Bratchell EMU kits

[Eng274]

Good evening,

Just curious to know if any members have bought a Bratchell kit (assembled or in bits) from their EMU range, and whether it met their expectations, represented good value for money? Are the motors/wheelsets of good quality, and does the unit as a whole run well?

Any insights would be appreciated!

 

[hairyhandedfool]

I have built two Bratchell Kits (both 319s), back when they gave you the option of having them pre-painted or not. You still don't get....

• Motors
• Seats
• Cab interiors
• Pantographs or roof top equipment
• Some exterior detail elements (shoe beams, shore supply sockets, Toilet Effluent Tanks, etc)
• Additional weight (for traction)

I got a pair of Black Beetles and interior seats (for a 321) from DC Kits and a Hurst Models brass Pantograph kit (one Stone-Faiveley, one Brecknell-Willis) for each of my 319s. It is also worth noting that the detail on some of the kits is a little basic.

I think the total I spent on each of my 319s was about £300 (about £180 for the kit (with wheels, etc), about £90 for the motors and about £30 for postage, paints, Pantographs, etc). This wasn't as far as I could have gone, but it was about as much as I was prepared to pay.

The kit itself is a roof, floor, sides and ends for each vehicle, with separate window moulds and some underframe detail. they include bogies, but I believe wheels and bearings are still extra. The parts are quite well moulded and do fit reasonably well together but you can't use Poly cement and expect them to last in one piece for too long, the plastic is too hard.

My impression of the pre-painted models (from pictures) aren't great, they look great where they are painted, but not so much where they are not (I'm thinking particularly of the 317s and 318s here), but these days you don't get the choice of unpainted (then again you don't pay a premium for pre-painted either)

The only real comparison I can make is with the DC Kits 308 (4 car) EMU, which, although harder to put together, is much better value for money (£72 for a unpainted, non-motorised kit with no interior or wheels).

 

[Eng274]

Thank you for the detailed response, HHF.

There was a model of a class 320 in SPT livery (possibly running and motored, cannot recall as the ad has disappeared) going for £275 on ebay, and wondered if the novelty of having such a rare type of modelled unit was worth paying such a phenomenal amount of money. As it seems much much more can be spent using various kits, I will keep my money in my pocket for now until a decent RTR OHL powered EMU that isn't a 350 comes along - that could be a while I know!

If i had the patience and skill I'd have a go at building the model, but as you say from the price and the online images, the quality v cost comparison doesn't look too favourable unfortunately, especially when a raft of extras are required to complete the body kit.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

I had in my mind a thread from the old RMWeb where so much work is done and whilst I couldn't find exactly what I was thinking of (or possibly just wrongly remembering), here is a link to a thread from that site where a member has converted a Bratchell 317/2 into a 455/8 partly using a 'Jim S-W' kit. This was before Bratchell did a 455/8, but it gives you a good idea of what is missing.