 | | VINCI branded box. |  |  | | Metal rear grille. |  | | Good tyres and front axle. |  | | Rear grille is formed by graphics. |  | | Rivets are large but painted. |  | | Ready to roll. |  | | Loading a Sogea Satom truck. |
|  Comment on this model.
The Caterpillar 950 GC wheel loader has an operating weight of around 19 tonnes and bucket capacities of 2.9 - 3.6m³. It is aimed at emerging markets.
This model is in the colours of Sogea Satom. It is part of the VINCI Group.
Packaging
The model comes in a VINCI-branded box style with windows. It is enclosed within a one-piece plastic holder that pops open to release the model.
The review model had no missing parts or defects.
Detail
The underside has the rear axle modelled and the transmission to the front axle runs into the front assembly. Nice quality rubber tyres with a good tread pattern are mounted on wheels with detailed plastic exterior faces and simple inside faces.
The engine cover has twin grab rails on one side, and the mesh side grilles of the original machine are formed by graphics, and the Sogea Satom branding is sharply rendered. The rear grille counterweight has open ends at the front edges. The rear lights are painted.
The walkways around the cab have a non-slip texture and the metal handrails are very good. The cab is detailed with wipers front and back, and the mirrors are plastic. The interior has controls but there is no CAT logo on the seat back.
At the pivot point but there are no hydraulic hoses and the front axle drive shaft is not modelled.
The loader arm with the Z-bar linkages is modelled well with hoses running to the ram jacket, and decent detail in the metal parts. The rivets in the loader arm are quite large and visible, but they are painted.
The rock bucket has good detailing on the outside.
Features
The wheels roll well with each pair of tyres fixed to a common axle. The rear axle is able to oscillate significantly and the front axle is fixed.
The model steers across the pivot point and the overall steering angle is very good.
The loader arm lifts the bucket to a moderate height and can hold a pose. Both the tipping angle and the carrying angle are slightly shallow.
Quality
This is a solid and generally well made model with a high metal content.
The paint finish is good and the graphics are sharp.
Price
It is good value for a limited edition.
Overall
This is a good looking model of a VINCI Group machine, although all Caterpillar branding is removed presumably because of license requirements.
Footnotes
This version of the model became available in March 2015 and was an exclusive limited edition for the VINCI webshop in a run of 300 models.
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|  | | Decent carry angle. |  | | View underneath. |  | | No Cat logo on the seat back. |  | | No hoses at the pivot point. | |
|  | | Profile view. |  | | Bucket height is just about enough to get over the high truck side. |
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