Day 444 - ...and Done!

Post date: Jun 16, 2014 1:14:29 AM

First, sorry for the multiple Day 327 posts on the main page. There was some issue loading images that day and apparently my attempts to fix it and not get errors led to multiple posts with varying degrees of issues. (And, I just checked, apparently there are still issues)

Second, and I've done this probably with every post - sorry for the delay since the last post. Around February, a series of other projects suddenly took off and kept me tied up until almost May. By then I was so close to being done, I just pushed through.

Third, I'M DONE! I finished the tissue box this past Tuesday and gave it to my friend Wednesday night. She was incredibly excited and surprised.

So, on to some of the remaining things I did...

So once the sides were attached, I had to create the bottom trim around the tissue box. Most of the pieces jetted out just a little bit (see the original plans) but the interior I kept flush with the interior walls of the TARDIS; except under the door. This piece was larger to create the effect of looking in and seeing the TARDIS floor and to hold the door in place. This piece had to be hand cut and modified a bit. 

I then rested a book and sand bag on top of it to hold them in place while the glue set. Without it, gravity takes over and wants to move the pieces around.

I then made the top. So here was a big disappointment, and I don't remember having this issue on the Mark I, the sides weren't identical. I think this was because of me hand beveling the craft wood with the 45 degree angle, or how I beveled the balsa wood once I built up the sides. If I ever do this again, I'm going to go to a wood shop and use a router or stationary belt sander to put the angle on. So this effected the top, because I had to make it fit. 

So I put the TARDIS upside down on a piece of paper and traced the inside walls; making sure I noted which side was the front. I verified the measurements, and made an "X" by drawing a line corner to corner. I then expanded the polygon (should have been a square) just enough to reach the mid-wall point. The TARDIS roof is not flush with the exterior walls, it is inset a bit. 

I then transferred the measurements to more of that craft ply wood and cut each triangular panel. Now, most versions of the TARDIS don't have a flat roof. It is angled slightly. I didn't have the tools or the craft skills to replicate that; especially on a small scale. So I put the panels together as a series of triangles (see pics below) to create that "effect." It took me 2 tries to get the pieces right. I also numbered them (same on my template) so I got them in the right order.

I then glued reinforcing pieces on the underside. Any imperfections on the top (like gaps) could be filled in with wood putty. I also built up several layers of craft plywood in the center of the roof (not shown). You want the TARDIS light to be in the center of your globe. So since the light is on a stem, I added 4-5 layers of craft plywood to get the right depth. 

Now the lantern (light) on the top is new to the Mark II (and I ended up repeating it on my original - Mark I). First, I had to find a piece of translucent plastic to create the globe. I purchased several pieces of plastic tubing from my hardware store. One problem was that the tubing had a natural curl on it from being on the spool. I purchased a dowel rod that would fit inside the tubing, stuck it inside the tube to straighten it and very carefully applied heat with a lighter to relax the plastic. Took me a few attempts to get the technique down. You want to warm up the plastic, but not char it. 

I also experimented with various techniques in an attempt to get the rib effect on the globe but was unsuccessful. I tried heating the tubing and either using a wooden edge to shape it or a sharp edge to see if it would partially split. Both techniques failed. Perhaps with better heat control then a lighter and more patience you could figure it out. 

I found wooden wheels at the craft shop to use for the top. I did experiment with several different wheels and wood plugs. I finally settled on a larger wooden wheel. I used round toothpicks for the support rods, and cut of one end from each.

By using a mark in the center of the wheel (from the manufacturing process) I was able to draw lines and divide the wheel into 4 equal zones. These served to place where the rods would go. Then by using a compass and the same center hole, I was able to locate where the rods would go.

I then, carefully, drilled holes big enough for the toothpicks all the way through the wheel. The picture below as an earlier version where I didn't drill all the way through, but this made it hard to locate the corresponding hole location in the TARDIS roof. I don't know why I also drilled the center in this earlier prototype picture. It isn't important. 

Then I placed the wheel on top of the TARDIS roof and aligned the 90 degree lines I had drawn on the wheel with the seams in the TARDIS roof in an attempt to perfectly center the wheel on the roof. Then with a pencil, I made marks through the drilled holes to locate to corresponding location on the TARDIS roof. I also noted on the wheel, with an arrow, which direction was towards the front (so I didn't accidentally spin or misalign the wheel when I put it on). Then I carefully drilled holes into the TARDIS roof. I also, carefully, drilled a hole in the center of the roof large enough from the globe. The holes for the rods can be deeper than necessary. 

