 |
| The
box. |
 |
 |
| Ripper up. |
 |
| Dozer blade
lowered. |
 |
| Complex front
axle is capable of a little wheel lean. |
 |
| Perforated
grille on the engine cover. |
 |
| Plastic engine
is a solid block. |
 |
| Profile view. |
 |
| It is a good
looking load. |
|
 Comment on this model.
The New Holland F156.7A Grader weighs 16.2 tonnes. It
is used for spreading and levelling material, and can do
so accurately on roadworks formations prior to
overlaying with asphalt.
Packaging
The model comes in a Motorart-branded box with some
simple New
Holland logos added. Inside the model is held between
two press fit clear plastic
formers.
There were no missing parts or defects on
the review model.
There is no information about the real machine or model
included.
Detail
Looking underneath the rear transmission is modelled
within the casting of the base plate. Rubber tyres
are mounted on metal wheels which are detailed, but
would have looked better with grey painted centre hubs.
The rear wheel arches are plastic.
At the rear the ripper assembly is metal, as is the
engine cover which has large see-through perforations
and some nice warning sign graphics. Under the
hood is a plastic engine which is very simplistically
modelled.
The plastic cab has very thin metal grab rails although
strangely there is only a mirror assembly on one side
and you have to wonder if this is because the plastic
former packaging was not designed with enough space to
allow for it.
The interior cab detail is reasonable and includes an
overhead mirror.
The front assembly is metal with the wheel arches and
lights being plastic, but with a very good colour match
to the metal parts. The moldboard and dozing blade
at the front are both simple metal parts. 'No 1 in
Europe' is printed on the dozer blade which does not
enhance a realistic look.
Features
It rolls well and the rear wheels oscillate, but
only to a moderate degree. At the front things are better
with the axle oscillating and the wheels able to obtain
a good steering angle. An amount of wheel lean is
also possible.
Articulation of the grader frame only achieves a
small angle.
The moldboard rotates and it also tilts and a little
longitudinal movement is possible. It raises,
lowers and tilts on hydraulic rams.
The ripper assembly raises and lowers.
The dozing blade raises and lowers.
The cab door on each side opens to a good angle
although the fit in the frame is very tight so it can be
a
difficult to get them to open.
Quality
This is a reasonable quality model although it is not
particularly robust so it has to be handled with care.
It has a number of plastic elements.
The paint quality is mainly good, and the graphics are
very good.
Price
It is moderate value for money.
Overall
Graders are complex machines which provide a modelling
challenge. This is a reasonably nice looking model
and most of the functionality is good. However
there is a fair bit of plastic and parts of the model do
not feel particularly robust.
Footnotes
The model appeared at dealers in September 2014.
|
|
|
|
 |
| Printing on the
dozer blade. |
 |
| Sharp graphics
around the engine hood. |
 |
| Detail underneath. |
|
|
 |
| Simple
moldboard. |
 |
| Opening door. |
 |
| Looks good
overall. |
 |
| Ready to go to
the worksite. |
|
