# Airfix Tardis WIP



## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

Here's a condensed version of a thread I've been running over at SFM:UK as a follow-on from my review of the kit. 





You'll need to watch how you detach the sprues as some of the attachments are a bit chunky...better leaving a bit on then sanding it back. 
The small door has got four prominent sink holes on the back which need filling. 
The only disappointment is the prominent seam down the front of the large clear tube on the control panel. This needs sanding off then the scratches polishing out with some T-cut or plastic polish.



If you remove the four screws around the battery compartment and can use a soldering iron then you can extend the battery leads outside the model which allows the lid to be glued in place to create a stronger model. 
Unfortunately the sound duration is built into the chip so can't be extended. 

First mistake I've found in the instructions is in Step 1. 

Parts 21 and 22 are shown transposed. The smaller part 21 fits in the bottom of part 22, not the top as illustrated. 

The other thing I find strange is that the instructions suggest painting a herringbone brick pattern on the floor but the floor is totally smooth which means a nightmare of masking or free-hand painting. Surely Airfix could have moulded this pattern in? 

Firstly I decided I couldn't face hand painting the herringbone floor pattern so I went for the 
concrete look...just various drybrushed greys, most of 
this will be invisible anyway...


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

I've installed the windows in each section, you can't go wrong here 
as Airfix have moulded different size tabs to prevent you from 
glueing them in upside down.It's a good idea to mark the three 
complete "walls" with their part numbers as they are not identical on the inside face. 



I masked them using Scotch Magic tape as I've found this gives 
perfect demarcation lines without a ragged edge. I very lightly apply a piece of tape then burnish it into all the edges of the frame using a cocktail stick. Then very carefully run a brand new X-Acto No 11 blade along the frame edges and peel off the excess tape, not forgetting the little pieces left on the face of the frames. 
Finally burnish the tape into the corners again. 
I've discovered that you can leave this tape on for weeks and it 
still peels off without any problems, unlike some masking tapes which tend to dry out. 



Once the cement was dry the rear face of the glass was given two 
coats of Humbrol 28. Once this has dried overnight I'll overcoat it 
with the interior colour.



The four parts that fit around the lid have slight sink marks on the 
undersides which require filling.



The small door has four prominent ejector marks which need dealing with...I also decided to add some plastic strips to the interior part to busy it up a little. A word of caution though...the "communicator"(?) which fits to the back of the door is 
a very snug fit when the door is closed. I only found this out after 
I had lined the recess with the strips and was then forced to cut out a square section in the centre to allow this....aaaarrgh!


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

Here's the control console prior to installation. 
I had no real reference for this as I haven't seen 
the programme much and the pics on the internet are 
a bit murky. 
Paints are a mixture of Humbrol enamels,Games Workshop 
and Tamiya.









Note here the flourescent paper rolled up inside the tube... I almost threw it out thinking it was a packing slip!


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

I now assembled the three sides and the base 
and installed the interior. The glued walls are 
best left to dry overnight before attempting to 
fit the card background as it has a tendency to 
force the sides apart. I ended up rolling it 
fairly tightly around the tube from a kitchen 
roll to maintain an even curve. Even then it was 
a struggle to fit and I resorted to using double 
sided tape to secure each end against the walls. 





The console assembly fits fairly easily but needs to be pushed right back to ensure the feet meet the ground. 
I decided to fit a strengthening piece of thick plastic card to ensure the sides stay square. 
I painted this black before I fitted the front wall. 
If you decide to do this don't forget to allow room for the door mechanism and speaker in the roof. 



Another thing to note is the gap left around the walls on the outside.This will need careful filling.


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

Here's the front fitted and the view through the door... 
If I ever build another one of these (which I doubt)I think I'll just glue the door shut! 





After much fiddling about I decided that the lid really must be glued on. 
As supplied it is a very poor fit and has a tendency to slide from side to side. I opted to extend the battery leads through 
the base, then glue the lid on to make a much stronger structure. 

The roof assembly containing the light and sound features was 
taken apart and the circuit board unscrewed and lifted clear of the 
battery compartment.





The battery wires were cut and the entire battery housing was removed, first by scribing with an Olfa P-Cutter and then 
finishing with a sharp blade taking care not to nick any of the remaining wires. 
A new length of lead was then soldered to each battery wire on the circuit board and the whole assembly was screwed back 
together. 





