LASER cut Masonite TARDIS model

I'm new here, so I thought as an introduction, I'd show you a project I've been playing with on and off for a few years ... a 6 inch high TARDIS model.

The project was created as a test piece to demonstrate the precision wood cutting capabilities of my LASER cutter/engraver.

Here's a photo of a few versions of an early design (one painted, one unfinished, both sitting on a freshly cut set of parts in the LASER cutter).

Each model is cut from a single 12" x 24" piece of 1/8" HDF (high density fiberboard AKA Masonite) and takes about 30 minutes to cut. In this form, the kit of parts are so accurately cut that the entire model is assembled without any glue or fasteners. This tight tolerance was a bit of a problem when I applied paint, and the painted model in the photo is a bit rough as I was still playing with the paint mixture, and the Masonite swelled a bit too much in the humid Newfoundland air.



Every now and then, I come back to the CorelDRAW source file and tweak it a bit more and there have been quite a few design changes since these were photographed, but the design is still a fair way from being anywhere near completed.

A business aquaintenance with a line of licensed movie and TV clothing took 3 samples with her on a trip to London to discuss with the BBC the licensing of further items in her Doctor Who/Torchwood clothing line. The BBC was impressed with the model but considered that the labor involved would make it too expensive. They suggested some design changes to make it more accurate, and I've been slowly working my way through the list of changes, but I accept that it will never be a licensed product that I can sell, so I just tinker with the design for my own amusement. The latest version changes most of the model above the "Police Box" text and features a peaked roof. Unfortunately, the peaked roof design requires glue to hold the roof sections together.

For the technically minded, the ULS VLS 4.60 is a 2½D CAD/CAM system and mine is fitted with a 50 Watt CO2 LASER assembly. It can engrave or cut materials that burn or melt and will fit onto its 24" x 18" work space. It connects to a PC via USB, and the computer treats it like a big printer/plotter. The downside is that they aren't cheap (the price of a new car), and the LASER needs factory reconditioning every 4-7 years.

That is really cool.

That's very cool.

Perhaps spraying a clear coat sealer would help prevent the Masonite from swelling.

I have an Epilog and I love the laser as a modeling tool!

Neat idea with masonite.

That is a damn fine TARDIS!

moffeaton said:

I have an Epilog and I love the laser as a modeling tool!

Neat idea with masonite.

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Masonite is a great construction material for use with the LASER. It cuts cleanly and takes engraving well. I build a lot of jigs to hold items while they're bring engraved out of 1/8" Masonite. If any part of the jig gets damaged, I just cut another piece.

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jimpeachey said:

That is a damn fine TARDIS!

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Thanks. The earlier versions were pretty ugly, but ugly as they were, they served as good learning tools.

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division 6 said:

That's very cool.

Perhaps spraying a clear coat sealer would help prevent the Masonite from swelling.

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It may help, but I like the idea of easy cleaning water based paints.

The next one I painted was fine as I'd learned from my previous mistakes and did lots of light coats that dried quickly.

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vaderman1701 said:

That is really cool.

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Thanks.

cough cough run cough cough cough

That's nice. I really want a laser cutter, but I'm holding out until they make a shark mounted version.

Joosh said:

That's nice. I really want a laser cutter, but I'm holding out until they make a shark mounted version.

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I bought my ULS system as a post retirement toy, but once I got it, I started to see business opportunities.

When I was at a training course that the Canadian distributors regularly run, all the other participants on the course were business users of the same brand of ULS LASER system, but all of them had the smaller desktop machines. I was the only non-business/hobby user on the course, and I had the only full sized/platform machine.

Used machines are a good proposition if you get them from a reputable source. But be aware that the LASER itself may need rebuilding/replacement, and that can be expensive. Other than the LASER, they are no more complex than a big printer/plotter. However, some used machines should be totally avoided. I've seen photographs of one that was used in a sign making company, and they used it exclusively for cutting PVC sheets. This is about the worst thing you can cut with a LASER, as PVC gives off very corrosive fumes when cut with a LASER. The sign making company didn't care, they'd have the machine totally rebuilt every few years, and it saved them more money than it cost them to have repaired/rebuilt.

Thread necromancy time.

I got a pair of commissions before Christmas to make two TARDIS models ... one as a Christmas present for a friend's Dr Who mad niece, and the other as a presentation box for an engagement ring.

Time to do some of the improvements to the design that I'd been planning.

The model for my friend's niece was completed first as the time deadline was a bit tighter. The presentation box for the engagement ring had a bit more of a generous time window due to a number of foul ups by the company making the engagement ring. I encountered some problems with features in the new design, so while I cut the parts for both at the same time, and did the bulk of the painting on both designs simultaneously, I stopped the engagement ring box version at about the 90% completion point and went on to finish the Christmas present. The problems with the first model could be worked around, but the stage of completion of the engagement ring box meant I could re-engineer solutions to the details that I was less than happy with.

Here's a couple of photographs of the almost complete engagement ring box. I still had to engineer an internal ring holder and do some minor trim adjustments, but it was looking good.





The beveled trim around the windows and the door panels was done using the LASER's 3D engraving node to generate a 45 degree bevel into the edge of the Masonite. For scale reference, each group of 6 windows measures 1 inch tall by 3/4 inches wide.

This particular model has had a hard life, and needed repairs done before it was even finished. We have a 150 pound Newfoundland, and his tail is like a fur covered baseball bat. Things that you think are safe, are still within the range of his swinging tail, and this poor TARDIS was knocked off the table and onto the floor boards ... twice. Fortunately, as long as I had a stock of 3mm thick Masonite, I could make all the replacement parts I needed, and the replacement parts fitted exactly the same as the original parts. Other than lost time, the damage caused no other problems. There was still a bit of touch up work to be done when the photos were taken, but the model was 99% complete (and placed well out of reach of the dog's tail when I wasn't working on it).

The engagement ring box was commissioned by a professional photographer. As I didn't have time to take any good photographs before I shipped it off to him, he set me a few photographs that he took last week while his girlfriend was out of the office/studio for the day and he could sneak it in.

























Once he's actually popped the question, and no longer has to keep the TARDIS hidden, he'll have time to set things up properly in the studio and take some really good photos.