TARDIS Build Update - Part 13

Painting is now well under way, and this post sort of focuses on that effort.

As is typical with all things Project Work Bench related, I do want to say this: ALWAYS wear a respirator when spray painting. Whether from a spray gun, or a rattle can, ALWAYS wear a respirator. I'm not talking about a dusk mask. Or a bandanna over your mouth. I'm talking about a respirator. The kind with the removable and replaceable cartridges. Get one from Home Depot. What's that you say? You don't have thirty bucks to spare? Well then, don't paint. The money you spend on that respirator could very well save your life. Best money you will ever spend. And if you're thinking "Yeah, but lung cancer happens to OTHER people. People who spray paint all day." Wrong.

With that PSA out of the way, let's cut to the chase.

I was pretty much just grabbing parts that were nearby and painting them. Here's a few.

Though probably not necessary, I painted the inside of the roof pyramid with a satin black enamel. Just brushed it on. This will never be seen from the outside, but if someone is inside, I certainly want to present a finished tardis to them.

Even more painted parts. Each one of these needed at least three coats.

Here's one of the walls all painted up. Looks good, man! That paint really brings the tardis together!

As with the inside of the roof pyramid, I painted the back sides of the walls with the satin enamel. Just rolled it on using a paint roller. Since all of the edges of the walls will be entirely invisible when the beast is constructed, I didn't really pay too much attention to making sure they were crisp and clean.

The idea for the base was to have the inside part the satin black, but of course the edges would be blue. I started by masking off an area, then rollering on the satin black.

Turned out very nicely!

Then I masked off the black stuff I had just painted, so that the blue and black would be distinct.

Here's a kind of wide shot of the garage. You can see the base up against the wall in the back, where I have painted the outer lip with the satin black. Probably entirely unnecessary, but who knows.

I needed to touch up the underside, inside edges of the pyramid, so I masked off the parts I had painted with the flat black. This is really a study in bad planning, as I should have done all the blue before doing the black.

Painting the pyramid and base. I used a dolly I got from Home Depot under the base so that I could move it easily, and keep it off the ground during painting. The base is immensely heavy, and hard to manage alone.

The roof base was up next. With all the nooks and crannies, painting this took a bit of time.

Base is all done, and looking great!

That's it for the painting pics for now. While waiting for some paint to dry, I cut out the hole for the door lock. Used a special bit I got from Home Depot, which happened to be the perfect fit. Lucky! Please note that this lock and key are dead on accurate for the Smith tardis. Granted, the pattern of notches on the key is different, but you get the idea.

Whew! That about wraps things up for now. As of this writing I'm still doing more painting, and in a big push to get the beast done. I was hoping to get it all finished by Sunday, May 26th, but with the final coats of paint requiring more care, I'm not sure if that will happen. Worst case, it will be sometime during the week following.

As always, thanks for reading! I hope you're enjoying the build!