Further ramblings of a self-made pauper

As I anticipated, the painting and building of the Doctor figure for my "Welcome Aboard" TARDIS kit is proving a little trickier than the TARDIS, which provided its own series of challenges.

Basically, while the pieces are crisply sculpted and moulded, they are small and very detailed. When you have fingers like bananas, this adds to the fun and inventive use of language. It is fiddly, painstaking work. Here is a picture of the torso assembly prior to its final paint - I have to wait now until the Milliput has set where I have had to fill the gap on the jacket collar. Below the cut I have stuck a number of pictures showing in rather blurry fashion (I had difficulty finding a focus with the camera), the development of the paintwork on the Doctor's head. You can get a sense of scale from my fingers.


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More work completed on the TARDIS - I have added the base coat of paint. There was pretty much just enough supplied with the kit to give the model a single coat. In a couple of places I have had to add a different shade of blue to make it up, as there are several spots I missed and which only became apparent after the paint had dried. I think that I am going to have to add an all-over wash of the alternative paint with a little of yet a third hue before I start adding the paler weathering, or it will not look right.

The roof is not cemented to the rest and nor will it be - there is a battery operated mechanism in there that will hold the door open without the need for a small blue wedge as now, operate the lamp and produce suitable TARDISy noises. I have, however, been slightly let down either by my model-making skills and/or Airfix. I have had to apply a couple of pieces of plastic to the inside of the frame to hold the roof assemble snug when the door is open.

Attached below are a couple of shots showing the model as it is right now:


Basic build complete: door handles and lamp to be painted and attached.

( marginally different view behind cut to save bandwidth )
Once I am happy with the base colour, I shall dry brush a paler blue across the wood grain pattern that is clear on the model, but less so on these pictures. Following that come the decals - along the unpainted panels, "Police Box" and the cover for the telephone panel. The final step on the TARDIS itself will be a number of brown and black washes to give it a slightly grimy appearance. Odd that it is easier achieved on a model by applying paint than leaving out in the rain...

Then, the Doctor and Martha. They will be a challenge.

Primarily for mine own jollity, further photographic records of the building of a TARDIS. Feel free to pass on by; I shan't be offended and I am even burying all but one of the pictures behind a cut to save bandwidth and the sanity of the careless.

( It all starts behind here: )


Alternate angle through door.

Next stage is to paint and weather the outer panels, trace in window frames and weather them, attach door and panel handles and decals. Oh yes - mustn't forget the lamp, either!

Then assembly and painting of the Doctor and Martha begin in earnest.

Tricksy, My Dears. Tricksy.

Sunday afternoon's project this week is to make some progress on the Airfix "Welcome Aboard" TARDIS kit I got off eBAy a couple of weeks ago. I thought that it might be fun - largely my own - to take pictures of the various stages of the painting and assemble. Of course, if I make a complete hash of it, the pictures will suddenly stop and you will be able to guess the worst. I suspect that the hardest parts to paint properly will be the Doctor himself and Martha. That said, the TARDIS has proven willful more than once.

Like a lemon, I have allowed the battery on my camera to go flat, so I have taken the first four pictures with my Razr2 V8. Equally daft, I only had the idea of taking the photos once the console assembly was essentially complete - though it needs a little touching up here and there.


Front frame with telephone detail.


Rear panel. Unpainted as yet except for window interior. It looks better without the light behind it.


Console assembly. Use of milliput was required to hide a couple of joints; some of the paintwork is speculative - the instructions do not match the photoguide, so I used reference material from the web.


Closer view of console assembly. I am considering trying to find some very thin wiring to hang down and wind around the column, but haven't decided, yet.

As with all model making, the hard part is actually being patient and allowing the glue to set and the paint to dry before moving on to the next stage.