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Bridge Piers Might Not Line Up
Tim W seeks advice:
“I need bridge piers nearly 4 inches high but whatever I buy I might need to adjust to make them align right. Before I buy any piers is there a right or wrong way to go about adjusting them?”
SUBMIT YOUR QUESTION
On a previous layout I used Atlas plastic bridge piers that were 1/4 inch to low for the height of my elevated roadbed. I took a scrap piece of 3-ply plywood and created footings for the piers. I used the base of a pier to draw an outline with a pencil held vertically onto the plywood. This created a slightly larger footing that I painted to match the piers. Another option is to use tall trestle pieces and cut off the lower ends at the proper length to match your base terrain and get the height needed. Also, you could just raise the terrain under the bridge piers to get to the needed elevation.
The basic rule is: Improvise whatever will work and look good, either at the top or the bottom. The required physical strength of the intermediate piece will depend of the model’s scale.
Tim used plywood, but you could use sheet plastic or cardboard, or create a suitable shape from plaster or filler into a rectangular (or whatever shape you like) mould you make from card, lined with cling film..
I have used pieces of plastic about 1/2 inch thick and used it under the base. Cut them to about the right size to fit under and use super glue to hold together. Use foliage or brushes around the base to hide the piece that was added.