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| Special H N
Krane box sleeve. |
 |
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| The parts out
of the box. |
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| Good steering
angle. |
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| Good graphics. |
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| Handrails on the
crane folded for transport mode. |
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| Tilting cab,
and the full counterweight on board.
|
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| Ready to lift. |
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| No detail
underneath. |
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| Loading the
counterweight. |
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| Rigged with a
short heavy lift jib. |
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Fly jib set at
an offset angle.
|
|
The Liebherr LTM 1200-5.1 is a five
axle crane with a capacity of 200 tonnes.
The telescopic boom comprises of seven sections and can
reach 72m. A variety of combinations of fly jib up
to 43m long can extend the reach.
To see photos of the real crane, click
here.
This model is in the colours of
H N
Krane, a German crane hire and transportation
company, and has been commissioned by
Heavy Transport Models from Conrad. The model in Liebherr colours was
reviewed here.
Packaging
The model comes in a special H N Krane / Heavy Transport
Models branded box which
surrounds a couple of expanded polystyrene trays.
The review model had no defects or missing parts.
A comprehensive instruction sheet is provided which
lists the various parts and includes clear diagrams.
It also has instructions in German, English, French,
Italian and Spanish.
A neat touch is that that this version includes a uniquely numbered
collector card.
Detail
The underside of the carrier has almost no detail with
just the barest amount of chassis structure. The wheels are more detailed
than the wheels provided on the
first issue of the model
and it is good that the undriven axle 3 has a slightly different
hub design from the other axles. The rubber tyres
have a good tread pattern.
At the front, the driving cab has the smooth lines of
the original. There are good headlights and a loop for
attaching the hook during transport. Other details
include orange beacon lights and clip-on plastic wing
mirrors. Behind the driving cab the exhaust stack,
tanks and other equipment are modelled well. The
carrier deck is patterned and there are a couple of
ladders detailed within the casting.
At the rear of the carrier the detailing is very good with
wheel chocks and a towing hitch as well as various panel
details within the casting. The rear light clusters
are painted on with all lights the same colour.
The crane cab is fairly simple with no wipers or mirrors. The grab rails are plastic and inside
the cab the controls and computer screen are modelled.
Behind the cab the casting of the body includes access steps
which lead up to a platform with plastic handrails which
clip on to the model. There are a couple of orange
beacon lights, an exhaust stack and another platform with
handrails. The counterweight consists of a variety
of separate plates which are pleasing castings and they
include lugs for lifting chains. There are two
additional triangular ballast blocks which slot into
notches although the lifting lugs are not usable.
The main boom is lifted by a single large hydraulic
cylinder. Although the cylinder jacket is plastic the
colour match with the rest of the model is good. The
boom is a seven section telescope with boom sections in
the 'oviform' shape of the original. A cable drum is
included on the side of the lowest boom section. The top of the first main
boom section also includes a working hoist rope guide frame.
At the boom head the pulleys are metal and high quality,
and are an improvement on the earlier versions of the
model.
The hook is a three pulley block and the pulleys are
metal. The block has a double hook and is good but
looks too large when hung from the fly jib.
The fly jib consists of a number of pieces. The lattice
work sections are fine metal castings with the offset
mechanism being of plastic. The connecting method
is grey plastic pins and the fly jib connects to the main
boom using four short pins rather than the more usual two
long ones. When in transport mode, sections of the
fly jib rest on plastic brackets which are attached to the main boom.
Features
The axles all steer and are linked together as a group of
three at the front and a pair at the back. This means that
nearly all of the steering modes of the original crane can
be replicated including 'crab' steering where all wheels
point in the same direction to allow the crane to move sideways.
Outrigger beams are two stage so they can be set down in
different offsets and although they are all plastic they
are quite strong.
On the crane the operator's cab
tilts and the handrails on top of the crane body are foldable
to reduce the height of the vehicle when in transport mode.
All the usual crane functions can be operated. Raising
the main boom is a test of strength as the cylinder is very
stiff although on the plus side there is no expectation
of cylinder bleed and a drooping boom.
The counterweight mechanism works well on the model, replicating
the key hole method used by the original machine. The separate slabs and cheek weights provided
give an excellent variety of display options.
Similarly the fly jib provides a large variety of
options with fifteen different configurations possible
in terms of length and offset angle.
Quality
The engineering is excellent with a heavy solid robust
model the result. It looks very good in the H N
Krane livery and
the graphics are sharp.
Price
It is a very limited edition and so is relatively pricey
as a result.
Overall
This is a very good crane model for experienced or new collectors
alike. It has a large range of display possibilities
as result of the sectional counterweight and fly jib, and
looks good in transport mode.
This version of the model has improvements compared to
the original version, and
is highly recommended.
Footnotes
The model first appeared in
Liebherr yellow and
was at retailers at the end of
2006. This version by Heavy Transport Models appeared
in April 2012
in a limited edition of 100 models together with a
version in Kanson
colours.
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|
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| In the box. |
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|
Profile view |
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| H N Krane
colour scheme is attractive. |
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| Axle 3 wheel
design is slightly different as it is a non-driven
axle..
|
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| Hook attached
on at the front. |
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| Carrier deck
detail. |
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| Plastic
outrigger beams are strong enough. |
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| Pair the crane
with a suitable suitable vehicle and you get a terrific combination.
Here it is teamed with a
Goldhofer Trailer
and Mercedes Benz
Sprinter.
|
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| Fully erected
the model is around 2m tall. |
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| All boom
sections have H N Krane on them. |
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