Bodies of water in general and rivers in particular have always played central parts in military history. An opposed river crossing is widely regarded as one of the thorniest of all tactical problems. Forcing a river line is such a bloody and difficult job that as recently as World War II a great number of Allied soldiers put their lives on the line to seize control of the strategic bridges that offered access to the heart of Nazi Germany. In short rivers and bridges are a big deal to RL generals.

They are often just as important to tabletop generals, which means that having a nice river and one or more bridges in your scenery collection can allow you to quickly and easily create a variety of tactically interesting battlefields much different and more interesting than the typical scattering of hills and forests.

Well-known US resin terrain maker Armorcast produces a really nice stone bridge that’s well-suited to a variety of settings. While it’s probably most at home in a fantasy milieu, the style is neutral enough to work with just about any time period after the Middle Ages. It’s wide enough for most 28mm vehicles, including many tanks, and I could easily see WWII panzers and Allied troopers struggling over it.

I don’t especially like painting terrain, so it’s always nice when I find a piece that paints up quickly and easily. This bridge certainly fits that description. I basecoated in grey, picked out a few of the stones in different colors for contrast, and then did a fast drybrushing job. Total time invested was maybe two hours, and the results are really impressive-looking.

The detail sculpted into the bridge is the main reason it’s so easy to paint. Plenty of texture on the rocks and the seams in between them makes this a dream to drybrush. Were I to do it today I would have added some inks to bring out the detail even more, but I painted this a long time ago before I really understood such techniques.

Resin terrain can often be quite expensive, which is why I was pleased to see the price of this bridge has hardly increased since I bought it many years ago. I consider the $21 MSRP to be very reasonable for such a big, impressive hunk of terrain.

My only real criticism of the bridge is that it is perhaps a bit too narrow. Troops on common Warhammer Fantasy infantry bases will only fit three abreast, and I seem to recall that five abreast is the most common frontage. It could be argued that a choke point like a bridge should logically force units to break formation in order to cross, but considering that such an operation in Warhammer involves removing a unit’s troopers from their movement tray, moving them across the bridge (perhaps over two turns) and then getting all the minis reassembled on their tray, I wonder if just making the bridge just two ranks wider might save a lot of work all around.

I have a lot of resin by Armorcast in my collection, and this piece exemplifies why that happened. It’s sturdy, well-made, full of detail and really helps dress up a battlefield. Even if you’re using a felt river having a nice resin bridge like this will help bring your table to life. Minor size quibbles aside, this one is well worth adding to your terrain box.

Pros: Very good detail, Paints up quick and easy, Fairly priced

Cons: Perhaps a bit too narrow

Final Verdict: 4/5

MSRP: $21

Source: Armorcast

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