how to Make a American TARDIS

i have been asked a lot now on how i did this so here is as much as i can remember

ok buy a CO Tardis money box

literely take it apart unscrew everything the lot

this leaves you three walls a base 2 dors and the front with posts and picture

dremmel anything like stanly knife model saw or such like will do to remove this front sand the edges lightly

then you get to screw it all together again repaint (if you want to) new graphics printed off one workable Tardis you have the hole for money and the box for batteries inside to dodge around sadly as part of the floor

OR you can re base it as i did as this box after tedious amounts of research was apparent it had a huge base so i got some MDF cut up and bevelled edged and voilà one base this was drilled screwed into holes in four posts and glued so is very secure strip of plastic so bottom pegs of the doors could fit

into it and be useable i added a strip of plastic to the top of the door under the POLICE BOX sign so the doors can not open outwards to far

I then re made the lintels(POLICE BOX signs) to thickness of the original prop i then noticed the signs were pushed forward so made them flush and the outside cladding going round the sign flush on top of them

i removed the lamp with a model saw made a new one from a pen, the housing now this box not only had a housing for the lamp but the Fresnel kept the original brass housing as well so i made this from grey stuff modelling putty and wire painted brass and then made housing from plastic and matchsticks

Then i clad inside of the box with black sugar paper and a print off of the Console room from TVM

Now the elctrics all worked as normal but i had to saw off the battery compartment and reattach wires and the 2 way switch so there is still the dematerilisation noise and lamp flash effect this switch is hidden behind the door so when you open the door you get noise and lamp effect, there's other little details like reclad the phone panel as this is proud on the prop and change the handle to the other side add the lock which has to be moved up i used grey stuff for this and reposition the handle paint the alternating frosted window panels which are very random on this prop (Research can never do enough even if you can see the box pics even when you close your eyes) , wash and weather the box as this was a light shade of blue on the prop despite lighting and filters in the TVM to your own taste of what you want i went for a Big Finish Zagreus / Neverland finish and how i saw it and you have one American TARDIS

long over due merchandise

At last finaly my eagerly awaited set of Death to the daleks figures arrived at the princely sum of £25 i was not over enthused but it arrived after some wait i was like a kid at xmas from watching this as a boy to having read the book i even own the poster ,this was a set i have waited for a long time much like the rapidly growing Pyramids of Mars set im developing but more on that one later

Here it is the set of Doctor three played by the late great Jon Pertwee and the Dalek from this story

First the Dalek great even has the Machine (Tommy) gun and the fins at the end (on the prop a WW1 mortar) very accurately done brilliant im sure this will turn up in another Dalek set soon I would love some more but this is nice orange lights for leader from this story (This prop was actually Gold Dalek from Day of the Daleks) it has right colour all nicely done slight blemish on a neck ring and even has sagging mesh and slats at rear (Though this is unintentional im sure) like the actual prop just needs the movie skirt with misaligned hemis nice bit of kit

Now for the Doctor now as i am sure you have gathered i know this story very well and well lets start with the sculpt its OK its a resemblance of the later Jon but not great it seems to be lacking the detail of the lines and creases the eyes are wrong shape and the hair is defiantly wrong for this era but its ok complete with only one ring missing the other, the riding boots are nicely detailed and by far best detailing and accuracy goes to the sonic screwdriver, well his the shirt could do with being more frilly bow tie is nicely represented

The painting is a lttle off the trousers are grey not black the hair is white and not enough grey looks more like his later hair in the five doctors as at this time he retained a lot of grey and some blonde his face is plain again i think this only needs some sort of wash like the hair to bring it out otherwise the rest inclueing the jacket is nicely done the eyes are to light giving him a zombie blank expression, i wont be modding this, at this price it stays as it is i am hesitant to even pose the nice stiff new joints

for this price i do expect more, more aimed to the collector and less generic action figure

so all in all great set only for true collectors though generally i don't think this everyone's taste though another Dalek might make this sell well out of ten ill be generous and nostalgic and say 7

and i new i built that TARDIS for a reason .................

