 | | Hidromek branded box. |  |  | | Simple body detailing and sharp graphics. |  | | Handrails are soft plastic. |  | | GEN cab. |  | | Hydraulic hoses are good. |  | | Detailed bucket. |  | | 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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|  | | 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. |  | | Engine looks good. |  | | Reaching up. |  | | Folded up for transport. |
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