scale model TARDIS 3

Well as i left you in antici...........pation

onto

 dusting /buffing

1988 mk 1 with added blocks to hold walls in place

I now decided to turn my attention to creating a dusty look on the Tardis 


This involves pastels (another technique i picked up ) scraping with a scalpel the grey pastel i got a powder in a small pile on my pallet,with this like in the video i applied it in a dusting top to bottom motion using a old soft brush and did small amounts and layered it up( observe the results under different lights including outside in daylight which i forgot to do so it was originally to much ) making sure i got all recesses and step and nooks on the roof in the detail anywhere dust could fall and form (personally think this really ads realism to the model of the prop) it had a added bonus of evening out my paint work ,i worked access off with a really stiff brush

I repeated this on the windows and as well as grey i used Gold Ochre 
end result has been a nice weathered natural dusty look from storage out on filming basically in use as a active prop

ok little over exposed here, we have had some really bright sunny days but you should get the idea and see all techniques used thus far

hopefully can see the preshading still with added shadows recess discolours  from the various washes  and the  grey dust cover (all been done really subtle as I'm working in 13 scale and didn't want to drown it nor detract from the overall look effect of the box ) and colour pastel brush
Also should see the windows now done i like how the pastel wash pooled in the corners ,looks like its dirt gathered over the years very nicely to me
yellow was chosen ,due to various colours the windows were again a pain with this prop theres so many looks from purple panes to clear to grey ,but theres pretty much always been a yellow tinge and in research i found this is due to the cobex it was made from it is like GRP inherently yellow that and added fact of dirt and filth i thought a combo of grey yellow would work although it sounds wrong

Wet Pastels

I moved on to the wet pastels technique. This technique calls for the mixing of black and brown pastels with Tamiya thinner and applying this mix around locks handles , bolts, along seams, crevices and some shadow areas. This is a favourite technique used by Japanese modellers and is highly effective in accentuating shadow areas.
I did this with charcoal and brown pastel
I dipped my '00' brush into Tamiya thinner (and some water)  then into the pastels. I mixed the pastels until they diluted in the thinner and then I drew the brush along cracks, seams and around door handles and locks   
This has started to now bring the model to life for me 
now I'm onto  paint chipping flaking to show the layer or a  layer of paint under the original (Will be lighter shade) like seen on the prop after much use and between touch ups and a lot on the base with grey to realy show the wear on the base having been the main area in contact with the ground, actors boots, being buried in the ground on location etc
I will also add this to the corner posts mainly to show where it has been handled on location filming etc,
oh and use reference photos to death

 

scale model TARDIS 1

Research ,a pain but must be done  if you want the right finished result and you don't want want to be left thinking "Hmmm don't look right " , certainly is true that it is possible to do a model   without ever doing a second of research.
  Yet most modellers will at some point want to explore the background and history of the subjects they are modelling and for many modellers, this becomes an integral and very enjoyable aspect of the hobby.it is after all the subject you like (Why else buy the model in the first place ?),this can extend to techniques in build etc

There are several main reasons why modellers are so interested in research,
For some modellers, the pursuit of accuracy becomes almost an obsession. They are not happy unless their model is 100% accurate down to the last bolt and screw head . Manufacturers today tend to do their homework well and normally models will be accurate. However, it is not unknown for manufacturers to make mistakes, even if these tend to be minor such as depicting a model with hexagonal bolts instead of domed bolts.

There is also a possibility that a manufacturer may 'generalise' when creating a model.  Creating the molds for injection scale models is very expensive and manufacturers need to produce a great number of kits to make each mold commercially viable.  Therefore, rather than make several molds to cover every version of a particular vehicle, they may make a single mold to cover several versions.  The difference between the versions may be minor, but for the dedicated 'bolt counter' this will not be good enough and they will want their model to be exactly right, so will do research to satisfy themselves of the accuracy of their particular subject,this comes to play in this the subject i did the TARDIS a 'toy' mass produced and generic to put it mildly so lot of rebuild and research needed here to get this particular box 1980s grp box to look like it should

Character Options "Classic TARDIS" from the curse of fenric with 7th Doctor figure box set

Realism and accuracy are not always the same thing, in fact, sometimes there can be conflict between the two.  For example, a modeller whose main concern is accuracy may leave off bolts on the tail of a small scale aircraft because they would be too small to see at that scale, whereas a modeller interested primarily in realism, would include the bold detail because it makes the tail look right.

so you got a choice to make  ,for me The only way to get a model to 'look right' is to study photographs and videos of the real item to see how it  actually  looked in real life ,but this is sometimes not that simple if the item in question had various stages of looks through its long years of use (this TARDIS prime candidate),
looking at how paint is discoloured by use age dirt or being handled knocked etc , or how paint is worn on a step by repeated footsteps door is marked from being handled round the Handel and lock  .  For a TARDIS realism means studying how dust and paint is scratched./built on /touched up and accumulates finding all this information requires a good deal of studying.

