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| Caterpillar
branded tin. |
 |
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| Complex looking
model. |
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| Underneath. |
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| Detailed
hydraulics. |
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| Fire
suppression gear looks great. |
|
|
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| Its smaller
brother, the 12M3, is on the left. |
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| Big oscillation
on the rear wheels. |
|
The Caterpillar
18M3 Motor Grader weighs 33.7 tonnes. It is used for
earthmoving, roadwork, and material handling operations
where maintenance of haul roads or accurate levelling of
surfaces is required.
Packaging
The model comes in excellent packaging. There is
an outer shipping carton which contains a tin which is
protected by a nylon bag. The tin is high quality
and includes pictures and details about the real
machine.
The review model had no missing parts or defects.
The only thing missing is information for the model, but a mini
catalogue of the Diecast Masters range is included.
Detail
There is some detail underneath. The
rubber tyres have a deep tread pattern and look
impressive, and they are mounted on decent plastic
wheels which have wheel nut details. The front
tyres were mounted with the tread in the opposite
direction to those shown on the real grader, but this is
easy to reverse.
At the rear the ripper is metal and the seven shanks
have nice teeth but they are thickly painted. The
rivets are painted so they look unobtrusive. The engine
block looks good with grab rails and the grilles are
formed of graphics. A very nice touch is the fire
suppression equipment, and the handrails are thin metal
except the soft plastic ones at the access ladder.
The steering pistons are modelled at the pivot point,
but there are no hydraulics crossing.
The cab roof is plastic, and the detail throughout the
cab is good and it includes the usual operator.
The front end has a counterweight fitted and the drawbar
and circle are modelled very well. The moldboard has
rivet details on the blade. The detailing of the
hydraulics is particularly good.
Features
The front axle has limited steering capability but it is
able to oscillate up and down. The mechanism to lean
the tyres is modelled, but was non-functional on the
review model.
The rear wheels are in linked pairs and can also
oscillate significantly.
The grader can steer across the pivot point behind the
cab. The angle is shallow.
At the rear the ripper can be raised and lowered.
The moldboard has a full range of movement. It can be
raised and lowered, and a small amount of side to side
tilt is possible. It can also rotate on the circle, be
extended to one side or the other, and have the face
tilted forwards and backwards.
Quality
It is a reasonably robust model with a high metal
content, and some plastic parts.
The paint is good, but with a small area of rough finish
on the review model, and the graphics are sharp.
Price
It is reasonable value.
Overall
As usual the model is beautifully presented in its high
quality tin. It looks good and there are many moving
parts.
Footnotes
The model became available in 2016.
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|
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|
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| Front tyre
treads are reversed. |
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| Hand rails
are mostly metal. |
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| Big tilt. |
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|
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| Profile view. |
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| Yes, he is
there. |
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