The Bridge at Kimmelsbrücke.

Babbington's Legion marches across the bridge, en-route to their new employment.

An aerial view.

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This blog received it's 5,000th visitor yesterday, and to celebrate here are some pictures of the finished bridge!

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Known as the Three Kings Bridge, this crossing of the River Eisenwasser at Kimmelsbrücke was built in the late 15th century using the Gothic style of architecture. It took nearly ten turbulent years to construct, during which the then-Kingdom of Dunkeldorf saw three monarchs come and go. To commemorate these kings three busts were placed over the bridge spans. The bridge was fortified at the time of construction: the two towers were taller and broader and included gates and a portcullis to prevent hostile forces from crossing the river.

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In subsequent decades the expansion of the Empire saw the need for a defended bridge decline and the gates became a marked inconvenience. In 1695 the towers were rebuilt in their present style. They currently include offices for customs & excise officials charged with collecting taxes and tariffs from those using the bridge and from river traffic passing beneath. Local legend has it that if any boatman should dare try to pass without paying his fee, the masks of the kings will belch forth flame and incinerate him - a legend stoked most assiduously by the customs officers...

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The bridge and the town of Kimmelsbrücke lie within the Grand Duchy of Hetzenberg, on the west bank of the Eisenwasser. Only five miles to the east lies the uneasy border with the Margravate of Dunkeldorf-Pfühl.

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Some dimensions: Overall length = 24 inches. Height of towers = 9 1/2 inches. Height of central arch = 2 1/4 inches. Constructed from Hirst Arts molds using Herculite 2 industrial-grade plaster, with some foamcore and card components. Paintwork in acrylics, with Klear varnish treatment. I'm open to commissions - if anyone wants a similar bridge, contact me at:- kirbycane822 @ hotmail.com (close the gaps - email harvester programs prowl these sites) and we can talk terms.

The Bridge Project - assembled.

The three bridge spans and towers - paint test on right bank tower base.

A boatman's eye view .

The three main components.

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Progress is being made! All the major construction work is finished. It only remains to make the quaysides from which the bridge will spring, and I'll begin work on those this weekend using 1" blue insulation foam as a base. Once all is assembled, the bridge will be painted with Klear (Future in the US) polish to seal the plaster, followed by blocking-in the stonework with a sandy-ochre color using Crown-brand "eggshell" paint designed for use on plasterwork and wood. A small test patch can be seen on the right of the middle picture. All finer paintwork such as weathering effects, the tower sides, timbers and roofs will be done in acrylics. The interiors of the spans were painted before being fixed in place.

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As mentioned before, all major construction was done using plaster casts made from the versatile Hirst Arts molds. The roofs are of card with the tiles cut from individual strips and the whole treated with Klear for additional strength. For ease of transport the model was built in three sections which will rise to five when the quaysides are done. This has the added benefit of allowing me to insert different central spans over time, such as a broken one showing a bridge demolition, and perhaps a Dutch-style double drawbridge to allow passage by masted vessels. The figures posing on the bridge are natives from my Daftest Africa campaign world awaiting their basework.