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| Conrad box.
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| Stabilisers at
the front. |
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| Palfinger is a
heavy piece of kit. |
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| Giving a
helping hand. |
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| Base of the
Palfinger.
|
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| Rear outrigger
beams flex a bit. |
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| High reach. |
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| Detachable load
box. |
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This MAN truck has a Palfinger
PK100002 loading crane which is a machine in the 100
tonne-metre class.
It is in the colours of
Wiesbauer, a family owned German crane and heavy
haulage company founded in 1958. The truck is modelled
after a real machine in their fleet.
Packaging
The model comes in a standard Conrad box, and it is
wrapped in foam rubber.
The review model had no defects or missing parts.
There is no information provided about the real vehicle
or instructions for the model. The only assembly
required is to fit the door mirrors, roof aerial and a
couple of parts on the Palfinger.
Detail
The truck chassis is pretty good with the transmission
and suspension modelled in plastic although the steering
axles are modelled for functionality only. The
main structure is metal including the fuel tank and rear
bumper. The wheel hubs look particularly crisp and
the tyres have a good tread pattern. A special
assembly is fixed in front of the cab and this has two
stabilisers which are made of plastic. As with the
other stabilisers on the model the pistons are screw
threads rather than smooth.
The MAN cab looks great because the Wiesbauer livery is
striking and the detailing is very good with
colour-coded door mirrors, and sharp looking graphics.
However it is surprising there is no number plate given
that the model represents a real truck. Under the cab
an engine is present.
At the rear of the model there is a beacon light, towing
hitch and wheel chocks, and the lights are painted but
again there is no number plate.
There are rear outrigger beams and pads which are part
plastic and part metal. A removable metal box can
be used to carry loads and it is very nicely decorated.
The knuckle-boom portion of the crane looks realistic and
has some good graphics and there are simple equipment boxes around the
base. The outrigger beams are plastic but the main
cylinders are metal. On the crane the bottom boom
sections are metal and the eight telescopic sections are
plastic.
Each telescopic section has its own cylinder and piston
although there are no hydraulic hoses modelled. The
crane can be rigged either with a fixed hook or a hook
on a winch line.
Features
The two front axles have linked steering and they can
achieve a limited amount of movement, and the rear axle
can also steer.
The cab tilts forward and can just
maintain a tilted pose.
The load box can be taken off and there is a fifth
wheel to enable a trailer to be connected. However the
fifth wheel sits well forward and low, so it might be
hard to find a suitable trailer.
To facilitate the operation of the Palfinger there are a
number of outriggers. At the front of the cab the twin
pads can be lowered, and at the rear there are two stage
plastic beams which have a long reach but could do with
being more rigid. Outriggers are also located on each
side of the crane and these are two-stage and pull out
from the transport position and rotate downwards.
The hydraulic lift cylinders are stiff enough to enable
the boom to be posed in any position without slipping
down. Similarly the telescopic sections have
some friction between them to hold set poses.
However although the extended boom can support its own
weight it would not support much load without the
telescopic sections slipping. With the boom fully
extended an impressive model results and it can reach to
a height of over 50cm.
A fixed hook can be positioned at two points on the boom
and there is also the option to use a working winch and
this has enough friction to hold a load on the hook.
Quality
This is a robustly made model and only the plastic
outrigger beams are a bit lightweight for the model.
The quality of the paintwork and graphics is excellent.
Price
The model is reasonable value.
Overall
The strength of this model is that it looks great with
some nice detailing in the graphics, and the large
Palfinger is impressive. It is certainly collectible in Wiesbauer
colours and is highly recommended to anyone wanting to
complete a collection in their livery.
Footnotes
The model first appeared at the Nuremberg Toy Fair in 2011
and became available in September 2011. A
version in the
colours of Kibag appeared in April 2012.
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| Steering shown
at the maximum. |
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| Decoration is
very good. |
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| Underneath the
truck.
|
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| Profile view. |
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| Lifting the
truck.
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| Impressive
height can be obtained. |
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|
Tilting cab. |
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