Day 008.2 - Materials

This is new for "Mark II." One of the disappointing things about my first Tardis ("Mark I") was that the lantern on the top wasn't very authentic and didn't make any sounds. I'm going to improve that for "Mark II" and will retrofit my Mark I. 

Fortunately, Doctor Who is very popular and the number of products has increase (I'm still asking any company that will listen to make the Tardis Tissue Box. I've emailed ThinkGeek.com and one of the manufacturing companies with a Doctor Who license... found a pretty impressive Tardis lamp). So back to the plush toy: So Doctor Who is big and there are toys out there, which means I can get the Tardis sound! This plush Tardis had the sound I thought was most classic and authentic. The lamp is small, but I'm still kicking around how to create my own, more realistic looking one.

These are the plywood panels that make up the "foundation" of each of the sides of the Tardis. The widths are correct, but I had to cut them down a bit. You'll see the dimensions in the files section and I'll try to keep that up to date.

This craft plywood is great because it is strong and thin and gives the Tardis some strength. Otherwise if you did it in all balsa wood, just changing the tissue box would probably wreck it. 

These 2 sheets of balsa wood make up the majority of the layers of the box. I cut them down into the various strips and shapes. Their thickness is ideally proportioned to this project. As I was doing the initial sketches of the Tardis, I noticed that most of the thicknesses (as seen in the layering that goes around the edges) was identical. Easy.

These two pieces are about 3 feet long. The thinner one is the same thickness as the above sheets, but it is square. It is used to create the window panels. The thicker piece is used on the interior. I've put it along the inside corners to strengthen the box. On Mark I, I had a tough time routing the edges at a 45 degree angle so they would all match up flushly. I couldn't use a router because a) I didn't have one and b) it would be too brutal. I tried using a Dremel by hand and that was near disaster. Two inches of one edge on Mark I are back filled with wood puddy. This time I plan to do the angles on the plywood first with the Dremel and then sand the balsa wood once applied. 

This piece is also used behind the "Police Box" sign.