Russell's TARDIS

[russellsuthern]

At last my build has begun!
My name is Russell, I run a Martial Arts training hall in Brighton & I am a life long Dr Who fan.
Iv'e had a little blue box spinning around in my head since I was about 5, &, like the Master & his drums, it's been driving me crazy!
I decided the only thing to do was to get it out of my head & into my garden!
Fortunately, our shed is on it's last legs, so I told the missus I'd make a new one as long as it can be a TARDIS. Result!
My build is going to be a hybrid between the Hudolin prop & the Cushing movie prop. (more on that as we go along.)
It'll be a slow build as I'm constrained by the usual chains of time & money, but I'm a very good scavenger. Iv'e already managed to pilfer all the local skips for enough wood to make a start:



I don't have anywhere to store the pieces at home, so I'm going to make it in my hall, then transport it home where I'll put it all together.
The panels will be in vertical halves, so I'll end up with 8 bits for ease of transport:




My quality control supervisor is a complete facist!



But he did spot that I'd measured the panels wrong! An error fortunately corrected before I added the wooden panels:




That's it so far, I'm looking forward to sharing future progress with you all!

Russell

[galacticprobe]

Looks like she's off to a good start!

Dino.

[russellsuthern]

Found this wonky rack in a skip:


The cross pieces will be perfect for the windows:



Only enough to make three, but a good start.
I'm a great fan of scavenging, or recycling as it should be called.
So much good wood gets thrown away it's a crying shame.

I also printed off these signs from your website:


I'm going to use them to paint my own signs onto board. I'm quite good at sign writing, so I hope the results will turn out ok.

I also started roughing out the dimensions of the top signs:


That's all so far!

Cheers,

Russell

[superrichi1a]

Enjoying this so far, quite a unique build process! Keep the updates coming

Noticed you in DWM too, had quite a shock, though looking good

[russellsuthern]

Thanks for your kind words.
You weren't as surprised as I was!
You send stuff off, but never expect it to be used....
At least here I'm guaranteed my 5 minutes of fame!!
I guess my build method is a bit different, but needs must....
I just hope it doesn't look too different when it's finished!!!

Russell

[russellsuthern]

Today I painted the window frame strips blue:


Started work on the frame for the 2nd 8th:


Found a great picture frame that will be perfect for the surround for the front door sign:


First section filled & sanded. Just needs the window added & a few coats of paint:


Doesn't seem like a lot, but slow progress is better than none at all!

Russell

[galacticprobe]

Everything is looking great so far. My only suggestion (to help with "accuracy") since your build is a hybrid of Hudolin and the Cushing TARDIS is for the St. John logo. The one you've printed is closer to the Capaldi version of the logo. The logo used on the Cushing box was this one:



The Cushing TARDIS used the logo that had the full wording on it. Also, unlike the logos used on the TV series' TARDISes, which were about 5 inches in diameter, the Cushing logo was the actual Met Police Box size of 6 inches in diameter. Those two little grey "dots" - one at the 3 o'clock and one at the 9 o'clock positions - mark the two screw holes for the screws that affixed the logo (which was on a metal plate) to the door panel. I know the animals aren't that detailed, but that's how this logo was done.

I hope some of this helps with getting you closer with accuracy to the hybrid that you're working towards, and I can't wait to see this hybrid when she's done. I don't think anyone has built a hybrid of these two models yet. Good luck with the rest of the build!

Dino.

[russellsuthern]

Thanks for the advice. The jury is still out as to which version of the sign I'm going to use. I might try a couple of designs & see which one I like best- who knows, it might end up a Hudolin/Cushing/Capaldi hybrid!!
I grew up watching the Tom Baker version of the TARDIS & at the time was too young to think too carefully about the prop itself, that's just how it looked, but as I got older & more analytical (anal!) I started to think it looked more like a prop, & not like the "real thing".
When the TV movie aired, although the film itself was a bit average, I thought the TARDIS prop was awesome- just perfect, really capturing how the prop had always looked in my mind.
I loved the Cushing films & liked the way the TARDIS prop looked so big & chunky, more like the real thing you might see on a street corner.
So, my TARDIS will mostly be following the Hudolin measurements, but will have a stacked roof, a St Johns ambulance sign, &, for practical reasons, (I.e: It will be a shed full of junk), the doors will open outwards.
Iv'e no idea how it will end up looking, but to be honest, if it ends up looking like a TARDIS, I'll be happy!!

