the other panels in and go round giving the whole thing another coat of paint, and then varnish it to boot.

Tardis 21.jpg

Next part of the plan is a structure that supports the crown - turns out making it from plastic sheeting was cheap and light but not very durable. Who could have predicted this?

DTrasler Writing

I skipped Saturday morning, and checked the forecast for today - clear skies...or at least, no rain. So when the wife took the car out, I borrowed the drive to stack up.

Moving all the pieces by myself isn't easy, but I managed, and got the front panel and rear corner posts in place. Then I put the roof on.

I picked up the back panel, and realised I couldn't fit it with the roof on, so I put it down again. Took the roof off. Put in the back panel. Screwed it into place.

Realised that I hadn't checked the fit with the roof. Put the roof on. Sure enough, the back panel is now too wide for the roof to fit. Took the roof off again. Unscrewed one side of the back panel.

Now the tricky bit. With one hand, push in the right hand side of the back panel. With another hand, hold the left post steady. With another hand, slide the roof back into place. While holding all three in position, re-screw the back panel into place.

While I was still at the halfway point of the above actions, rain began. Not polite "a bit of a sprinkle" rain, but biblical, "I shall wash all trace of man from the face of the earth" rain. My options at this point were limited. Although the roof was on the Tardis, I didn't have the light and cage in place on top, which meant there was a huge hole in the roof, just above my head. I persevered, invented some new and useful expletives, then carefully disassembled the Tardis and took it all back inside. Before I did that, I took this photo. It's distant because I was cowering undercover.

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These dog days of 2023 have not been so very useful. I'm really keeping my fingers crossed for 2024 to provide more time for the fun things in life, while still delivering the essentials, like money and food.

DTrasler Writing

The rain slackened off long enough for me to try re-stacking today. There's a bit of urgency, because I need to know how tall the Tardis is without the lamp on top. Last week we got to measure the convention centre doors...Well, no, I stood next to them and Jools took a photo, and they look a foot and a half taller than my six feet 2.

I worried about this visible edge that wouldn't go away:
20240128_102912.jpg

But then I realised that storing this piece outside had warped the front a little, and it just needed a shove from outside to settle the crown on properly. Then I could measure:

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7ft, maybe 7ft 1? Might just fit.

Two more things to do. The first one is easy, fitting the new bumper sticker:

20240128_103904.jpg

The second one is trickier. I have a ST John's logo for the front doors, but i need the front piece inside while I glue it on and paint it with varnish to waterproof it. Think that'll have to wait until next weekend. The Fan Expo is the 18th (It's running for several days, but we're only going on the Sunday). Eldest kid thinks we should line up for Adam Savage, since he gets excited about things people have built themselves. I don't mind saying hi, but I don't think I want his signature on my Tardis or my dalek. He's never been in the show!

Volpone

Jan 29, 2024, 05:14 am #63 Last Edit: Jan 29, 2024, 05:16 am by Volpone
It's funny.  The above pic put me in the mood of the opening of "Spearhead From Space" so I went for the relevant screencap and was surprised to see your ramshackle hobby TARDIS is actually nicer than the one the 3rd Doctor had in the actual show:
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0nMC-kTZ_A0/W6jF3WhFJhI/AAAAAAAAJ1E/jNsagLDzpfQeA6gbtoPpGkWtgkoZNvmXACLcBGAs/s1600/Spearhead%2B1%2B%2528Doctor%2Bcollapses%2529.jpg
"You know, the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alters their views to fit the facts, they alter the facts to fit the views, which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that needs altering."
-The Doctor,
"Face of Evil."

DTrasler Writing

Wow! I'm sure I've seen that clip a few times, but I never registered the state of the Tardis! I guess I can start saying "Screen accurate" again, as long as I specify this episode....

DTrasler Writing

Finally got to drag the front back in to the workshop to fit the St John's roundel and paint it all with varnish. Have to do the back too, and go over all the window frames again. And Build another wooden sign for the back. Before the 18th. Plenty of time.
56.jpg

DTrasler Writing

I got to the painting, going over the roof, which had started to look tatty. I painted some of the scrapes on the front, and then painted the inside of the front an off-white (not because it's screen accurate, but because we had a bucket of it sitting around.) Since I'm impatient, I've got blue smears in the white, but a second coat should help with that.

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I repainted the light cage. I think I've been avoiding it because I lost the remote control for the LED light. This week I found there's a manual on/off switch, so I feel better about it. I can use it!

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I got the rear sign fixed up on the back panel, and I braced some of the corner supports in the base. I've stacked and disassembled the Tardis twice in the last few days, and I'm fairly happy about putting it together at the Fan Expo. I should probably drive it around a bit first, though. Haven't done a test drive in months.

