Brekina "Draisine" (VW Combi railvan) - a review

[whatlep]

My slightly warped mind requires that every G scale line has a piece of motive power which is a bit "quirky". Brekina's "Draisine" fits the bill perfectly! It's a straightforward 1:22.5 scale model of a VW "Combi" van, converted to run on rails. Prototypes exist in Germany and elsewhere, though to the best of my knowledge all were to standard gauge, not metre gauge.

Some basic data first:
Length - 180mm
Width - 75mm
Height - 88mm
Pickup - 4 wheels via wipers on axles
Drive - 2 rear wheels (non traction tyres)
Weight - 580 grams:
Lights - 3 (2 front; 1 rear)
DCC ready (NEM 652 8-pin socket)
Accessories - 2 footboards plus driver's wing mirror (L.H. drive)
Maximum gradient - 9% (1 in 11)

What you get out of the box is a classic VW Combi with nicely executed paintwork in an attractively matt finish. There are no couplings (nor is there any point in having them!), but in a separate plastic bag are footboards (with attachment screws) and a driver's wing mirror which has to be glued on. I've chosen not to add any of those features, but the boards look suitably robust and the wing mirror should be OK with careful handling. Although the Combi is to correct scale according to various German language sites, it looks tiny by comparison with normal G scale stock!

Instructions are supplied, but only in German. There are a couple of things worth noting. Maximum gradient for the VW is given as 9% (1 in 11) and maximum motor voltage is only 18 volts. The motor voltage gives a clue that Brekina are more used to dealing with HO models and their standards. Reinforcing this is provision of the European HO standard 8-pin NEM 652 DCC socket. On the other hand, why not use these things? HO decoders are much, much cheaper than G scale equivalents and with such a light vehicle, the current consumption should be minimal. Time to start bench testing!

 

[3Valve]

Ah, you succumed to the power of the aircooled VW. I have the yellow version. As you say Peter, "quirky".

 

[whatlep]

First stop, a conventional DC supply on rollers and a short stretch of track up and down. Out of the box the VW ran smoothly and pretty well at slow speed. Although the wheels are chemically blackened, there were no pick up issues. Measured on the rollers at 18 volts (maximum) input, the motor's current draw was 125 milliamps. A good number which is well within any HO decoder's capabilities. I also risked a short spell of analogue running on my LGB MTS indoor system: again no problems, though given the rather simple motor likely to be used, I wouldn't recommend it!

Time to fit a DCC decoder and - more to the point - have a good dismantle of everything! Three screws (standard German DIN threads) hold the body on. Once removed we see this:

The driver is seriously under-scale for G scale (unless he's unusually slim and short). The two figures are side by side. He'll have to be replaced at some point:

The interior is utterly unremarkable, but some staff could certianly be added with ruthless carving off of their legs. The back of the bus has a very neat circuit board with motor/feed wires attached underneath and all three lights' wires attached on top. All wires are colour-coded to the NEM standard and those for the lights are very neatly hidden from view along the body sides. Some good design work there. The keen eyed willnotice that the VW's roof can be unscrewed. Some variations on a theme possible from that?

The NEM 652 8-pin socket is prominent at bottom and features a removable dummy plug. Fitting a decoder is, for once, truly plug and play. I used a DCC Concepts M2SA decoder which comes complete with a rather small "stay alive" power buffer (i.e. a capacitor). Mine was £19 from Bromsgrove Models.

The three lights are tiny 1.8mm surface-mounted LEDs beautfully fitted in place (2 white headlights; 1 red taillight). In analogue, all three illuminate at lowe voltage (3-4v) and are on continuously whatever the direction of travel. In DCC, the lights can be switched on and off using the normal lights button (F0), but not selectively. It's all 3 or nothing. It would be possible to rewire the lights to be individually illuminated by using a multi-function chip and resoldering the wires accordingly, but remember these are wires to HO standards and much finer (thinner) than most G scalers are used to.

Taking every available screw out gets us down to the guts of the VW. A simple motor with drive off one end onto the rear axle and a flywheel on the other end of the shaft. Simple wipers can be seen picking up power from the front axle. There is an identical pair on the rear. Simple and rugged. The great question of course is whether it's enough to survive the rough and tumble of G scaling, especially outdoors.

