blakbuzzrd

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Doctor Who (11th) and Tardis

A combination of Crooked Dice's Tweedy Masterson (and alternate heads) and Ainsty Casting's Police Box. I used magnets and metal posts to make it possible to swap the Doctor's heads. I also created custom 600 dpi decals for the Tardis signs, as well as add some framing trim pieces around the "Police Box" marquis.

Posted: 7 May 2013

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blakbuzzrd

Crafting the lantern was definitely a case of trial and error. Here's what I used and then did, in rough order of the steps I followed: >> Supplies Needed>> -Styrene rod -Styrene sheet -Brass wire (the smaller the better) -Greenstuff -CA glue (thicker gel preferred, like Gorilla Super Glue) >>Tools Needed>> -Dremel -Mini files (diamond or plain, triangular - just get one with an edge, rather than a round file). -Pin vice -Drill bits: tiny (the same size as your brass wire), small, and then a couple big'uns -- (1/4", and 1/8") -Hobby knife -Sandpaper (maybe 400 grit) -Safety glasses >>Procedure>> 1. Clear the area. Remove the stock resin lantern by any means necessary. I used regular old cutters, a hobby knife, files, and sandpaper to smooth it out. Because it was a crummy casting, when I finished this process I had a flat rectangle on top, instead of a flat square. Irritating. 2. Make the lantern glass: Cut the styrene rod to a length of 2". Measure and mark three dashes on the clean end of the styrene rod, in 1mm increments. These will become the "valleys" on the lantern glass. Insert the other end of the styrene rod into the Dremel chuck and secure it. I used a variable speed Dremel, with the speed set to the lowest setting. Put your safety glasses on; you're basically going to use the Dremel as a miniature lathe. I held the Dremel in one hand and a needle file in the other, and with the tool on and the rod spinning, I lightly touched the file to the rod on each of the marks I made. The styrene is soft, so the file should bite easily; that said, it won't go so quickly that you lose sight of what you're doing. 3. Make the foot for the lantern. Whatever shape you end up with, you need to cut a piece of styrene sheet to that shape and glue it to the top of the flat area you just finished. This will be the foot of the lantern. 4. Fit the lantern rod. Once the glue has fully cured, it's time to drill a hole for for the lantern rod. You don't need a really deep hole: just deep enough to secure the lantern. I think I drilled about 1/4" or so. I did this by stepping up through several bit sizes; that let me be sure of the placement of the hole as I progressed. Obviously, you want the final size of the hole to match the diameter of the lantern rod. Then cut the lantern rod to the right length and glue it into place. 5. Make the top of the lantern. To make the top of the lantern, I made a simple mold: I glued a couple of thick sheets of styrene together with plastic glue. Once dry, I began to drill a shallow hole. First with a small bit, then progressively enlarging until the hole (really just a convex cone) was about 1/4" in diameter. I then took a 1/8" bit, drilled very slightly deeper in the center of the depression. This creates a two-tier effect on the top. Lastly, I used very small bit to drill a final dimple in the center of the depression, which will form the "point" of the top. Then I mixed up a small bit of greenstuff. Let it cure for 15 minutes or so, dab some aloe into the styrene mold, and press the greenstuff in place. Make sure that you flatten it out level with the top of the styrene sheet. Go away for a few hours, and when you return, you should be able to pop the piece out without much trouble. Trim it as needed to get it to a diameter that looks right. Glue the top of the lantern to the top of your styrene rod, and let it dry. 6. Make the lantern guard wires. Source some thin brass wire (the thinner the better; in retrospect I might try to find a smaller gauge to use), and cut four smallish lengths. Don't cut them to size yet, as the length will give you the needed leverage to bend the wires appropriately. Using an appropriately sized drill bit (ideally, the same size or even one step smaller than the wire itself), drill two holes for each wire into the styrene rod, right where it meets the top of the lantern. You'll want to align these holes with the corners of the foot of the lantern. I drilled at a 45-degree angle, so that the wire would easily hold in the desired bent shape. GO SLOW. If you get in a hurry, you'll 1) wallow out the hole, or 2 ) destroy the top of the styrene rod, or 3) knock off the top of the lantern, or 4) a combination of all three. Now bend each of the wire pieces into a tiny C-shape (think three adjacent sides of a rectangle, with the longest side in the middle). The middle of the C should be slightly shorter than the exposed length of the lantern rod. Trim the wire so that the top and bottom sides are 1 mm long. Test fit them into the holes you made. It's largely a matter of feel here. If you don't like the way that the wire sits, do yourself a favor and make a new one, rather than trying to re-form the one you already made. If the wire sits too loosely in the holes, you can fix that with a tiny dab of thick CA glue. Make sure to clean up any overflow. I wouldn't bother with greenstuff, as the curing time isn't fast enough to hold the wires as you need them, and you can easily end up obscuring detail with a stray blob of greenstuff here or there. 7. Drink a beer and pat yourself on the back. I recommend Bell's Two Hearted Ale.

2 Oct 2013

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