idlemarvel
Neither idle nor a marvel
This wagon was released by PIKO last year:
It's a kind of Maintenance of Way (MoW) ballast wagon (Shotterwagen). It appeals to me much more than the ridiculously small (210 mm long) 4-axle buffer-less Shüttgutwagen that PIKO have produced for years and which never existed on German railways.
This is much chunkier, longer (350 mm), and if you like that kind of thing the chutes on each side extend and you can release the load onto the track. It would look quite good as a static scenic item doing some track maintenance in this mode. It's quite fiddly trying to open the chute, it would be better if the levers operated it from the outside. There's probably scope for fitting a servo motor under the chassis if you wanted to automate the operation.
It is quite a detailed model. It's all plastic so I can imagine some of the spindly (non-functioning) operating rods and levers might break in a child's hands (or clumsy adult - who me?). The length according to the writing on the model is 8.8 m which with a model length of 350 mm gives a scale of 1:25. Is there a prototype for this? Well yes there is and the model is quite a good resemblance.
also
But you can see the model has been stretched considerably to fit the standard PIKO goods-wagon-with-brake-platform chassis. The prototype has a length of 6.9 m not 8.8 m so that's a good 25% longer.
The UIC running number on the model is fiction but plausible:
20 (unused interchange code)
50 DR (country code, now 50 means Bosnia-Herzegovina but correct for DR in this era)
602 (special open wagon)
1916-4 (serial number with checksum)
Having said that IMO the model looks the part and runs well. If you wanted to run it as a narrow gauge model with a central buffer, the buffer beam is interchangeable, but it doesn't come shipped with an alternate buffer beam, you have to purchase it as a spare part ET37600-28. If you want to replace the plastic wheels with metals ones you need 35 mm diameter wheels. RRP is €168.
BTW the load in the picture is Playmobil "coal" 7843 which looks nothing like coal but is a good representation of ore of some kind. I suspect it is just waste extruded plastic off the factory floor of Playmobil (Geodis) which some bright spark decided they could sell!
A new version of the model 37851 has just been released, exactly the same moulding but darker brown in DB era III livery.
DR IV Self-Unloading Hopper Buy modeltrains | PIKO Webshop
DR IV Self-Unloading Hopper Buy modeltrains from PIKO | PIKO Webshop ✓ Top quality ✓ Fast shipping ✓ Excellent support
www.piko-shop.de
It's a kind of Maintenance of Way (MoW) ballast wagon (Shotterwagen). It appeals to me much more than the ridiculously small (210 mm long) 4-axle buffer-less Shüttgutwagen that PIKO have produced for years and which never existed on German railways.
G Schüttgutwagen Buy modeltrains | PIKO Webshop
G Schüttgutwagen Buy modeltrains from PIKO | PIKO Webshop ✓ Top quality ✓ Fast shipping ✓ Excellent support
www.piko-shop.de
This is much chunkier, longer (350 mm), and if you like that kind of thing the chutes on each side extend and you can release the load onto the track. It would look quite good as a static scenic item doing some track maintenance in this mode. It's quite fiddly trying to open the chute, it would be better if the levers operated it from the outside. There's probably scope for fitting a servo motor under the chassis if you wanted to automate the operation.
It is quite a detailed model. It's all plastic so I can imagine some of the spindly (non-functioning) operating rods and levers might break in a child's hands (or clumsy adult - who me?). The length according to the writing on the model is 8.8 m which with a model length of 350 mm gives a scale of 1:25. Is there a prototype for this? Well yes there is and the model is quite a good resemblance.
also
But you can see the model has been stretched considerably to fit the standard PIKO goods-wagon-with-brake-platform chassis. The prototype has a length of 6.9 m not 8.8 m so that's a good 25% longer.
The UIC running number on the model is fiction but plausible:
20 (unused interchange code)
50 DR (country code, now 50 means Bosnia-Herzegovina but correct for DR in this era)
602 (special open wagon)
1916-4 (serial number with checksum)
Having said that IMO the model looks the part and runs well. If you wanted to run it as a narrow gauge model with a central buffer, the buffer beam is interchangeable, but it doesn't come shipped with an alternate buffer beam, you have to purchase it as a spare part ET37600-28. If you want to replace the plastic wheels with metals ones you need 35 mm diameter wheels. RRP is €168.
BTW the load in the picture is Playmobil "coal" 7843 which looks nothing like coal but is a good representation of ore of some kind. I suspect it is just waste extruded plastic off the factory floor of Playmobil (Geodis) which some bright spark decided they could sell!
A new version of the model 37851 has just been released, exactly the same moulding but darker brown in DB era III livery.
GER: G Selbstentladewagen DB III Buy modeltrains | PIKO Webshop
GER: G Selbstentladewagen DB III Buy modeltrains from PIKO | PIKO Webshop ✓ Top quality ✓ Fast shipping ✓ Excellent support
www.piko-shop.de
