 | | Caterpillar branded box. |  |  | | Rubber tracks are moulded well. |  | | Metal rotor has nice tools. |  | | Control console has a folding lid. |  | | Decent detailing. |  | | Support cables look very good. |  | | Ready to work. |  | | Discharging into a tipper, but the conveyor is too low so it has to rest on the truck. |
|  Comment on this model.
The Caterpillar PM200 is a cold planer used for removing old asphalt surfacing, and depending on configuration it weighs around 30 tonnes. It is available in 2m and 2.2m cutting widths.
Packaging
The model comes in a familiar style Caterpillar-branded box with windows on three sides but unusually the model is held inside between two clear plastic formers rather than being tied to a base.
The review model had no missing parts or defects.
The box has no information about the real machine, but some of the features of the model are described. There is no assembly to perform.
Detail
Under the model is a metal rotor which is fixed in position and has the individual tools modelled. The collecting conveyor is represented with a soft fabric material rather than a rubber belt.
The small tracks are rubber and are mounted on plastic sprockets attached to metal track frames. The individual rubber pads and bolts are delineated within the tracks which is nice detailing. The legs are yellow when silver to represent hydraulic pistons would have been much better.
The body is metal with plastic used to detail some of the smaller elements. Most of these are good, but some of the mirrors and lights have an unfinished look as for some reason they are not silvered. The access ladders to the operator's area are plastic. Detailing within the metal casting is good but obscured a little by the apparent thick paint coating. A nice touch is two tiny graphics on the sides at the rear.
The cab has a textured floor and there is a good central control console with moulded controls. The canopy is metal on fixed plastic, slightly flexible, supports.
The main conveyors are modelled well and look good with bolt heads in the side frames. They have realistic fine support cables, and the belt inside is fabric. The painted beacon light at the tip is slightly cruder modelling.
Features
The crawler tracks can be made to rotate and they tilt, but the functionality is simplified as they do not steer or raise and lower on the legs.
The rotor rotates freely. It is fixed in position although the collecting conveyor can be raised and lowered a little.
The belt on the main conveyor movable. The front part folds over for transport. However it appears there is no height adjustment possible on the main conveyor so it is difficult to raise the conveyor to show the model properly discharging into a tipper truck. The conveyor assembly can be rotated from side-to-side.
The operator's control console has a folding lid.
Quality
This is a fairly typical Norscot model with a robust construction.
The paint is good and the graphics are fine.
Price
It is moderate value for money.
Overall
Overall this is a typically robust Norscot model with reasonable detailing and some functionality, and is an interesting machine from the Caterpillar stable.
Footnotes
The model was shown at the Nuremberg Toy Fair in 2013 and was available from July 2013.
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|  | | Conveyor height is not readily adjustable. |  | | Tiny graphic under the light at the rear. |  | | Underside of the conveyor is quite good. |  | | No steering or height adjustment on the legs. |  | | Profile view. |  | | Painted beacon light. |  | | Conveyor folds for transport. |  | | A good transport load. |
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