My new haiduks crossing my new bridge (perhaps I'll start referring to this piece of terrain as die Neubrucke)
Greetings, fellow shut ins! As the subject line indicates, this is post-the-second in my terrain series--a series that consists of but two entries (see my aforementioned aversion to painting terrain). Having one rather generic pre-painted bridge in my terrain box, I had my eye out for something with a bit more character, not only with more detail but that also fit in with the look of the black powder eras that I game in. With nothing ready-made showing up to fit the bill, I finally caved and scooped up this unpainted resin bridge some time ago from a seller on ebay (sorry, can't recall the manufacturer). I primed it white, spray painted it gray, and then went to work to tart it up a bit further. Here are four not particularly imaginative shots of the finished product, for anyone who might actually be interested in how to (or not to) paint a similar bridge (as usual, you may clix pix for BIG PIX):
We'll call this perspective from the south end...
There it is. After the initial flat gray spray over all, I did the road bed in brown (obviously), and then covered everything with a black wash. After that, the usual highlighting and drybrushing followed with lighter shades of grays and brown. I also added some shades of green at the base of the stonework on the edges of the roadbed (damn crab grass and weeds!). I finished it off with a bare light gray drybrush ito bring out the wagon ruts on the road bed (a very nice detail in this piece). Now I have a proper bridge to use in my games.
Excelsior!
This is a good looking bridge!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jonathan!
DeleteVery nice work Ed - my aversion to scenery does not relate so much to painting as to purchasing - I would always rather spend my limited defence budget on troops rather than buildings or infrastructure!
ReplyDeleteInteresting angle on budgets & resource management--the good thing about terrain in that sense is that most terrain pieces suite multiple eras (as long as they are the right scale) and so are good returns on investment.
DeleteLovely looking bridge! I'm with Keith and don't like spending on terrain, it also takes longer because I have to do it in the shed!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Thanks, Iain: I find that terrain is also much more bulky (compared to figures) than I'm accustomed to, which extends time it takes for me to get it done (particularly if there are multiple items).
DeleteVery nicely tarted!
ReplyDeleteIf the game is set north of the Tees, one might say "tartened" :)
DeleteI think you did a fine job Paul the bridge, and I enjoyed the humorous prose. 😀
ReplyDeleteI see this often but don’t understand it much, but I never get why a stone bridge would have a dirt road over the top, shouldn’t you see the stones? I mean, I understand there would be some dirt on it but not a whole roads worth. I’m probably being overly picky about bridge sculpts. Or being grouchy. 😀
Hi Stew. I'm with you on the dirt road over the stone bridge contradiction. In the end, I decided to just do it the way it was sculpted and the heck with it.
DeleteThanks Ed. I’m sorry if I came across as critical bc I truly don’t want to be; just an observation on wargaming bridges. 😀
DeleteNo worries, Stew. Didn’t see your note as critical. My response was in the context of our shared perspective on the mystery of stone bridges with dirt roadbeds.
DeleteNicely done Ed...
ReplyDeleteYou remind me that I lack a decent bridge in my own terrain collection...
I have however got two unpainted examples in a drawer... somewhere 😁
All the best. Aly
Hi Aly, In the wake of your note, coincidentally, I ran across another bridge in the bottom of my terrain things box that I had forgotten I had!
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