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| Caterpillar
branded tin. |
 |
 |
| Bucket raised. |
 |
| Rear end looks
good. |
|
|
 |
| Pivot point. |
 |
| Operator is
fixed. |
 |
| Decent bucket
height for loading a European tipper. |
 |
| At work. |
 |
| Good in a mini
diorama. |
|
The Caterpillar 972 XE is a mid sized wheel loader. It
weighs around 25 tonnes.
Packaging
The model comes in the usual High Line Series 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.
Detail
The underside has some detailing with the transmission modelled. The tyres have a good tread pattern and they
are mounted on wheels which have silvered bolts as a
highlight.
At the rear the radiator
bears the Cat logo and the handrails around the cab
are metal. The rear side grilles are formed by
graphics. The exhaust stack is plastic.
The cab is detailed with plastic silvered mirrors.
There is a fixed operator in the cab and there are
joystick controls.
Detail at the pivot point includes the
steering rams, and there are some small
graphics which add to the appearance. However, there are
no hydraulic hoses visible. At the front
there are lights with indicators mounted on plastic stalks.
The hydraulic rams
have plastic piston jackets with no hydraulic hoses.
The loader arms are
simple and the connection
rivets are painted.
The bucket is a
metal casting with a plain edge.
Features
It rolls very smoothly and there is oscillation of the rear axle.
Steering across the pivot point achieves a
moderate
angle which is less than the real machine achieves.
The bucket
has no meaningful carry
angle. The lift height is reasonable as is the tipping
angle. The review model could not maintain the
highest lift height because of looseness in the
mechanism.
Quality
It is a nice quality model.
The paintwork is very good and the graphics are
sharp.
Price
It is fully priced.
Overall
This is another in the series of Caterpillar Wheel
Loader models and it is of a similar standard. The
operator is fixed in the cab which limits the flexibility as a transport load.
Footnotes
The model first appeared
at the Nuremberg Toy Fair 2023 and was shipped from June
2023.
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|
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| At work. |
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| Underneath. |
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| Small graphics. |
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|
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| Simple bucket.
|
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| Profile view. |
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| Carrying sand. |
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