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Tom Baker / Davison era Tardis

Started by timerotor, Nov 29, 2010, 12:47 pm

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timerotor

Nov 29, 2010, 12:47 pm Last Edit: Mar 20, 2018, 11:37 pm by Scarfwearer
Right!.. HELLO FOLKS!
I have been a long time silent, but still logging on, and enjoying browsing all your useful build tips and looking at all the lovely pictures for over a year. Thank you!.
I have been inspired by a recent visit to see the privately owned Tom Yardley Jones prop at the BBC... and have AT LAST - started my long awaited re-build. As some of you will remember I bought, (don't throw tomatoe's) a rather ropey fibreglass Police Box last year on ebay (as it seemed the right shape for season 18) and it hasn't seen the light of day since, until now! The Re-fit will mainly consists of renovating the entire look and paint work, re-finishing the windows, top lamp, signs and over-all look of the Tardis. (The roof needs re-shaping due to innacuraceys and top signs are in need of total replacement too).

As I live in a very small one bedroom flat I can't get the whole thing in here in the warm,  but am keen to start, so Im bringing sections indoors and getting stuck in... after many months of researching paint colours , and experimenting with mixing, distressing and using shades of blue that are almost green as accents- I think I've got a satisfactory pallet.
pictures show my progress so far.
I will no doubt be busy with it in a more 'FULL ON' way over the Christmas holiday.
I am always grateful for any advice, comments or feed back.
The first thing I've been wondering is that my chosen finish may look too dark, more like the Hartnel era, but I'm thinking that when you have a small section indoors, lit by house hold lights, it creates an illusion - that its too dark.
If you put the Tardis outside in broard daylight, and intirely assembled, the surface area increases and it looks a lot lighter in colour over all... thoughts please.
Ive started by working on a colour pallet DEMO and I use 5 types of blue starting from very light (lighter than the original paint on the Tardis replica when I bought it) to dark - finishing with a wipe on / wipe off effect using black shoe polish. The blue paint, I've mixed myself using sources of BBC Prussian blue (not that there was ever ONE definitive pot of blue paint), and other shades which as I said are almost green - which I sourced/matched from the windows panes -which used to be in the old BBC Prop I mentioned earlier... Its all very early days and a bit touch and go with the cold weather, but I'm pleased with the very battered finish.
My lamp, is a genuine old 6 inch fresnel which I faithfully housed in what I think is an accurate replication of season 18's lamp. The Windows are fibreglass, moulded from original pebbled glass and the plain panels are clear perspex sheets cut to size, sanded on both sides and covered in black 'kiwi' shoe pollish then lightly sanded in the middle again to leave a whiter centre - this is- I've been told what the BBC did - it has a really great finnish. I think they look good.
Interestingly the picture showing the entire box assembled is The bright light blue box before I started doing anything to it at all, when it was a mid - dark blue...  I actually painted it even lighter to start with then get darker with each application - which is wiped on and easily wiped off again to get the rough patchy well travelled look of season 18 Im after... the fact that the mid-dark blue it was when i bought it looks like a bright baby blue when outside may support my theory that darker is better. I have used the stories from the espace trilogy and Meglos and 'Warior's Gate' as my main inspiration and reference. But I do not want the blacked out windows.
All the best (and is it too early to offer 'seasons greeting to all!?!)

Timerotor ;)tardisbits2010043-1.jpgtardisbits2010038.jpgtardisbits2010042.jpg[noIMG]http://[noIMG]http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn239/markbartonhill/tardisbits2010041.jpg[/IMG[noimg width=180 height=320]http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn239/markbartonhill/tardisbits2010044.jpg[/img][noimg width=180 height=320]http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn239/markbartonhill/tardisbits2010044.jpg[/img][noimg width=320 height=240]http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn239/markbartonhill/tardisbits2010001.jpg[/img][noimg width=240 height=320]http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn239/markbartonhill/tardisbits2010037.jpg[/img][noimg width=320 height=240]http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn239/markbartonhill/tardisbits2010052.jpg[/img][noimg width=240 height=320]http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn239/markbartonhill/tardisbits2010040.jpg[/img][noimg width=240 height=320]http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn239/markbartonhill/tardisbits2010036-1.jpg[/img][noimg width=639 height=298]http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn239/markbartonhill/tardisbits2010007-1.jpg[/img][noimg width=640 height=485]http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn239/markbartonhill/lhive1-1.jpg[/img][noimg width=478 height=638]http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn239/markbartonhill/P1050260-2.jpg[/img]
living, learning, loving, refurbing, & preserving!

lespaceplie

What is the provenance on this box? It's very interesting, and very few fan builds are fiberglass. Perhaps it's an abused This Planet Earth product?

