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| Caterpillar
branded tin. |
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| At work. |
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| Underneath. |
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| Metal tracks.
Fit of the rear opening panel is not so good. |
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| Detailed
hydraulics. |
|
|
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| Opening panel
door. |
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| Opening hatch. |
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| Metal
handrails. |
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| At work. |
|
The New Generation Caterpillar
315 Excavator has an operating
weight of around 15 tonnes. It
is used for earthmoving operations.
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.
An information sheet describes
how to install an operator and an
old 2020 mini
catalogue of the Diecast Masters range is included.
Detail
The underside is fairly simple
and the metal crawler tracks
have decent detailing. The
track frames are simple also.
There is a dozing blade which
has wear plate detailing on the
bottom edge. Plastic
protection plates cover the
hydraulic rams.
The cab has
plastic mirrors and a roof aerial. A wiper and
grab rails are detailed within
the casting. Inside the usual operator
figure can be installed.
The body casting is good with
separate highlighted panel
handles. The hinges for the
opening panels are not too
obtrusive, but one opening side
panel was not fitted
particularly well on the review
model. There are a number of
very small graphics which add to
the realism. There is an
exhaust pipe on top.
Soft hydraulic lines run to the
stick. Rivets on the boom, stick and tools are small
and painted.
The bucket has defined teeth.
Features
The tracks roll but were a
little sticky.
The blade raises and lowers. However, when fully
lowered it does not have enough
friction to hold the machine up.
It rotates well, but it appeared
that the review model's
turntable was not quite level
with the crawler tracks giving
it an apparent tilt.
The boom
and stick have a very good range of movement.
There was some looseness in the
rams and not all poses can be
held.
The operator can be installed or
left out.
The cab door opens to a decent
angle. Two side panels can also
be opened, and a cover on top
can also be opened. Engine
details are revealed.
Quality
The model is robust, but the
quality is lower in some aspects
than other recent Diecast
Masters models.
The paint is very good and the graphics are sharp.
Price
It is reasonable value.
Overall
This is a functional model with
a high level of detail. The
overall quality in terms of
functionality and fit of parts
was lower than recent
other models from Diecast
Masters, but this may be limited
to the review model.
Footnotes
The model first appeared in
January 2023.
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|
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| In the tin. |
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| Zero tail
swing. |
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| Opening cab
doors. |
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|
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| Digging at
depth is very good.
|
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| Profile view.
Slight lean on the turntable. |
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| Opening panel
door. |
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| On a low
loader. |
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| Smaller sized
machine. |
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