FABRICATING THE TARDIS 'SIEGE MODE' CUBE
The making process of any prop always starts with a concept that has been 'locked' and agreed by the Doctor Who art department. The cube was designed by Chris J Lees who provided me with this fantastically rendered drawing. I requested a vector based drawing mapping out the design. This would ensure the Gallifreyan designs would meet in the corners to create a continuous pattern.
The vector art work was then transfered on to the laser cutting software and each face engraved onto 10mm clear perspex. Each face was then cut out ready for the next stage.
By a stroke of luck (honestly it wasn't deliberate!) the dimensions of the cube were identical to the 'Power of three cube', one of the replicas that we already manufacture here at Rubbertoe. Using one of our black cubes I transferred the printed out design onto each face of the cube to familiarise myself with the three dimensional piece and check all lines met.
I then transferred the six faces over to the bench sander to bevel the edges, and then adjusted the bed to a 45 degree angle. This angle was then triple checked, it was very important to have a true 45 degree angle on all sides as this would ensure the cube would assemble well without any gaping gaps or holes.
Following the beveling of each edge, I lay out the six pieces in a collapsed cube formation and taped the joins together ready for folding into its final cube shape. There were no gaps and the pattern joined up perfectly so I continued to glue the cube together and prepared it for a coat of grey primer.
Once it was checked over and any small gaps filled, the cube was ready for moulding with silicone. The art department agreed that to use a buffed aliminium finish on the cube would be best. This process is called cold casting and involves adding aluminium powder into a resin when casting your object. Once the resin had been cast and cured the cube was given a light buff and then stippled with a light blue ink. It was then buffed again to remove most of the ink leaving a metalic surface with a hint of Tardis blue remaining.