1:35 Large Stone arch bridge

1:35 Large Stone arch bridge - a large stone arch bridge in 1:35

This is not a kit of a vehicle or of an aircraft but a diorama building element of the brand RT-Diorama, which specializes in architectural and terrain parts for 1:35 scale. The subject is a large stone bridge with a vaulted arch, that is a structure of the kind built in Europe over streams, canals and railway cuttings, and one that played a key role on the battlefields of both world wars.

What role a bridge plays in a scene

A bridge is among the most rewarding diorama subjects of all. It brings a difference of height into a scene, it naturally leads the viewer's eye from one edge to the other and it offers several levels on which equipment and figures can be laid out. Under the arch a shaded corner arises, while on the deck there is an open road, which can be filled with a column or on the contrary left empty and tense. A stone vault is moreover neutral as to period: it suits the First and the Second World War, civilian compositions and postwar equipment alike.

Tips for painting and placing in the scene

Never paint stone in one flat color. Play the base gray or sand tone out by making the individual blocks slightly different, a dark wash will bring out the joints and a light dry brush will pull the edges out. Damp and moss belong at the foot of the piers and at the places where water runs down, not evenly over the whole area. Prepare the transition of the bridge into the terrain before you finish the scene, so that the structure does not look as though it had been laid onto the base.

Who the bridge is for

• Builders of more extensive dioramas with vehicles and figures in 1:35 scale
• Modelers who want to give a scene a difference of height and a clear composition
• Anyone interested in the European battlefields and in civilian landscape compositions
• Competition modelers, as a striking dominant feature of a scene