Why are multiple unit kits so expensive?

[Trainmodeller35]

I was looking on DC kits' website and I was surprised at the price of some of their EMU kits. £81 for a class 308, £96 for a class 304 and £1,200 for a class 504! I'm sure these are quality kits but considering you have to build and (I assume) paint them yourself these prices seem a bit high... There don't seem to be many other companies making multiple unit kits but they do show up on ebay occasionally sometimes over £100! Is there a reason these seem fo cost so much? Maybe I'm just underestimating the quality of these?

[Yelrow]

Supply and demad, i am afraid. Whilst people are happy to pay these prices, they will continue

[Fazy]

They are cheap! If you think its suply and demand as a nigative thing than have a go at making one your self From scratch.  They need desiging and producing packing etc. And with relatively low numbers sold. Due to either the lack of skill or time to build the model. 

brass kits are far more 2 to 3 times the cost. 

my Princess Royals cost about £450 to £550 each. 

 

kit locos are not cheaper then RTR but they are available in classes not produced by Hornby and the likes 

[LCDR]

I have bought and built quite a few multiple unit kits and consider the prices tend to reasonable when you consider the work needed to make the component parts which are likely to be in very limited demand.

 

Not only will you have to pay for the body shell, but you will also usually have to pay seperately for wheels, motor, interior details and such things as a pantograph and of course paint and transfers.

 

It is a sad fact that multiple unit trains are very much the poor relation, especially electric multiple units, most modellers prefer locomotive hauled trains. Hornby and Bachmann do indeed make a few examples but as multiple units are becoming the norm on the real railways in the model world proportionately locomotives are still dominant.

 

DC kits use clever design so that bodyside sections and ends can be duplicated over a number of different kits, and these go together very well, but I have also built aluminium and whitemetal kits which take a long time to make.

[Trainmodeller35]

I guess I hadn't considered the demand issue, with few people buying them I guess the prices have to be fairly high. Still, I'm surprised there's some plastic kits out there for over £200 and you still have to buy your own wheels and motor... It's odd that DC kits sell DMU kits for very cheap (as little as £25) but EMUs are all at least £70. Doesn't really matter though as they seem to be all out of stock for now...

[Mike_P]

Many kits are more expensive than a RTR model with its mass production; a  loco kit usually is devoid of motor, gears and wheels; then their is the issue of painting, lining and lettering. Wheels alone for a 4-6-0 will cost in the order of £70.

[Rana Temporia]

Are you checking like for like with the Dc Kits? Some come as packages with seating, cab detailing compartments and possibly pantograph for OH EMUs. As has already been stated, they don't have the mass appeal that RTR trains have so to make it worthwhile the price has to be higher as the moulds and materials will still cost the same.  You also need to amass tools, paint, transfers etc. Don't forget that each vehicle ina  multiple unit is often different so requires a separate mould or part-mould as in the DC Kits modular approach to vehicle sides. 

 

I have made some of the DC kits DMU kits and found them very good. I got a good selection in a less than half price January sale years ago from a model shop in Manchester that no longer exists.

 

Motorisation is another expensive addition, the Tenshodo boogies weren't too bad but the Black Bettle etc. Cost a fair bit more. I have made some mods to a Hornby DMU bogie and got that to work in one but they were never designed for that. 

 

They are infinitely better than the older alternative produced by MTK which were very difficult to get a decent finished product out of and there were problems mixing ill fitting Aluminium and Cast components, neither of which would stand up to modern standard without a lot of work. Having said that there have been some superbly finished examples of these kits. At least they were designed to use an easily modified Hornby Hymek bogie. 

 

We now have a selection of modern standard RTR DMU offerings from the trade, in the past it was the shortie Tri-ang Metro-Cammell or nothing. We also now have some decent EMU offerings so the need for kits has dimnished. I still don't think we will ever get the option of a RTR Manchester to Bury EMU though which is the place in the Market that the smaller producers are able to fill, admittedly at a cost but much easier than scratch building.

[Trainmodeller35]

Are you checking like for like with the Dc Kits? Some come as packages with seating, cab detailing compartments and possibly pantograph for OH EMUs. As has already been stated, they don't have the mass appeal that RTR trains have so to make it worthwhile the price has to be higher as the moulds and materials will still cost the same.  You also need to amass tools, paint, transfers etc. Don't forget that each vehicle ina  multiple unit is often different so requires a separate mould or part-mould as in the DC Kits modular approach to vehicle sides. 

 

I have made some of the DC kits DMU kits and found them very good. I got a good selection in a less than half price January sale years ago from a model shop in Manchester that no longer exists.

 

Motorisation is another expensive addition, the Tenshodo boogies weren't too bad but the Black Bettle etc. Cost a fair bit more. I have made some mods to a Hornby DMU bogie and got that to work in one but they were never designed for that. 

 

They are infinitely better than the older alternative produced by MTK which were very difficult to get a decent finished product out of and there were problems mixing ill fitting Aluminium and Cast components, neither of which would stand up to modern standard without a lot of work. Having said that there have been some superbly finished examples of these kits. At least they were designed to use an easily modified Hornby Hymek bogie. 

 

We now have a selection of modern standard RTR DMU offerings from the trade, in the past it was the shortie Tri-ang Metro-Cammell or nothing. We also now have some decent EMU offerings so the need for kits has dimnished. I still don't think we will ever get the option of a RTR Manchester to Bury EMU though which is the place in the Market that the smaller producers are able to fill, admittedly at a cost but much easier than scratch building.

