Richard's Smith/McGann TARDIS

[wayne venomous]

Very nice work there! 

This is the first chance I've really had to sit down and have a good look at this thread (been meaning to do this for ages!) I have glanced through it and I suppose without even thinking about it your build has subconsciously inspired me to just get on and do mine. It's nice to be at that point where you can see it taking shape and all the work is starting to pay off. Bet you can't wait to paint it! 

[superrichi1a]

Aaww, thanks for the really kind comments guys. It means a lot!
Yes, my wood filler (or putty, whichever ) is cracking and deterioating. It's annoying because it's meant to be long-lasting waterproof and flexible wood-filler, of-course, I've now learned that's all corperate propa-ganda. That was why I'm going to test the acrylic filler, maybe to cover it up as you don't see the cracks

[exleo]

One o the best wood fillers is to get hold of a load of sawdust and mix it with wood glue to make a thickpaste, basically liquid wood but with actual wood fibre in it from the sawdust, sets well, the glue leaves it sligtly flexible, the sawdust gives it the texture and paintability of wood and the mix makes it waterproof

[superrichi1a]

Right...
Over the last few days I've been sanding the base, a lot. Seeing as I don't have any kind of fancy machinery to make the bevelled edges on the base, I had to use a plain (no idea which spelling of that is correct, sorry lol) and a chisel. The overall effect was acceptable, but it never looked clean enough if you know what I mean, too grainy. So I've sanded it smooth and also added filler in the exterior screw-holes, which have been sanded down to the extent that you can't feel them anymore, thats the way I like it lol
Also added locator pins in the corners to slot the corner posts over and keep then in position temporarily until the doors and walls are added. The construction part of my build is now almost over, just the roof-slope to go
I have also been testing a new flexible filler, which seems to work much better than the old. It's from Wickes, and is a sort of white, silicone-ie thing that can be painted over, I made an unsturdy L shape out of wood, filled in the right-angle gap, and once dry bent and flexed it to breaking point, in fact, I did break it. The filler stayed in tact for the firts few bends, which I'm confident enough will be enough to cope with warping and shaking. So, yeah, very happy 

[superrichi1a]

Things have been slow lately. I have recently been on sevaral CCF Expeditions as an ex-NCO (essentially someone who used to be in the CCF who was promoted to a high position but then left and is allowed to come back to supervise the little'ns on expeditions etc), and let me tell you, Wakeboarding and White Water Rafting may be fun but are not good for Police Box building, got my ankle sprained and my arm twisted, but apart from that I'm fine
I had hoped to have my box finished by my birthday (this Saturday), but, that's not going to happen.
I have recently made a start on priming the MDF for the doors and base, which is taking a while because, as the MDF will be sitting outside, it needs LOTS of paint to make it waterproof lol. I have also started making ths sloped part of the roof, which, I hope will be done by the end of next week, which will mark the end to my build really... all I have to do then is paint, finish, and assemble. I still need to find someone to do the signs, no luck there yet (if anyone knows a place? I'm really running out of ideas here lol), sort out the electrics and build a concrete base, but, yeah, that will mark the end of the construction part of my build...

[superrichi1a]

Well people, my birthday has come and gone and so too has my second "final" deadline to finish the build. What a slow so and so I am! I've not had a weekend to myself in a while and this coming one is no exception so I hope to get a move on next week. I've been looking at ways to do the windows and may (I say may) have found a glass seller that can actually make me some pebbled glass, although he's not sure, he says he's a great fan of DW and would be honoured to help with the build and will have a go, but, still too early to know at this point.
I have now got MDF primer on several of the walls and am currently painting the base in some wood preservative. Also got a lovely shade of blue (well, I think), that I want to try for TARDIS-ieness. Been doing lots of fliiing and sanding and, yeah, the build is on a home stretch, next stop, finish line (and, hopefully a few weeks before Christmas to enjoy the Christmas special with my very own blue box )

[wayne venomous]

Ah, shame you didn't get it finished for your Birthday.

On the plus side, think of it as finding an unopened Birthday present a few weeks later when you thought that all the joys of your Birthday were over and done with! 

[superrichi1a]

Well, that's it. The conctruction part of my build is now over (sort of) Still lots to do though!



I have finished the sloping part of the roof (although, I apologise, for the photo I forgot to put in that 4th panel at the back there ). The sloping panels are made from exterior ply which I will fill and sand throughly and paint with several coats of preserver, primer and paint

I have also been making merry with the paint really. I have pretty much I believe finished painting all the MDF with MDF primer, and am now starting to add coats of wood preservative.



In the picture we can see the base and the roof stage 2 (without panels) stacked and drying. Next up I have to do some finishing work on the sides and doors, then add the dividers, after that I'm going to add the 1/4 round moulds to the corner posts. Still looking for a place to get some signs from, I tried a few more places but all were either too expensive (I think £700 was slightly on the unreasonable side) or didn't have quite the right know-how to do them. Is this normally such a big problem for TARDIS Builders?

