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| The box. |
 |
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| Rigged for
the road. |
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| Detailed
chassis. |
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| Different
wheel centre hubs. |
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| Very nice
1:87 convoy.
|
|
|
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| On the
road. |
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| Counterweight splits fully. |
 |
|
Poses really well erecting a tower crane. |
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| Rigged with
the Y-Guy system. |
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| Metal Y-Guy
detail is great. |
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| Preparing
to lift a beam. |
|
The Liebherr 1500-8.1 mobile crane has a maximum capacity
of 500 tonnes at 3m radius. It was launched at the
BAUMA Exhibition in 1998 and has been a very popular
heavy mobile crane.
The real crane can be configured with a 50m or 84m main boom,
and a Y-Guy boom support arrangement. This model
represents the 50m boom version.
It is in the colours of the
International lifting company Mammoet.
Packaging
The model comes in a Mammoet-branded outer sleeve with
the box having foam rubber inside. The model
parts are wrapped in soft paper.
There were no missing parts
or defects on the review model.
The model comes with a numbered Mammoet Collector Card.
An instruction sheet includes a parts list and photos showing the
main assembly.
There is no information about the real crane.
Detail
The chassis is very detailed for the scale, and the
transmission system is represented.
The tyres have a decent tread pattern, and the wheels have
different hubs for driven and non-driven axles.
The carrier cab has door mirrors, windscreen
wipers, beacon lights and a realistic number plate.
Interior detailing is very good.
Behind the carrier cab the engine area has a fine mesh
grille, and the rest of the carrier deck has textured
surfaces including imprinted deck access ladders.
At the rear of the carrier the lights are finely detailed.
The outrigger beams are two stage with nice chevron
graphics. The outrigger pads are mounted on screw
threaded pistons. Large metal spreader
plates with useable lifting points are also included
with the model.
The crane cab has metal railings, a textured platform
and the windows have the black seals indicated.
The crane body has sharp graphics and detailing within
the casting to create an authentic look, and there is a
mesh grille on one side. The chrome exhaust looks
good, and is removable to give access to the winch.
The counterweight is complete out of the box, but it consists of a number of separate elements
and each one is capable of being displayed being lifted
as they have well-formed lifting points. The Liebherr
name is embossed within the casting on the winch frame,
and it also has two winches modelled.
The main boom rams are very nice metal parts. The
boom
has four sections to represent a 50m configuration. The sections
appear to be aluminium as they have thin wall thicknesses and hence the boom profile is
excellent. Detailing on the lowest boom section
includes spooling drums. The boom head is also very
good with fine graphics and separate silver metal pulleys.
The Y-Guy system for the telescopic boom is a separate
part. It is metal as are the guy rods and it is all
finely engineered considering the scale.
A single line metal hook is supplied and this is the
main weakness on the model, as a sheaved hook block
would look much better in practice.
Features
All axles spin freely. There is no
steering probably due to the difficulty of modelling it
in this small scale.
The outriggers can be extended and lowered, and the model can be supported wheels-free.
The operator's cab rotates from the transport position
and can be tilted to a good angle.
The crane rotates without rocking.
The counterweight system can be fitted in various configurations,
including being mounted on the carrier deck during self-assembly. However,
the counterweight tray does not have a clear mounting
position on the carrier deck.
Raising the boom is easy with the locking mechanism on
the main boom rams using a key to tighten grub screws
on the jacket tops.
Telescoping the boom is a little sticky and there is a
spring lock to clip each boom section at various
extensions.
The Y-Guy system can be displayed as a transport load.
When in place the system performs well with each side
tensioned by using an Allen key in the winches. A
high tension can be maintained and the boom tensions up
well.
A key is also used to operate the main winch. It is a
little stiff to operate however but this provides
effective friction to hold a load.
Quality
This is a very detailed model with a high metal content
and the overall quality of the model is very good.
The paintwork and graphics are generally excellent.
Price
It is good value for an excellent limited edition model.
Overall
Kranlab has set a new high standard for a 1:87 mobile
crane model. For the size it has excellent detail
and functionality, and just a better hook would have
enhanced it even more.
Footnotes
The model first appeared in September
2021. In Mammoet colours it was made in a run of
750 models.
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|
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|
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| Inside the
box. |
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| No steering
but all the wheels are grounded. |
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| Large
single line hook block. |
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| Sharp
graphics. |
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| Outriggers
on the metal spreader plates. |
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| Tilting
cab. |
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| Posed self
ballasting. |
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|
Excellent detailing on the carrier deck. |
|
|
 |
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Very nice boom profile. |
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Winch friction holds a good load. |
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Fully stacked counterweight. |
 |
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On the road with Y-Guy on board. |
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