Building "Totoro" and "2001: A Space Odyssey" Themed Tissue Box Covers

While thinking of ideas for Christmas presents, I saw those ugly tissue boxes on our kitchen counter. That reminded me of a plan I had long ago, to cover those in some pretty wooden cases.
With the laser cutter at hand, I liked the idea of having some of our family favorites on there - which brought me to "Totoro". And while I was getting started, also the "2001: A Space Odyssey" movie cme to mind. So I built two of each.

Size and Design

I checked some of the tissue boxes that we had around from Kleenex, Puffs, and Great Value. They are all slightly different, but they all fit inside the following size: 4 3/4" x 4 7/8" x 5 1/4" (high). Their oval openings also differ, but all could be used with an opening of 3 3/4" (long diameter) and 2 5/8" (short diameter). I used two different approaches for the "Totoro" and the "2001" boxes: For the Tototro box, the figures a glued onto the box surface, so they stick out, while for the 2001 box, the figures are made as inlays.

CAD Files for the Laser Cutter

Step one is getting the laser cutter files done, using librecad. First comes the shape for the box.

And here are the two cutouts for the Totoros.

The "2001: A Space Odyssey" designs are cut into the sides of the box. These are an ape with a bone, Dave Bowman walking in his red space suit through the corridor while carrying the AE-35 unit, HAL 9000, and the Discovery One spaceship.  

Assembling the Pieces

Once everything is cut, the sides are cleaned from the burnt dust, ...

... glued, and held by rubber bands while the glue is drying.

The next step (not shown here) is to round the corners. I started with a disk sander and finished doing the details by hand. 

The painting is then the fun part. First some beige for the box, then grey, white, green, black, and purple for the Totoros and their tiny details. 

And here is the final Totoro Box cover.

And here are the same steps for the "2001" box.

The only difference between the two boxes is that the 2001 figures are made as inlays. This requires gluing some thin cardboard behind the box openings.

And here are the two 2001 box covers with their four different sides.

Building the Twin Pines Mall Clock from "Back to the Future"

Clocks are one of the main themes in "Back to the Future" - and also some of my favorite items for building replica props. Previously, I built three of those clocks, the one in the Time Circuits, the Harold Lloyd clock (as seen in the beginning of part I in Doc's house), one based on a photo featured in part III.

 

Part I of the movie also features another important clock which is part of the "Twin Pines Mall" sign (which, after Marty changed the timeline, became the "Lone Pine Mall").

I had this idea quite some time ago, and the electronic parts all at hand, when a posting of another build in the "Back to the Future Forever" facebook group inspired me to get this started.

Electronics (I)

The electronics is built around an Arduino Nano. 

The time is displayed on a 8x32 LED array, based on the MAX7219 driver IC - this looks rather close to the display in the original movie prop. The differences are that in the original movie prop the colon is not exactly aligned with the grid of the dot matrix, and the "AM"/"PM" displays use a smaller dot matrix). But for my purposes this is close enough.

For the real time clock (RTC), I am using the module DS3231 which I also used previously in the Time Circuits. This clock is very precise and it runs for years with a CR2032 battery. There is, however, one problem with this modul, related to the charging circuit which is supposed to be able to charge a rechargeable battery. As discussed in detail on this web page, the charging circuit would do damage to both a rechargeable battery or a non-rechargeable battery. So, the suggested solution is to simply remove a resistor (as indicated in the image) and to operate the module with a (non-rechargeable) CR2032 battery - and that's what will I do. 

I also add a light dependent resistor (LDR) to the circuit, so the clock can adjust the LED intensity based on the surrounding brightness.

My test-setup (using an Arduino Uno) works fine. 

Enclosure

The LED matrix defines the size of the unit - the enclosure is scaled accordingly to 5 1/8" x 21". The outer part of the enclosure is built like a picture frame using 3/4" thick and 3 1/2" wide pine boards, cut with a miter saw, glued, and sanded.

The additional pieces are cut with a laser cutter from 3/16" plywood and clear acrylics.

For the first time, I used the program inkscape, so I could cut the letters for "Twin Pines Mall".

Everything is painted using acrylic paints.

The pair of trees are made from two layers of 3/16" plywood plus two additional triangular pieces cut with a table saw.

This is the enclosure.

Electronics (II)

The electronics is soldered on a 6cm x 8cm PCB. First comes a sketch...

... and then the soldering.

Everything is connected...

... and inserted into the enclosure.

The Final Unit

Here it is: my "Twin Pines Mall" clock (with two Lego figures as a reference).