| Excellent box. | | | The various model parts, instructions and brochure. | | Underneath view showing the material transport belt. | | Folding hopper sides force the tipped material onto the belt. | | Fine details at the screed end. | | Fold out seats and extending canopy. | | Fixed with a short screed. | | Being loaded by a Peterbilt East Dump Truck. | | Carefully does it. | | The 16m wide screed is a giant. |
| Vogele are part of the Wirtgen Group which is based in Germany and employs 4500 people worldwide. Vogele pavers are used for all types of paving work. The Super 3000-2 was introduced at BAUMA 2010 and is the flagship machine in the current range. It has a maximum pave width up to 16m and can lay material at up to 1600 tonnes/h.
Packaging
Conrad have achieved a first class standard with the packaging. The box is high quality with excellent decoration including a variety of photos of the machine and main specification details. Inside, the model is held within black foam which gives it a presentation feel. Included with the model is a reprint of the Vogele brochure for the machine and this has interesting details and photos. Also included is a four page set of instructions for the model which are in colour and pictorial, so altering the model to achieve a different screed length is easy.
The review model had no defects or missing parts.
Detail
Underneath, the material belt is visible, and the tracks are rubber and nicely segmented. At the rear the there are a couple of working roller bars for truck wheels to bear against, and the hopper has the material belt and metal sides. The main body components are also metal and there are grilles within the castings.
The operator's area is really good. It has textured non-slip flooring and excellent metal handrails. There are two seats and the main control console is nicely detailed to represent the real machine. The canopy is plastic and fixed to a metal frame.
The screed is first class. Platforms have a non-slip texture, and they have fine metal handrails. At each end there are hydraulic cylinders to extend the platforms and there is an additional operator console. The material spreading screws are metal and look very convincing.
Features
The rubber tracks can be moved reasonably smoothly, and the material transport belt can also be moved.
At the rear the hopper sides can be closed up to funnel material onto the belt. The cover to the engine opens revealing a detailed engine. The canopy is hinged so it folds down to lower the headroom for transport, and the exhaust pipe is linked to it so it cleverly folds down also.
Within the operator's platform the seats on each side rotate outwards to provide a better view, and the main console slides and can be rotated to any position across the width of the area. The canopy has extending sections to provide protection to the operator when the seats are swung out.
The screed can be lowered up or down and the cylinders are stiff enough to hold the pose. At each end the screed is telescopic, and the auger screws can be turned by hand. The width of the screed can be amended by adding or removing supplied parts giving very good display flexibility.
Quality
This is a very good quality model which is metal for the most part with plastic carefully used in certain places. The castings are excellent and the paintwork and graphics enhance the model.
Price
It is very good value for the high quality, detail and features included.
Overall
Overall this is an outstanding model by Conrad. It is beautifully presented and well engineered, with plenty of features. It looks great when paired with other models such as a dump truck filling the paver with asphalt.
Footnotes
The model first appeared at the BAUMA exhibition in 2010, and was available soon after.
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| | The model inside the high quality foam. | | Set up for paving. | | Material hopper and rollers at the rear. | | Opening engine cover. | | Operator consoles at each end of the screed. | | Five minutes training and he thinks he can drive it. | | The console can take any position within the operating area. | | Getting loaded onto a Doll Trailer. | | Neatly loaded and ready to go with the canopy down. | | It makes a great combination with a dump truck. You can almost smell the asphalt. | | Great details all round. |
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