ConnieTheDeluded
New member
Firstly I'd like to give a huge shout out to Vyacheslav Talanov, and their plans entitled "Season_5_TARDIS_Plans_v4". These plans so kindly uploaded here were the spark I needed to make my own Tardis after many years of dreaming.
My design stage began on the 7th February 2026, by making a 3D shell using the above plans, after many iterations I finally locked in a final design/construction at the end of March. I took inspiration and learned from other builders and made some key design decisions.
Firstly, my Tardis will be collapsible, becoming 16 pieces in total; the base platform, 4 pillars, 3 wall panels, 2 doors, 4 beams (and police signs), the top stepped pyramid section and finally the lantern. The hope is that it will fit inside a mid-large sized car for easy transport.
Secondly, I have designed my Tardis to have as few parts as possible while still meeting all my requirements for looks and functionality. The part count stands at 310 in total (-screws).
174 (54.5%) parts will be cut out of plywood using a CNC machine, reducing the workload.
85 (26.6%) parts will be engineered by myself,
29 (9.1%) will be bought off the shelf, and
31 (9.7%) will be salvaged/recycled materials.
By making efficiencies and removing any redundant parts I was able to reduce the count by approximately 15-20%.
Thirdly, its mobile! 4 heavy duty castors on each corner of the base will provide 6cm of clearance. The castors are retractable with foot operated pedals inside, which I'll cover in a later post.
The CNC items all fit snuggly inside 7 sheets of marine plywood, 3 sheets of 18mm and 4 sheets of 12mm.
I also am (like everyone) working to a strict budget, my initial aim was to keep costs below £1,000, and I’m glad to say I’m vaguely on track. So far the cost of the build stands at £818.07, which includes all the materials required, thanks to finding discounts and bargains along the way. This leaves roughly £180 for CNC machining costs (fingers crossed).
The final design does deviate slightly from the Talanov plans however, most noticeably the lantern, which is slightly too large, but being an authentic nautical lantern, with the correct brackets, I can’t argue with £30. The diameter of my lanterns base is 220mm but I could feasibly modify it to be 200mm whilst still leaving enough room for the fresnel lens.
Also one fear I had was my Tardis blowing over in the strong winds we get here in Yorkshire. So the majority of the build above the base is relatively lightweight, but the lowest 150mm is where all the weight is, an outer frame of 150mm x 150mm timbers will ensure the centre of mass is as low as possible, reducing chances of it toppling over.
As for paint, after much deliberation and many scrutinised screenshots, I am going with a 2.5L tin of Valspar Garden Exterior Wood Paint in RAL 280 30 30.
My design stage began on the 7th February 2026, by making a 3D shell using the above plans, after many iterations I finally locked in a final design/construction at the end of March. I took inspiration and learned from other builders and made some key design decisions.
Firstly, my Tardis will be collapsible, becoming 16 pieces in total; the base platform, 4 pillars, 3 wall panels, 2 doors, 4 beams (and police signs), the top stepped pyramid section and finally the lantern. The hope is that it will fit inside a mid-large sized car for easy transport.
Secondly, I have designed my Tardis to have as few parts as possible while still meeting all my requirements for looks and functionality. The part count stands at 310 in total (-screws).
174 (54.5%) parts will be cut out of plywood using a CNC machine, reducing the workload.
85 (26.6%) parts will be engineered by myself,
29 (9.1%) will be bought off the shelf, and
31 (9.7%) will be salvaged/recycled materials.
By making efficiencies and removing any redundant parts I was able to reduce the count by approximately 15-20%.
Thirdly, its mobile! 4 heavy duty castors on each corner of the base will provide 6cm of clearance. The castors are retractable with foot operated pedals inside, which I'll cover in a later post.
The CNC items all fit snuggly inside 7 sheets of marine plywood, 3 sheets of 18mm and 4 sheets of 12mm.
I also am (like everyone) working to a strict budget, my initial aim was to keep costs below £1,000, and I’m glad to say I’m vaguely on track. So far the cost of the build stands at £818.07, which includes all the materials required, thanks to finding discounts and bargains along the way. This leaves roughly £180 for CNC machining costs (fingers crossed).
The final design does deviate slightly from the Talanov plans however, most noticeably the lantern, which is slightly too large, but being an authentic nautical lantern, with the correct brackets, I can’t argue with £30. The diameter of my lanterns base is 220mm but I could feasibly modify it to be 200mm whilst still leaving enough room for the fresnel lens.
Also one fear I had was my Tardis blowing over in the strong winds we get here in Yorkshire. So the majority of the build above the base is relatively lightweight, but the lowest 150mm is where all the weight is, an outer frame of 150mm x 150mm timbers will ensure the centre of mass is as low as possible, reducing chances of it toppling over.
As for paint, after much deliberation and many scrutinised screenshots, I am going with a 2.5L tin of Valspar Garden Exterior Wood Paint in RAL 280 30 30.
Attachments
Last edited:
