TheOncomingStorm's Tardis

[TheOncomingStorm]

Hello Folks!

Due to me being away a lot over the past two weeks, not a lot has happened to my old gal, the roof is still as it was in the above post and the base untouched for over 2 years... a crime I know.
To tide over those who are interested for now, I present the latest revision of my plans. Much more Met Box than Matt Box (anyone?) as you can see, but I do plan to give it a 2010 NST finish. Not sure just how yet but I'll think of something, any suggestions are welcome. The lamp is missing from the drawing for the simple reason that I ran out of  space on the paper and also I'm not really concentrating on the lamp right now (I class it as "frills"), I just want a watertight structure. At a later date, I will consider fresnel lamps, concrete plinths and the like.

Enjoy!
~Storm



P.S. Oh and yes, I'm aware that it says 1:12 scale, and on the screen it isn't. I've not yet figured out how to do that, thought the scanner would maintain the original size! For anyone interested, all you need to do is adjust the image so that the base is 4 1/2 inches wide while making sure the image isn't distorted.

[TheOncomingStorm]

Well well, it's been absolutely ages since I touched my TARDIS. It's been a weird couple of years, I've graduated and moved back home, hoping I would get some sort of full time employment, but so far jobs have been very sparse and therefore money has been non-existent. 

I have no idea when I'll be able to continue work. I REALLY want to have it finished this year to coincide with the 50th Celebrations!

~Storm

[TheOncomingStorm]

In the mean time, I found some pictures that I hadn't uploaded before, showing some detail of the earlier stages of constructing the roof, including assembling the steps of the roof using metal plates...




...and sealing the pyramid from the inside using fiberglass and resin, filling in any gaps and nooks.




I hope that you find it interesting / useful.

Also, I found today that I wasn't the first to think of using fiberglass to seal up roofs and make them watertight.
http://www.fibreglassdirect.co.uk/
This website sells kits exactly for that purpose! (For sheds / garages / extensions with flat roofs)

~Storm

[mobius]

what an interesting approach. you've maximised interior headroom certainly. the placement angle of the tie plates in the centre of the roof means your lantern box will be diagonal to the front, unlike your initial rendering. unless you're not going to cut a hole for it, other than for wiring possibly. is this going to be disassemble-able? or a permanent structure?

[TheOncomingStorm]

Good Interesting or Bad Interesting?
Well I can't make it bigger on the inside than it is on the outside but I can certainly try to maximize the space within!
I'm not concentrating on the lamp as yet as that will be a later addition, but I plan on creating some sort of plinth for the lamp to sit on using a mold, wooden bits, resin and just some general off the cuff cleverness. The only hole I'll be making will be for wiring indeed.
The intention from the beginning has been to create a box that lives outside (so weatherproof and durable, solid) and can be dis-assembled without damaging any of the components so that it can be re-built wherever I eventually move. But not in the same sense as the prop which is used in the show, where you can just pack it up and assemble it in a matter of minutes. So, much like a shed really. I'll have to re-paint and re-seal it after transporting it.
I plan on making another box in the future with friends that is lightweight like the prop in the show though. Bunch of amateur film makers that we are

[mobius]

good interesting. glad I can't actually start on my build yet, as I've had time to review quite a few on here and see many different approaches to problem solving. like, how to make it bigger on the inside, very glad I sorted that out. I like the use of angled tie-plates, or strong-ties as they're sometimes called in the roof. and your dedication to waterproofing that thing! my first full scaled one will be indoors and the roof will actually be flat so I won't have to deal with that issue.

[TheOncomingStorm]

Well good luck with your build! It'll be lots of fun, sometimes distressing but all the more rewarding. I look forward to continuing mine when the weather improves

[TheOncomingStorm]

Well we're one month into the new year and I have some little things to share.

First off, I really needed to feel like progress was being made with my blue box build, so I went on ebay to spend money I don't have *facepalm*

BUT.. The good news is I found (what is to me) a very important piece of the jigsaw.



TADA! Lamp! I know that I had previously stated that I considered the lamp "frills" but as it was only £35 I could not pass up the opportunity and I HAD TO HAVE IT!
Now admittedly, the glass (the main reason for purchase) is a little bit cracked in places and the casing is essentially rusted through, BUT I still thought it was worth getting, as they usually don't come cheap.

I have considered the options and I think I might look into creating a plastic copy of the glass lens using molds and resin.

The thing is, I don't want to destroy the lamp to get at the lens. Dilemma.
I know it's silly because it's old and rusty but I think I can save it and use it as an attractive outdoor light. It has history and I'm a sentimental bugger. So again, if I can, I will make a plastic copy of the lens.

Secondly, here is the thing I'm considering using as a lamp housing on the TARDIS.



It's basically a lamp shaped bird feeder which I got dirt cheap in ALDI. Pretty Right?
I don't know for sure if it'll look right with my glass in it, or how it'll go together, but I thought it looked like just the thing.

I'll post again when I've messed around some more.

Peace

~Storm

[TheOncomingStorm]

Slowness! I really can't take how agonizingly slow progress is going with this build. It's, well, agony!
I neeeed to post something!

I'm watching the Doctor Who Celebrity Pointless on iplayer as I write this.

So, I've been messing around with the lamp, I'll put up pics in the next post.

I've found that the latest measurements that I chose for my Box, that I have been sketching out repeatedly and modifying endlessly, have pretty much become the "Barnet Bypass" measurements. So I will do a refined version of the Barnet measurements and stick with that!

