Taking it to the Bridge

Recently, I've got quite interested in using different heights in my fantasy town. For one thing, having buildings on platforms and the like adds to the messy, unplanned feel of the town and makes it more visually interesting. For another, different levels have special effects in Mordheim: you could use them to leap onto your enemies, and to help marksmen choose their targets.

So, I decided that I needed a bridge. I bought an MDF kit from TT Combat, from its Venice range, and got to work. The basic model went together very easily, and was very good value, as a lot of their kits are. It was quite big for Warhammer scale models, but what the heck.

The out-facing parts of the bridge were well-detailed, but I felt that the inside of the railing could do with a bit "more", so I added a rail along the inside top and some pillars, made from thin plasticard. I also used DAS clay to hide some of the more obvious MDF joins.

I felt that it needed to look a bit more "twiddly". I've not gone for the classic Mordheim terrain look, of adding skulls and corpses to everything, as this is meant to be a city in daily use, rather than a cursed ruin. That said, I stuck four spikes onto the railing for extra gothicness (they're cake decorations). A couple of gargoyles were added to the front of the bridge. They came from an ancient terrain kit from back in the good old days.

Then I painted it grey, highlighted with light grey and bone, and washed it with browns and greens, to suggest dirt.

It looks fine, but I felt that it could do with a bit "more". I thought it might be cool to give it a guard post or toll booth halfway along its length. I made one from scratch out of plasticard and wooden coffee stirrers.

The booth got a little stove, also made from plasticard and a bit of plastic rod, to keep the watchman warm at night. This was probably a bit excessive, as I then hid most of the stove with a Mantic armchair. It's anachronistic, but then I'm not exactly striving for historical accuracy here after all.

The shed was roofed with cardboard tiles, as usual (I wonder how many cardboard tiles I've cut out over the years?). I gave it a sign from the terrain bits box, which I painted in what seems to be the heraldry of this town.

Here is the finished bridge, together with its guard post.

Not the best pictures I've ever taken, but you get the idea!

Here is the bridge in its natural environment.