atomicgraph

Your paint job is turning out great looks very authentic. The dirty wash also plays a huge part for how dark it's gonna look. Great job and get this build up it's gonna be killer

timerotor

Nov 30, 2010, 01:26 am #3 Last Edit: Feb 26, 2013, 05:44 pm by timerotor
cheers guys,
Its not an old T.P.E, infact I don't like what 'This planet Earth' offer. I have seen them and they don't look right, with over sized proportions and overtly wide pillars. I have also been reliably informed by someone who owns one that its not very well built and the finish is dissapointingly poor.
When I found this one on ebay, I travelled up to the North of England near Blackpool to view it. I think it was made by a propsman, who has sold at least one before as I spotted an identical one on ebay again last year.
I bought this in the knowledge that I didn't like the over-all finish, but I could see that compared to all the other Tardi I had seen including TPE's up to that point - it was almost proportionally identical to season 18's - with a few clangers of course.
The builder says he used a real police box in a place called Criche in the north of England (although I don't think that's the case) as his main reference and he says he once measured a BBC Prop. I have compared it to both a real police box and the BBC prop and its just a bit smaller than both, and although it is close to the Tom Yardley Jones design and available plans, it too has discrepancys, but I know I can work on it and make it work.
Fibreglass is unusual, but as he had experience as a prop builder, I think it was just a case of easy forming from moulds, or 'knock one last one out' to make a quick buck on ebay. I'm enjoying the project and absolutely love working the blues and distressing it, darkenning - lightenning and texturizing it, its quite theraputic!
I have been quite inspired by everyones builds and am so glad we have this site to post it all on for all to see...
Happy building! ;) back to work!
living, learning, loving, refurbing, & preserving!

rocket

Nov 30, 2010, 03:10 am #4 Last Edit: Nov 30, 2010, 03:10 am by rocket
There's a guy here in Australia who sells full size wood Tardis's on Ebay. They actually look half decent too, my wife even talked about buying me one for Christmas until I pointed out the cost of shipping it so far.
Farewell Sarah Jane, you will be missed.

timerotor

Hi all! just a quick update in this awkward week in between Christmas and New Year...
well progress has been slow due to the cold weather, ice and snow, but I have had a little time off and some more room at my parents house to start work.
They go to bed early and THAT's when I get busy painting and decorating etc Tardis style...
tardisroof-1.jpgIMG_1628-1.jpg
IMG_1543-1.jpgIMG_1627-1.jpg
IMG_1542-1.jpgtardisbits2010-1.jpgas you can see, my bedroom is stuffed with all types of Tardis bits, Im re-working the TOP sign boxes and hand painting them of the evening while the folks watch bad christmas TV - Its really quite delicious seeing something you've wanted since childhood come into being - especially at this time of year!
I've been in and out the garage so many times, I think I've burnt all the excess Xmas calories off making fibreglass windows for the lower outermost pains! (you know ... the slightly yellowish ones) it stinks! but I've matched them up to the original BBC one I have - Im quite confident that they made them exactly how I did...(lay a piece of real glass down, put a thinned layer of matting on and poor resin over it and it leaves a nice indented pattern on one side -the opposite of the glass (negative print if you will...)
-soon I hope to colour the entire thing and re-work the windows and then make some structural modifications before its completed.
nice work everyone! catch up soon
All the best,
TTFN
timerotor
living, learning, loving, refurbing, & preserving!

deck5

That's looking very good indeed.  Can you share your painting technique?

timerotor

Dec 29, 2010, 01:31 pm #7 Last Edit: Feb 26, 2013, 05:50 pm by timerotor
gladly!
I am using about four or five different paints, which are commercially available in the U.K
The first Blue is quite light, its Dulux 'Lost Lake' - this is the only layer which I apply in full with a rag roller its the Base colour.
Then, using a cloth or kitchen paper apply a patches (not a layer) of Crown 'Ballgown' - which is wiped off again in places to leave a patchy warmer darker blue. This makes is look how it appeared on Brighton Beach in 'The Leisure Hive'.
Next I accent it in places such as corners and the windows with Crown Trade N3122R -which is a more grey green blue like the Colin Baker era, and then I do the same in other places of wear with Dulux 'Peacock Blue' and the same with Dulux 'Azure Fusion 1' - which is very dark green/blue as seen in 'The twin Dilema' and 'The Two Doctors'
Finally I apply Kiwi Instant black shoe polish and wipe it away almost as quickly as it goes on!
I then use some of the accent colours to brighten areas which are too dark for season 18! My Stories of reference are 'Full Circle' and 'Warriors Gate'! TADHAH!!! (shoe polish on the windows too) I'm trying to get it as authentic/accurate looking as I can for the real thing!
Cheers
living, learning, loving, refurbing, & preserving!

geminitimelord

I agree with Bill, nice paint job on your Box. Interested to see how this turns out.

superrichi1a

Yyeeaahh, now that my attention has been brought to it, I too must say that paintjob is abseloutly wonderful. It looks like a cleaner finish version of the 1980's, with more atention to detail, it's perfect! :D

Side Note: I was thinking of trying to do something like this with my McGann/Smith hybrid box. It fits the McGann look but not the Smith. Either way, I'll probably just be painting it in some bog-standard dark blue colour from B&Q lol. I had been planning to ure the screen-accurate Subaru Liberty colour, but, unless the Subaru dealer itself has some more cheaply than the car repair shop I go to, I'll have to try my own colour scheme...

