LEGO TARDIS Console Room (2010/11 Matt Smith Version)

Started by xenomurphy, May 11, 2012, 06:07 pm

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xenomurphy

May 11, 2012, 06:07 pm Last Edit: Aug 18, 2012, 11:03 pm by Scarfwearer
Hello and welcome to my little corner here on TARDIS BUILDERS.

As a huge fan of LEGO and Doctor Who, the tv series is often a fantastic source of inspiration for me. In 2009 I came out of my dark ages (which means I rediscovered my interest in LEGO) and instantly started building small sets and figures from Doctor Who. My largest and most important project so far has been building the 2005 console room in minifig (those are these little LEGO figures) scale.

Some time has passed since then - and I think that was necessary - and now I'm feeling ready for the next level, the 2010/2011 version. I consider that version more complicated than the 2005 one, therefore I became a member of this brilliant community and hope for some help.

To start my diary, I'll post pictures of my 2005 LEGO version, so all of you can get an idea of what I'm talking about.

Title.jpgInterior 01.jpgInterior 03.jpgInterior 04.jpgInterior 05.jpgDetails 02.jpgExterior01.jpgBonus 02.jpg

domvar

That is amazing, where do you source your parts from as I have used the lego site and they never have the items I am looking for, do you buy specific kits ?

xenomurphy

May 11, 2012, 07:05 pm #2 Last Edit: May 12, 2012, 04:39 am by xenomurphy
Thank you, domvar. I hope it's not against the forum rules to name such sources. The biggest marketplace for single LEGO parts is called Bricklink and it's similar to ebay or amazon. There you can get bricks and parts in huge numbers without buying complete sets.

xenomurphy

Similar to what I did in 2010, I started with the console. At first, the colours are almost always wrong. The bars for example are going to be transparent green in the final version.

I like to build 'studless' if possible (studs are those typical, little LEGO knobs), but in this case, I'll use the studs on the upper side of the 6 console panels to add some details later, like the gramophone or the keyboard.

Building in minifig size with LEGO is a very filigree work and always a matter of compromise. The console's lower side shows how many small parts are needed (and some are still missing in that photo) to create something 'simple' like the LEGO console.

The height was a problem, but I can sink the console into the construction of the glass floor later.

Console 01.jpgConsole 02.jpg

warmcanofcoke

Nice work ! you've inspired me to go visit the Lego web page and buy some individual bricks and bits. Somewhere I have a lego Tardis in a box .. somewhere - I'll have to fish it out and Take a picture.
why doesn't the Guide mention them? - Oh, it's not very accurate.
Oh? - I'm researching the new edition.

xenomurphy

I'm glad I could inspire you. And I'm looking forward to see the photos.

Rassilons Rod

Wow, that is amazing work! I simply can't fathom how that could be done in Lego. You must have a huge collection of parts! :)
In the cities in the streets there's a tension you can feel,
The breaking strain is fast approaching, guns and riots.
Politicians gamble and lie to save their skins,
And the press get fed the scapegoats,
Public Enema Number One.

xenomurphy

Oh I'm sure it can be done, but not without the help of the good people here at TARDIS BUILDERS.
Right now I'm rewatching series 6, taking as many screenshots as possible from the console room. Yet there's still so much that I can't identify or measure.

riftmaster

Let me know if you need any screenshots or anything, I have a massive collection

- riftmaster

ripintime

:)Ripintime:)

architect

I can not see Lego anymore with out thinking of minecraft now.



go in the virtual build diarys? if so I could contact the youtuber and see if they are already over here, if it is already there, anyone have a link to the thread?
Sincerely, and most appreciatively,
The Architect.
www.borgsteamfactory.com/contact.html

xenomurphy

Quote from: riftmaster on May 12, 2012, 03:52 pm
Let me know if you need any screenshots or anything, I have a massive collection

- riftmaster


Thank you, riftmaster, I'll gladly come back to your offer later. The most copmplicated part is probably the area around the door and the big round screen.
Right now I'm working on the glass floor and will post an update very soon. I found your and rob49152's very helpful floor shape picture/rendering.

Oh and thanks for your compliment, ripintime.

Kingpin

A lot of reference galleries popped up when the tours of the Matt Smith console room took place at the recent BBC convention, a number of them have been linked to in this topic and will be invaluable for this build.

xenomurphy

May 13, 2012, 09:54 pm #13 Last Edit: May 13, 2012, 09:56 pm by xenomurphy
The upper part of the glass floor:

After I found the information about the shape of the glass floor here on TARDIS BUILDERS, I made a rough sketch based on the size of my console and a minifig and started building (1st pic). In my first version, the bracing looked too clunky, so I had to come up with a different idea.

I replaced the bracing plates with thin tubes. A real LEGO purist is somebody who would never paint, cut or alter a brick. I try to be a purist as much as possible, but I think cutting those tubes is allowed and I'll not be punished by any Danish Gods (2nd pic). Here you can also see that I printed out the glass floor plan from rob49152 (thank you so much again for it).

After I realised that the tubes work really well (and after another brick order), I built the outer frame again, this time in its final colour: light bluish grey. Thanks to the plan I realised there was a wrong corner and I were able to correct it (3rd pic). Working with LEGO is a constant compromise and often you can only hope for a good recognition value, since the bricks and parts are really big compared to a minifig. Therefore I always try to build as accurate as possible.

Here I put everything I have so far together (4th pic). The bracing needs more bars, this handrail version is just an idea and the glass part in the time column is nothing but a placeholder. At least my little Doctor seems to like what he sees so far.
There are still some dark bluish grey wedged plates in the console. I'm still waiting for the sand coloured ones - they are extremely rare and expensive.

Okay, that's it for today. I hope it wasn't too boring. The next logical step is the lower part of the glass floor.
Does anybody know how many blue neon tubes there are and in which directions they point?


GF01.jpgGF02.jpgGF03.jpgGF04.jpg

riftmaster

May 13, 2012, 10:35 pm #14 Last Edit: May 14, 2012, 12:22 am by riftmaster
Rob will be the best person to tell you that, as he has a complete (i believe) 3d model of the set
I will have a look tomorrow anyway, and see if i can help.
- riftmaster

EDIT: I have just found a 3dxml file of the tardis console room I can give you. does anyone know how to convert it to .obj so I can make it less dense?  DONE