SBC Cement Wagon Kit

The SBC Cement Wagon Kit is available from Queensland Railway Miniatures via Facebook and at exhibitions. https://www.facebook.com/queenslandrailwaysminiatures.

Information on the prototype is on the header of the kit package.  The cement bins on the wagon were used on other QR wagons. FJC – 2 bins, HJC, WBC – 4 bins, WCC – 6 bins, QFQ – 8 bins. The bins are available from the manufacture as a separate item.

The clear plastic packet contains over 80 parts, each bin is made up of 18 parts. Opening of the packet is recommended on a clean clear work area as many of the parts are small and could be easily be lost. Some spares are in the kit.

 

More detailing parts were added after this photo.

Instructions for the bins is just under 5 pages, each step highlights preparation and assembly with a 3 D drawings. Prototype photos are included. 
 

 

The kit being reviewed was being developed at that time, the following additional items were required to the complete the kit. Bogies, couplers, trust rods, queen posts, screws for couplings, bogies and paint. Trust rods and queen post have now been included in the kit.  

The bins castings are crisp, some parts are sprue using flash which is used to support the part during preparation. Some small air bubbles were detected in the castings, once the kit was painted there present was less noticeable and didn’t distract the models. A small smear of super glue did fill most and provided an added weather appearance of spilled cement. All areas to be glued were lightly sanded with wet & dry. Following the steps in the instructions will give you a smart model of the prototype. I painted the bins with “Yellow Oxide” from a rattle can that was purchased from Auto Barn. The paint was sprayed into a plastic cup and applied to the model with an air brush. The paint is very thin and was applied in a number of coats to avoid the paint from running.     

The wagon consists of a moulded floor, underframe and a number of detailing parts. For the review kit there was no instructions at the time of assembly. The underframe is glued to the floor to form a platform wagon. The underframe is very well detailed, and reflects the 26 foot underframe drawing. The underside floor boards are shown.  Having the two parts separate is good, it allows you to drill and tap the coupling and bogies mounting holes without fear of drilling threw the top of the floor. The QR plan I have for the wagon is misleading and is different to the photo I have of the wagon. The plan shows a 1½ inch floor, the correct height of the sole bar on the plan is questionable. Most timber frame wagons have a 10 inch sole bar making the floor and sole bar around 12 inches.  The kit floor has individual boards which have a well-used weathered appearance. The top of the floor is a little uneven in parts and in some places the combined height of the floor when glued to the underframe is 4.5 mm.   

 Full brake gear is provided in the kit including brake pipe hoses and buffers for the headstock. I attached the bogies and couplings using 2 mm nylon screws. The coupler height was compatible with my other rollingstock (9.5 mm). I used Caintode Flats CFB3S 5’ diamond frame bogies. After a few days, the wagon did develop that unique timber frame wagon appearance of being push, pull and bashed around a shunting yard for several years.

The review wagon frame was painted “Engine Black”. Decals supplied in the kit are for the pre 1970 era (white), included were a wagon number, tare, carry and wagon length in imperial measure, all correct in fact and size. The floor was weathered by applying a couple of coats of light grey. The bins were glued to the floor and a spray coat of mud/dust was applied to all the completed model.  

 On the weight bridge the completed model comes in at 54 grams.   

This is the first kit for this manufacture and I’m sure it was a steep learning curve for a modeller new to the hobby. The wagon is packed with detail, looks like the prototype and is a very good representation of the prototype and will make a good addition to your wagon fleet.   

Congratulations Steve for having a go and for producing an awesome model, I look forward to other unique quirky wagons that make QR trains somewhat special that we come to love and like to see.    

 

 

 

SBC nd FJC on Westgate.  

 

Ipswich. The wagon has metric markings, mid 1970’s.  

 Arthur Hayes MMR.

 Since the review, the kit has been further refined and instructions have been finalised. Don’t look to hard at the underfloor detail on my model, I stuff it up (senior moment!!).  The wagon has been on the layout for a couple of weeks and has replaced my scratched build SBC wagon which form part of Shunt Train 656 featured in Operation for a Small Layout, Australian Model Railway Magazine Issue 322 February 2017

Page 1 of the 3 page instructions for the wagon is attached below.