1/13" Scale 13th-15th TARDIS

[msharif3d]

Hey everyone,

This is my first thread on this forum here! I thought I'd make a proper thread than posting replies on a seperate thread, plus it'll help organise my posts a bit better. 'Hope that's alright with the moderators and members of this forum!

So as the title says, I'll be constructing a 1/13" scale TARDIS from the TV series, Doctor Who. Growing up, Doctor Who was one of my most favourite tv shows to watch as a kid. I started watching the "David Tennant" era when he took the role back in 2006 as the 10th Doctor. It's still is one of my favourite shows! I have a small, but growing, Doctor Who action figure collection and I wanted a TARDIS to accomodate my 13th, 14th & 15th Doctor action figures! I think the most prominent company who are making Doctor Who figures are Character Options (or Character Toys), they've been really decent at them! They did make a TARDIS for the 13th Doctor figure back in 2020 but, it wasn't screen accurate, they had to re-use a classic TARDIS mold due to budget cuts which is perfectly understandable.

I decided to take matters into my own hands and try and attempt at constructing a more screen-accurate model kit, it'll be made of wood and the kit is designed by Jamie Bate. Jamie Bate is well known within the Doctor Who Collector community for his impeccable model kits as they're more screen accurate to the TARDIS props of the series. A DW Figure and Merch reviewer, Batmanmarch, has constructed many of Jamie's kits and it turned out quite well!


Content creator, PB Props, has also made a video of him making a similar looking TARDIS kit as well!


Those videos from PB Props & Batmanmarch has inspired me to have a go at constructing one of my own and the current TARDIS prop used is one of my favourite designs of the TARDIS box exterior! Here's an image of what that box exterior looks like:

I love the design of this exterior, to me it sort of brings all the elements of the previous TARDIS props, both from Classic & New Who, and combines it in a very nice design! The kit is made up of MDF wood, and the parts are taped together, but they need to be glued when constructing the kit. I'm hoping this'll turn out well, this is my first time constructing one of these sets and I wouldn't consider myself as a traditional artist or woodworker, so there may be some blunders here and there. But I'm hoping for the first time, it'll be a smooth process overall...?

 

[ChaiLatte]

Just out of interest, would you know why 1/13 was chosen as the scale? It seems a strange number, particularly when 1/12 is one inch to the foot, so would be a lot easier to draw or measure.

 

[msharif3d]

I've mentioned this initially, here @ChaiLatte

I have a small, but growing, Doctor Who action figure collection and I wanted a TARDIS to accomodate my 13th, 14th & 15th Doctor action figures! I think the most prominent company who are making Doctor Who figures are Character Options (or Character Toys),

Though I did forget to mention that the action figures are 5.5 inch scale, and on Jamie Bate's website, where he sells his TARDIS kits, the 1/13" scale is most suited for the 5.5 inch Doctor Who figure range. Also the pieces and parts should be pre-measured and laser cut by Jamie himself, but I'll double check measurements and such, to ensure that each piece fits together, when I receive the model kit through the post

 

[paulrbarnard]

Just out of interest, would you know why 1/13 was chosen as the scale? It seems a strange number, particularly when 1/12 is one inch to the foot, so would be a lot easier to draw or measure.

More to the point @msharif3d how are you dealing with the different scale inside the tardis? After all it is much bigger on the inside than the outside.

 

[msharif3d]

More to the point @msharif3d how are you dealing with the different scale inside the tardis? After all it is much bigger on the inside than the outside.

Haha It'll only be an exterior model, no console room interior sadly

 

[treeturner123]

What a shame you won't be doing the inside. It seems like a great space to store all your spare timber!!

Phil

 

[msharif3d]

What a shame you won't be doing the inside. It seems like a great space to store all your spare timber!!

Phil

Please watch the two videos so you can better understand what I'm trying to make...

 

[pip1954]

Would be good to build a full size one as a cupboard to store all your figures in .
Phil.

 

[msharif3d]

Would be good to build a full size one as a cupboard to store all your figures in .
Phil.

Maybe that's something I'll consider in the future. It's a good idea though. Right now, I'm just making a 1/13 scale model of the TARDIS box to put up on display with my other Doctor Who figures.

 

[Cabinetman]

Not a collector so please excuse my ignorance, isn’t there a disconnect? the model will be about 2 feet high and the model Doctor is only 5 1/2”? Surely the Tardis should be about 7” high?
Edit, I wonder what common street thing they would use if they were filming it today?

 

[ChaiLatte]

...isn’t there a disconnect? the model will be about 2 feet high and the model Doctor is only 5 1/2”

Your disconnect is also disconnecting me. Where do you obtain the 2' high measurement from?

Let us assume the 5 1/2" model figure is representing someone 6' (72") tall. 5.5 x 13 = 71.5, so 1:13 is a good scale for a 5 1/2" high model human.

