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| Zoomlion
box. |
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| The lower tray.
|
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| Impressive
sections. |
|
|
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| Detailed
plastic engine. |
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| Cab is
detailed. |
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| Geometry is
good. |
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| Fully rigged,
but large hook block left off.
|
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| Nice looking
overall. |
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| Rigged with the
main boom only. |
|
The Zoomlion ZCC9800W Crawler Crane can lift a maximum
of 800 tonnes and is a machine particularly aimed at the
wind turbine market.
It was introduced in 2019.
Packaging
The packaging consists of a large Zoomlion-branded
box which wraps two expanded polystyrene
trays. There are many parts and they are
mostly wrapped in soft paper.
There were no missing
parts on the review model. One name board on a boom
section was loose as the securing screw had come out
during shipping.
There is no information provided about the real crane, but
an assembly instruction brochure for the model is included. It
starts with an annotated diagram of the complete crane
and the parts in the trays
are numbered. There are many photos to describe
the assembly, but they are not all in a logical order and
there are some errors, so a beginner may have some
problems.
Only one configuration of the model is described.
Assembly is straightforward, although the included tools
are not the best quality. The reeving takes
time and patience.
Detail
The metal track
pads have detailing and they are mounted on frames which
have detail in the casting. There are no rollers
detailed at all on the bottom of the frames.
Plastic access stairs are provided although the
instructions do not say where to fit them. They
appear to rest against the track frames but they do not
clip on.
Between the tracks self-raising jacks are modelled but
they are non-functional. There are also
counterweight trays which are permanently fixed.
The operator's cab is very detailed with a good interior. Externally the cab has
lights, a mirror and windscreen wiper, and
metal access platforms surround it.
The body sits on a large gold coloured toothed slewing
ring which looks slightly odd but maybe it reflects the
real crane. The body is modelled well, and
there are holes to allow the winch drums to be operated
which are
reasonably discreet. A metal cover fits over a
detailed plastic engine, and there are loose fitting
handrails on a metal walkway platform. The rear
counterweight trays are permanently fixed.
The counterweight blocks are very nicely made
with very good graphics including the Zoomlion name and
weight. However, not enough blocks are supplied with the
model to provide a realistic heavy lifting
configuration.
The A-frame has metal pulleys with a non-functioning
plastic erection cylinder included.
The boom and jib sections are relatively heavy and good
quality with mesh walkways secured by tiny screws.
They do not have any internal bracing. The
sections are joined by tiny brass nuts and bolts which
provide a decent connection.
Metal pulleys are used
throughout the model and the rope retainers are well
engineered.
The luffing jib struts are very good, and all of the boom and
jib guys are metal with riveted connections. They are well made to very good
tolerances.
The back mast has twin rams with metal jackets for
tensioning up the guys and lifting the suspended ballast
tray. The tray is a nice metal part.
Two hooks are provided. One is a single line hook
which is metal and seems extremely large and heavy. The second is a large heavy lift
double block hook
which is metal. However, the blocks cannot
be split which is a problem as it cannot be hung to look
realistic from either the main boom or the luffing jib.
This effectively means that a collector will need to
source separate after-market hooks to rig the model
realistically.
Features
The design of the model means that the tracks and body
cannot be split down to make realistic transport loads,
although the boom and jib sections can be posed on
trucks.
The tracks can be rolled by hand. The self
erection jacks rotate out but cannot be lowered.
The operator's cab tilts to a good angle but the
friction connection cannot hold the pose, and it rotates
in to a transport position.
There are three winches on the crane body. One controls
the A-frame and the other two are used for lifting.
They are controlled by using a winding handle and they
rely on friction only as a brake. Additional winches
are located on the boom foot and derrick, but they have
to be operated by using fingers as the winding handle
cannot be used on them.
The counterweight is configurable at different weights
but there are not enough supplied overall. The
ballast tray height is adjustable by undoing large
locking screws on the back mast rams.
The model is designed to be built and displayed in its
maximum configuration although it is easy to display it
without the luffing jib. Other configurations are
rendered more difficult by the riveted full length guy
rods.
Quality
This is a good quality model which looks attractive. The engineering is
good with most functions working reasonably well.
The paint quality is excellent and the graphics are very
good.
Price
It is moderately priced for a large model.
Overall
It is good to see a large Zoomlion crawler crane
modelled. It is robustly made with some nice
details, but there is the feeling that the model maker
has not fully understood the real crane leading to some
strange modelling decisions such as the supplied hooks.
It is also a pity that a few simple options were not
taken to make the model more flexible and realistic in
terms of configurability, but maybe this reflects
Zoomlion's requirements for the model.
Footnotes
The model first appeared in July 2021 and was
distributed by NZG on behalf of Keng Fai.
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| The upper tray.
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| Boom foot as a
load. |
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| Tilting cab has
to be propped.
|
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| The crane with
back mast installed. |
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| Large hook
block is not modular. |
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|
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| Ballast tray,
but not enough blocks to load it. |
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| Metal riveted
guy lines. |
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| Main structure
looks good.
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