The first modern LEGO door...

[LEGO Historian]

Most people think of the first modern LEGO door as the 4 panes door introduced in 1978 with the arrival of the first minifigs....

However there was a prototype door for the opening 4 pane door that came out 8 years earlier... before even any figures (before the 1973 introduced maxifigs and the 1975 introduce minifig "stiffs").

This door was the 1970 introduced Minitalia door. Minitalia was a LEGO System made only for the Italian market starting about 1970. The Italian Parliament had passed some legislation making toy imports very difficult, so TLG established a plant in Italy to make a slightly different construction toy for the Italian market. Although these toys had "LEGO" on the box... it also had "MINITALIA" in large letters on the box. These Minitalia sets were produced from 1970-75, with the windows/doors produced for Italy and Japan as LEGO sets until 1980... in unique #1 and #2 LEGO sets...

The slightly different Minitalia parts can be found here...

http://www.bricklink.com/catalogList.asp?catType=P&catString=394

Here is the first Minitalia 9 pane door design of 1970, next to a 1978 introduced LEGO 4 pane door design of 1978....

And here is the backside of the Minitalia and modern LEGO door (with some slight differences)...

The rare Minitalia style door wsa produced in only 2 colors... white from 1970-75... and black in a LEGO set with Minitalia doors/windows from 1976-80. The black doors are much rarer than the white ones.

Because these doors are compatible with regular LEGO... they are a highly prized addition to many LEGO MOCs... that like to show off this unique style door....

From Chapter 44 - LEGO Windows/Doors (1949-99), and Chapter 34 - LEGO Minitalia Sets & Parts (1970-80)... of my LEGO DVD/download.

Gary Istok

[JopieK]

Same thing for the famous green shutters apparently!

[Bricknblue]

That door is awesome, I wish LEGO went with that.

[lifeinplastic]

I wish there was a better selection of doors - mainly interior doors like white doors in a house without window panes or brown doors for an old hotel. The same applies to window shapes too - a much better range would be great.

I think the red door was part of one of my Mum's Lego sets we 'inherited'!

[LEGO Historian]

Same thing for the famous green shutters apparently!

Yes... those green Minitalia shutters (and the 12 pane 1x4x3 window) were the prototype for the modern LEGO shutters/windows. My friend Diana from the Netherlands provided this nice image and explanation about the differences between the 2 types....

http://www.bricklink...ic.asp?P=3856mi

I wish there was a better selection of doors - mainly interior doors like white doors in a house without window panes or brown doors for an old hotel. The same applies to window shapes too - a much better range would be great.

I agree 1000%!! LEGO is the world's leading construction toy, and it is a shame that TLG hasn't had as nice of a "window system"... like they had with the classic LEGO windows of 1956-86...

As seen in this old 1957-58 Danish 1231 retailer windows/doors box....

Edited April 22, 2013 by LEGO Historian