DTrasler Writing

We're getting down to the wire now - it's Friday, and the Fan Expo is on Sunday. I have the van booked, and I think we can fit through the doors and into the elevator, as long as I don't put the lid on until we get out on the ground floor.

I wish I could say I have been working frantically to tidy up small defects, but that would be untrue - I haven't been working frantically, and the whole thing is MADE of small defects. I am proud of the new lock, which looks shiny and functional, if a little off-centre (it rotated a little.

57.jpg

It looks shiny and functional, but it is NOT, because it's five layers of paper. I've put the second door handle on, even though when I had it there the first time, I kept catching my fingers in the door.

Today I have to check I have secure locations for the two battery packs (floor lights and sign lights), and that the new MP3 player can connect securely to the speaker and play. I was going to use my phone to play the sounds, but I also use that as my camera, and a couple of times at conventions, I've missed pictures I wanted because my phone was playing dalek noises. Oh yeah, the other thing I have to do today - fit a tow hook under the front sill. Pushing the thing is too risky, so if we need to move it, I'm going to be pulling it along from the base. I'm sure it won't look at all silly.

DTrasler Writing

Still haven't got around to full write up here, but here's a picture of a familiar face....
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Maybe more to follow this weekend...

russellsuthern

Great props & cosplay!!

Russ

alistair

Nice work on both of those props. I particularly like the blue glow under Derek!

DTrasler Writing

Thanks Alistair and Russell! One of my few regrets from this event is that someone stepped on the power cable while we we transporting the Tardis into the venue, pulling it out, which meant the Tardis couldn't have a similar glow under it. Fixing it will require soldering, and more importantly, soldering the right bits to the other right bits. It may not happen.

Other things I learned: People don't care this Tardis is only 3/5ths scale. They want to have their picture taken with it, they want to use the phone, they want to look inside. (That reminds me, I must make the inside more interesting...)I didn't get to drive it around as much as I wanted to, because it needs bigger wheels so it rolls better.

On the plus side, the new side pieces I put in do make it a little more stable, and assembling the thing in the car park didn't take long at all. It's amazing how much easier it is with three people doing it!

We've decided against the run down to the Emerald City Convention in Seattle. Jodi Whittaker's only there for Saturday, her photo slot is only 4.30-5pm, and we're all really tired. Plus they don't have any Saturday tickets left. We'll aim for the Washington State Summer Con in June instead. No Doctor Who cast posted as of yet, but there's plenty of time. I'm hoping the May release of the new series on Disney Plus will increase interest.

So for now I'm just saving up my pennies for the bigger casters (2 and 1/2 inchers would be nice, but the rubber non-marking ones are $20 each. I need four.)

DTrasler Writing


russellsuthern

Great pics,
You are so right, most normal, sane people don't care if a prop or cosplay is inaccurate, they are just excited to see it & want a photo.
We are always our own worst critics!

Russ

Volpone

In no particular order: 

Yup.  The average person has no idea what the TARDIS looks like, beyond being blue with panels and windows and a light at the top.  When I built my "close enough/cut corners to simplify and save money" TARDIS I later retrofitted it to make it more accurate.  Everyone here loved it.  Every one of my "regular" friends that are "Dr. Who" fans, I'd show them the before and after photos and they'd go "I don't see any difference." 

I'll also add, people my age from the USA are likely going to think your TARDIS is full size.  Our frame of reference is old telephone booths.  So when we see/build a full-sized TARDIS it is a bit surprising.  Again, from my build diary, even though I drew up the plans and bought the materials, heck even when I was doing the initial assembly in the garage, I should've understood how big it would be, but it wasn't until I dragged it out into the yard to assemble that I started freaking out about its size.  Just about everyone here that builds a full sized TARDIS has a moment where they go "wow, I didn't realize it was this big." 

Finally, people want to believe in the TARDIS. I had a cookout in my backyard one time and a friend ripped the handle off the phone panel because he was trying to open it to see what was inside (nothing was inside, the handle was screwed directly to the plywood, even after my renovation the phone panel doesn't actually open).  When my neighbor saw me putting it together, he came over to help (thankfully).  As we were screwing the sides together he asked me "what does it do?"  I'm like "holds old tires and paint cans and stuff from my garage," and he was surprised that this was all, almost like he expected it to travel through space and time or something.  People want a little magic in their lives. 
"You know, the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alters their views to fit the facts, they alter the facts to fit the views, which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that needs altering."
-The Doctor,
"Face of Evil."