I'd go for the real door & in white. You can always change it later if you don't like it.

Chris.

You could always split the difference--especially since you're using real hinges.*--Make a working door and just put in a photo of a telephone.  You could always cut out the box later. 

*I wanted the look of the Barnett box hinges, so I made fake, nonfunctional hinges for my fakem, nonfunctional door. 

Oh, and I was keeping it simple when I said white and white.  Because there are certainly instances of a mismatched door and windows on real police boxes.  But I think the same color looks much better, so if you do white windows, I'd do a white door. 

Quote from: moonbeam on Feb 24, 2020, 08:15 pm
If it helps I'm doing a newbery which I think had a fixed telephone door panel, but I'm goner make it a working one cause I've always liked the scene in logopolis where the (newbery altered master's Tardis) is in the console room where the phone is hanging out every time adric keeps opening it and each time Tom keeps putting it back in the deeper they go. Always really liked that scene.

I never knew that I wanted to do that 'til now..  Thank you!

Again great comments and clarification. Here is a picture of what it looks like in place...

So at the moment, I am not sure about my phone booth door so I thought I would move on to the lock!

I've never put a lock on before so it was a little nerve wracking drilling into the door! But it's turned out well and already very exciting to turn the key...

A little update on the features around the sides of my box.



It takes quite a while to do 8 things to finish each panel.

1. Cut the wood to size.
2. Paint the back of each wood to protect it.
3. Fill any holes (they were originally wood panels from a kitchen!)
4. Paint an undercoat.
5. Glue and screw them into place
6. Use filler to cover gaps
7. Sand it all down.
8. Paint it blue!



I now have all the wood ready so I just need to get going as the weather warms up in Sunny Sheffield!

Off topic, that's a magnificently rustic old wall. 

It is about 300 years old!

A little update!

A couple of updates for you all and a question to ponder...

I've been putting the panels on the left and painting it. I thought this side has gone the best so far. It needs another coat but what do you think?


My question is about the roof. From the picture you can see that I put up a mock roof to try out the height. I'm 6'6" so I have altered the measurements for my box so the door is 2m in length. What I didn't quite consider is how high the roof would look! The height of the box is 5 inches higher than the standard measurements.


I feel like I should alter my roof design to either a 1966 Brachacki 'Cut Down' or alter the design to do the steps for the roof in my own design. I'm torn as I love the 'Cut Down' roof but also the steps! Any thoughts to how I should proceed?

Obviously it's your build and it depends on how set you are on a particular look--either of the Barachaki props in this case.  Personally, I think I'd go with a stepped roof in the style of the TYJ or even an actual police box.  More work, but it will make the box look less...boxy?  Monolithic? 

My build started from the general dimensions of the Barachaki--but with "good enough" cost-cutting concessions.  Eventually I decided I wanted it to look more like the actual Barachaki prop (although I kept some police box details like the blue "POLICE BOX" signs, lock placement, etc.  And then one day I decided to cut down the cornerposts and add another step. 

I loved its old look and sometimes miss it, but I'm very happy with the stepped roof look. 

Could you make a roof that can be swapped over depending on your mood at the time?

You might like to consider creating the illusion of a stepped roof by cutting your existing roof off level with the top of the existing corner-posts. Create a smaller top tier to which post caps could be attached at the corners. So, something along these lines:



I hope this helps.

T

Thank you for the suggestions! Really appreciate it. Tony - thanks for the diagram! Great article on the original prop too. Fab read.