At this point I checked everything was still functioning and then fed the new lead down behind the card insert and out of a hole I had cut in the base. 
The battery compartment can be reconnected once I have sited it on a diorama base.


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

I then glued the roof on taking care to engage the switch mechanism with the pin on the top of the door. 
You need to eyeball that everything looks square and parallel before applying liquid cement around the lid since, if you push it too far towards one edge it will leave a gap on the opposite edge. 



At this stage I also filled the prominent gap in the plinth using 
Liquitex Acrylic Gesso. 
This is available from artists suppliers. The advantage of this is that it can be applied using a cocktail stick and any excess wiped off with a soft brush thus negating the need for sanding.



Here's the basecoat of Humbrol 25 enamel. 
I applied it by brush as it helps tone down some of the woodgrain effect which, whilst generally well done, looks slightly heavy to my eyes. 
Also it's worth mentioning that the flash on the camera makes the blue appear much lighter than in reality.



Something worth noting here is the white gesso showing through the blue...a result of the new (chinese) formulation enamels having rather poor coverage when compared to the older tins that I have. I think a letter to Humbrol might be in order here. 



Apart from having to recoat the base area I'm not unduly worried about the odd bit of patchiness elsewhere as I'm intending to add a lot more layers as I weather it. 

I've started the figures and I'm intending to paint some of the more fiddly parts as I assemble. 
I'm leaving each of the Doctor's legs separate until I've painted the stripes. 
I'll then glue them together and touch up the joint around his flies...oo-er! 
To enable a tighter joint I had to shave away some plastic from the area indicated in green...the joint at the back is hidden by the trenchcoat.


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

I've done the first stage of weathering which was basically a heavy wash of dirty black which helped darken the blue down to the level I wanted...actually the flash on the camera makes the blue appear lighter than it really is. 
Once it was dry (overnight) it was drybrushed first with the original colour and then with a blue/grey that I mixed myself. 



I then removed the masks on the windows and ran a dirty wash over the glass to lose the brightness of the plastic.I then added the 
light on top, the stickers and the detail inside the small door. 
The door handles were painted as was the lock in a weathered brass and the model is virtually complete. 





The next stage will be a pin wash with various shades of oils to fill in around the panel edges followed by some weathering powders. 
I'm going for the more battered "classic" look rather than the IMO too clean look of the new series. 
I'll do the rest of the weathering as I build the diorama base so as to tie everything in. 

A quick word about the stickers. As they come they are slightly smaller than the panels they are intended to fit. 
I lined up the bottom edge of the "instructions" sticker with the bottom edge of the panel of the small door. 
When pressed down I found it is short of the top edge by a few millimetres. As it stands it looks ok but if you want yours dead centre then best allow about 2mm at the bottom as once stuck it won't come back off without stretching the sticker. 
Similarly the four long stickers are also undersize and I'd recommend cutting them out along the pre-cut lines so as they can be tried in place with the backing paper attached. 
You will then see how much of a gap to leave at either end in order to centre them. 
Personally I would have preferred decals not stickers. 

Any questions or comments are welcome...


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## Daikaiju1 (Apr 26, 2005)

Top work!! I am hoping Hobbyco, a major Airfix retailer here will eventually have 'em. They currently have Aoshima Captain Scarlet SPV's and Saloon Cars.

Would Gundam Markers work for the pinstripes on the clothing of the DR Who figures?
That was my first thought anyway...


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## Arronax (Apr 6, 1999)

OK. While you're striping pants, I've been looking at Martha's shirt. My current plan is to use this artwork as a decal. I know it looks rough but it stands up when resized to scale. 

BTW, I don't have a plan B.










Jim


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## portland182 (Jul 19, 2003)

You might find these helpful

http://www.jammydog.com/


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

Nice work Arronax, have you thought of offering those decals for sale?

Also, thanks Portland, I've been thinking of tape or maybe some kind of paint marker pen...


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## Arronax (Apr 6, 1999)

A couple of notes about the Airfix kit:

It's really a joy to assemble and paint. Airfiix has broken down the part assembly of the figures so that it's possible to work on individual sections independently. I can work on the Doctor's shirt, tie, jacket and pants as separate pieces.
Many of the supplied paints can be used - especially those where small quantities are needed. For some colors (the Tardis blue, for example - Testors Blue Angel Blue is a good match), you will need to buy in larger quantities since Airfix doesn't give you enough. I haven't tried airbrushing the Airfix paints but they do apply well with a soft brush.
OK, back to the model. I hope you don't mind me piggybacking your thread, MSun but it made no sense to start another thread.

