Introduction

Bailey Bridge Standard Bridge is the first injection molded plastic kit from Artitec. This 1/87 (HO) model is item 1870140. An extension kit is available and allows modelers to create a Bailey of a variety of lengths and load bearing factors. It is due to be released at the end of December, 2018.

For your edification, I have included an engineering website look at the difference between UK & US Baileys. You can access it via Click here for additional images for this review, below.

Artitec describes this range of Baileys as:

The Artitec kit consists of two parts: a basic kit, containing enough parts to build a standard light bridge, and an expansion Set that allows for heavier constructions. Multiple expansion sets can be used to to create double or even triple Bailey bridges. From short light bridges to cross a small stream to heavy bridges on pillars crossing a ravine: the sky is the limit!

Artitec of the Netherlands was founded by modelers and their passion for the hobby is obvious.
Artitec produces a wide range of models of railroad, military, maritime and automotive subjects, and related accessories - over 260 in HO alone. They also make kits in 1/72, 1/120 (TT scale for model railroading), N ( 1/160) and Z (1/220). Predominately of Dutch, Belgian, French and German prototypes, these models consist of resin and some have photo-etched metal parts.

Bailey Bridge

Col.Robert Stout: Tell our British cousins to hustle up some Bailey crap….

Lt. Colonel J.O.E. Vandeleur:When you refer to Bailey crap I take it you mean that glorious, precision-made, British-built bridge which is the envy of the civilized world?

That exchange in the movie A Bridge Too Far was my introduction to the legendary Bailey bridge. An ingenious design of modular heavy engineering equipment, in World War Two soldiers said the three best-known names were Eisenhower, Montgomery and Bailey. Indeed, the Bailey bridge is still in use in hundreds of locations around the world.

The system was the brainchild of Sir Donald Coleman Bailey. The English army entered the war with bridges of only 17-ton capacity. Sir Bailey created a modular portable, pre-fabricated, truss bridge design of 35-70 tons capacity that could be carried on light trucks and erected manually.

Bailey bridges continue to be extensively used in civil engineering construction projects and to provide temporary crossings for foot and vehicle traffic. There is even a company in Alabama that builds Bailey bridges. The design was even used during Desert Storm, by SFOR in Yugoslavia, and even in Afghanistan.

Artitec Bailey Bridge

The model is packed in a end-opening box, decorated with an image of the assembled model on the front, and parts and the extension kit on the back.

Inside are 50 injection molded parts several brown sprues of bridge structural members, road deck pieces, and a 19-page booklet. The parts are:

• 8 x Deck Pieces
• 14 x Transoms
• 14 x Panels
• 4 x End Posts, Male/Female
• 4 x Base Plates & Bearings
• 6 x Bracing Frames

The parts are cleanly molded without flash, noticeable seam lines, ejector circles or sink marks.

The assembled structure is 6 deck sections long with a ramp on each end, for an approximate length of 80 scale feet.

Detail

Artitec put a lot of effort into this model. The cleanly molded pieces are not chunks of styrene. Holes are molded through the transoms. Fine clasp brackets are molded to the ends of the panels. Each deck panel is molded with simulated lumber on the top and stringers on the underside.

Instructions

Artitec guides assembly with a high-quality booklet. It is black-and-white line art supported with shaded illustrations. Three languages are used: Dutch; English; German.

Twelve steps guide the assembly of the basic kit. Several more steps show how to make double and triple Baileys, as well as building Bailey piers and Bailey towers.

The booklet also includes a history of the Bailey Bridge. Load capacity and configurations are presented as well.

Only Humbrol is referenced for paint and only two colors are mentioned: 155 Olive Drab Matt; 110 Natural Wood Matt. I was told by a site member that...

If you are building an American Bailey, you need to paint it all US olive Drab... All US Baileys were OD. If you are building a Commonwealth Bailey, then you need to paint it all SCC2 Brown (commonly referred to as "fresh dogsh!t brown") as all Commonwealth Baileys were Brown, no matter what theatre or what year. This was to prevent American parts from being mixed with the British parts.*

Conclusion

Artitec's 1/87 Bailey Bridge is their first injection molded plastic kit and it is an excellent introduction to that material.

This is a model I am very excited about building. It appears to be easy to assemble. Molding is excellent. Detail is high. True to the Bailey design, Artitec's extension sets can allow modelers to create amazingly impressive structures. Being scaled to 1/87 - which is HO in model railroading - and being that Baileys were also used for railway bridges, Artitec gives us the potential for exceptional scenes - static on a diorama or animated on a railroad layout! Baileys are also used for civil infrastructure and are still being erected today.

My only minor complaint is not listing UK colors for the Bailey.

Artitec's Bailey Bridge is an exceptionally exciting kit for 1/87 modelers. It is valid for military and civilian scenes, from the early 1940s to today. Highly recommended!

Please remember, when contacting retailers or manufacturers, to mention that you saw their products highlighted here – on Armorama.

* Thanks to Paul Roberts, Past Editor Boresight, Armor Modeling and Preservation Society.