It's GREAT to finally DECIDE on something that I've been unsure of on and off for a few years now!
This fits in well with my base being 4/12 feet, and my roof apparently matching the measurements someone hypothesized on another thread : http://tardisbuilders.com/index.php?topic=3387.0

So perhaps my box will be verging on "Met Box accurate" after all. (Such a confusing business! With all the different variants!)

So, yes, my next post should contain my new version of my plans and some progress pics of the lamp!

Tatty Bye!

~Storm

[TheOncomingStorm]

Progress Pics on the Lamp.

An old teapot.


An old teapot? I hear you ask? Well this is what happened next.



And then after some more grinding and drilling...



You get the idea.











I'm still in the process of using lots of filler to put it all together / waterproof it.

More pics eventually.

Slow and steady..

~Storm

[TheOncomingStorm]

Well, here we are again, another mini update on progress with the lamp.

I'm quite pleased with it thus far!



Here you can see I've been using body filler to create nice, smooth, tight, molded fitting around the glass, as:
1. we don't want moisture getting in now do we! and
2. the rim of the top half was jagged and needed tidying / reinforcing.

I've used quite a lot of body filler to reinforce the housing. I imagine I will be using it quite heavily throughout the build for all manner of things!



Look I even used it to fill in the rim around the bottom of the base! Handy stuff!





You can't really see them clearly here, but I decided to keep the top section (the lid) as it is, and let light come through the "vent" holes near the top, as I like the look of it. This isn't "accurate" to any prop or original Police Boxes, but I decided that didn't matter. I think it has a sort of "steampunk" feel to it.
So, to prevent moisture and insects getting in, I cut some clear plastic out of a pop bottle and used silicone sealant to fix it inside the top half of the housing.

That's it so far. I'm thinking the way to fasten everything together will be with a threaded rod down the center, screwing into a captured nut in the bottom.There won't be any usual supports or struts on the outside, as there are already some on the inside.
I will be creating a wooden plinth for the lamp to sit on, about 9 inches square which will sit nicely on the point of my roof. I'll use body filler to plug any gaps and help cement it on.

I can't wait to paint this sucker blue, although it looks quite nice in it's current metallic state!

~Storm

[TheOncomingStorm]

Hey All! Long time no Post! In fact it's been such a long time I'd forgotten how to post on a forum and it hadn't occurred to me that there might be a limit to the file size of pictures! I think I must have resubmitted this post about 20 times before realizing my error... Anywaaay...

I've made my plinth for my Lamp. It's 8 inches wide/deep and 1 1/2 inches tall. It should sit on my pointed pyramid roof (which I can't reach right now, it's behind a load of stuff -and a car- in the garage). If it doesn't quite sit right it will be an easy matter of sanding and using car body filler to rectify that.







The wires for the bulb(s) will pass through a small hole in the roof which will be covered by the plinth.



Here it is all assembled.



We have light!
Lit with a car indicator bulb (non-flashing at this point), powered by an old car battery charger.





I have decided that one of my next purchases will be a tin of Thompson's Roof Seal, for the general use of sealing up my box good an' proper!
I had thought about Isoflex Liquid Rubber, as some members on this forum have reported success with it. But I have been warned off using it as it apparently goes off very quickly and isn't very spreadable.

Wondering around ALDI the other day, I stumbled upon this:



They were selling 1 litre tins of various kinds of paint for 4.99! I had to grab some while I could.
I think "Royal Blue" is a fitting colour for a Police Box in the service of Her Majesty's Police Force, wouldn't you agree?
I don't know what the colour will ultimately look like, I may not be happy with it, but as it was cheap it'll be no great loss.



First thing's first, I will be doing a little metal work, which will simultaneously give me extra height on my lower roof step and create the effect of using the roof as a "lid" for the rest of the structure. I first came up with this idea back in 2008! (Good grief, where has the time gone?)

The finished roof should slide over the top of the walls and prevent the weather getting in that way.

It will involve welding up a 4 X 4 Foot Frame of metal angle, then securing it to the bottom of the roof stacks and filling in the seam that will be visible. I hope for a very neat finish, once there is roof sealant and paint!
Then my roof will survive OUTSIDE! Hurrah!

~Storm

[TheOncomingStorm]

Nothing much to report. Life is getting in the way of my dreams. One day soon.

Except for this:



..which was painted some time ago and fitted with "warm" white led lighting 

I did try and make an infra red remote arduino based circuit which made it fade/flash but I think I've managed to fry something so that'll require replacing.

I'm still lurking about on the forum from time to time, enjoying other people's builds and assimilating knowledge.

[jorwick]

I did try and make an infra red remote arduino based circuit which made it fade/flash but I think I've managed to fry something so that'll require replacing.

Have you checked out my Raspberry PI based controller?   I will shortly be releasing a new version  with a bunch more features -- I really just have to set up a form to let one decide if you are using an i2c controlled AMP or straight ALSA Out  for volume control, and I was going to add an "alarm" to the clock, but otherwise I have the fesature functionality almost done.. and I am still looking for beta testers...

[TheOncomingStorm]

Have you checked out my Raspberry PI based controller?   I will shortly be releasing a new version  with a bunch more features -- I really just have to set up a form to let one decide if you are using an i2c controlled AMP or straight ALSA Out  for volume control, and I was going to add an "alarm" to the clock, but otherwise I have the fesature functionality almost done.. and I am still looking for beta testers...

I haven't yet but I had been considering investing in a raspberry PI and seeing what I could do with it. I'm a complete novice at this sort of stuff. Wouldn't I need an arduino or a pic chip to make the lamp flash in addition to the Pi sending the activating signal? Or could the Pi do all? 
I'll check out your thread in the morning.