*Pin Stripes*



portland182 said:


> You might find these helpful
> 
> http://www.jammydog.com/


Great idea but I do have an alternate idea (see below)



MiniatureSun said:


> Nice work Arronax, have you thought of offering those decals for sale?


Hey, let me see if it works first! If it does, I may see about printing more copies - my decal printing expertise leaves a lot to be desired!


Where was I? Pin striping.

I successfully painted the pinstripes on the Doctor's pants and jacket (don't forget the collar like I did. It's a separate piece).

*

Prepare the parts - sanding edges, hiding the seam in the legs. As MSun suggests, do not glue the the two legs together. Life will be easier.
*

*
[*]Airbrush parts with a light blue (I used Humbrol Matt Middle Blue ). You will mask the stripes and apply the main (brown) color over the masking. This is easier because you'll be applying a dark color over a light color and the narrower pin stripe masks are easier to apply over the complex curves.*
*
[*]You'll need:*
* A piece of glass (cutting board)
* Blue painters tape (or masking tape of choice)
* Steel ruler
* X-Acto knife with a fresh blade
* Jim's custom-made two bladed strip cutter

OK, that last one needs explanation. Take a larger X-Acto knife handle and insert two fresh #11 blades. Tighten really hard. 

Looks like this.









Stick a piece of blue tape to the glass and use the two bladed knife to cut strips (see photo above). I get about 6-8 strips per piece of tape.
With a regular knife guide the strip onto the part. Start at the top or bottom of the leg and work up (or down) guiding the strip into place and ensuring its in the recesses.

Some tips:
* Use a wider piece of tape to mark the sewn seams. When you reach this line with the stripe mask, use this tape to cut the pinstripe masks at the seam. Since the waist of the pants is wider than the legs, you cannot just run pinstripes evenly all the way around each leg. Sewn seams are usually at the sides (check your own pants for locations).
* You can fudge a little around the Doctor's bum since it's not seen under his coat. Work from the inside leg outwards towards the back so that you can hide the fact that you misaligned the stripes.









When finished lightly airbrush with the brown (I used Humbrol enamel Chocolate). Two light mist coats are far better than a heavy coat.
When dry, remove the stripe masks. Use a 10/0 brush to touch up blue stripes if the brown bleeds under the tape.










I'm still trying to figure out how to shade the folds/recesses. I may use a lightly loaded sponge applicator and some brown pastel dust.

Next up - Martha's shirt and those fiddly designs on the Doctor's tie.

Jim


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

Jim, I'm seriously impressed with your stripes and especially with your two-bladed knife....definitely one of those "why didn't I think of that" moments.
I agree that the parts breakdown has been well thought out, in fact the whole kit is amazingly well engineered which bodes well for Airfix.


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## Y3a (Jan 18, 2001)

TRULY Excellent!! I can't Breathe! Just the work in getting all the tape in place! WOW! Your work and presentation are just great.


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## razorwyre1 (Jan 28, 2004)

thanks for the new tape technique... it will be useful, for this kit and others. (oh if only it had been around ages ago for the pants on my billiken joker)


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

THis is a kewel follow along article, *miniature sun*! Thanks for sharing. I don't build figures, but enjoy seeing the work of those who do. 




Arronax said:


> OK. While you're striping pants, I've been looking at Martha's shirt. My current plan is to use this artwork as a decal. I know it looks rough but it stands up when resized to scale.
> 
> BTW, I don't have a plan B.


Now that is some kewel stuff, Jim! Is it just me, or does anyone else see a bunch of faces in that print? I'm seein' a number of manical, demonic-ish lookin' faces in all of that! _Very kewel_! :thumbsup:


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

I've spent the evening working on the figures and prepping them for paint. The Doctor is definitely the easier to work as each layer of clothing can be painted before the next layer is assembled.
His body can be assembled minus the head and the locating tab on the base of the neck simply sliced off allowing the head to be added after painting.
Martha's body is a bit more problematic.
The fit of the head part is poor, at least on my example, and so far I've removed the strut that runs between the shoulders and also pared away some plastic from inside the chest and back of the torso.
The head piece needs to lie slightly below the level of the edge of the clothing and you need to glue the back first with cyano adhesive and allow to dry before attaching the chest part.
I think Airfix could have made things a lot simpler by making the joint at Martha's necklace instead.
Also whilst I understand the logic of casting the heads and arms in vinyl, I would have preferred if it wasn't so soft.
Anyway, back to the bench....