Russ

[russellsuthern]

Hi, all.
Added a window today:


The pane is plastic sheeting used to cover "A" boards. The pebbled bit is bubble wrap.
Not sure if I'm totally happy with the look. But it's OK because the TARDIS is going into a corner, so the two rear sides won't be seen, so I'm making them first. I was tempted just to have them blank, but being anal I'd still know, so I decided to do them properly & use it as practice & try out a few different construction methods so I'd have the methodology perfected by the time I got to the front sides.

I also finished covering the 2nd 8th with it's initial layer of board & roughed out the panels, ready to glue & nail the planks over.




Finally, I'd like to add my congrats to Chris Petts for getting his amazing console build into the latest DWM special. His build is simply one of the most breathtaking things Iv'e ever seen!
The mag itself is well worth a look, I especially love the photo on page 111. (Not sure if I'm allowed to reproduce it here?) It really shows how huge these things were!! No wonder they reduced the size for the props!!
Anyway, back with more updates soon.

Thanks,

Russell

[russellsuthern]

As I'm on a budget, I was very pleased to find this in B&Q, discounted to only a fiver...


It says "mountain blue", but iv'e long ago discovered, that the colour on the tin NEVER matches the real colour, It's almost always lighter when you've painted it on.



But never mind, this is going to be the undercoat. The idea is:
Two coats of Cuprinol, two coats of navy gloss, then two coats of yacht varnish. I know it will end up shinier than the props, but the Hudolin prop was quite shiny, & anyway, my main concern is longevity, rather than accuracy!
The roof will also get a couple of coats of roof seal, which is thick, rubbery black paint like bitumen or tarmac, before the gloss goes on.
The inside will be painted with white bathroom paint, which is water & mould resistant.

Cheers,

Russell

[Volpone]

There are people who go to quite a bit of work to get the shade & weathered look your undercoat has.

[russellsuthern]

Ha! You are not wrong there!
To my mind, it's going to get weathered sitting in my garden anyway, so I'm not going to do anything to hasten the process!!

[russellsuthern]

Hi, All,

Continued working on 2nd section:
I've put the wooden panels on the backing board, glued & tacked them into place.



I've realised my build diary is going to get a bit boring & repetitive as iv'e got 6 more of these panels to make!
I'll try to break up the monotony by posting regular updates on making the signs, the phone cubby hole, the lamp, etc...

Russell

[galacticprobe]

Never boring and repetitive! Well, maybe the only way a Build Diary could be boring and repetitive is if it was a literal step-by-step of the building process narrated with nothing but words, and never a single photo. (However, we have yet to see one of those!) So I'd say even with all of the work you have yet to do on the other sides to make them as nicely done as the one you've posted already, you're not going to be boring, or repetitive, as I'm sure each side will present its own stages of completion.

There is also nothing wrong with interspersing other bits of your build - a Top Sign here, an phone cubby there, etc. - as others have done the same thing. So just keep going. You're fine as you are (and don't be so hard on your Diary).

Dino.

[russellsuthern]

Thanks for the encouragement!
I've actually had to have a bit of a re-think. Due to circumstances beyond my control (i.e: It's going to be too tall for my garden!) I'm going to re locate it to the yard in my hall. On the plus side, more people will get to see it & I won't have to worry about transportation issues. On the minus side, the only place where it can go is just a few inches too shallow, so I'm going to have to make the rear wall smooth, with no protuberances to give me some valuable extra inches (!) at the front. I'm hoping it won't notice, but we'll see! (Perhaps when I've finished this one I'll do a modified TYJ TARDIS for my garden as that looks like the shortest one?)
This one will still get plenty of use, as I'm a real hoarder & there's loads of junk in my hall that needs storing away!
I think I'm going to make the left facing door fixed & put shelves behind it & just have the right facing door, (the one without the phone) opening inwards.
Finally, I've been meaning to plug these guys for a while: If ever I can't get the wood I need from any of the friendly neighborhood skips, I pop over to the Wood Store in Brighton, which is a non-profit group who recycle wood & sell it much cheaper than you could get it anywhere else.
They are very helpful, Any builders based in or near the Brighton area would do well to pay them a visit:

www.woodrecycling.org.uk

Thanks for reading.

Russell