Bigger On the Inside

Yes: welcome back -- most of you are looking at the finished product for Model 1.0 and saying, " um, that's nice, but it's only barely a proper Blue Box."

For example, it doesn't have a beacon light on top -- that's a pretty major flaw as far as I'm concerned.  It also doesn't make any noises, and nothing lights up.  And if I may be so bold toward my own project: It's not entirely solid-looking.  The way we assembled the "POLICE BOX" marquee is serviceable, but rather weak -- if you look at it closely you can see it's never going to light up, and it in fact is not as boxy as one might hope.

Well, I'll say it: it is version 1.0.  It's perfectly good for sitting it on a bookshelf, or on your window sill.  It looks about as good as the versions Amy Pond has strewn about her desk -- maybe a bit better.

But: we're not little Amelia Pond.  We're Doctor Who fans, and that means we're probably more than a little bit nerdy and weird.  We want what we want.  So this post is the last post in Model version 1.0 posts, and in a few weeks I'll have some new posts up which talk about improvements to version 1.0 which are buildable and probably don't require any wires or batteries -- we'll call that version 1.5.  After that, we'll break out the wires and the solder and the flashlights we bought for $1 at the Dollar Store (and other stuff) and build model version 2.0 which drives toward the full monte.

Enjoy!

Oh: in the meantime, leave some comments here so I know you;re not just passing through.  tell me about your experiences building this model, and you suggestions for improving it.

So we have something that looks really good right now, but it lets the rain in -- is doesn't have that fancy angled roof we build installed.

The roof assembly is fairly simple.  Consider this diagram:

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Note that the colors I used here are to make each piece stand out, and that after you assemble this part you should prime and paint it to the correct shade of TARDIS blue.  There are measurements in this assembly drawing which are correct for the virtual model, but keep in mind the standing warning I have already given about your real-world project.  Mind the measurements.  Measure to your real model and real materials to get an accurate and well-formed final assembly.

When you collapse the pieces to make one piece of them, you'll get something like this:

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What you should note is that this assembly inserts loosely into the main body assembly you already have.  The top section should stick upward about 10mm from the lower asection, and the lower section should be thick enough to consume some of the space you will have in the crown of the mail body, but it will still have about 1mm gap to allow the top to easily come off -- for reasons we will discuss in the future.

Before you insert the roof assembly into the main body, you'll have to build a small ledge inside the crown of the main assembly.  The "ledge" is really just 4 small corner shelves sunk in the crown of the main body at 15mm, like this:

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This is to support the roof, but to leave the body open and accessible.  This may seem sort of unnecessary since the 1.0 version of this model has no internal "stuff" (lights, wires, batteries, etc.), but this also allows us to build this model with the opportunity to upgrade it with bells and whistles (well: TARDIS noises and lights anyway) after we have completed the rather-generic basic build.

When you have built the support shelves, the roof inserts like this:

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Finally, cut a square of material from the foam core board in the Bill of Materials to 10mm, prime and paint it, and attach it to the base of your model's main body.  I used hot glue for this, but be careful with hot glue. If you apply hot glue in the corner where your door hinge is, you'll most certainly ruin your door's ability to open.  Apply the hot glue to the bottom of your model like this to get the best hold, and also to avoid any interference for the hinge:

And finally, attach the self-adhesive furniture feet from the Bill of Materials to the underside of the base.

Your 1.0, no-frills model is complete!

Let me admit that this part of the build was the most vexing for me because what I wanted, in version 1.0, was for all the bits which ought to light up to actually light up.  That dream got smashed by what turns out to be the real lack of space in this scale for the model, but my hopes for a real light-up version with real TARDIS noises are going to get worked into version 2.0 if and when we finally get there.  For you, you'll have to settle for a merely-pretty replica in version 1.0 which, sadly, will not serve as a night light or as a beacon when you;re running away from the Silence or the Cybermen or whatever.

The first warning label I want to put on this as we go forward, however, is this: mind the instructions regarding your specific parts and pieces I made in this post about accurate measurements.  My dimensions in this step are accurate for my drawing, but they will not be accurate for your model because the thickness of your materials will be different than mine.  Measure twice, cut and assembly once, and you will be much happier and less frustrated.

OK: to start the process for building the marquee where the sign "POLICE (public call) BOX" resides on all 4 sides, we have to build a base for the upper structure.  Some models I have seen build this header into the side panels, but I found that the easiest way to install a working door was to get this header piece out of the construction of the main side panels.  My technique also gives you a flat plane by which to level the marquees as we ass them to each side.

At any rate, the first step is to construct this:

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I have used some odd coloring in the diagram so you can see all the parts and pieces clearly.  The basic piece you have to cut is a panel roughly 90mm x 25mm (mind the measurements), and you will cut 8 of them so that you will install 2 pieces sandwiched together on each side.  The thickness add strength, but ultimately: it adds thickness, and part of the process here is to try to add as much thickness as we can without having to build too many boxy layers up to the roofline.  If you are especially clever and careful, you can simply glue the corners with super glue.  If you need to add corner braces (as I did in my 1.0 prototype), add then to the BOTTOM of your corners, not the top -- you want to be able to slide the roof assembly (which we will build next time) into this assembly without gluing it closed.

Next, on each side you want to add a "backer board" which runs behind each marquee.  The purpose of this part (mind the measurements) is to give the marquee something to attach to and keep from sagging or warping over time.

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Next, to make the actual marquee, you will need the decal for the marquee.  For my prototype, I used an office label maker that uses 12mm white tape.  The benefit of this was that I therefore had ready-made stickers for the marquees, and it made assembly very easy.

However, I think one basic improvement for this project is a more-faithful marquee, to so help you with that I have mocked up a decal for the marquee which is in 600 DPI format and prints out very clearly on any modern printer:

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My advice is to print the decal on very bright-white paper, laminate it with archive-quality tape or self-adhesive lamination.  Then cut the two wafers for each of the 4 marquees your model will require, as below.

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Before attaching the decal to the marquue back panel, PRIME AND PAINT THE MAT BOARD PARTS.  Allow them to dry, then attach the decal to the back panel with clear Tesa tape.  I had the best success attaching the front panel by applying Tesa tape to the back side, trimming the part out of the center opening, and then peeling off the backer and sticking it to the back panel.

At that point, simply mount the marquee to the side panels with an eye to centering the signs on each side.

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Next Time: we assemble the roof.