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| VINCI branded
box. |
 |
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| Instructions
and stickers for the counter-jib sign.
|
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| The blocky hook
is not realistic. |
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| Capacity board
mounted on the mast. |
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| Counter-jib
with the sign board fitted. |
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| Tower can
achieve a straight profile with careful adjustment. |
|
 Comment on this model.
The Liebherr EC-H Tower Crane scale model by Conrad
first appeared some twenty years ago and it has been
updated since then.
This version is in the colours of the French
Construction Company
VINCI.
Packaging
The model comes in a VINCI branded box. There were no defects or missing parts on the review model.
A printed sheet of instructions is supplied and assembly
is straightforward with the fit of some parts being
necessarily tight in order to maintain a good geometry.
An interesting inclusion is sticker sheets which allow
any of 40 different company names from the VINCI Group
to be displayed on the counter-jib signboard.
Detail
The base section is fitted with plastic bogies but these
were oriented wrongly compared to the electric cable
drum but they were easily rotated through a right angle.
The base has
pins on to which the four solid heavy ballast blocks fit. The casting of the ballast
blocks has delineation to indicate separate concrete
slabs.
The mast sections join together by pushing together the
sections which have tiny pins included. This system
works well but it can be difficult to join the sections
if they are not lined up properly. Mast detail is
good with one section of the model comprising four sections of the real mast. When joining the
mast sections the orientation is important for realism as
the lattice work differs on the various sides. The
side with the sideways 'K' struts should be on the side
of the hydraulic ram of the climbing frame (this is not
mentioned in the instructions). There are no plastic
ladders as in some other tower crane models of this scale.
A capacity board clips on to the bottom of the mast.
The climbing frame is permanently attached to the cab section.
Although the climbing frame looks alright, the walkways
do not seem quite wide enough and the table for sliding
in the mast section looks too high up the frame such that
a scale mast section could not be slid in.
The cab is good including a seat for the driver and the
internal structure is modelled. A slewing motor is
mounted on the outside.
The counter-jib has some basic detail with an electric
equipment cabinet and hoist motor and underneath there
is a good lattice frame with holes for attaching a
plastic signboard.
The main jib comes in two sections which join well to
produce a straight geometry. It is a simple
casting with the sides only and no bottom. A nice
aspect is the metal interlocking jib guy rods and they
look good.
The trolley is plastic with tiny plastic pulleys but it
looks fine, however the hook block is a very old style
with the rope going through an eyelet rather than the
block so it does not appear so realistic. However it
has chevron graphics.
Features
The crane rotates well without rocking.
The trolley can be positioned manually anywhere along
the main jib.
Turning a knob on the counter-jib raises and lowers the
hook.
The crane can be configured in three different heights.
Fully erected it is around 60cm high and 62cm
end-to-end.
The signboard can display many different company names
from the supplied stickers.
Quality
The castings are good and relatively little plastic
used.
The paintwork and lettering is good and the livery is
striking.
Price
It is fair value for a limited edition.
Overall
Although this model has very old origins compared to
most models it is still a good looking tower crane.
It would certainly have benefitted from a better hook
block and a few other improvements but the colour scheme is attractive.
Footnotes
This model in VINCI colours first appeared in 2012 in a
limited run of 250 models.
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| The tray.
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Standing tall. |
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| Very straight
jib. Climbing frame is not accurately scaled. |
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| Detail inside
the cab. |
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| Metal guys are
very good. |
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| Only the hoist
knob gives away that it is a model. |
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