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Weserhütte W 180 Piling Rig

Maker:  NZG
Model No:  596
Scale:  1:50
Review Date:  August 2012


NZG Index
Historic Equipment Index


Cranes Etc Model Rating
Packaging   (max 10) 8
Detail   (max 30) 26
Features   (max 20) 18
Quality   (max 25) 21
Price   (max 15) 10
Overall   (max 100) 83%

Footnotes


Weserhütte W 180 Piling Rig Video.
The old-style box.
Opening cab door.
View underneath.
Opening rear door.
Gears visible inside.
Detailed tracks.
Solid leader.
Leader set at a raking angle.
The Weserhütte W 180 is one of the NZG historical series and has been produced in dragline and this piling version.

The W 180 was produced approximately in the period 1967 - 1990 and the base machine had a weight of around 60 tonnes.

Packaging

The model comes in an old-style historic series box.  It is packed within a polystyrene box which has a separate section for the piling attachment.  There were no defects or missing parts on the review model. 

There is a simple and clear instruction sheet which explains how to rig the model.

Detail

The undercarriage has fine metal tracks and the track frames have rollers top and bottom.

The body itself is detailed well with grilles, lights and exhaust pipes.  Metal handrails and ladders surround the body and the floors of the side walkways have a realistic mesh appearance.

Inside the body internal machinery details are provided with the engine and gears all modelled.  Cab details include a seat, levers and pedals.

The boom sections are good with the connections being of the longitudinal pin variety and the pulleys are metal.  The leader is a heavy metal casting, with the piling hammer also being solid and heavy.

Features

The metal tracks can be moved but they are not particularly free-rolling.  The track sprockets are spring loaded at one end to keep the tension on the tracks and this makes it easy to remove the track from the sprockets if required.

There are sliding doors on each side of the model and there is a hinged door at the rear.  Opening flaps cover the rope entry point on the body.

All the main functions can be operated and the winches are worked using keys.  The boom can be raised and lowered, as can the leader, and the hammer can be operated.  The leader can be posed vertical or raking forwards/backwards and offset to the side.

The parts of the model can be posed on suitable haulage vehicles with the side access walkways being removable. 

Quality

The model is very high quality with some particularly fine detail work.  The paint finish is also very high quality.  Very little plastic is used.

Price

Although the model costs more than similar sized modern models, the quality makes the additional cost well worth it.

Overall

This is another very high quality historic model from NZG.  Although it has been available for many years it is still an outstanding model of its type.

Footnotes

This piling version of the model first appeared at the Nuremberg Toy Fair in 2005.  A dragline version of the model was previously released as NZG 500.

 
The parts out of the box.
Profile view with the leader vertical.
Hydraulic ram steadies the leader.
Solid and heavy hammer.
The A-Frame is fixed in position.
Detailed boom with metal pulleys.
Handrails and walkways are very good.
Impressive looking historic model.
View inside the model.