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| Hidromek
branded box. |
 |
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| Simple body
detailing and sharp graphics. |
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| Handrails are
soft plastic. |
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| GEN cab. |
 |
| Hydraulic hoses
are good. |
 |
| Detailed
bucket. |
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| Profile view. |
|
 Comment on this model.
Hidromek is a Turkish company founded in 1978 and it
offers a range of backhoe loaders, wheeled excavators
and crawler excavators up to 45 tonne machines. In
2013 it acquired the Mitsubishi Motor Grader business.
The HMK 370 LC HD is a medium size crawler excavator
with an operating weight of around 38 tonnes. The GEN
series cab has won various design awards.
Packaging
The packaging is a Hidromek-branded outer sleeve enclosing
clear plastic trays.
There were no missing parts or defects on
the review model.
There is no information about the real machine or model
included.
Detail
The undercarriage has a plain plastic base plate
underneath. The triple grouser
crawler tracks are metal with the shoes
having tiny bolt heads.
They are mounted on reasonably detailed track frames with no
moving rollers.
The cab is fairly simple inside, and outside there are a
couple of graphics, the grab rail is plastic and the
windscreen wiper is printed. A beacon light is
fixed to the rear.
Looking underneath, the body underside is plastic with
the upper body being a metal casting. It is
moderately detailed with a video camera at the rear.
The handrail on the access stair is modelled in very
soft plastic. There are painted lights on the
front although they seem small.
Under the engine cover is a reasonably detailed
plastic engine with a compromise that the exhaust pipe
is attached to the cover rather than passing through it.
Hydraulic pipes in the casting run up the boom with
plastic hoses running to the rams.
Silver rivet heads would have looked less obtrusive with
a dab of paint.
The metal bucket has nice casting detail on the back.
Features
The tracks roll
quite freely. They are spring loaded to maintain
tension.
The body rotates
although a little stiffly.
An opening engine cover allows the engine to be seen
and it can pose in the open position.
The boom, stick and bucket all move
and most poses can be held by the rams. The main
boom rams have a restricted
range of movement preventing the boom being positioned
digging at maximum depth.
Quality
It is a robust model which is mostly metal. The
assembly of the review model was not perfect with some
joints between parts being uneven, but you have to look
very closely to notice.
The graphics and paint are reasonable.
Price
The model price is reasonable for a larger model.
Overall
It is always good to see a new model from an Original
Equipment Manufacturer that has not had a scale
model programme.
This is a good looking model which displays well.
It is in the unusual scale of 1:40 so it is a larger
model, but it does mean it cannot be posed with other
1:50 models such as on a low loader.
Overall it is recommended.
Footnotes
The model
became available in February 2014.
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|
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|
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| A larger
excavator model in 1:40 scale. |
 |
| Track frames
look fine. |
 |
| Undercarriage plate
and bottom of the body is plastic. |
 |
| Details on top.
The exhaust pipe is part of the cover rather than
running through to the engine through a hole. |
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| Engine looks
good. |
 |
| Reaching up. |
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| Folded up for
transport. |
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