For a standard humanoid doorway in terrain for 32mm miniatures, I would start with a clear opening about 32–36mm wide and 40–45mm high. Use the upper end when figures have broad poses, shields, extended weapons or bulky armor. If miniatures on 32mm bases must physically pass through the doorway, treat 32mm as a practical minimum width rather than a generous target.
TL;DR: Measure the opening, not the frame
- Aim for approximately 32–36mm of clear width for ordinary 28–32mm-based humanoids.
- Use approximately 40–45mm of clear height for a typical human-scale fantasy doorway.
- Consider 45–50mm of height for grand entrances, bulky figures or easier handling.
- Measure the widest base and pose that must pass through, then add working clearance.
- Do not rescale connector-bearing terrain casually; scaling a door can also change its wall interface, sockets and connector fit.
The important measurement is the clear opening inside the frame. A door model advertised as 40mm wide may offer much less usable space once the jambs, hinges, threshold and decorative stonework are subtracted. Measure the narrowest point through which the miniature actually has to move.
Miniature height is only part of the sizing problem
“32mm miniature” normally describes the figure scale, but it does not guarantee a particular base diameter, pose or overall height. A lightly equipped adventurer on a 25mm round base and a warrior on a 32mm base with a sideways weapon can belong on the same table while needing very different clearance.
That is why doorway width should begin with the base and pose, not the nominal miniature scale. Useful planning ranges are roughly 28–30mm of clear width for figures on 25mm round bases and 32–36mm for figures on 28–32mm bases. Go to 36mm or more when large shields, weapons, scenic bases or repeated handling make a tight opening frustrating.
Height is a little more forgiving because players can often lift a miniature rather than slide it through. Around 40–45mm gives a human-scale doorway enough visual presence for many 32mm fantasy figures. A 45–50mm opening is useful for grand architecture, helmet plumes and bulkier models, but it will read as a taller entrance on the table.
Design for play, not just visual proportion
A doorway can look beautifully proportioned and still be annoying during an encounter. Narrow openings catch bases. Deep wall sections catch weapons. Low lintels make players tilt miniatures. A door placed beneath an upper floor may technically fit the model but leave no room for fingers to place or retrieve it.
Treat these as separate checks: miniature footprint, head clearance and hand access. Passing through the opening does not prove that the figure will be comfortable to position inside the room. This becomes especially important in stacked buildings and other multi-level terrain layouts, where upper floors and nearby walls can restrict access.
Before committing to a full building, place one of your broadest commonly used miniatures beside a printed test opening. Check whether the base passes flat, whether protruding parts snag, and whether you can move the figure without flexing a weapon or scraping paint. A few extra millimetres are usually less disruptive than a doorway nobody wants to use.
Door size and usable floor space must work together
A wide doorway is not automatically useful if it opens into a cramped room. Leave enough floor area behind the threshold for a base to sit flat without colliding with the wall, door leaf or nearby scenery. Corners deserve particular attention because the base may need room to rotate as it enters.
Wall thickness also changes the experience. A miniature may pass through a thin façade easily but snag inside a deep stone arch or tunnel-like gateway. Test the full depth of the opening rather than checking only its front face.
Grid conventions help organize the floor but should not dictate every architectural dimension. The current Dungeons & Dragons Basic Rules use 5-foot squares for square-grid play, a convention commonly represented by inch-based tabletop grids. The D&D Basic Rules explain the 5-foot square convention. A door can therefore align neatly with a one-inch floor module while its frame extends beyond the grid line or its opening is sized for better miniature clearance.
Match doors to the terrain system around them
3D Prints by Gary terrain is designed primarily around common 28–32mm miniatures, with an inch-based modular floor context and shared dimensional and mechanical standards across compatible pieces. Current terrain areas include dungeons, caves, wilderness, fortifications, buildings, and elevation and accessories. You can use the current modular terrain collections to choose a family that suits the encounter you are building.
There is not one published universal doorway aperture for every 3D Prints by Gary product, so do not assume every opening has an identical measurement. Check the current product documentation for the terrain family you intend to print, especially when combining doors, walls, floors and elevation parts.
Do not resize a mechanical part just to enlarge its doorway
Uniformly scaling an STL changes everything: the visible doorway, wall thickness, connector dimensions, sockets, floor footprint and elevation. A door enlarged enough for a broad miniature may no longer mate correctly with the wall or tile beside it.
For connector-bearing doors, walls, floors, risers and tiles, keep the supplied 100% scale unless the product documentation explicitly supports another scale. If you must experiment, resize all mating parts together and print a small representative assembly before producing the full layout. Visual alignment on screen does not prove that connector positions and tolerances will work after printing.
A practical door test before printing the whole build
- Choose the widest commonly used miniature base for the encounter.
- Measure the clear opening at its narrowest point, excluding the frame.
- Check the miniature’s pose, shield, weapon and scenic base—not only its body.
- Test the full wall depth and the floor space immediately behind the doorway.
- Place any upper floor or roof section that could restrict hand access.
- Confirm that the door and wall belong to the same documented terrain family or interface.
- Print one doorway and a short adjoining wall before committing to a full building.
For most 32mm gaming collections, a 32–36mm clear width and 40–45mm clear height is the sensible starting point. Then let your actual bases, poses and handling needs decide whether to go larger. Once the opening works, preserve the terrain system’s intended scale so that solving the doorway does not create a connector problem somewhere else.