Somewhat to my surprise, the VW ran smoothly and without any hesitation on DCC on my indoor circuit. Points were no problem at all, despite only 4 simple pickups. I was suitably impressed! Outdoors, experience was more mixed. Track condition appears to be critical. After cleaning the track, the VW rain round beautifully on DCC, coming to a stop only in one place. Investigation showed that one of my points had a broken connection underneath. Having fixed that, the VW pottered about with no problems at all, including happily ascending Pootank Pass (5% or 1 in 20). Cool, I thought!

Alas, this was a bit over optimistic. The following day, the VW stuttered around outside. Checking, I found it would run absolutely fine indoors, so it wasn't the wheels or chip that were the problem: it was track grot. To be fair, I've had the same problem with every 4-wheel track power loco I've ever had, so the VW is hardly a dog for failing to perform on dirty track. Now I think the VW has a certain charm about it: it's certainly brought a smile to my face, so i think over the summer it will get a conversion to battery power. Possibly permanent, possibly not. Time will tell. It's out there running, even if I have to do a bit more track cleaning in the interim!

Bottom line: is this a good buy? Bearing in mind that this is a "fun" item rather than a serious piece of G scale kit, I'd say the jury is split. For indoor use, it's absolutely fine. For outdoor use, probably not unless you're prepared to take some time to convert to battery power or (on level lines only) devise a trail van for extra pickups (think Co. Donegal style!).

 

[KeithT]

I see that Grootspoor have a reduced price on the yellow one at present. 109E instead of 129E

 

[whatlep]

I see that Grootspoor have a reduced price on the yellow one at present. 109E instead of 129E

Or 99.95 Euros from some German eBay sellers (plus 16.50 Euros postage). That's my source.

 

[3Valve]

Oddly enough Peter I too found that your track had be squeaky clean for this to run well.

Interesting use of the HO Decoder. I was going to buy the Brekina article at around twice the price, so your review has saved me a few quid

 

[whatlep]

Since the Easter weather is rubbish, the Brekina has been copnverted to battery power. A pleasingly easy job, apart from all those oh so delicate wires to the lights, three of which I needed to resolder after my great hoofing paws and done the actual conversion. Fortunately the PCB shown in earlier photos has very neat labels ID-ing where every wire fits. Phew!

Anyhow. First step is to junk the two passenger seats to give a nice flat "bench" onto which fits one of China's excellent Li-ion batteries (12 v 6800mAh). I'd hoped that the receiver/controller (my usual Cliff Barker model) could be hidden in the detachable roof, but it's a bit too deep, so that goes on top of the battery. Add some black insulating tape to hide the blue of the battery and you have this:

Battery leads (red/black) get joined to the receiver/controller (red/black too), with the red wire going through a simple on/off switch mounted on the VW's underside. It's in the hole for a loudspeaker and can be operated by a pencil or very slim finger.

Connoisseurs will notice that there isn't a charging socket in view. There is nowhere really convenient to position one in the metal chassis and I thought it would be a pity to create a large hole in the body work, though I guess it could be done at the rear and covered with a spare (railway) wheel. Charging the battery will therefore require taking the body off the chassis, but I suspect it won't happen very often. On my reckoning the charged battery has enough power for 40 hours running!

The wires from the receiver then get soldered to the underside of the PCB where the red/black pickup wires were attached. That's a rather tricky operation where a third hand definitely helps. If you're using the Barker kit the orange receiver wire gets soldered alongside the VW's orange motor lead and similarly for the grey lead. NMRA standard colours, I think.

A quick test proved that all worked properly and forward really was forward. Body back on and close up the VW now looks like it has a heavy load in the back with just a few wires obvious. From normal viewing distances, it looks reassuringly normal. The undersize Brekina driver has been removed and I'm on the hunt for a replacement. Anyone got a spare Piko driver they feel like giving away, or a sitting down figure in a Hi-vis vest?

 

[vsmith]

I have a red one and I quite like it, sure its a little unusual but thats what makes it cool!

 

[yb281]

I saw this elsewhere and thought you'd like it Peter.

Notice how it still uses it's headlights AND has spotlights like yours.

 

[Henri]

And how do they hold up in 2016? I am very very very interested in getting one! The kids will love it, we have fond memories of our T2 panel van! Too bad it had to go.

 

[fridge]

Thanks for all this info. I bought mine last year from the Hobby Shop , Faversham (£70) with the intention of doing a battery conversion. I might now get on with it!