[superrichi1a]

Right, a bit of news. Today I finally finished moving all bits of the box to their new location (something while I've slowly been doing for months but haven't bothered to mention, well, at least, I don't think I mentioned it?) So, my box is no longer a Leadsworth build, which is a shame, I thought it was quite cool building a TARDIS in somewhere called Leadsworth, but anyway, it's now a "Middleton Build", which doesn't sound as much fun lol. Still, doesn't make much difference to me seeing as I transported the big bits down here months ago, just a shame to no longer have a clain to that title
I have been doing lots of painting with primer and preserver, and will soon be readu for some blue paint (yay!), but that's not why I'm here. I'm here to ask for help, I need your opinion on these:





These are the 1/4 mouldings on my corner posts (for those who are wondering why, on an NST build, I should point out that this is a slight Hudolin/Hartnell hybrid box), I bought a couple to check they looked OK. Sorry, hard to get a decent picture while it's not painted so you can't see it very well but; as, experts, do you think that these mouldings are too small? It's hard for me to tell, there aren't very many close ups of classic mouldings lol. I wasn't sure when I first tried them, but I didn't have much to compare too, but, recently, I have been following Deck5's fantastic build and noticed that his moulds are much bigger in relation to the posts than mine. This confirmed my suspicion, and I think mine are too small, but, as experts, what do you think? Do I need to get bigger ones?

(Sorry for jumbled-up post, I had a lot to say  )

[Sorvan]

These are the 1/4 mouldings on my corner post...
as, experts, do you think that these mouldings are too small?...
I think mine are too small, but...

It does sound like you've decided and as you're building it for yourself, you're the one whose oppinion matters most.  If you think the mouldings are too small, buy larger ones.

In my build I bought a 3/4" round over bit for my router to do this detail - so I personally would go bigger, but it's going to look good whatever you decide to do and you're probably the only one who'll really care about these details once you're done.

Colin

[Sorvan]

Well people, my birthday has come and gone and so too has my second "final" deadline to finish the build. What a slow so and so I am!

I'm about 4 1/2 years past my deadline.  I'm slower!   

Colin

[superrichi1a]

Thanks Sorvan, it really is a great help to have a second opinion I've got some new ones to test now, the next to sizes up, and I can't quite decide which I like more, but they are definatly an improvement!
Yeeaahh lol, I'm sure it's something that most people do when building these things isn't it, going past a deadline? I'm hoping mine will be finished shortly before Christmas so that if I create a gallery thread for it I can start with some Christmas-ie and snowy pictures lol

[exleo]

Another thing worth bearing in mind is what finish you intend to use on your TARDIS. If you are finishing it with a direct paint or stain coat on the wood then I would suggest you need to use the bigger size, but, if you are adding a texture level first then go slightly smaller as the texture will fill the edges and you'll lose definition, so an exagerated wood base will help prevent it disappearing....

[superrichi1a]

Thanks exleo, I'll bear that in mind I'm going to let you all in on a slight secret here. Due to, annoyingly, shops not always selling exactly the right size of wood, my corner posts are not, errmm, *searches for right word*. Symmetrical. They are slightly more like an "L" shape, slightly more square than that but not properly square none the less. Nevertheless, they still fit all the sides and sign boxes etc. Because of this, the recess were the 1/4 goes is not totally square, it's not too noticable, but you can clearly see it if you already know it's there if you know what I mean. Doesn't bother me too much, it's only a case of millimetres difference, but it does make a difference to my 1/4 rounds. I have settled on some 16mm rounds, as they look OK by themselves, and, as exleo says, the paint will add, probably a good millimetre or 2 to the size of it. Thanks guys, some top tips there
I now come to asking about weatherproofing my build. I wanted to ask here rather that over at one of the sub-boards because it makes it easier for me (and the reader) to scroll up and check pictures etc. I've been reading the weatherproofing FAQ etc and wanted to ask you all a couple of questions regarding specifically what I plan to do for my build. I have used 2-3 coats of MDF primer on the MDF, and 2 coats of preservative on the wood (and, of course, I'm sealing & filling all the gaps etc.). Do you think I should go straight onto 2-3 coats of blue from here or add another kind of undercoat, primer? Or does anyone else know of any good weatherproof undercoat I have used (I've heard of Dulux Weathershield, which sounds good, I'll have to see if I can find that in the shops tomorrow). Also, for the top layers of blue, is it better to have an oil-based or water-based paint? Most of the choices of paint I have seem to be water based, but I was never sure if that was appropriate. Thanx

[Scarfwearer]

Check out this topic for help on oil-based vs. water based paints and primers:
[ref topic=1931]Behr Paint/Primer[/ref].
Others may have suggestions about the other parts of your question.

Crispin