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## Arronax (Apr 6, 1999)

miniature sun said:


> The fit of the head part is poor, at least on my example, and so far I've removed the strut that runs between the shoulders and also pared away some plastic from inside the chest and back of the torso.
> The head piece needs to lie slightly below the level of the edge of the clothing and you need to glue the back first with cyano adhesive and allow to dry before attaching the chest part.
> I think Airfix could have made things a lot simpler by making the joint at Martha's necklace instead.


I found that too. I was thinking the fit was partly due to a poor fit of the neck stem (vest) into the vinyl head. Careful use of CA will be needed.

However, I think I have the vest design thing sorted out.

 (click on the thumbnail for a bigger picture)

I did not coat the decal with GlossCote to strengthen it as I usually do so that the decal remained thin and pliable. I GlossCoted the shirt before applying the decal (light coat). When dry, I painted a thin coat of Future and while that was still wet, I applied the decal. Almost immediately afterward, I applied MicroSol. When dry, I dusted it with DullCote - it still neeeds another coat.

Still wrestling with the Doctor's tie and remembered I still need to think about Martha's tatoo.

Jim


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

Nice job Jim, I've had success in the past using Future to help bed down decals.
And until you mentioned the tattoo I didn't notice she had one!


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## Arronax (Apr 6, 1999)

Voila! The tattoo.



Jim


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## Arronax (Apr 6, 1999)

The thing I love about modeling is the challenges. Just how can I make my model look like the real thing. This Dr. Who kit has it's fair share of challenges - each of them requiring an existing or invented technique. This is fun!

OK, I have two remaining challenges (that I know of):

The Doctor's tie and the Doctor's and Martha's eyes.

The eyes are easy. Use Archer Eyeball decals available from CultTVMan. They're fiddly but they work.

The tie has been a pain. I've tried making decals for the little blue squares but they are very small, are hard to place accurately and just don't look right. I came up with another idea which I'll try and let you know how it works. It involves making a decal of the pattern (background color and all) and applying that over the tie parts painted white. If there's any white still showing, I can paint that since it will probably be in the recessed areas which should be shaded anyway (so exact color won't be a problem).

Here's my first pass at the pattern (the quality of the jpeg is pretty rough - sorry):



Jim


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

Your tattoo pic just comes up as a little red cross at this end Jim.


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## Arronax (Apr 6, 1999)

miniature sun said:


> Your tattoo pic just comes up as a little red cross at this end Jim.


Yeah, the tattoo is a little red cross.

You're not buying it are you?

I think I fixed it though.

Jim


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

That's better...we can see it now....are you planning on combining all these images onto one sheet?


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## Arronax (Apr 6, 1999)

You have to understand that I'm just not a graphics person. I've developed a process using MS Paint that gives me a large image which I can save as a jpeg and reduce to size. This reduction somewhat hides the fact that the original was a ragged edge bitmap.

When I've got everything sized correctly and if nothing else comes along that needs a decal, I will have an MS Word document and a pdf version that I can e-mail upon request. This document would include the shirt design, the tattoo and the tie pattern - with suggestions on how to print and apply the decals.

I'm not planning on printing decals for sale.

Of course, these documents wouldn't be available until after Wonderfest! Wouldn't want anybody using my ideas.  Just kidding.

Jim


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

Arronax said:


> I'm not planning on printing decals for sale.


That's fine Jim, it's about time I bit the bullet and tried my hand at printing my own...


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## Arronax (Apr 6, 1999)

Boy, this is a fun kit to build.

Short progress update:

The pants. In previous posts I had said that you can't see the Doctor's bum because it's hidden by his coat. I was (partially) wrong. There's slit in coat that shows only one important thing - the part seam in the back of the Doctor's pants. Careful filling and sanding is needed.

The Doctor's shoes are missing the Converse All Stars logo. Google Image search and create a decal.

The Doctor's tie decal idea worked very nicely.

Martha's shoes and coat are actually a darker red than suggested in the instructions - I used Testor's British Scarlet. Martha's purse is more of a dark purple - darker than the shoes and coat.

Unfortunately, the eyes (irises) and molded on the eyeballs. Due to size and molded material (vinyl), it will almost impossible to remove them. To add a little personality to the scene, I want the the eyeballs looking to one side instead of staring straight ahead (being able to position the Doctor's head will also help).

