Office Doors

rockislandmike

Active Member
Hey guys. I'm just wondering what everyone else uses for building doors for office-type buildings (such as the ones attached). Nobody really makes anything, and it's one of my biggest quandaries when I'm scratchbuilding.....

officemaindoors.jpg
 
C

Catt

For the doors on the left I would frame them up with strip styrene sparingly glued to clear sheets of styrene.

Another way (if the backside can't been seen) would be to build up the door frame on a flat surface ,then after plenty of drieing time edge glue it to the opening ,then glur a larger piece of clear styrene to the inside of the wall.Is this making sence to you?
 

spitfire

Active Member
For the type on the left, Micro Engineering makes a very good styrene door. Thicknesses seem to be quite prototypical.

As for the revolving door, I have never seen anything but imagine it would not be too hard to make, either using 4 pre-made doors, or entirely scratchbuilt.

And thanks for the great idea!!!

Val
 

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shaygetz

Active Member
I use clear styrene with the frame pattern scribed on. Then I paint the frame with silver paint, that way it looks like the "glass" is set in the frame and it doesn't end up too clunky looking.
 

jetrock

Member
Actually I am about to try a new approach to this for a structure I am scratchbuilding--a silver paint pen. You get these in art-supply stores, they dispense silver or gold metallic paint from a pen nib. They come in fine or broad tips. They draw extremely straight lines when guided with a straightedge--far superior to trying to draw a straight line with a paintbrush--and the color is actually pretty similar to the aluminum channel found in modern glass doors and store windows.
 

Woodie

Active Member
I got around the problem by taking digital pics of the dorrs (and windows) i wanted to use, reduced them, and stuck them ikn place.

If you zoom the pic in (or look really closely) then you can see my reflection when taking the pic!!. :eek: :D
 

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jetrock

Member
I have to admit that digital cameras and inkjet printers have to be one of the biggest boons for the model railroading hobby of the past 25 years--what DCC has done for command control, and laser-cut kits has done for craftsman kits, digtal imaging/printing has done for detailing!

Incidentally, my experiment with the silver paint pen ran into some hitches (the paint likes to seep under the straightedge, making it impractical for drawing lines in the middle of a window/door) but the results turned out pretty nice...I'll post them once I get the film developed or more AAA batteries for my digital camera (whichever comes first!)
 

MasonJar

It's not rocket surgery
Forget detailing... look at this photo by Bob Boudreau (Fundy Northern) that uses digital images for the walls of a scratchbuilt barn.

http://www.geocities.com/fundynorthern/PaperBarn.html

You can solve the pen bleeding under the straightedge by simply elevating the edge a fraction off the surface. (Remember the cork-backed metal rulers?) Just add a layer or possibly two of masking tape to the back of the straightedge. If you want to be fancy, try high-friction tape to avoid slipping while drawing/cutting.

Andrew
 
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