Lovely job on the windows too. I'd love to do that for mine, two problems are, I don't have an original plate to copy and I'm not that good with fibregalss. Ah well ::)

Good luck and I look forward to the next update :)
Isn't it how ironic that we have to think of solutions out of the box, in order to build our boxes a lot of the time?

timerotor

Jan 01, 2011, 08:26 pm #10 Last Edit: Feb 26, 2013, 05:51 pm by timerotor
Thanks Guy's that all very kind and encouraging of you.
I have been very busy with the build and have completed it at long last - just in time as I start back at work on Monday and have to get back to London now - so no more Tardising here for a while! - Back to reality.... sort of...

I did have a few problems with the lack of sunlight (a very frustrating thing about the short winter afternoons in Britain)
I am happy with the over all effect of my work and kind of wish that my box was wooden, because the Fibre Glass has warped since I bought it - and consequently it is all a little wonkey. I am going to try to re-enforce it and 'de-wonkey' it with interior strengthening batons and rods. After my initial disappointment with it being rather warped, I have grown to like the look of it because its not perfect, many times the Tardis prop is seen on screen to wobble and be wonkey with sign boxes at a slant and it had a definite 'wonkiness' about it. I am a bit of a stickler for accuracy and perfection though, so I will try to make it the best (wonkey Tardis) it can possibly be, which will minimize my disappointment with the build I purchased (which in retrospect, I think was a mistake) Blast! (oh well... it was only supposed to be a practice run)...
I realise that it doesn't have the post caps which the original has, but I can copy them and add them on at a later date.
I have had to use Matt invisible sealing Varnish to protect the paint work from the Rain! I sincerely hope it works because its raining tonight and I don't want to look outside in the morning to a blue puddle and a transparent box shaped mess!
I am lucky that both my parents are understanding of their 35 year old sons obsession (I think they secretly rather like it very much too)  Dad has agreed to keep it in situ for a few weeks (I think it looks rather 'Traken' like where it is... in the grove) and I will dismantle it when Im next down here in the west country in a month or so, when, no doubt it will be covered in Bird droppings!
I wish I had a Garden or porch to keep it in, I think it looks beautiful (only don't look too hard).
Just one more thing, check out www.drwholongleat.com and see where my obsession began.
Happy New Year everyone!
Mark ;D
IMG_1642.jpgIMG_1633.jpg
IMG_1657.jpgMarksTardisTomBakereracomplete-1.jpg
markstardistomebakerera-1.jpgMarksTardistombakerera-1.jpg
living, learning, loving, refurbing, & preserving!

superrichi1a

Jan 01, 2011, 09:36 pm #11 Last Edit: Jan 01, 2011, 10:40 pm by Scarfwearer
Great work! Seriously, don't be disappointed with it! The warping is barley visible in the pictures, and it must only be small parts. It can largely be fixed and even so, what you have got here is perfect! I think in terms of paint scheme and dirtieness of the thing, it is the most accurate-looking I have ever seen. Brilliant! Looks like it could be fresh from filming in the 1980s!
Isn't it how ironic that we have to think of solutions out of the box, in order to build our boxes a lot of the time?

timerotor

Thanks you so much! I was quite down at first, but I put it into perspective and am actually getting excited about getting inside it, to drill into the posts and put supportive bars across them to keep the walls from bowing inwards - especially at the bottom! Dad's gonna give me a hand too! To put it another way - things can only get better! LOL
Just fingers crossed that the varnish does its job! its still not fully dry in places...
thanks again.
Mark (timerotor) :)
MarksTardistombakerera.jpg
living, learning, loving, refurbing, & preserving!

The Other

I just noticed when watching the E-Space Trilogy that this Tardis door opened on the wrong side when the Dr and Romana exited. It thew me off at first. If I made this era Tardis I don't think I would build it with that door opening first. It would be to strange :P
The Other

DoctorWho8

That's a pretty TARDIS.

The Other, in Seasons 18 & 19, the sign door was the main door.  It wasn't until Season 20 that the right door went back to the standard opening door.
Bill "the Doctor" Rudloff