 | | Volvo style box. |  |  | | Body details are very good. |  | | Plastic hoses at the foot of the boom rams. |  | | Nice cab, but no mirror outside. |  | | Thin hydraulic hoses. |  | | Graphics are good. Nice bucket and painted rivets. |  | | Profile view. |  | | Poses well as a transport load. |
|  Comment on this model.
The Volvo EC480E is a crawler excavator with an operating weight in the 48 tonne weight class. This modelled version has a fixed undercarriage.
Packaging
The packaging is a Volvo-branded outer sleeve enclosing clear plastic trays which allow the model to be seen. A good photo of the real machine is printed on the reverse side.
There were no missing parts or manufacturing defects on the review model.
There is no information about the real machine or model included.
Detail
The undercarriage has a metal baseplate underneath, and the narrow crawler tracks are metal with the triple grouser pads having tiny bolt heads. They are mounted on track frames with no moving rollers.
The cab interior is quite good with the joysticks and levers modelled. On the outside there are door hinges in the casting and a tiny Volvo graphic on the door handle. There are twin wipers and a beacon light on the roof, although there is no mirror adjacent to the door. Grab rails are metal and there is a textured platform outside the cab.
The detailing of the body is very good with panel handles and grilles modelled in the casting, although the grilles are not see-through. There are nice textured walking surfaces on the top of the body. The counterweight has the Volvo name embossed in the casting, there is a video camera on top, and small warning graphics add to the appearance. Handrails are metal and mirrors add detail. Under the engine cover is a nice detailed plastic engine.
Thin plastic hydraulic hoses run up the boom and across to the stick and down to provide a supply for tools. The hydraulic rams have plastic jackets and metal pistons. Rivet heads are painted so the overall appearance is very good.
The bucket is a very nice metal part.
Features
The tracks roll easily and unusually they are not tensioned by spring-loaded idlers.
The body rotates smoothly without rocking.
An opening engine cover allows the engine to be seen and it can pose in the open position.
The boom, stick and bucket have a very good range of movement and the rams have the right stiffness to enable poses to be held.
Quality
This is a high quality model with a low plastic content.
The graphics and paint are very good.
Price
It is good value fro a larger excavator.
Overall
This is high quality excavator model for Volvo with good detailing and functionality. It is highly recommended.
Footnotes
The model first appeared at ConExpo in March 2014.
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|  | | Larger sized excavator. |  | | Metal handrails. |  | | Undercarriage. Some detailing on the body. |  | | Detailing on top is good. |  | | Opening cover. |  | | Loading a Volvo dump truck. |  | | On the way to site. |
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