1/24 Porsche 956 Door Hinges

[bikouros]

Hey guys


After finding an old set of resin doors for a 1/24 Porsche 956 that I had ordered years ago, I decided it would be perfect to use them on my new project of restoring my old Tamiya Porsche 'Rothmans' 956 instead of junking it. Everything fits well and I'm sure it'll look great. My only problem is I have no idea how I'm going to hinge the 956 doors. I thought about hinging it from the top of the sidepods, but it would be wholly inaccurate. After looking at real photos, I really have no idea how the real doors even stayed on the car, with its forward/upwards swinging motion. I've considered just removing them entirely when displayed. I've seen people glue them in the open position, but if possible I would prefer opening and closing.

Does anybody have any ideas? Any pictures of people who have hinged 956-962 doors? I'm willing to scratch build something if necessary.

[lemansnut]

Haven't looked at it lately, but the Scale Motorsports "Up Close and Mechanical" CD I'm sure has some good detail shots. I live right in West Bend if you don't have a copy and would like to borrow it.

Mike

[bikouros]

I think I'm good on detail shots. I'm trying to figure out how to even hinge it. I had to go with a car who's doors swing upwards!

Maybe if they made 1/24 hinges...

[MPWR]

Kinda hate to say it, but I don't think you're going to find a workable solution to hinge the door. In 1/24 the upper hinge would be absurdly tiny- there's simply nothing you could make it from that would be close to scale, yet would be strong enough to hold up to an anemic fly's sneeze from across the room. Even pinning the door open in a realistic fixed open position would be a pretty good challenge.

There's more than enough great detail on the 956 to replicate as it is- don't make yourself crazy with utterly impractical stuff.

[bikouros]

Yea, I had considered that I might have to bite the bullet and just remove the doors from the car when I want to display in interior. Especially considering the width of the door frame is miniscule. Well, thought it was worth a shot on here. Thanks!

[MPWR]

It's also worth noting that even with the doors open, the cockpit of the 956 is not easy to see. The seats would be visible, and if you remove the lefthand side seat the fuel pump system would be visible. But the dash is dark and in the center of the car- not particularly easy or rewarding to see. Open doors reveal the 956 cockpit to be what it is- a dark little cave.



On the other hand, it would be hard to come up with a car that shows off its engine better than the 956 does. Wire the ignition system and plumb the fuel system and turbos, and the Tamiya kit very much comes alive. Put it on stands and detail the brakes- leave the wheels off to show the novel double calipers. There's lots of great stuff on this car/kit, but the cockpit isn't really where it's at (and neither is it under the front cowl).

[bikouros]

Wow, looking at the photo, I really do wonder how on earth the doors stayed on with just a small metal hinge holding the entire door aloft! I don't know how I'd ever figure out how to replicate that. But yea, I see what you mean. Thankfully I've spent a while wiring the engine so, I'm pretty happy with the result. Okay well, I'm still working on painting the body, hopefully I'll have some completed photos up soon.

[drunken monkey]

Originally Posted by MPWR

There's lots of great stuff on this car/kit, but the cockpit isn't really where it's at (and neither is it under the front cowl).

yeah but these race cars look fantastic with front and rear opened.

[bikouros]

Thought about it, but I don't have enough spare parts to build the front end. And my scratch building skills are minimal at best!

[nugundam93]

just a wild idea...try to look for Chris Harris' twitter and ask him how the doors hinge. he's driven a 956 courtesy of Porsche's invitation

[p9o1r1sche]

I did this several years ago. Hinges not 100% accurate, but it works.

link:
http://public.fotki.com/kensar/models/porsche-956/

[ScratchBuilt]

On the subject of 956/962-related goodness, over on freisinger-motorsport.de they've just started posting restoration shots of three cars: 956-113, 962-147 and 962-167. It's early now, but by the time they're finished it'll be a great collection of reference photos. Saving them for a potential future project right now...

Regarding the 1/24 hinges, I agree with MPWR - even in 1/8 scale I could imagine these being a frustrating exercise, let alone a smaller version! Maybe you could cheat by using something flexible like thin nylon thread to actually hinge the door to the frame, but use the detailing to disguise and support the joints?

SB

[bikouros]

Yea, I thought about using other things then hinges. My main issue is the thin framing between the door and the front window. I don't think I can even hide a normal metal framed hinge that I've seen on your average side opening cars.

And thanks for the pics p9o1r1sche. Where did you get the hinges?

[p9o1r1sche]

The hinges are P/E pieces from Detailmaster stock car hood hinge kit, I believe. The hinge pins are monofilament nylon, heated to mushroom the tips. I believe I put the hinges together before gluing them on the body and painting them. They have to be bent to the right angle so they wont bind when the doors are opened.