Boy do I love bridges. For me, there is no such thing as too many bridges. And they don’t all need to be for the trains either. In fact, for this article I decided to build a nice N-Scale laser cut wood foot / roadway covered bridge. This bridge kit is made by GC Laser Innovations, P.O. Box 621, Genooa City, WI. 53128. (815) 354-6627 (www.gclaserinnovations.com)

This project is a bit “off the beaten tract” for me. This kit is the first I’ve built made from a product called “Micro-Plywood”. The material is made just like real plywood, but of course much smaller. I found the material very strong (just like the real stuff) and easy to work with.

Keep in mind that I’m not going to cover every single aspect of construction. The instructions that come with the kit will take care of that. I’m just going to give you a basic flow of the process, so make sure to READ THE DIRECTIONS! (What a novel thought…) Now let me show you how it all went together.

PHOTOS #1 & 2

This bridge kit came nicely packaged with all the parts that are needed for construction, except the glue. I find for wood kits, I like to use my old friend Elmers white household glue. This stuff seems like it was made for these types of projects.

The process of cutting out the parts with a laser leaves clean even cuts. In fact, some of the parts just fell out of the wood blocks. The one thing I would have liked to see come with this kit is a better photo of the finished product. There is a small grainy picture of what it should look like, but I could have used something larger.

PHOTO #3

This kit came with a one-page instruction sheet. On one side you’ll find a nicely detailed drawing of the bridge parts, along with a side and end view of the completed unit. On the other side you’ll find the step-by-step instructions for construction.

PHOTO #4

As I mentioned earlier, I haven’t worked with this type of kit before. When it was time to think about coloring, I just wasn’t sure what to use. If I used a paint or wash, would it warp the micro-plywood? Hummmm….. I didn’t want to take that chance. So it was time to try something entirely new for me. Why not try some of my weathering powders? They shouldn’t damage the wood!

As you can see in photo #4, the weathering powders worked GREAT! OK, it took a bit of time, and you have to be very careful or the powders will get ALL over the place. (There’s that old “voice of experience” again) But the finished coloring turned out much better than I could have hoped for. I’ll have to use this technique again!

PHOTO #5

In photo #5 you can see how nicely the colors came out. The colors turned out to be an even “dull coat” with highlights in the recessed areas. And to top it off, it allows the natural texture of the wood show through. Nice!

PHOTO #6 & 7

The next step is to remove all the small parts from the backing. To accomplish this, simply use a sharp hobby knife and look for where the parts are still attached. You don’t need to cut along the entire part; just a touch where it’s still attached will do best. Take your time here as the small parts are very delicate and can damage them easily.

PHOTO #8

Now that we have everything all apart, it’s time to start construction. The first step is to insert the floor decking beams into the wall sections. Make sure you reference the directions, as you don’t glue everything when it first goes together. (Like now) I found I had to enlarge the holes just a bit, so be careful and take your time.

PHOTO #9

The first gluing that is needed will be for the two sections of the end walls. When I work on these types of wooden kits, I like to put some glue onto a bit of scrap and apply it with a toothpick. Elmers dries (mostly) clear, but you can still see it. It’s better to be a little light on the glue and have to come back to add more later, rather than to have big unsightly dried “globs”.

PHOTO #10

After you have let the glue dry for a while, it’s time to install the flooring. There is a bit of a trick with getting the floor through the end wall openings. You need to “bend” it to get it to fit. This isn’t easy, as this micro-plywood is very stiff. It unnerved me a bit, but worked. I wouldn’t advise trying this until the glue has dried on the end walls, or you might just pull them off.

PHOTO #11

The next step is to attach the cable supports. I found the laser cut holes weren’t quite large enough for my old eyes, so I re-drilled them a little bigger. This step isn’t difficult, but is time consuming.

Be careful with cutting the length of these support wires, as there is just enough to go around. I was a bit too generous with the length, and ended up having to use one that was a wee bit short (Ah…. The learning curve). After you get all the wires in place, go back and straighten them all up. Now things are starting to look like a bridge!

At this point the instructions became a bit “fuzzy” They directed me to attach some of the smaller parts, but were not real clear as to exactly where or how they went. Forgive me if my bridge doesn’t come out exactly as the manufacturer wanted it to. But this IS a hobby after all! Moving right along……

PHOTO #12

A thoughtful touch with this kit is the interior wall sections just inside the end walls. When in place, they cover up just enough sidewall that you can’t see the wire ends from the supports. You also install some other small details at this time.

PHOTO #13

It’s time to install the roof supports. There are little slots for the tabs to slide into. They are a tight fit, but if you take your time the slots hold everything together nicely. Make sure everything is fully aligned and seated before you move on any further. I added a drop of glue to the joints after all of the supports were properly in place.

PHOTO #14

Here comes the real test: Did I make the bridge “square” and flat, or is it not? In photo #14 you see me attaching the roof sections. I found that my bridge was just a little “off-center”, and unless you look real close you can’t tell the roof is not exactly right. Take your time and make sure all the edges hang over the walls at about the same distance. I then put small weights on top of the roof sections and let the glue fully dry.

PHOTOS #15 & 16

It’s time to finish things up. You might have noticed all the little tab notches along the wall edges. Come to find out, they all get covered up with the trim quite nicely. Be careful with the glue, as you don’t want it to be seen when finished. And you’re done!

This was a fun little bridge kit that I would rate at just a little bit above a beginner level. Without counting the drying time for the glue, it probably took about three hours to complete. And the finished product is much nicer than I had expected when I first took the kit out of the wrapper.