It's hard to tell from their website what is included in the kits, although you are probably correct in saying there are pantographs and seating included. I do understand now that these kits have higher prices because less people buy them, however I still do feel that £80+ is a bit much for what is basically an unpainted plastic shell. Looking at other offerings, DC kits' prices seem quite reasonable compared to some I've seen, like a class 313 shell for £240! I don't see how you can justify that. Either way these are all too much money for me so I guess I'll wait until these EMUs are produced RTR, although I'll probably be waiting quite a few years...

[The Duke 71000]

DC Kits.

Look at his website again, virtually none of his EMU & DMU kits are actually available. But £90 or so is very reasonable for a 3-4 car multiple unit. Just compare with Rails of Sheffields DISCOUNTED price for a Bachmann RTR, SR 2HAP EMU at £220.95 ! 

Indeed I spoke to him  4 years ago in an attempt to get a six car Hastings buffet (6B) unit, and it quickly became clear he was not at that time interested in producing any more. I was given the impression that he felt kits were now virtually dead in the water, as "current modellers no longer seem to have the necessary skills" he mentioned !!!!

 

The Duke 71000

[Rana Temporia]

Duke, he probably had a point! I have seen questions on here and elsewhere on how to renumber a loco. In the past when we had very little choice you made do with a self coloured plastic body, modified one, built a kit or started from scratch. Having done all of the above, if I wanted the parts to do anything other than basic mods I wouldn't know where to start now as a lot of the smaller producers of detailing parts have disappeared. Where would I get a new funnel or a dome or even Romford wheels now? I can't even get railway colours locally anymore to paint my models. 

 

To produce even a basic kit needs a lot of research, scaling, production of very expensive moulds, testing and modifying. All of which take time and money which has to be recovered and pay a wage. 

 

Recently I have built a few of the BMR printed kits. In no way are they up to the fine detail of the DC moulded ones and are freelance, but by using modelling skills a good enough finished model can result. Yes, you need to prepare the parts and use a bit of filler but for me that's part of the fun. If it all fell together what's the point? 

 

I am actually wondering if printed kits are the future. I have had some excellent 009 models and some very poor ones as well. The price doesn't seem to reflect the quality in a lot of cases, but if they could be made to a good enough finish at an acceptable price then maybe they could have more of the market. I think the modern printed mediums are more stable than some of the early ones. 

 

There area few places doing custom printed items but in some cases I'd call them scratch build aids rather than body kits. That are also not cheap in many cases. 

 

I recently drew some wagons and other rolling stock on CAD and printed them off on card to create some Garstang &Knott End railway vehicles. It took quite a bit of work on CAD to get the detail and overlays to make them a bit more 3D but my printer resolution wasn't good enough. I did it because I wanted them and I don't care if they are made from card, if I'd been asked to do them for a job I wouldn't have. Although there is an 0 gauge card kit available for one of the salt wagons I suspect that the demand for G&KER stock is in the less than 10 bracket. Kit producers have to look at the same sort of demand. No point producing it if not enough people want one and can't build it if they buy it.

[Fazy]

Plenty of kits and parts are available though names come and go. Romford wheels are now  Markits and the rage as grown also Alan Gibson do wheels plus chassis and parts. 

 

white metal kits and parts from the likes of South Eastern or Branchlines both have some of he old keys kits but you may need to ask about them. 

motors and gearboxs plus kits from High level models 

Wizard models produce coaches locomotives and bits 

 

and about 30+ other companies (can provide if needed) are about not to mention the odd modeller producing kits available look on RMWeb. And there's people doing parts and 3D printed kits such as the LT&SR class 72. on Shapways  The hobby is quite healthy but you need to find the producers 

[Rana Temporia]

Thanks Fazy, I used to order a lot of parts from Mainly Trains but he has ceased trading and none of my local model shops (the ones that still exist) do anything other than RTR nowadays. I don't even have the option of exhibitions at the moment.

 

I tried to order some Markits wheels earlier in the year but the sizes I needed were out of stock (can't remember from whom, someone on line).  I was pleased to see that you can now get Tri-ang size axles so no need to bush the chassis and drive cog anymore. 

 

I have been making do with a huge bag of random castings I got off eBay a few years ago, plenty of funnels, domes, safety valves etc. And I have a couple of the Cambrian diesel detailing kits to use whenever I get round to it. I have a rather damaged Jouef class 40 that is waiting for conversion to a split head code type. 

[Trainmodeller35]

DC Kits.

Look at his website again, virtually none of his EMU & DMU kits are actually available. But £90 or so is very reasonable for a 3-4 car multiple unit. Just compare with Rails of Sheffields DISCOUNTED price for a Bachmann RTR, SR 2HAP EMU at £220.95 ! 

Indeed I spoke to him  4 years ago in an attempt to get a six car Hastings buffet (6B) unit, and it quickly became clear he was not at that time interested in producing any more. I was given the impression that he felt kits were now virtually dead in the water, as "current modellers no longer seem to have the necessary skills" he mentioned !!!!

 

The Duke 71000

Thanks for fhe info. All the kits have been out of stock for a while now but I wasn't aware they were no longer being sold.

[Chrissaf]

@Trainmodeller35

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[81F]

 Have you looked at Replica Railways website?