|
|
| Review of 2010 Editorial December 2010 The end of a year marks a traditional time to look back over the past 12 months, and so it is for Cranes Etc too. 2010 was a year of the BAUMA Exhibition so it was a good year for the construction scale model industry with new releases and higher sales so no doubt for some companies it was better than 2009. But not fall all. The main casualty was the Dutch maker Lion Toys which went bankrupt, but at least the name will continue as the company was bought by Tekno. YCC had no new models with just a few accessories appearing, and Joal seems to have faded away. Motorart, Ros and Universal Hobbies appeared to have had a very slow year with few new models. TWH brought very little new to the market on the construction side in 2010, but certainly 2011 looks brighter with new models in the pipeline. Norscot had a few introductions in the Caterpillar line up, and Corgi continued with vehicles in new liveries. On the more positive side, NZG introduced a series of new models of particular excellence for Liebherr products, and Conrad also had many introductions and both companies made full use of special liveries to push through greater volumes of models. The big volume deliverer of new releases in 2010 seems to be WSI with numerous variations of trucks, three new cranes and a great first step into excavators. Closer to home, 2010 saw the Cranes Etc website fully overhauled and upgraded, and looking forward to new things in 2011. So, it is time for some Awards, and these are based on the models reviewed by Cranes Etc during 2010. Innovation of the Year 2010 saw two clear innovations introduced into new models and really they are both good enough to win. WSI introduced the use of aluminium sections into the telescopic beams of its Nooteboom Telestep models which allowed much thinner and more accurate profiles to be produced, and this has been taken forward into other models. However the winner of the award goes to Conrad for the use of electronics in a mainstream model with the flashing beacon lights in the Liebherr MK88 Mobile Crane. It will be interesting to see how the use of electronics is taken forward in future. Model Company of the Year This award goes to WSI Collectibles for expanding and developing the market further, and for pushing the boundaries with their crane and excavator models as well as their innovative use of new materials. Model of the Year The best model of 2010 is the Liebherr LTM 11200-9.1 Mobile Crane by NZG. High quality detailing and manufacture produced a great model and one that does justice to the real machine. Plenty of collector choice was also provided via a wide range of liveries. With the Cranes Etc Awards made, we look forward to what 2011 will bring. Cranes Etc |
|
