Doctor Who Projects... Full size.
Project DALEK - Project
TARDIS - Project K-9
A couple of things inspired this one. On my regular trip into town, I pass a letterbox built in the shape of a Dr. Who TARDIS, which stands about 1 metre tall.
Also, my wife, Jan, showed me an old whisk one day and said, "can you
use this for something, don't you think it looks a bit like the thing
coming out of a Dalek".
Yes, it did. I mulled over it for some time and decided to try and build
a full sized model that would stand 1.7 metres tall.
My friend Chappy (with the Saturn 5 rocket) had
downloaded the plans for a Dalek model from England and kindly passed
them onto me.
The plans were for a later model Dalek but I liked the earlier style, so
I adapted the build to the earlier configuration.
My intention from the start, was for it to be just a static model and
stand sentinel in our front yard, so it had to be quite sturdy and
weather proof.
It took a while to figure out how to actually make the parts. I had tried making fiberglass pieces in the past without much success, so I decided on plaster casting for the balls and dome parts... a lot cheaper too. But first, I made some 3D printed parts... at least I knew what I was doing there.
I then made a silicon mold and produced the 56 half balls without much trouble. Painted blue.
The first dome was a bit thin and ended up on the floor
in many pieces when I tried to sand it smooth. D'oh!
The second one was much thicker and worked very well. The base frame was
made from timber and plywood.
The neck and torso were made using thick poly-carbonate sheet which I could twist into the odd conical shapes fairly easily.
Aluminium sheet for the torso slats and belt and a heavy
pressed metal sheet for under the slats.
Plywood for the bottom section and timber for the base skirt.
I attached some heavy duty casters underneath to help move it around. It
was getting a bit heavy now.
I drilled a hole in each ball for a dowel plug to help
fix them to the bottom section.
That was it, just a bit of gluing and painting, then it all went
together.
The project took 5 and half months from start to finish and cost $650 in
materials. So...
Say Hello to my little friend... or you will be ' EXTERMINATED '.
Me and the Dalek, April 2024
Adding to the theme, this took 7 weeks and was finished on 7th June 2024
I built just the front face and attached it to the side
of a small shed, so when entering the door...
yes, it is bigger on the inside!
My wife, Janet, did a great job painting the shed to
give a nice bit of camouflage.
Last one in the series (for now)... Dr. Whos' robot
companion dog K-9.
3D printed parts.
This one also took 7 weeks to build, finished 7th Aug 2024
Now guarding the TARDIS.
