 | | The Sword style box. |  |  | | The parts out of the box. |  | | Plenty of chrome makes it shine. A towing hitch is fitted at the front. |  | | The wheel arches are not fitted. |  | | Wheel arches fitted. |  | | The steps can be removed to give access to a detailed battery. |  | | View underneath. |  | | Flip axle. |  | | Excellent small details. The loading ramps fold into place, air lines plug into the gooseneck, excellent small graphics, and the deck width is extended with the fold out supports and timbers. |
| This is a model of the T800W tractor made by the Kenworth Truck Company coupled with a four axle lowboy by Rogers Trailers. It is in a yellow livery.
Packaging
The model is packed in a standard Sword style box and inside it is contained within a couple of expanded polystyrene trays with the parts wrapped with polythene. The review model had no defects or missing parts.
Included in the box are small bags of parts to fit although there are no instructions. Fortunately it is fairly straightforward to see where the parts go. It is nice to see that some spare door mirrors and a pointer tool are included to help the collector.
Detail
The tractor chassis is very detailed underneath and has prop shafts, differentials and replicated suspension details. The rear wheels have very good metal hubs with finely treaded tyres, and there are rubber mud flaps with the Kenworth name imprinted. Towards the front the underside of the engine is visible and the front wheels are on different metal hubs to those on the rear wheels. The tyres on the steering axle are also different to those on the rigid axles.
The front of the tractor has an imposing radiator grille with very fine bolt details and a distinctive badge. The Kenworth name is presented in a very small size in chrome on the sides of the hood and this is a very pleasing detail. At the rear, the optionally fitted wheel arches are plastic.
The cab detail maintains an excellent standard. On each side fuel tanks with very fine graphics are modelled, and the cab steps have nicely patterned treads. As is typical for an American truck there is lots of chrome work around the top of the cab with very good metal door mirrors, lights and air horns. The windows to the cab door are set at the half way position. Inside, the cab is also detailed and a particularly nice touch is the fan mounted at the top of the windscreen.
Behind the cab, there are three coiled airlines for connection to a trailer, sets of chains and a nice beacon light bar.
The trailer is also very good indeed. The gooseneck is well detailed with lines to the hydraulic cylinders and some very small graphics. Lines run the length of the trailer from the gooseneck to the rear axles. The bed has a wood effect plastic surface with the structure of the trailer in metal and having some non slip surfaces. An excellent detail is the tying down points along the side of the trailer which are extremely small and fine. At the rear, the lights and mud flaps are very good.
Features
The front wheels on the tractor steer, with a very good range of movement on the review model. The steering is notched rather than smooth.
The second axle can be raised out of service and there is working suspension on both axles 1 and 2. Covers forming the steps to the cab can be removed and these reveal the batteries or a storage compartment. The mudguards to axles 2,3 and 4 are removable so the tractor can be configured to the collector's preference. A further choice is provided at the front where an 'oversize load' sign can be fitted, or a towing hitch.
The hood opens nicely and the cab doors can also be opened. The ‘fifth wheel’ on the tractor works and is operated with a spring loaded lever to secure a trailer in position. It also has a degree of longitudinal movement.
The trailer has neatly folding loading ramps at the front, and the width of the bed can be extended by using fold out support brackets and one-piece extension boards on each side. It is detachable from the gooseneck to facilitate loading, and the gooseneck has working cylinders providing a range of movement to the connection to the trailer.
The rear axles all have working suspension, and to save wear on the tyres the last two axles can be raised out of service when the trailer travels unloaded. Axle 3 clips out in the raised position and axle 4 is a 'flip' axle which raises and rotates 180°.
Quality
This model is nearly all metal and the detail level is very high. The quality of the castings is very good, and the paintwork and graphics are to a high standard.
Price
This is a precision model so is higher priced than other low loader models although it is higher quality so it is justified.
Overall
Overall, this is a very good quality model and is easy to highly recommend. The functionality and detail is really good, and although the price of the model is not the cheapest, there is no denying the quality of the model provided.
Footnotes
The model was released in 2009 and the following versions were produced: Colours tractor + trailer: Red - 375; White - 375; Yellow - 375; Black - 375. Separate tractors and trailers were produced in each of the above colours in a run of 125 each: Badged: Kokosing - 250 (DHS Preferred members); Mammoet - 750 (500 to Mammoet, 250 to DHS).
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|  | | The model in the tray. |  | | The Kenworth T800 has a good range of steering movement. |  | | Detail underneath. |  | | Opening hood allows the detailed engine to be seen. |  | | Inside the cab is very detailed too. |  | | The tractor and trailer separated to allow the loading of a Caterpillar AP655D paver. |  | | Trailer axles. The last line can flip up and the one next to it can be raised out of service. |  | | It looks great with a heavy load. |  | | Loaded with a Liebherr L 586 2plus2. |  | | The paver gets a a lift. |
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