To date we've looked at several Civil War bridges; the diminutive Safari Ltd bridge, the Marx so-called Burnside Bridge, and the more historically accurate Burnside Bridge from Americana. All three of those bridges were marketed specifically as Civil War accessories. Today's bridge by Multiple Plastics Corporation however, could be found in Civil War and Army playsets of the early-to-mid 1960s. Unlike the other bridges, this one was designed to 'explode' through the use of a spring-loaded mechanism located underneath the bridge. Today, it is very difficult to locate the actual spring mechanism resulting in most vintage bridges coming on the market sans spring. The bridge itself is split down the middle with one half simply tucking into the other and, if you look at the photos carefully, has a really steep approach span!! If this were a real bridge it would be one in which you didn't walk over, you would almost have to repel over! Reproductions of the bridge can be had for as little as $3.95 retail. And, as if these four bridges weren't enough for you, a company called Formtech puts out cast foam bridges in single arch and 3-arch versions and The Hobby Bunker has a cast foam bridge closely resembling the plastic Burnside Bridge from Americana - more than enough bridges to choose from! Enjoy!
Marx (L), MPC (R)
Had a little spring loaded lever. You armed it and when you put a tank, jeep, troops, what ever on the bridge, pushing down on the lever triggered it. The lever hit the floor throwing the bridge pieces up and away but not high and you got a nice 'exploding bridge"
ReplyDeleteCarolis Medianacte
Thank you for that excellent description. Marx spring mechanism's are pricey but can be found pretty easily. I haven't seen an MPC mechanism in a very loooong time. I keep looking but maybe I'm just missing when they come up for sale. Ed
DeleteI had this in the early 1960s. I was part of a great toy set called Battle Front. One of my very favourite toys when I was a child.
ReplyDeleteI had a bunch of MPC stuff as a kid but I don't recall having the bridge. I wish I could find an intact spring mechanism for this one.
DeleteI got one for my birthday in the early 1960s. The bridge came with a green army jeep and some blue soldiers.
ReplyDeleteI got one for my 7th or 8th birthday in the early 1960s. A photo of my birthday shows part of
ReplyDeletethe new package but it's blurred and I cannot make out the brand name to research it.
That's about when I got mine. It came in MPC's Battle Front playset (which I blogged back in 2019). It was also included in their Civil War playsets as well.
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