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| Sandvik branded
box. |
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| Perspex windows
cover machinery parts. |
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| Underneath.
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| Boom extended. |
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| The high cab provides
a full view. |
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| Fire suppression
equipment and stabilisers at the rear. |
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| Heavy boom construction.
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| Ladder up to the
cab platform. |
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| The figure is from
the Sandvik set.
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| Loading a
Sandvik TH550. |
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One of Sandvik's specialisms is underground
excavation machinery and one of their largest machines is
the Sandvik MT720, a 135 Tonne Tunneling Roadheader.
It is specifically designed for excavating in hard and abrasive
rock formations.
The real machine is around 15m long including the conveyor
and 4.6m high. It can cut a profile up to 6.6m high
and 9.1m wide. The conveyor is rated at 400m³/h.
The model is around 40cm (16in) long and almost 10cm (4in)
high.
Packaging
The box has an excellent photo of the MT720 and one side
has been given over to provide technical specifications
about the real machine. Inside the model is contained
within black foam rubber and the review model had no defects
or missing parts.
A black and white instruction sheet covers the attachment
of the conveyor and the fitting of the handrails which is
easy to do.
Detail
The tracks are plastic which comes as a surprise as few
modern models are introduced with plastic tracks.
Having said that, they look fine and are well made.
The main drive sprocket is also plastic and the track frames
have some detail within the castings.
The body is a complex piece of modelling with many engine
and equipment components visible. The sides have perspex
screens which are to replicate the anti dust screens, and
there are plastic work platforms. At the rear there
is some fine mesh screening, and the metal handrails and
ladders look realistic. The top platform has antislip
texturing and the metal cab has debris protection on the
windscreen and good internal detailing. Running through
the body is a fixed conveyor and there are a couple of stabiliser
pads at the rear.
At the rear is a long conveyor arm which has some very good
quality casting providing detail to the structure, and it
has a real rubber belt.
A large spoil catcher is attached to the front and this
has a pair of rotary blades attached which deposit the spoil
onto the conveyor.
The boom is a heavy piece of construction and is metal.
The hydraulic cylinders have jackets with an excellent colour
match and the telescopic boom section has a chunky main
cylinder. Along the top of the boom the protection
plates double as footways and have a textured surface.
The cutting head is plastic but this has allowed some fine
detail of the picks.
Features
The tracks roll very smoothly and are held in tension by
spring-loaded idler wheels in the track frames.
Along the sides of the body the perspex panels can be removed,
and the work platforms can also be raised and lowered.
At the rear the stabilisers can be lowered and are stiff
enough to support the model.
At the front the spoil catcher can also be raised and lowered
so the whole model can be set up off the tracks using the
rear stabilisers as well. The rotary blades on the
spoil catcher can be rotated. However the spoil catcher
cannot be removed in order to reduce the width of the MT720
down to a transport load.
The conveyor is removable, and can be rotated sideways by
about 30°. It can be raised upwards at the pivot
point and is also hinged at the mid point and can be set
in three positions. The rubber belt can be operated.
The boom can rotate sideways to about 45°, and can be
raised and lowered with a very good range of movement.
It can also be extended by around 1cm. The interesting
aspect of the degree of movement of the boom is the way
the protection plates articulate and move which is very
pleasing.
The cutting head freely rotates.
Quality
As expected from Conrad the model is strongly made with
just a little care being needed not to apply too much pressure
to the perspex panels during handling. The paintwork
and graphics are very good.
Price
This is a detailed model with many parts which accounts
for its relatively high price. It is fair value however.
Overall
This is another very good model for Sandvik, and it is of
an interesting machine. Some may be disappointed with
the plastic tracks although from a visual point of view
it is hard to know they are plastic. The features
are very good and well implemented so making the MT720 highly
recommended.
Footnotes
The model first appeared in August 2011.
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| The parts out of
the box. |
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| Fully rigged up.
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| The cab must be
good. |
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| Spoil catcher. |
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| Fierce cutting
head. |
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| Work platforms
allow maintenance. |
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| Really nice mesh
grille. |
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| View through the
conveyor. |
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| Impressive conveyor.
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