Door Hinging: how to

I realize that I am making this post in an era of magnetization, in which models are almost always magnetized to maximize the number of options available to them. And this is an excellent idea! However, I have yet to see a tutorial using magnetization (please point one out to me if you have seen it!) in order to make Land Raider and Rhino/Razorback doors articulate on their hinges. With a great deal of ignorance, I tried a few things out, and surprisingly, they seem to have worked. Here is my method of hinging transport doors, for your consideration.

Materials needed:
Pin vice
Wire clippers
Staple(s)
Green-stuff
Model (duh)

Step 1: First, you have to decide that you really want to do this to your doors. Once this is done, there is no going back in terms of being able to magnetize options effectively. Once that decision has been made, get your model ready!

Step 2: Drill holes into the sides of the hatch jam with your pin vice. An example is below. However, I would suggest drilling one of those holes at a straight on 90 degree angle for ease of installation later. I put in two 45 degree angle holes to help hold the staples in, and while it worked fine for the first, the second staple was a real bugger to get in. Again, your call, but save yourself some of the hassle.

Step 3: Drill holes into the door hinges.

Step 4: Get a single staple, and carefully cut it in half with your wire clippers. The best method for doing this and still being able to find the pieces, I found, is to hold the staple with two fingers of your non-cutting hand on your work-mat, and clipping with the other hand.

Step 5: Put half of the staple into one of the door hinges, and the second in the other. Hold them both in, and clip them in the center area to get them down to size.

Step 6: Finagle your door/staple monstrosity into the holes you drilled into the frame. The fit should be pretty snug.

Step 7: On the other side of the frame, either bend the staples towards the center of the frame, or swivel them down next to the frame and trim off the excess (the latter is a lot easier.)

Step 8: Get a nice, big glob of green stuff, divide it in half, and smear each half over the exposed staple. (Example below. It's hard [maybe impossible] to see, but there is still part of an exposed staple on the left!)

Step 9: Admire the majesty of your now articulated doors! Since the fit is so tight, the staples will be held in place by a combination of pressure inside the jam and green stuff smeared on the inside of the frame.


And that's that! I hope it's inspired you to not skimp on making those doors articulate now, because it's really not that big of a deal. One word of caution, though: NEVER try to shove anything through a small hole with your pin vice. The bits WILL snap, leaving you up a creek without a paddle.

As always, questions and comments are welcome, and if you've magnetized hinges, by all means, show me! I would love to see your work!