I cut the rods to a suitable length; based mainly on trial and error, and then glued them in place on the lantern top (the wheel) and inserted them (while the glue was still wet) into the holes in the roof. Do not glue them in place on the roof just yet; I was using the holes to serve as a jig or form to ensure the rods stayed perfectly aligned as the glue on the top dried. 

And, yes, if you look carefully you'll see there is already some paint on the top. I had begun painting the underside and the TARDIS at this point. Some paint had run along the edge and I just wrapped it around onto the top. 

I painted the lantern top separately (and did not glue it in place now), because I didn't want to deal with getting paint on the globe. Once the TARDIS top had the blue base coat down, then I inserted the globe and glued the lantern top in place.

Painting

This deserves a whole separate section. In order to get the faded look, I applied a base coat of a darker acrylic paint and then mixed the lighter color (what the TARDIS may look like if it was new) with an acrylic extender and dry brushed that color on. I highly recommend, purchasing some test pieces from the craft store. You can get little wooden treasure boxes for about $1 and practice your technique on them first. The ones I found had some raised features that reminded me of the TARDIS panels so I could see how the end effect would look. The hinges were also re-purposed to hang the TARDIS door; mounted using superglue (don't risk the screws). 

Paints:

• Base color: FolkArt Acrylic Paint 403 Navy Blue

  • Highlight color: 

    • I used Patio Paint Summer Sky Blue - it could be a little bright, but in time it does tone down. I had to do several checks against Mark I to convince myself that this was the color I used

    • I also purchased FolkArt Acrylic Paint 401 True Blue because I couldn't find more Summer Sky Blue, but I had enough of the Summer Sky Blue to finish. 

  • Extender: DecoArt Brush 'n Blend Medium Extender  

  • Windows: DecoArt Dazzling Metallic Shimmering Silver

I painted the interior and exterior of the TARDIS with the base color. I think on Mark I, I did 2 coats. But over the years, the box has gotten dinged and small splinters of paint have come off. So Mark II got 3 coats. Much of the first coat gets absorbed. The remaining coats go on easier, faster, and less volume. I thought about applying a primer, but I'm not sure if one exists and I didn't want to risk losing the grainy feel of the material (but I'm not an expert so who knows - I just made the call). 

It is easier to paint the interior if you leave the top off. But once the base coat was down, I glued the top on, and mounted the lantern. I also glued the light, speaker, and switch in place in the top and then mounted it on the TARDIS. I used superglue and then clamped it down with painter's tape until it dried. I placed the switch in a spot that would be just inside the TARDIS door; so you can reach in and up and trigger the effect.

I then added the aged effect. I squeezed some of the light blue paint and the extender separately on my palette and mixed little brush amounts together. I then brushed the palette until I got a dry brush effect and then painted the TARDIS. If you make a mistake, you can use the extender to try and correct it. Worse case, let the paint try (takes a while with the extender) and you can reapply the base color and go over the area again. I brushed mainly with the grain and in a slightly chaotic manner. Fight the urge to be uniform. This is an aging effect, just as long as there aren't bright sections and dark sections, you'll be fine. You'll have to load up the brush frequently. Most important thing is to dry brush on a scrap piece of paper first (I used wax paper) until you get that dry brush effect. Again, use practice pieces to test and develop your technique. Let it dry, and it may need more time because of the extender. 

(glare is pretty bad in this picture, there are better. But you can see some of the shading differences and how sporadically the lighter blue shows up.

Then with a small brush (narrower then a window panel) with a sharp edge, I carefully painted the windows. This requires a lot of point control. But if you mess up, you can touch up with the dark blue once the paint dries. Now I did debate when to paint the windows on Mark I. But I figured the window trim (those little pieces that divide the window into 6 parts) was going to be more of a pain to paint, I decided to do the blue first and the aging, then just carefully apply the silver. But, make your own call. 

Final touch is the phone door and the Police Box signs. I learned a long time ago that painted font work was a pain in the... So I now try to use computers whenever possible. Page 3 of the PowerPoint file uploaded here has my labels. I purchased full sheet mailing labels from the office supply store and just printed them on my laser printer. On the Mark I, some of the stickers came loose a few years later, but you can tack down the corners with superglue.