This bridge kit is part of Academy’s nine kit series of models of Leonardo Da Vinci’s inventions. These kits are simple assembly with a limited number of parts, but are good instructional models exploring Da Vinci’s inventions.

The kit does not require any painting or cements for construction.

The arch bridge designed by Leonardo Da Vinci uses a self-supporting arch concept to distribute weight through the full curve of the arch.

The plastic parts are molded in brown plastic and include three plastic sprues plus 2 base pieces. The kit includes 24 plastic parts, instructions, and a lightweight cardboard box to store the parts. The kit has two levels of assembly, Elementary and Advanced depending upon the span length of the bridge. The instructions include some information about bridge types and design.

Matt Greenburg was at the Columbus IPMS Nationals with a new product. They were selling like hotcakes, and after seeing the demonstration, I bought one. As a Convention Special, Matt threw in a pair of extra blades.

The knife is special because the blade rotates to follow the movement of your hand as it changes direction while cutting. This allows very good control of the curves and angles of the cut. The business card below was cut by Matt with one sweep of the Gyro-Cut.

The trick is that you start the cut and move your hand along the line to be cut, and the blade follows. Because it is angled, the tip drags the blade into cutting position, even if the line cut is not straight. So it is possible to cut a curved or wavy line just by drawing the knife along the line, just like using a pencil to draw. Acute angles (less than 90 degrees) require a little finesse, but the knife can do it. You just stop at the angle and let the blade swivel before you go very far.

While this jig is sold by Vertigo-Miniatures on the web, the review item was supplied by Unique Model Miniatures, so a big shout-out to Jon of UMM!

Some Assembly Required

This Vertigo-Miniatures jig requires assembly, and that is just a bit ironic since it will be of considerable help to the hobbyist during the assembly process of one’s latest modeling project. Assembly is straight-forward requiring a little super glue and about 10 minutes of one’s time.

The instructions provide a parts list and a couple of diagrams which identify parts and illustrate how they are attached. Just follow the instructions and it’s a very simple process.

There are a few points about assembly that one should note.

Background

As described on the Osprey Publishing website, “Waterloo is one of the defining campaigns of European history. The name conjures up images of the terrible scale and grandeur of the Napoleonic Wars and the incredible combined effort that finally ended Napoleon's aspirations of power in Europe. Drawn from unpublished first-hand accounts, and using detailed illustrations, this comprehensive volume is the ideal resource for studying the intense fighting at the battles of Waterloo and Wavre, the final, decisive engagements of the Waterloo campaign. Those two battles are at the heart of this study, which explores the action at Mont St Jean where Wellington managed to hold the French at bay until the arrival of the Prussians under Blücher saw the Allies secure a hard-fought victory at the dramatic climax of the ‘Hundred days'”.

At the crescendo of the Second Barons' War were the battles of Lewes and Evesham. It was an era of high drama and intrigue, as tensions between crown and aristocracy had boiled over and a civil war erupted that would shape the future of English government. In this detailed study, Richard Brooks unravels the remarkable events at the battles of Lewes and Evesham, revealing the unusually tactical nature of the fighting, in sharp contrast to most medieval conflicts which were habitually settled by burning and ravaging. At Lewes, Simon de Montfort, the powerful renegade leader of the Baronial faction, won a vital victory, smashing the Royalist forces and capturing Henry III and Prince Edward. Edward escaped, however, to lead the Royalist armies to a crushing victory just a year later at Evesham.