While it has been nearly a year since our last dual build, the newsstands, we return with our next project, Pigeon Coops.  Like the newsstands, pigeon coops can be found all over the world and just about everyone unique, so the possibilities can be endless.

We begin part one with my design and then will go to another design built by N scale co-creator, Frank Giacobbe in part two.  Enjoy the articles and who knows, you might learn something new, I know that we did.

The Design

While searching for a design of a pigeon coop that appealed to me, I discovered that there is a huge variety out there.  The majority are cobbled together from whatever lumber or metal the owner could find.  Others are done very nicely with patios for the owner to relax on and other amenities.  Sizes also varied greatly.  Some were a simple frame wrapped in chicken wire and some were a two story pigeon coop campus.

For my design I wanted a more standard and well built coop, but one that has been used for a few years.  I actually found full plans produced by Penn State for an 8×8′ “pigeon house” that can be modified for other forms of poultry.  I figured that this would leave allot of the guess work out because I am not exactly an expert on keeping pigeons.

Construction

Base

By following the plans, I basically built this as you would the prototype, well sort of.  I started by building a base for the house to stand on.  First I cut a scale 8×8′ square from some .010″ sheet styrene.  Next I cut 5 pieces of .010x .020″ & 3 of .020x .020″ strip styrene.   I then glued on the five .010″ strips to the sheet evenly spaced apart, about two feet on center.  The three .020″ squares then went on top & perpendicular to the .010″ strips.

Walls

I added 6 scale foot long .020x.020″ in the corners and in the center of where each of the three wall sections are going.  While the glue was setting up, I proceeded to cut some .010x .080″ strip to 8 scale foot lengths.  To give it a wear & tear I cut a few areas out to make it look like the wood had split and been damaged, but only it a few spots.  I also left gaps between some of the boards to add to the effect.  I would finish a wall section and then move onto the next repeating the same tricks.

The wall on the front obviously was a little different.  I already had the posts in the corners because of the other walls, but I needed to add two more to frame the door in.  The door is going to be about 2 scale feet wide and 6 scale feet tall.  So I spaced the two posts accordingly.  I then started to add the strips to close in the front of the coop.  I went up 3 strips of .010x .080″ and then one strip of .010x .060″.  I then added strips of .010x .060″ across the tops of where the windows would be.  Next I took a strip of .010x .125″ and cut two pieces to the the scale 8 foot length, marked the center point on the long side & cut my slopes for the roof.  I then glued these pieces into place on the front & on the back.

To finish the walls, I had to add trim to the corners of the building & around the door and windows.  The corner trim was simply made by forming an L around the four corners by gluing .010x .030″ & .040″ strips together.  For the door & window trim I used .010x .020″ strip cut to fit around the openings.  To create a simple sill beneath the windows, I turned some of the same strip on its end & glued it into position.

Painting

Before I could add the roof on, I had to add the acetate to the windows, & before I could add the acetate, I had to paint.

I decided on using a green paint quite as dark as olive drab, but I still wanted to be close to that shade, so I decided to use Polly Scale Pullman Green No. 414284.  I sprayed this coat on and then decided to give the paint a good weather beaten look, after all it is out in the harsh elements all the time.  I dry brushed on a little Reefer White No. 414113 to hopefully achieve this.  It did a good job but not quite what I wanted.  I decided to try to gently attack the paint with a wire brush, this worked great.  I then proceeded to paint the base with DRGW Bldg. Brown No. 414256 & weathered it as well.

I could now add the acetate in for the windows.  To give the illusion of separate panes of glass, I gently scribed a horizontal & a vertical line in.  I then glued the acetate in and I was ready to move on.

Roof

For the roof I cut a piece of .005″ sheet styrene so as to give me about 12″ overhang on all sides.  I then bent the sheet down the middle to form the ridge of the roof.  I then glued it into place & making any adjustments needed to center it.

I cut some .010x .020″ strip to 1/8″ long to become the exposed rafters.  I glued them into place with the ends intentionally left long.  Once the glue sets up I came back through and trimmed the rafters.  I then painted the underside of the roof to match the rest of the building.

For the roofing material I used corrugated metal that was cut into small sheets and then glued in place with CA glue.  I also built a simple cupola from some .080x .080″ strip.  I filed the top to match the pitch of the roof as well as the bottom so the two would mate.  It was then painted the same color as the rest of the building.  With the cupola in place, I added a few pieces of the metal roofing to the ridge and on top of the cupola.

I weathered the roof with washes of light gray’s & tans, then with Polly Scale Rust No. 414323 to achieve the aged roof.

The last item to add was a simple door built from a few strips of .010x .060″ butted into each other.

Pigeons

Now making pigeons in N scale sounds pretty intimidating, but surprisingly was not that bad.

I started by cutting a square piece of .010x .080″ strip.  By using photos found online for a guide, I roughly cut out the profile (without legs) of a pigeon or more specifically a Rock Pigeon, which is the more common variety found in metropolitan areas.  Once the body is cut out, I glue it to a tip of a toothpick with the tiniest amount of glue.  Set aside and let the glue set up so you can work on it later.  I next add a tiny drop of CA glue to both sides of the body.  Once setup, your pigeon now has some girth to it.

I painted the whole pigeon a light gray and after it had dried, I added a little bit of a dark gray to the head and tail feathers.  I also dry brushed a few streaks on the body to give the illusion shadows.  Next I added a little green to the necks, and when I do this step again in the future, I will take it a little easier on the green.  Lastly I gave the birds a light coat of india ink/alcohol.  For something this small, I didn’t feel that it was necessary to add legs because whatever I would try, would be oversized.

I then glued the pigeons to the roof of the coop and then I had a finished project to finish off the roof of a future apartment building.

Conclusion

More than any other part of this build, making pigeons was my favorite part.  Ever since I built my Dominion Trust Building, I have wanted to add pigeons to my buildings, but I have never spent the time to figure it out, until now.  Every building I make from now on will have at least one pigeon on it, I cant wait for the fun of adding them.