# Open doors



## riderdan (Jan 2, 2014)

One of the goals I have for my town is not to have all the buildings appear closed up. To that end, I've modified some of the windows on various structures to appear "open"--which you can kind of see in the image below:










This is a CMS building with the moulded-in window sashes cut out, then "opening" tilt out windows made and glued into the openings. Inside, the "room" is a small plastic box attached to the wall to keep the worst of the dirt and bugs out.

Anyway, I'm hoping to have at least one of the buildings have an open door. My current idea is to put a piece of plexiglass into an open doorway. Then I'll cut a walking figure in half and glue the front half to the outside and the back half to the inside to give a sort of "walking out the open door" impression.

Has anyone done something similar, or have other ideas you want to share about either modeling an open door or other ideas?


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

On one of my buildings I have put hinges on doors to allow them to be opened or closed as a experiment. I did this for about the same reason you did


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## JackM (Jul 29, 2008)

You gotta good point here. I like the idea of a person "walking" thru a doorway, but how are you going to slice a person in half vertically? Legs in particular, unless he's taking a long stride at just the moment he breaks the plane, etc. It'll be amazing if you can do it.

JackM


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## Phippsburg Eric (Jan 10, 2008)

I often have open doors... I am also not too worried a out who takes up residence. My line is in the woods... The is no stopping them anyhow


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## riderdan (Jan 2, 2014)

John J said:


> On one of my buildings I have put hinges on doors to allow them to be opened or closed as a experiment. I did this for about the same reason you did


Did you do anything to keep bugs/dirt out when you left the doors open?


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

riderdan said:


> Did you do anything to keep bugs/dirt out when you left the doors open?


No I didn't


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

On my freight house I left the doors open, but used hardware cloth to 'screen' the openings and to keep out the nibblers (critters).
Minimal details inside, just enough to guide the brain to see it full.

Through a side door you can see shelving inside. 
John


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## riderdan (Jan 2, 2014)

Totalwrecker said:


> On my freight house I left the doors open, but used hardware cloth to 'screen' the openings and to keep out the nibblers (critters).
> Minimal details inside, just enough to guide the brain to see it full.
> 
> Through a side door you can see shelving inside.
> John


Thanks John--that's an idea...

Some of my "closed" buildings have fairly detailed interiors. For instance, my station has a counter with a clerk behind it, and papers/books/a phone on the countertop. Most of the details are styrene or white metal, so moisture isn't an issue. There are cheap Chinese-made passenger figures seated on benches, etc. Because of the occasionally heavy rains here, and the fact that the ground cover hasn't fully spread, I try to keep the buildings mostly sealed to keep the 1:1 scale mud and mulch out. 

But in cases where the interior isn't as susceptible to that, or where there's minimal detail, hardware cloth would be a good choice.

D


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

riderdan said:


> Thanks John--that's an idea...
> 
> Some of my "closed" buildings have fairly detailed interiors. For instance, my station has a counter with a clerk behind it, and papers/books/a phone on the countertop. Most of the details are styrene or white metal, so moisture isn't an issue. There are cheap Chinese-made passenger figures seated on benches, etc. Because of the occasionally heavy rains here, and the fact that the ground cover hasn't fully spread, I try to keep the buildings mostly sealed to keep the 1:1 scale mud and mulch out.
> 
> ...



INK KO PA puts interiors in his buildings which I think is fantastic. I remember seeing a hotel on the on a layout that had a interior with a bed, night stand and light and wall paper 

JJ


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## Dick Friedman (Aug 19, 2008)

In-Ko-Pah is in a class by itself. A must see if you are within 100 miles of it!


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

I would be very interested to see how long an In-Ko-Pah building would last in my environment. I would be very honored to host one... but it would be a shame to torture it so!
Only my concrete buildings endure .....
The above mentioned Freight house is set back from the front, there is just enough detail to trigger the mind's eye to see more.
John


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## denray (Jan 5, 2008)

Take a cotton ball dip into the citinal oil, the mosquito oil that is burnt in smoke burners. place in an open building, keeps most all critters out, replace monthly.
Dennis


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

I have many open doors and windows. Gives the lizards a place to live.


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## riderdan (Jan 2, 2014)

This has been working out pretty well. Here's another one. This has a piece of acetate in the door to help keep creepy crawlies and dirt out. You can't really see the acetate, even though this picture was taken with a flash.


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