There is a photo above of the full size version with a full size person standing in front of it. The model would be in the same proportion as the photo - judging form the panels on the door (the person equals three panels), there is another panel above his head plus the roof (one panel-equivalent). Thus the model Tardis would be roughtly 5/3 x 5 1/12" = 55/9 or 9.2" tall, plus a bit more for the beacon.

 

[msharif3d]

There is a photo above of the full size version with a full size person standing in front of it.

Just to add an addendum: the photo above of the real TARDIS prop was just a reference image of which design I'm constructing the model kit of. It was the only decent one I had in my gallery of reference images

This design is, at the time of posting this, is the current one for the TARDIS Police Box exterior designed by Arwel Wyn Jones.

I'd thought I'd also add a picture of what the constructed kit will look like when fully assembled. This also features one of the Character Options 5.5" 15th Doctor figure, to give the model a sense of scale.

This photo was done by CustomWho, he has also purchased this TARDIS model kit from Jamie Bate:
https://bsky.app/profile/thedaveshep.bsky.social/post/3lckyo2o5es2o

 

[Cabinetman]

Your disconnect is also disconnecting me. Where do you obtain the 2' high measurement from?

Let us assume the 5 1/2" model figure is representing someone 6' (72") tall. 5.5 x 13 = 71.5, so 1:13 is a good scale for a 5 1/2" high model human.

There is a photo above of the full size version with a full size person standing in front of it. The model would be in the same proportion as the photo - judging form the panels on the door (the person equals three panels), there is another panel above his head plus the roof (one panel-equivalent). Thus the model Tardis would be roughtly 5/3 x 5 1/12" = 55/9 or 9.2" tall, plus a bit more for the beacon.

Well that’s odd, I managed to read that fraction a few times as a third! Need to get to Specsavers obviously lol.

 

[msharif3d]

Hey folks, it's been a while since I last posted on here.

My TARDIS kit arrived a couple of weeks ago and I've just gotten home from getting the paint, glue, brushes, etc., from B&Q. I'll be starting work on the model kit, tomorrow afternoon! 'Wish me luck!

 

[msharif3d]

Hey folks, me again! I've started work on the TARDIS kit today, so far I've glued in the base and the roof. I've also done two of the three panels as well!

 

[TRITON]

Looks really good. Do you know what the colour is ?


Interesting info snippet.

According to an author(former police officer) you can fit 3 policemen in one of these boxes(Skiving).
One sits in the chair. One sits on the shelf, and one stands.

 

[mwinfrance]

I bet you could fit a lot more, but they'd have to be very good friends.

 

[msharif3d]

Looks really good. Do you know what the colour is ?


Interesting info snippet.

According to an author(former police officer) you can fit 3 policemen in one of these boxes(Skiving).
One sits in the chair. One sits on the shelf, and one stands.

Thanks @TRITON

If you're asking for what colour of paint I'll be applying, it'll be a combination of blue, wish some shading of lighter blue here and there. I'll see if I can add some greeny-teal as well but, I'm not entirely sure. At B&Q they do tester pots for £4.25, and you get a lot of paint for a kit like this. I've gotten three colours, Lone Splendor, Mica Blue and Blue Dusk. They're under the "Valspar" brand which I believe is B&Q's in-house paint? I'll add a base coat with the "Lone Splendor" paint, let that base coat dry and give it a wash with one of the other blue paint. Then, let the wash dry and maybe add a second wash with the third blue paint. That, in theory if I'm not wrong... , should give it that various shading of the colours.

Once all the painting has fully dried, I'll be giving it a spray of semi-gloss lacquer to seal the paint, and to give it that sort of sheen to it. In certain lighting and/or environments the semi-gloss sheen can be seen in the real prop and sometimes it's not as prominent. If you're curious about which lacquer I'm using, it's Rust-oleum Semi-Gloss Lacquer. It's the only one that my local B&Q store had on the shelves. Anyway back to the TARDIS prop, I'll add a couple of examples:

EDIT: Out of curiosity, I've googled around people's experiences with B&Qs Valspar paint, and apparently it's not that great. I've just read some horror stories about the paint not getting good coverage or paint peeling!! I've not actually used this paint brand before so this'll be a first time so, hoping the painting process isn't as nightmarish as I imagine! Hopefully that coat of laquer should help seal and solidify the paint...

 

[TRITON]

Interesting info snippet #2
Police boxes are what they are known as, but their full title is the Gilbert Mackenzie Trench Police Box.
They were(in Glasgow at least) originally painted bright red.

 

[msharif3d]

Interesting info snippet #2
Police boxes are what they are known as, but their full title is the Gilbert Mackenzie Trench Police Box.
They were(in Glasgow at least) originally painted bright red.

I'm aware! And I'm aware of the original design and title as well

The police box designs from Doctor Who tend to differ from the original Gilbert Mackenzie Trench box design. And the design of the Televised props have changed from era to era. So to keep things simple I'll refer to them as police boxes or televised police boxes, along with the TV designers' names. This one I'm making is based off of the one designed by Arwel Wyn Jones!