I failed to take any interim pictures of this build, but I would have had to be quick about it -- it's very simple.  1 piece of plywood, 4 pieces of pine, two hinges, a handle, and 14 screws.  The paint job took longer than the build did.

Looks good!

Looks great!
Bill "the Doctor" Rudloff

Whoa! Where did you get the sign from and what's it made of? (Or did you make the sign?) Is it close in size to the actual prop?

I know - lots of questions, but I just can't help it. I'm blown away by this. It looks, well, fantastic!

Dino.

Thanks!  The sign is printed on metal by a sign shop, though since I didn't go with the 'whoops, dremeled it' version of the weathering, I could have used anything really instead of metal.  It should be accurate to the 2005 prop for size.

I've been asked a few questions about the build, so I thought I'd post the details of the construction & painting here.

The dimensions of the door overall: 14 1/8" wide, 16 3/16" tall, and 1" thick. The frame is 1 3/8"-wide all around, 1/2" deep, glued on a 1/2"-thick plywood backboard. The sign has a 1/8"-thick hardboard behind it to bring it forward a bit.

The frame is built of smooth pine, so I made faux raised grain by running a rounded point repeatedly along the pieces of wood. I also distressed the edges and corners.

I used two coats of paint on the frame -- a really bright blue/turquoise matte tinted primer, and a matte cobalt blue top coat. The cobalt blue is rubbed off with a dry cloth as soon as it is applied. Once dry, I rubbed graphite powder into a piece of cardboard, and rubbed it flat against the raised grain.

To darken certain areas further, I used black tempera pigment powder applied dry with a paintbrush, then blown out, then rubbed with a damp cloth to get what remains to merge with the finish.

All was then sealed with a matte clear coat.

The sign itself was weathered strictly with paint, no actual damage was done to the surface. A very light application of Testors detail enhancer applied with a rag, scrubbed with a soft nylon brush to remove all but traces, and then several dark shades of tempera pigment powder dusted on that while it's still drying, and then rubbed down with a cloth.

The hinges are set into recesses made with a chisel, screwed shut, and painted & distressed. All the screws are given a bit of age, too.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Looks great deck. Turned out a lot better than mine...lol.

where did you get the sign letters from?

The metal sign was something I bought from a fellow hobbyist.  My work was the surrounding wood, handle, hinges, and all the weathering.