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Mini Whoniverse

As well as Dr Who i also like to paint Games Workshop miniatures 28mm i prefer Bretonia in this classic warhammer i dont game no time to, but i do like them and have built a sizeable army using imagination and well me my ancestors etc

Now many moons ago Dr Who came out as minis from Black tree Design and i like them expensive hobby but i do like them so gradualy piece at a time i am building up doctors and hopefully some enemies and a small platoon of U.N.I.T tho i am aware of better Army figures around and inspired by a very nice guy who has done a awesome job project for a lazy afternoon

thats the thing i enjoy doing this and takeing my time no rush if it takes a month to get round to finishing fine i have some a full 2 years on not finished I also now got some hero click mini who figures cheap to swell the ranks and i have some corgi stuff like Bessie the Drs car and a UNIT land rover and so far look great on the shelf tho with this move of home there still tucked away

I have fine art casting and original 85 Citadel Games workshop figures plastic and metal but haven't and don't think i will paint these as collection in there own right

so here is the Third Dr and Fourth in his later season 18 outfit as its a personal favourite of mine

memories like these

Ah the stuff of childhood when life was simple and uncomplicated

one of my fondest as a kid hiring videos you know machines the size of a sideboard and made a noise like the grand prix when rewinding and shook the house when ejecting remember them ?

well i remember Dr Who on TV but i remember He Man more but what i do remeber even though unlike the wilderness years i had regular who on TV but i also had

VHS yes tape to those uninitiated VHS cassete tape very expensive back then and the three videos of Who i had were "Revenge of the Cybermen " Pyramids of Mars" and "Death to the Daleks" (Now these VHS covers are all signed)

wow those were the days after a bath saturday night sat on the floor glued to the flickering screen watching these unedited movie length stories unfold glass of juice and biscuits in hand begging to be allowed another 10 minutes to watch it to stay past my bed time i have to say these are my top three stories and if asked as many people do "Whats your favourite story "?

I answer "which one ? as i have three" like i have three top Docs tho Tom will always be No1, no one embodies the character as well

here is the first

Death to the Daleks, its in hindsight got problems but its a product of its time it has the awful oboe of death playing Jill Tarent is more wooden than Pinochio but it has a lot of plus points It opens with a man running exhausted to be shot by a arrow and tumble down a rock face into a pool,the stunning TARDIS and the atmospheric shots of it being drained of life and the model and cso work of the City is as good as anything CGI now and for once the Daleks are not mindless killers (Tho still like to kill everything they see) but there cunning plotting scheming and ruthless ,power drain rendered your weapon useless no problem crack out the model TARDIS (ever get the feeling they really don't like the Doctor) and the Tommy guns and what a loud noise they made remember making me jump ,there

different to Daleks seen before or since these are of the science division and are in a silver with black highlights livery as opposed to the previous gunmetal dark grey colour of the grunt Daleks previously seen and at least it makes sense for half a dozen Daleks being a small expedition force so the low number of props work well here instead of 4 Daleks Army previously seen the brutish mindless Exilon's with there robes blending into the scenery like rocks there big unblinking eyes and mumbled chants the one in the TARDIS

the kind and gentle belel wonderfully played here looking small innocent and his little band are really up against it

the doomed marines and the sinister Calloway with friends like him ........

in all a good general Who story that's easy on the mind no need for over thinking the alien quarry looks impressive and the Doctor in his third incarnation as played by Jon Pertwee looks dashing and heroic here for any third Doctor fan is it all and you can see in hindsight being his last season why, you get the Venusian AIKIDO you have the Venusian hopscotch and especially in the city where this gadget minded Doc was desperate to give it a nervous break down the crazy patterns on the wall and test of mental strength and the Sonic screw driver saving the day

Sarah (Elizabeth Sladen) gets herself caught offered for sacrifice and pray to the Daleks in short order but a solid performance especially in the opening scenes and when she outwits the Daleks and takes charge

One you can just sit watch and enjoy

and Character Options have now released the Third Doctor and Dalek action figure twin pack from this story Happy days

the American box

some time back i decided to take a TARDIS money box and make the TARDIS as seen in the 8th Dr's time in the TV Movie as i like the Big Finish audio's and really enjoy the 8th Dr and his portrayal by Paul McGann

it maintains dematerilisation noise and even though i made a new lamp it still flashes when the door is opened

it's a shed

recently was going to throw a old broke Dapol TARDIS away then a thought struck me could i do anything with it its realy tatty but then so was a certain famous blue box

