 | | Wooden box. |  |  | | Nice wheels and tyres. |  | | No steering. |  | | Simple underneath. |  | | Loader arm goes higher but will not hold the pose. Tipping action is negligible. |  | | Profile view. |
|  Comment on this model.
This is a model of Volvo's first wheel loader, the Bolinder-Munktell H10.
The roots of the Volvo company go back to 1832 when Johan Munktell founded his company. In 1950 Volvo acquired Bolinder-Munktell and in 1954 the first wheel loader, the H10, was introduced. It was based on a tractor and had rear wheel steering.
Packaging
The model comes in an unusual box. It is wood with a clear lid and a clasp on the front. The printed decoration around the sides is nice. Inside there is black foam rubber protecting the model although it is not well-fitting.
There were no defects or missing parts on the review model.
As this is a model of an important machine in Volvo's history it is a little surprising that there is no information describing its history, and so it is an opportunity missed.
Detail
The model is mounted on a black plastic base with a metal tab, which gives it a presentation feel. To release the model two screws have to be undone.
The underside of the H10 is fairly simple but the wheels have decent tyres with a reasonable tread pattern, and they are mounted on nice metal wheels secured by silver rivets.
At the rear end there is a tank which has some nice casting detail and there are a couple of hoses and pipes. Some of the bolt heads are nicely highlighted.
The engine cover has the BM logo at the front, and the engine is just visible from certain angles. The cab is simply modelled reflecting the standard of the real machine, and a nice touch is that operating levers with knobs are just visible inside. A couple of lights sit on the roof.
The loader mechanism is mostly metal and it looks quite good although the silver connecting rivets stand out against the green paint. The bucket is simply modelled reflecting the original.
Features
The wheels roll although there is no steering on the rear axle.
The loader mechanism raises but cannot hold a pose at height. The bucket tipping mechanism is poorly designed so it has almost no tipping capability. A pity because it appears that proper tipping would have been easy to implement.
Quality
The model is well made with a high metal content.
The paintwork and graphics are very good.
Price
The model is reasonable value given it is a presentation item.
Overall
This is an interesting model of a historic machine, and an effort has been made to make it nicely presented. However given its special status it would have been appropriate to have a higher focus on the quality of the model engineering and to have provided some background to the history of the machine.
Footnotes
The model first appeared at the Nuremberg Toy Fair 2014 and became .available in June 2014.
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|  | | Displayed on its stand. |  | | Tank at the front provides some counterbalance to the digging end. |  | | Connecting rivets on the bucket are visible. | |
|  | | Maker's name on the side of the tractor. |
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