 | | Liebherr-styled box. |  |  | | This is an imposing dozer. |  | | Nice semi-U blade. |  | | Tilting blade. |  | | The ripper is 'man-sized'. |  | | Good details around the cab. |  | | It looks good on a Goldhofer low loader but with the blade attached it is a bit wide for the road. |
| The PR 764 is the largest dozer in the current Liebherr range and it is also claimed to be the world's largest hydrostatically driven tractor. It has an operating weight in the range of 44 to 53 tonnes, and has a maximum travel speed of 11km/h.
Packaging
The model comes in the usual Liebherr-styled box and it is securely held between expanded polystyrene trays. There were no defects or missing parts on the review model.
No information is provided about the real machine and as the model is complete in the box no assembly is required. NZG thoughtfully provide some spare track links with the model which is a nice touch.
Detail
The PR 764 is satisfyingly heavy out of the box which gives it a very robust feel.
The metal tracks are excellent and very well detailed with each link showing bolt locations. A particularly nice detail is the oscillating rollers which are beautifully engineered and replicate the real machine in a convincing way.
The body is finely detailed with numerous grab rails and printed grilles, and the cab has slightly tinted windows together with windscreen wipers and lights. Internal details are good too, with the controls clearly visible. The exhaust pipe would have looked better if it had a hole rather than appearing solid, but other small details abound including a nice fuel filler cap.
At the rear, there is a heavy duty ripper attachment complete with hydraulic cylinders that have authentic looking hosing. The ripper looks suitably menacing. The pinned connection of the moving parts is first rate with no unsightly rivets, and this is replicated at the front also.
The semi-U blade looks good with wear plates on the bottom edge, and the top edge has perforations for driver visibility on the sides. The blade mounting beams are cast well and include textured stepping points. The hydraulic ram jackets are plastic and well detailed, although the colour match is not perfect and shows a little.
Features
The tracks roll well, and each track frame is linked and can oscillate to facilitate travel on rough terrain.
The single shank ripper is pinned, allowing three different settings, or it can be fully removed. It has a reasonable range of movement.
At the front the blade has a good range of movement up and down, and it also can be angled forward and backwards. A degree of side-to-side tilt is also possible.
It would have been good if the blade and ripper were easily removable so the model could be posed in a transport configuration. In fact it is possible to detach the blade assembly by carefully removing the covers at the rear of the mounting beams and undoing the screws, but it appears NZG has not intended the collector to do this.
Quality
The model is high quality in terms of the manufacture and paintwork and the graphics are of a high standard too. As is the usual NZG tradition, relatively little plastic is used.
Price
The model is very good value for the quality offered.
Overall
This is a very nice dozer model and the quality of the model engineering around the tracks is really very good indeed. The functionality of the whole model is very pleasing and so it is easy to highly recommend this model to collectors of earthmoving machines.
Footnotes
The model first appeared in prototype form at the Nuremberg Toy Fair in 2009. It became available in mid 2009. A version in the colours of Hilti was released in mid 2012.
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|  | | The model inside the box. |  | | Imposing from the back too. |  | | Underside view showing the pivoting beam linking the track frames. |  | | Excellent track details. |  | | The shank is removable, or has three settings. |  | | Oscillating track frames allow differential movement over rough terrain. |
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