Here''s today's release from MiniArt. A subject seen everywhere in the world but, until now never been done in styrene in 1/35th scale; 35522 - PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE. Images of this New Release can be seen:

Link to Item

If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!

Damn, but this would look good with a TRAM going underneath it!

This is the kinda thing that ISN'T period specific which is awesome

I really like scratchbuilding things, but this one is a great time saver and looks fantastic.
Hardly possible to scratch this one more convincing.

Claude

This really looks cool. Just one thing though... the space between the high poles in the middle doesn't look wide enough for a street to run through it. I guess it would only work with single train tracks.

Hope it won't be too espensive.

Hisham

That's an interesting point although, with the construction, I don't think it'd be too difficult to buy two and and expand them? The supports are there which is half the battle.

Well, seeing real life examples regularly - Warsaw has quite a few of them, one being near a major courthouse I visit occasionally - I'd say it is a bit on the small side. Still, there are at least three things that can be done with it, namely:

a) using styrene, it can be quite easily stretched and widened - I do not have pictures, but most bridges I've seen are at least twice as wide as this one, modern ones that is,

b) stairs from ground level to the first platform can be attached on both sides (needs two sets and a little surgery, but can be done),

c) different supports, especially concrete ones (for larger bridges that is a must) can be easily scratchbuilt. Plastic or metal tubes covered with Mr. Surfacer 500 will suffice, at least for rough concrete.

Other than that, looks like in terms of cheap and versatile diorama parts, Miniart takes the cake once again. And, my earlier comments on improving it notwithstanding, the bridge is a nice little kit. Pretty accurate, too.. there is a real world example standing next to the railway station in my wife's hometown. Heaven only knows how many times I've been walking on it back when we were dating.

It seems like this kit would solve the problem of the short bidge:
http://miniart-models.com/35531.htm

The sprues look like exactly the same as the ones included with the pedestrian bridge.

I love all the new stuff from Miniart to bad it takes a while before it gets to the market... I know if the bridge was available today...... I would wip out the credit card and have it along with a couple of other items from this company.....

Michael

I have such kit and finding any pictures is very hard. Thanks for the heads up and because of the WEB we can get so much information from our friends on the other side of the ocean! Should I look for photo's in Warsaw? Any thoughts would be a help.

Thanks

I'm not quite sure what you want pictures for - these were most commonly used to cross mainline railroad tracks, although it usually was two tracks wide, as mainlines commonly have a track allocated for each direction. My experience disagrees with the suggested tram usage, as trams operate in cities at relatively low speeds and with frequent stops, so people just walk over the tracks - which are usually embedded in the street anyway. No doubt there are exceptions.

I believe this is known as a pedestrian overbridge in the UK, and most/many stations had/have them, although they tended to be much more lacy there - especially the railings. They were less often used in the US - perhaps even rarely, and with very few remaining. If you want to check for photos of typical usage in other countries, I think it's best to first find the name for it in that language, and then search.

These parts are common to all the MiniArt kits using stairs with railings, such as the 2-story ruined factory corner. Be aware that the railing posts are extremely fragile, and you'll probably break some during assembly. It does lend itself to bashing, but is not cheap.

A possible way to double the utility of a single kit is to have it cross something and then exit to a higher level in a city, which would also increase the spatial interest.