I've started the base - well, I bought a piece of wood.

More to come!

Jim


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## Arronax (Apr 6, 1999)

Sorry no photographs but some more build suggestions and comments.

*The Doctor’s Coat.* When you’re ready to add the first part of the coat, start by gluing the lapels in place, it’ll give to the chance to clean up any seams in that area. Glue the coat back to the body assembly (shirt, jacket front, pants). Glue the coat front on place – make sure the edges are as flush as possible with the jacket front (I had a little gap that had to be forced closed with CA).

Add a little putty to the slots before gluing the pocket flaps in place. This can be sanded later.

The coat collar leaves an unsightly tab at the back which will need a little putty.

I glued the right arm on first with no shirt cuff or hand. This gave me a chance to work on the more complex (of the two) shoulder joint. Putty and sand. Putty and sand. You need to glue the cuff and hand to left arm before gluing it to the shoulder and finishing that shoulder joint.

*Martha.* Take a really closer look at how the parts for Martha’s purse and coat go together. It’s not that simple. Martha’s purse is purple. Testor’s British Scarlet would for the coat and use the Humbrol pink provided for the coat lining.

Acting on MSun's advice, I ground down the neck piece on Martha’s shirt - test fitting the head constantly. When I had a good fit (one that did not require a lot of pressure to maintain), I used a thick CA to glue the head to the shirt. Thick CA gives you a little more working time to make sure all joints are tight. I plan to paint the head after gluing the parts together. I also plan to substitute wire for the “curtain ring” ear-rings provided.

*The Tardis.* It looked so easy! 

Assemble all the sides, edges and top pieces at the same time. I didn’t and had a hard time getting the front top edge in place (I’d left it off to allow easier access to the door hinge). 

Consider MSun’s suggestion of bracing the Tardis to keep it square – even if it's temporary. I didn’t and every time I handled the structure it bent out of shape and cracked a nicely glued/puttied joint.

The pre-printed Tardis background is a bear to put in place. It really needs to be shaped to the right curve ahead of time. I had a hard time getting the Tardis console in place. MSun’s idea of clamping it in place while the glue dries worked well but the two platforms were a really tight fit and I decided to leave them off until the console was in place. Well, apart from the fact that I had to trim about 1/16 inch off each platform and the connecting tabs were now in the wrong position (had to cut new ones), it worked well. Note to everyone else: test fit, test fit and test fit again.

That’s it for now.

Jim


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## Steve244 (Jul 22, 2001)

this is a true multimedia kit. my hat's off to you guys (if I only had a hat).


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

I'm hoping to get back on this very soon...I took a break to build something else and that turned into more of a nightmare than I anticipated...see here...

http://www.armorama.com/modules.php...le=index&req=viewtopic&topic_id=113862&page=1

Yes I know, not exactly Sci Fi but it is a pretty weird vehicle....
Anyway hopefully I'll be on with the Who figures real soon...


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## chuffy (May 22, 2008)

I have been following this thread with interest as I have been building this kit myself.

A bit of background on myself, I was a serious model maker up until about 10 years ago, when I moved house and just didn't get round to setting up another permanent work bench. However, being a big fan of Dr. Who, I just had to build this kit, so after 10 years I decided to see if I could still do it.

Well, the kit has been an absolute joy to build. I've only got the Doctors head and hands to finish painting and that's it, job done. I've been reading the tips on adding the pinstripes to the Doctors suit and was going to try the suggested method of the thin strips of masking tape. But the one thing that troubled me with this method and basically painting the stripes anyway, was that the stripes were just too bright for my liking. It's very difficult to get a pinstripe effect just right as the stripe should only really be faint, so I tried using watercolour pencils. This worked brilliantly, as I was able to draw the stripes on freehand and keep the stripe even without the pain of running out of paint mid stripe as is the problem with using a brush. Also, the pinstripes are faint and not too bold and bright which is the exact effect I wanted. However, I had to be careful when adding the shading and highlights on the trousers seeing as acrylic paint is waterbased, it can disturb the watercolour drawn stripe but it can be easily redrawn afterwards.

The Martha figure was ok and I opted to paint her vest pattern freehand, which turned out alright but I'm not completely happy with it. I may paint over it again at some point.

Once the whole kit is finished, I'll put some photos up. I would welcome your comments!!


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