This project was made in 2023, and spawned another couple projects to incorporate into a diorama photoshoot I wanted to do. Please see the Chibi-Robo build for more pictures and details.
In the game Chibi-Robo, these doors are scattered around the house that the game takes place in. I thought it would be fun to have one sitting around in my house as decoration, or a sort of Easter Egg.
This build started with two aluminum panels. They are 3/8″ thick, but the back 1/8″ is an angle bar that I designed to notch into place on an acrylic backboard for easy installation. The shallow radius on the front was a painstaking ground using a belt sander. It took a while to get right.
Next, I made the yellow panel to sit under those out of stacked acrylic. It was much easier to shape this part than the aluminum.
The eyes are a couple push buttons with some laser cut octagons around them to give that polygon-with-a-round-bitmap-texture look.
The “welcome mat” is mostly stacked laser cut acrylic. I put a clear matte piece on top to make it kinda look like a flat texture, as it is in-game. I think in person it sells that look very well.
I then sanded the top and bottom of some PVC pipes to make some rails for the front and back, capped off with some large countersunk bolts, just for effect and weight.
That white back panel from before got built out for thickness, had its corners rounded, and painted blue. I also made some custom decals for it from cut vinyl.
I then made a silver back panel, which interfaces with the blue panel with two rails, allowing the blue door to slide up and down. I also made a plug outlet, which notches into the side of the door with tabs. The outlet itself is able to turn 90 degrees, as in the game, Chibi-Robo turns it to unlock the door. The door and welcome mat were joined with a piece of angle bar that slots into both. Gotta plan ahead for that sort of stuff.
Finally, I made a coin to put inside, just in case anyone ever tries opening this thing while it’s on my shelf.
