 | | CAT style box. |  |  | | A cuddly little machine. |  | | Raising and tipping the bucket. |  | | Bucket with grapples homes in on a beam. |  | | Using the forks to shift a heavy wheel. |
| The CAT 299C is a compact track loader that has an operating weight of under 5 tonnes. It is a multi purpose machine which is used in small construction projects and agricultural applications. A large variety of different tools can be attached to the front.
Packaging
The model is packed in a typical CAT-style windowed box and is securely held within plastic formers. Unusually, it is not tied to a cardboard base so extracting the model from the packaging is a pleasure and not a trial.
There is no information about the real machine, but the box does describe the main features of the model. A very simple graphic instruction sheet describes how the tools are changed.
Detail
The shaped tracks are rubber as are those on the real machine, and they are mounted on track frames which include working idlers and rollers.
The cab is metal with plastic debris guards on the sides, and in the glazed roof section. Inside the cab, the seat and controls are modelled reasonably well.
Behind the cab the engine compartment is a nice casting with a plastic roof plate. The graphics are very good, and at the rear the lights are painted on.
The boom is a simple straightforward metal casting and it has a good representation of the articulated lift arrangement. The rivets which are used are painted so they are not obtrusive, and is therefore a nice detail.
A metal shovel is fixed to the boom and two alternative tools are supplied. One is a set of forks, although these are plastic and rather flexible. The other tool is a shovel with a pair of plastic grapples.
Features
The rubber tracks can be rotated but only by using force so they are not free rolling, and will not move by pushing the model along.
The boom has the vertical lift arrangement of the real machine although it cannot reach the same height. Nevertheless the range of movement is reasonably good.
There is a tilting mechanism at the end of the boom and any of the three tools can be attached. The grapple tool can be opened and closed and has enough stiffness in the mechanism to be able to grip a load.
Quality
The 299C is a reasonable quality model although in 1:32 scale it would have been nice to see some greater detailing. The paintwork and graphics are very good.
Price
The model is priced relatively low and so represents good value.
Overall
This is a reasonable model which is robustly made and is quite inexpensive. It would have been better if it had some more detailing such as hydraulic lines, and for the rubber tracks to have worked better, but even so it looks good on display.
Footnotes
The model first appeared in 2009.
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|  | | The parts out of the box, and the instruction sheet. |  | | Chunky features at the rear. |  | | Drive sprocket detail. |  | | Carrying some beams. |  | | The forks raised high. |
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