Season 19  look

Season 22 look

now if a model is to be built 'out of the box' as per the manufacturer's instructions then there is limited need for research. or if happy with as is then just put it on your shelf
 However, most modellers, sooner or later, feel the need to start making models that have some originality and differ from what the manufacturer intended "Your build" unique .
  This may mean a different paint scheme, or more drastically creating a different version to that supplied in the model kit.  This not only gives the finished model a certain uniqueness, but also provides additional challenge to the modeller.the choices are endless

"There are a hundred billion facts on the Internet and all of them are wrong."
That quote is a humorous exaggeration, but appt ,
You cant take for granted " so and so says it is this ..........." ,you have to do your own home work and this may take long long time and patience maybe if you are just researching the phone panel , or maybe looking on google for wood steps to see how they age or maybe studying fonts for the authentic "Police Box " sign either way read what others have to say and add it to your research
 and remember it is not over until you say you can go back to a model countless times i have ones now going 15 yrs old and been totally stripped and re done from the ground up , some i have since leaned a nifty new trick and gone to apply it to a model
its fun and should be enjoyed

Scale model Tardis 2

I remember drawing colouring in this box many times, i liked how it was blue and dirty "Like my bike" 
Now a cynical Adult i see it as the best prop ever ,Details abound from 3 step roof to steps above the doors to the quadrants on the posts etc  , colours (Even when almost black with filth) , shape size geometry ,being GRP Fiberglass so easy to transport , its look  in general and profile  its the business s far as a TARDIS in the guise of a Police Box go's


so you can guess i wanted /want one 
then here comes CO and half attempt then i got stuck in 

I went for less TARDIS on TV and more prop so even did the S18 19 back doors also seen in ghost light 

She is generic based on look of S18/19 &  S25 /26 overall look of the TARDIS  as this is basically what she did look like with moments in between of extreme dirt or overly bright flat finishes so with a decade of looks i chose something just TARDIS with the flat small lamp

construction and begining

so now my kit has been take apart and i have added details like the top of the wall devide going above the sign boxes and now added a new lamp and shorter base for the lamp and shorter base for the box 
Next i added detail to simulate 22o angle on the panels and windows and sanded all moulded texture off 
I also then took to the lintels (Police box signs) and extended them the correct length after measuring and marking them out adding some plasticard to the length for support and backing and then this was filled in and using tools for detail shaped the frame
i then liberally covered it in model filler like squadron putty and with a technique i leaned added thinners to allow it to run sooth and into cracks this was sanded several times then all imperfections dealt with until end result was a flat smooth grp (fiberglass) looking box 


i base coat with Halfords grey primer ,sanded it and resprayed several times with windows and phone  panel masked off (i wanted to retain current sign as was manufactured and was relatively accurate for the box i was doing also liked the look of it ) 

preshadeing 

pre-shade the entire box in black. Generally, I would apply my base paint right to plastic. However, this step is a means of making the tone of the surface colour uniform all-over. I used Tamiya Black TS14 out of an aerosol can. It is important to paint lightly and make certain to reach all of the little nooks and crannies. Let it dry and repeat with another light coat of same and essentially, you are left with a kit which has been completely obliterated with thin layers of black paint and not one bit of the grey primer is showing through. 

Once this had completely dried, I painted in Dulux wild water thinned down with water and done with a almost dry brush  each layer was applied lightly, once the previous coat had dried. 

This essentially produces a definitive blue colour on flat surfaces whilst leaving corners and shadows with an almost black dark blue tone. 

This is the result of less base paint reaching those hard to get areas, and is a very desirable effect. Hence, the pre-shade of black paint with blue applied, on top, in light coats created a visual tonal contrast between highlights and shadows. When this was completely dry, I turned my attention to  'filter' techniques described in several  Military Modelling articles. 

I covered select areas in thinners (testors) to break the surface tension  and then set about painting it (very diluted in thinners.) Humbrol enamel matt blue 26  making sure to evenly cover the entire kit. Once the filter had dried, it left a nice overall darker tone to the surface ready for weathering 

Pin Wash 

After dry brushing entire model in my chosen shade of wild water prussian blue and white i decided to start to pin wash the lighter Tardis colour
It's another thing i read on various military and scale modelling web sites and forums this addressed a issue i had of not wanting to spoil my kit by drowning it n a wet wash all over but get the shadows and dirt in there that i wanted

essentially a games workshop acrylic black and flat earth brown mixed and thinned with water restricting this to all of the nooks and crannies and seam lines with an '00' brush. 
The kit was beginning to take on a nice weathered look. In fact, the filter combined with the pin wash  greatly enhanced the look of the finish and dry brush on top finished it off nicely

 I then took my acrylic art paint set in tubes and I re-applied yet another pin wash around some of the locks handles and  bolts with Burnt Sienna mixed with water to further accentuate the details

I let this dry for about two days in a dust-free  box for a few days as it was very wet that cold feel thats damp and takes ages to dry

and then did nothing for longer than i planned and xmas came went and got on with life and now im back at the kit again 

and researching again (see never stops) and came across on the modelling forums a man gos by the name of scale model medic and a video on you tube and watched his techniques and one really struck me 

Buff Dust Treatment 

I now decided to turn my attention to creating a dusty look on the Box from being in those dark dusty corners of prop storage, and left in dusty locations and warehouses/ deserts fields /quarys/road sides etc .

This was a return to art school and lots of chalk charcoal and pastels and the death of a lot brushes  

 

for now enjoy this informative video