The Chapel Door Panels....
I Might have mentioned a time or two, Dear Readers, that The Castle project was undertaken many years ago with a great deal of enthusiasm and a quite minimal "plan" of action. The structure was going to be built from plywood in three basic "blocks" which would allow for moving and constructing in stages. The general idea was that I would finish the lowest room in each "block" before attaching its ceiling, which would be the floor of the next room up. The higher room would not be built until the lower one was substantially completed. I immediately built the three "rough" blocks that comprise the basic structure, with floors cut and loosely "shelved" in place but not attached. With three sections to work among, I still had plenty of flexibility about which room to be working on at any time. I had not yet decided whether there would be "opening front walls" or whether the entire structure would remain open on one side (as most American designed dollhouses are). I was pretty sure I would want those opening front walls eventually... but that was years down the road. And of course, you know I did add those opening front walls, already many years ago, but had not thought out the entirety of their construction. They were added as a single panel split in the middle and hinged at both sides for each room. Meanwhile, many other parts of The Castle had seen "upgrades" to the original structure... window and door trims... corner "strengthening" structural pieces and ceiling "trim rocks" galore. But the opening door panels were pretty much still just the plywood panel hinged to open. But over time and use I have come to realize some structural upgrades are needed for these opening door panels! Specifically, they need to overlap where they meet in the center (they don't always meet exactly evenly!) and they need "backstops" to keep them from being pushed too far inward. And since I am currently embarking on The Chapel front opening panel windows and trims and paintings.... what better time than now to tackle this large topic? The above picture shows you The Chapel and the room above it with their opening front walls removed... with flash so you can really see the structure in its bare bones.
Here you can see The Chapel opening front wall
with the doors attached, lying aside for repairs.
This is the view you will not be able to see
once The Chapel is completed,
the interior side of the opening wall in its entirety.
I had already "roughed in" the paint and basic outline
for the two remaining murals (The Annunciation
on the left and The Tower of Babel on the right)
two years ago when I last worked on The Chapel.
You can also see the newly added stained
glass windows are in place.
And yes, the painting for the Annunciation
will have to be split on one side.
This is unfortunate, but unavoidable,
and at least the picture will be largely intact.
You can also see I have cut away a section
of the "rock" edging that runs along below the windows.
This is to make room for the "door overlap panel"
that needs to be added.
Here you can see I am gluing the door overlap panel
to the right side panel (as seen from the interior),
and weighted it with my measure tape and a lovely block of agate.
I have left the door panels hinged to the outer wall
to be sure the alignments stay accurate.
I gave the opening door panel a test in place.
You can see from the outside it is the left hand door
that has the now added overlap panel,
which will not show on the outside.
It covers the crack between the doors
on the inside when they are closed.
Here you can also see I have added a "door stop"
at the very top on the inside of the arched opening.
It hangs just low enough to stop the doors from pushing inward.
And here I have started painting the overlap panel
to resemble the rest of the wall structure....
rocks below, mural above.
And because part of the Annunciation mural
will land on this overlap panel...
I needed to transfer the design to the panel
and align it carefully with the other portion.
And adding the basic colors to the mural section...
starting with the glorious blue background.
And adding the golden canopy and red framework.
Here you can see the entire wall with the overlap panel.
And with the interior window trims for the Chapel windows in place!
I had constructed these two years ago when I last worked on this room.
I can't tell you how glad I am that I added the opening panel overlap
before I finished the wall murals!
And here you can see the opening wall propped up vertically
to show light coming through the windows.
Its not a great picture, but it gives you an idea
of the effect from inside The Chapel.
Well, it might be an Afterthought, Dear Readers,
but these little additions make a huge difference
in the structural soundness of
The Chapel opening door panels.
