74 replies to this topic

[outlaw035]

hi...im starting a 34 ford pickup that im gonna chop and open the doors...here is my ques....im thinking i need to open the doors before i chop it is this correct.....thanks....neal

[Harry P.]

If you chop the top first, you'll have to glue it in place and then open up the doors. If you cut out the doors first, then chop the top, you'll have to take a similar amount out of the doors so they'll fit into the new, lower openings.

Seems to me the better way to go would be to remove the doors first, then chop the top and reattach it to the body, then trim the door's window frames to fit.

Either way will work, I guess.

[randx0]

you will probably have fewer problems cutting out the doors first.

[Corvette.Jeff]

so ive seen alot of models that have opening doors taht are not suposed to. my question is how do i do this? im going to be doing a custom semi/truck/lowrider and i want lambo doors on it i have seen some at a online store that a bunch of people use but i dont know what i have to do. so how do you guys acheive this?

these are the door hinges im talking about.

http://stores.homest...n-24/Detail.bok

and i want my doors like mr. big has on his chrysler 300.


THanks
-Jeff

[Peter Lombardo]

He is a link to how I made Lambo doors, and the hinges for a Chrysler 300 Touring wagon I built last year. Follow the pictures and the text and you should get an idea of how to make it happen. http://www.modelcars...c touring wagon

Good luck.

[Harry P.]

If you can wait a little bit, the November MCM has an excellent in-depth feature by Bill Geary ("Mr. Obsessive") on how to open and hinge doors, and how to create realistic hinges and doorjambs. Look for it!

[Corvette.Jeff]

yea i can wait to do it, but i think ima go with that other guy(peter?) idea, i have those little things.lol

quick question though, how did you get the doors to stay up?

[E St. Kruiser50]

yea i can wait to do it, but i think ima go with that other guy(peter?) idea, i have those little things.lol

quick question though, how did you get the doors to stay up?

Great questions

I hinge quite a few opening features on my projects, and have found that nearly each build presents it's own unique challanges, so I just keep designing and building until I get it right - HARDLY EVER THE FIRST TIME , so just be patient and don't give up. It's way too fun when you get it right.

Positioning the hood or trunk lid, for me is about the kind of tension I put on the bends of the brass, and not making it too tight. Practice is what it's all about, at least for me

Good Luck - Dave

Here's a couple I did. A couple of regular hinge's, and one with a double acting hinge, and the hoods are poseable in different positions.

[dryvr12]

i misunderstood a previous post abnd had a crazy idea. what if someone made a sliding minivan door that latched?

[Clay]

He is a link to how I made Lambo doors, and the hinges for a Chrysler 300 Touring wagon I built last year. Follow the pictures and the text and you should get an idea of how to make it happen. http://www.modelcars...c touring wagon

Good luck.

Check out this post, he did it to the rear door. And Peter, do you any in depth photos of how you did it?

[Corvette.Jeff]

afeww more questions, ive finally located all the necesary suplies to do a hinge(dang those things are hard to make!)
1. what do you guys use to glue the hinge to the plastic?
2. Dave is there anything you havent built?
3. what clay said.

[Clay]

Super glue works for me.

[MrObsessive]

I like to use epoxy to glue my hinges in. That way it gives me some time to align things and whatnot. It's a good idea to make sure the door is fully (and stays) closed while your glue/epoxy is setting up.

That'll ensure the door opens and closes without scraping or binding.

If this is your first time doing this, don't get discouraged if it takes several tries to get it right. Opening and hinging doors can be more about trial and error than anything-----it might take a few models to get through before you feel you've got it down pat!

[Foxer]

I've been looking through some old MCM's and have seen a few references to cutting out doors and trunks using thread .. even one by the Big Kahuna. I've used a jeweler's saw in my early days and now just the x-acto knife, but I've never heard of using a thread. I'd like to hear some input on this technique from those that use it. Like, what kind of thread, how long does it take, how to hold the thread (assume taunt thread is the best as a knife), does it leave a finer cut than the back of a knife blade, does it handle rounded corners better. etc. ,etc.?

[dwc43]

I heard the same thing, so I tried it once and never again. I was cutting the front clip from a 55 chevy to do a flip nose. It looked like ###### and took forever to do. AS the thread heats up, it will break over and over again. And it needs to be held tight. It does not corner as well as I thought it would either. I got me another kit recently. I took a micro chisel and used it to cut the front clip and trunk lid off. It did great and the panels match back up. Way better than the thread. I just used it's sharp corner dragging it along the original body lines.

[MrObsessive]

Well I tried using thread years ago to cut out doors when I was a much bigger me.........needless to say the model didn't survive trying to hold it in between my knees.

I'm not crazy about that method just the same.

I'd much rather use the back of an Exacto blade, and grind out the back side of the doors around the door line to speed things up.

[Harry P.]

Here's how I would go about cutting panels with thread:

1. Forget about it.
2. Get my knife and score the cut with the back side of the blade.

I know it's possible to cut plastic with thread, but why use such an awkward method when the old back side of the X-acto works so much better and easier? Like Bill said... when you're holding the ends of the thread with each hand, what's holding the model???

[MrObsessive]

My thighs were holding the model Harry...........Let's just say the model ended up rather bent!

[Peter Lombardo]

I open the doors of just about every model I build so I do it rather frequently. My favorite method is to first use a panel scriber tool from Squadron products. I find that it holds the line, in the early stages of the operation better than the knife blade.

If you are not careful, the knife blade, regardless of front or back of the blade, can easily slip out of the pre-scribed door panel line and gouge the adjacent fender. I find that if I lightly scribe the door panel gap with this tool, and then follow with the knife blade my success rate of not gouging the fender is higher. Once the first few cuts are in, I than revert to the knife and sometimes in certain situations where there is a long straight stretch of door gap switch to an exacto saw blade held in a number 11 holder to speed things up.

The only way to get really good at the process is to practice it all the time. Before long you will become proficient at the technique and try to work it in to most builds. I think it is a great little feature to include, especially on a coupe where viewing the interior is difficult without opening door access.
Don’t be afraid of the process, it gets real easy over time and practice. Also, don't overly concern yourself with the size of the gap. If it is too big you can very easily glue a space extender ( a strip of styrene ) to the door, sand it smooth and no one will every know that it was installed.

P.S. I have never tried the thread method to open the doors because I only have two hands and that technique requires at least three hands or very nimble knees which I do not posses….apparently neither does Bill Geary.

[Smart-Resins]

Well, I have never tried the thread. The thought intimidates me too much! Like Everyone else has stated, you would really need three or four hands to do this process efficiently. Though, I can imaging doing it with two hands. First, you would need mint flavored thread. second, you would need a small model body like a model T, third you would need a large moutn! Place the body into the mouth and start to cut out the doros while flossing? HEHEHEHE. Jody