Oriental Bridge

[porschecm2]

This is a small MOC I made for the May/June Seed part challenge. There's nothing really outstanding about this MOC, except that I had to use(obviously) the seed part, which is the minifig stand base. PLMKWYT!



One deeplink.

And the gallery, when public.

Also now a MOCpages Gallery.

Cm2

[Daimyo]

Man... Would it be cool to have a fuedal Japan Brickwar focused around that thing...

Looks good! Anxious to see more Oriental stuff!

[Snoopy]

That is a cool way to use those pieces! Very inventive. Nice design by the way.

[Brickboy]

I like the way you blended the stands on the bridge!
Alan

[Formendacil]

Looks really good! I just have to wonder if there is anything especially Oriental other than the figs and their stuff. The bridge itself looks fairly generic, or even European (to me, it looks kinda Roman).

[footsteps]

THAT is inspirational!! Thanks for sharing. I really couldn't think of anything to use that piece for. Now I may edit my bridge to use the same idea.

Alan

[porschecm2]

Daimyo: Thanks. I would think for that though it would need ends on it. A bridge with no access isn't much of a strategic point.

Snoopy, Brickboy: Thanks a lot!

Formendacil: Thanks. Ya, there's nothing particularly Oriental about it. I just built it as a generic bridge, but when I got done, it looked kind of Oriental to me, mainly because of the tan stone. So I stuck some Oriental figs on it, and called it "Oriental Bridge".

Footsteps: Wow, thanks. Be sure and show me pix if you do.

Cm2

[Formendacil]

Okay, I kinda expected that: I was just wondering if there was anything particularily Oriental about it. Obviously there isn't. That's okay.

[forester3291]

This is really cool! I like the cart. Would you happen to have any directions for it?(I am wondering about directions for the cart and not the bridge). Thanks

[jamitjames]

Like you said nothing outstanding but nice cart. Can we have the steps?

[porschecm2]

Forester and jamitjames: Thanks. The entire cart I actually stole directly from a previous MOC of mine, the Pole Turner's Shop V2. Unfortunately, I have yet to be able to get MLCAD and LDraw to work properly(I can't get a complete parts list-it corrupts files everytime), so I can't make instructions. But I do have some better pictures of it:

http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/porsc ... to0293.jpg

I'll try to get some more pix up tomorrow, and maybe some construction pictures. It's really a quite simple model.

Cm2

[Legomaat]

Looks really good! I just have to wonder if there is anything especially Oriental other than the figs and their stuff. The bridge itself looks fairly generic, or even European (to me, it looks kinda Roman).

A bridge is (in former days) a fairly generic form, as a consequence of its construction.
An arch is needed to form a reasonable span and solid piers for bearing the load of the arch.
From Roman times – who invented more or less the proper use of the arch - till far into the 19-century, this was the only way for building bridges with bricks or stone blocks.
So, this type of bridge can be found on every place on the world.

I like this MOC because it is perfectly right of proportion. It should be placed in a bigger scenery for using the ends.

[moom]

An arch is needed to form a reasonable span and solid piers for bearing the load of the arch.
From Roman times – who invented more or less the proper use of the arch - till far into the 19-century, this was the only way for building bridges with bricks or stone blocks.

Incorrect. On this page are some examples of Chinese stone beam bridges (the ones with a flat span):
http://library.sx.zj.cn/e-page/ancientbridg/mq.htm

The beam type is even older than the more innovative arch type.
On the same page you can find some examples that acient Chinese engineers where able to build more slender arches as the Romans did.

With friendly greetings, M. Moolhuysen.

[architect]

Hi cm2,

I love your bridge. The minifigure stands work very well for the walking area. I was experimenting with how to make a good wall with these pieces and I was not having much luck. Its nice to see this piece put to a good use.

For the bridge construction techniques, we should not forget wooden truss bridges which were used in some cases before iron bridges were invented.

Ben E.

[Legomaat]

Incorrect. On this page are some examples of Chinese stone beam bridges (the ones with a flat span):
http://library.sx.zj.cn/e-page/ancientbridg/mq.htm

The beam type is even older than the more innovative arch type.
On the same page you can find some examples that acient Chinese engineers where able to build more slender arches as the Romans did.

With friendly greetings, M. Moolhuysen.

Thanks Moom, for this interesting site of ancient bridges.

Of course, there were stone beam bridges with small flat spans in ancient times, and not only in china. But for a wide span, as you should know, a stone beam or slab is not longer very useful. It has to be too thick and too heavy, or it will simply break.
Well, the Romans didn’t really invent the arch. The Egyptians and the Greek knew the arch form also. But it were nevertheless the Romans who brought this building with arches to perfection.