So i added a new roof and base and repainted it new graphics and voilà the Brachaki refit the TARDIS as seen from season 6 to season 14 generic as none season specific but that box a generic console room and it is in scale with Character Options Figures so the classic Drs have a

TARDIS all of there own well Dr's one two three and four

This type is my forty

well hello there and may i say howdy sorry wrong place :)

Well i thought this is as good a place as any to do some bloging my thoughts

my musing my random ideas (I am prety random) but more on me later

I decided beeing a man who was born into Doctor Who and a 80s child that i would after all these years like to have a TARDIS console room

So a nice man was doing the GRP (Glass reinforced plastic or fibre glass) work and basicly you bring it to life now as a Artist this apealed a LOT as we all have in our mind what we think is the TARDIS ,there TARDIS here is the perfect opportunity you get the bare bones GRP parts and you make it something

now i serpose you could say generation i grew up in it would be the 5 drs console room well no not realy i do like that and it is sentimentel for those reasons i remember many a cosy autumn night watching a multi coloured dr battle Cybermen in his TARDIS or the Doctor battleing to get it working but i have seen a great deal of the Doctor Who universe read, listened watched and i wanted something retro alien and classic you could say in a instant its the Dr's TARDIS

The 5 drs console is nice but i always thought it was better as the Masters his is same model as the Dr's just mk2 i think? so more high tech more buttons suited him i wanted old school levers dials and big flashing lights

So recently i have had a think on this i like my walls and floor its generic enough theres bits from 63 --89 there thats nice but the Console just didnt look right

So i left it and now have decided to make a new one and have i chosen a simple easy one to construct ?

No in fact i am going to make the Third Doctors Console from season 11, 2 reasons ,1 i confess Death to the Daleks is one of my all time faveorite stories yes i am sure there are problems with it but i think it is great and 2 i realy like that console

to go into detail would bore people rigid and i hope to be here to inform and entertain

simply the original 60s affair was to much and although i consider it the single greatest Time rotor column ever there wasn't i felt enough character in it and that leaves the third dr's and the fourth /fith drs and aforementioned 5 drs console as used by Drs five six & seven

now the 4th Drs as inherited (with very minor changes ) by the 5th Dr it was to be honest falling apart by the end but during the 4th Dr's time looked fine especially as seen heavily during the key to time season but it was lacking that something it was very sparse in controls and made no sense to me a large Computer screen never used ? and where were the levers and controls how did you pilot the ship? tho i do like the card reader idea from "State of Decay" and ticket print out very old school looked good but it just didn't click well with me so this leaves the 3 rd Dr's and i serpose even if not see as used by the fourth Dr in his first season ?

and Oh Boy what a Console this is it ,now not realy bothered to look hard at this before but having decided i wanted this one i studied it

It has (like a lot of Who things) rumours and myth surounding it these are perpetuated by many sources and sometimes gain ground like apparently the console from the 60's was used up to "Inferno"

Wrong in fact if you look at it closely it is just the Third Dr's Console with the old column or what was left of it look at pannel configeration look at controls way there laid out

Like the fourth Drs when we fist see it in" the Planet of Evil "suddenly inherited a new lay out

now this brings me neatly to the console itself theres 2 panels as per the 60s uchanged except for alien graphics and some red lines painted on and four new panels reusing nearly all the 60s console parts levers some dials the globes the lights etc with new stuff like the great big metal pannel with serious in case of emergency buttons, what did that lever do that Jo pulled in the Time monster ?

there's new levers and i have to say i like its lay out its noisy and could be confusing but when you look at it it makes sense and looks really cool its all here the dials for program and flight that old school look in the big dials with needles

new smaller dials square and very 70's as well as other hip 70s gear attached sign of the times but blends in well with stuff there already, and most of all before the current console of Dr's Nine and ten it has alien graphics and writing adding to that rich layer of alien machine and looks bewildering enough to be controlled by only a Timelord (some of these controls went on to the Fourth Dr's Console )

so ill keep you up to date i feel i have bored you already but the project has defiantly started and im hoping (as if it was not hard enough of a project already) to light it up