I spend a bit of time on eBay, looking for bargains and hard to find Z – scale stuff. Several weeks ago, these big Z bridges popped up. There are three to choose from - a triple girder and two super spans. I purchased the triple girder bridge in hopes of using it as a vehicle traffic bridge over the yard of my layout. Consider this a review and build for these bridges, however bank on it being a little long and drawn out due to a million other projects I have in front of me. Regardless, I wanted to get the word out about these NOW, because we know how quickly some Z-scale things come and go. Plus I’d hate for the individual offering these kits to quit offering them due to lack of interest because no-one is aware of them. INITIAL REVIEW From the pics I saw on eBay I was a little bit hesitant to pursue these at first. Realizing they were probably made out of a laserable material, I pretty much figured there would not be any support plates with neat little Z scale rivets and stuff like that. Plus I already have several of the ROKUHAN steel girder bridges sitting on the shelf, and I was pleased with the quality of them for the most part. The ROKUHAN units do have some decent detail to them, although I must admit it’s lacking in some areas. But the more I kept looking at these bridges, the more they intrigued me, and if I’m going to use them as an automotive vehicle bridge, then I needed something other than the ROKUHANs because those will be used for river crossing for rail traffic. Now these kits are on auction that starts at $50, and with a buy now price of $75. I went ahead and put in for the auction and won at $50. So that gives you a general idea of the cost. What I can say is that the $50 was well worth every penny. The quality of the cuts, and the finish are fantastic. The laser these came off of must be really dialed in because the cuts are crisp and clean, and the kit fits together very nicely. However, please note in the pictures below, I simply rubber-banded the assemblies together for the sake of demonstrating the assembled pieces. I am not fully assembling this kit yet as I plan to paint it first, and then assemble. Now, just as I suspected, there are no rivet or angle plates on the parts. However, this is where my 3-D printer will come into play and I may print plates and glue them on prior to painting. That just adds yet another project to my plate. But do not let this lack of detail stop you from considering these kits. Another interesting comment is that due to type of material, the color of the material and the burn in certain areas left by the laser really makes these bridges look wooden in nature. I can easily see them being used for an early era, all wooden bridge, and it would simply take a degree of wood stain washed across the surfaces to make these really interesting. For my use however, I plan to paint these flat silver, with a good degree of weathering. CHEAP SHAMELESS PLUG I’ve already reached out to the individual that is building and selling these kits, and an article for ZTRACK MAGAZINE he is already in the works with additional pictures. Although be advised that the article nor my conversations with the individual have affected this review. When I say, these are really nice kits, I mean these are really nice kits. Also, here are some comparison pics with a ROKUHAN bridge, which are taller in design and slightly longer. Final notes, you will see that I did not assemble the supports yet. I will in due time and post the pictures accordingly, but I may not use them as I will possibly use concrete style supports. Also, these kits are very minimalistic in part count. This was what amazed me, as there are very few pieces to assemble, yet the complexity of the finished product is astounding.
Cool, what is the material, and what thickness is it. I cannot tell so I suspect it is something like 1/8" masonite, but it might be thinner.
You are correct it’s a bit thinner and just a hair over 1/16 (.066). And yes, I would agree it does appear to be a very thin masonite.
Here’s some pics of the 19” and 20”Super Span bridges, and also the triple girder, which by the way is 24” long! And yes, all are Z-scale.
Almost reminds me of a highway bridge. But for $50 bucks, that's a good deal and could use it for either rail or road!
Exactly, that’s what I was thinking myself. In fact, I was hoping to model the Barstow bridge in Barstow, California, and this kit may be ideal for that. Although I may only use two of the bridges versus three.
Rob, knowing full well you know your lasers like no one else, I tell you this guy has his set perfectly. The assembly is just dead nuts on. Very tight and very precise. And the number of parts are so minimal it’s amazing. Yet it will yield a fantastically complex assembly. One thing I wanna try as time allows is to print up a bunch of angle plates with rivet details on them for each of the necessary beam joints. This would certainly be the icing on the cake.
