Doctor Who - Simple Fridge Box Tardis

by Icedvovo

38K10021

Intro: Doctor Who - Simple Fridge Box Tardis

A big blue Tardis Police Box is a fantastic item to decorate any Doctor Who party, but a Tardis can be expensive to make and then awkward to store once the party is over.

We made this simple Tardis from a cardboard refrigerator carton and some paint. Hopefully you can make it for under $20, less if you have existing paint.

The items you'll need:

Fridge carton - Free from a large electrical appliance retailer. Larger the better.
Paint - Blue for body of the box.  Rattle can black and silver for the details.
Roller or brushes.
Printer - to print out the signs and windows.

STEP 1: Box and Blue Paint

The first thing to do is paint the box blue. We used old-school blue enamel and applied it with a cheap roller that we disposed of afterwards.

Enamel gave us a nice glossy finish but took a full day to dry.

STEP 2: Stencil the Panels.

This step can be a bit tricky and took us a few goes to get right.

NOTE: Spray very, very lightly. Even the lightest spray will show up, and you can always add paint later.

1. Using cardboard stecils do the black first. You need a single panel at the top and then 8 panels in two rows.
2. Next do the silver highlight.  Moving the stencil up and to the left of the black, only spray along the bottom and right of the stencil.

STEP 3: Signage

Next you need to add the windows and the signage.

The windows were simply copy paper with Sharpie lines, and then glued on.
The other signage was printed and glued on. The images we used are included here.

STEP 4: The Finished Box

And here it is!!

We made two. One as an entrance to the party. We cut front doors with a box-cutter knife and removed the back panel.

The other was decoration.

Hope you've enjoyed this Instructable.

Cheers, Icedvovo.

19 Comments

ncheva4650 10 years ago

Looks great! Planning on building one myself with the instructions you have here. Does anyone know where I can get a fridge box (or any big box) without buying a fridge?

Icedvovo 10 years ago

I simply went to my local retailer. The bigger the better.

They have boxes for all their floor stock, and those that off delivery will usually bring the box back to base to be disposed of.

AlanW136 5 years ago

Here is my Tardis I made for a local "sleep outside in a box" event to raise awareness for homeless. A friend of mine asked "So you're really gonna sleep in that"... I said "Well, yeah, its bigger on the inside" :-) Btw, I won first prize for best decorated box. Materials were: a box (of course), spray paint, permanent markers.

crazycraftpro88 7 years ago

In my geekdom of a house, a normally built TARDIS would look absolutely normal. LOL.

DirtyRed68 9 years ago

Thanks so much for the design ideas. I just picked up a huge box at Home Depot for my 7 yr olds Tardis Christmas present. Got the paint at Michaels, just needed the signs. saved yours and printed them out. Im going to use clear cellophane to make windows (still will use sharpie for panes) I think Im having more fun than he is!

lisabower 10 years ago

AWESOME...thanks so much for sharing. I am in process of making tardis for my daughters 8th birthday...will share once complete....thank you thank you thank you!!!! :)

nfk11 11 years ago

hey you can buy the actual fridge on thinkgeek.

HazelPethig 11 years ago

I LOVE IT!! I am going out to find my own fridge box. My daughter will love this as the entrance to her bedroom!!

jordan555 11 years ago

doctor who fans on this site to

tinker234 12 years ago

wow amzing did you do anthing to the top

Icedvovo 12 years ago

Thanks for the comment. We left the top just as is, with the original flaps.

I was going to add a turret but we simply ran out of time. In the end I think the effect was achieved without it.

We can also flat pack it for storage.

We like simple here. :)

Icedvovo 12 years ago

Haha. Yes it was, especially when we put one at the front door.

Xolin 12 years ago

That's a really excellent and effective prop for a Dr. Who party - the signage makes it particularly effective. Well done!

jessyratfink 12 years ago

Well. It appears I need a giant box.

Fantastic work!