Back to the Big

[Arno Boudoiron]

beautiful 

[Chuck Doan]

Thanks Arno!

I finally made some photo-worthy progress.

Here is the door being test fitted. The finish is the same method as the previous parts. The frame is .09 thick wood. The left stile is working loose; there is a tenon visible-just. The door panels were made from .015 mahogany plywood which was thinned to about .006. It's hard to get a picture that shows the de-lamination. I glued the plywood over bits of strip wood to get the effect and split the bulges as per prototype door weathering.





The decals were made like the previous Lucky Strike decal. I did use thinned Polly Scale to fill in the white (instead of gouache) and I did a low pressure soda blast to thin and chip.
The key drop lettering on the mail slot was found on a prototype motel door photo and turned into a clear decal overlay. The other signs were made from pictures of decals found on the net.

I struggled for a bit trying to decide on a window treatment. I had first thought of old venetian blinds, but the prospect of messing with 80 plus pieces did not thrill me. I came across a picture of some newspaper covered windows and decided that would be easier.

The newspapers were done like this:
I found and copied interesting pages from the internet and cleaned them up in Photo Shop Elements. I make the background pure white to avoid dots when printing. I copied the artwork onto a Word document and sized them to a scale newspaper width. I make several copies of each on the sheet, and I vary the brightness on each to create a faded look. They were printed on Epsom matte presentation paper using the Best Photo option on my printer. I also turned off the High Speed checkbox in the advanced options. This makes the best print. I cut the pages out, leaving some extra width around the edges, then I sanded the paper thinner and used a sharp knife to cut to size to fit the panes in my door.

I started the finish using a Golden Oak Minwax stain pen on the backside. This imparted a brown/yellowish coloring. I washed the pieces in Acetone which lightens the color and imparts some mottling. I dabbed the pen around the sheet and then used a brush full of Acetone and a photo lens cleaner bulb to wash and blow dry the added coloring, which creates some nice color variations seen on old newspaper. I sealed both sides with Dullcote and dabbed some thinned Gouache to add more staining. I lightly moistened the back of the sheet which caused some curling, and when dry I installed them inside the windows using small pieces of strip wood to trap them, thus avoiding any glue distortion. I made some tape remnants around the edges of the lower left pane using Micro scale decal film which was applied with thinned white glue.

The closed sign was printed on the same kind of paper, and lightly scuffed with an ink eraser. Then the Oak stain N wash method was used to age it a bit.

The mail (and key) slot bezel, doorbell, lock plate and doorknob were all 3D printed.







Here is the backside of the door showing the method of attaching the newspapers. I am reluctant to show off the fine work back here, but I assure you that with enough practice and a few adult beverages, anyone can achieve this level of craftsmanship!

[Ray Dunakin]

Incredible! Nothing gives it away as a model.

I love the old newspapers, the various decals, and the delaminated plywood.

[artizen]

A...R...T... !!!

[Frederic Testard]

Splendid. I particularly love the old color of the news paper.

[Gordon Ferguson]

The temptation is to try and make some clever or sarcastic remark.

But all it really needs is silence to just sit back and try to appreciate and absorb the quality of this work.


Wonderful.

[finescalerr]

The exterior is adequate. I was inspired to equal your level of craftsmanship on the interior side of the door but still fell short. Altogether, most satisfactory. -- Russ

[JohnTolcher]

Truly brilliant stuff Chuck! It's more than just the skill of execution but also the choice of subject. Real art!

Cheers
JT

[TRAINS1941]

So much to see.  So much to learn.

A true artist.

Jerry

[Malachi Constant]

Here is the backside of the door showing the method of attaching the newspapers. I am reluctant to show off the fine work back here, but I assure you that with enough practice and a few adult beverages, anyone can achieve this level of craftsmanship!

Yeah ... I think I could make a reasonable facsimile of the BACK of your door ...  ... but the front does look a wee bit more challenging!  Great work ... and thanks for the notes on the newspaper treatment, etc. -- Dallas

[Hydrostat]

I don't know what to say, but saying nothing is no option at all. Aside of the ingenius artist shining through it the "Sorry, we're closed" sign makes this a melancholic masterpiece. Thank you very much for sharing this.

Volker

[Peter_T1958]

Hi Chuck

Thanks a lot for those wonderful pictures and the "how to do" (I've  spent a lot of time in translating that ...  )
What I'm asking myself all the time: In reading your thread it seems never something goes wrong in your projects, you simply manage everything. Is all that experience or do you need a lot of try and error too?

Also speechless,
Peter

[Chuck Doan]

Thank you for the nice words! Peter, what you don't see is that almost every part was done at least twice. The first door frame was too thin, so I redid it thicker. I did the door panels twice. After I installed the glass and putty I decided my first window muntins were too thick, so I smashed them out and made thinner ones. Each decal was done at least 4-5 times before I liked them. The closed sign and newspapers were done at least twice each. I decided at the last minute to make the door hinged, so that took more time. No, things rarely work the first time for me. 

[artizen]

So you are human after all?

[lab-dad]

Gentlemen!
I am sourcing funds to mount an expedition to the trash heaps of somewhere in California (need to find out where Chuck's garbage goes, actually where he lives might help too).

One mans trash is another's treasure!!!!!

Thanks for the info on the build Chuck.

-Mj