 |
| The
box. |
 |
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| Mast folded.
|
 |
| Underneath. |
 |
| Stair and fire
suppression equipment. |
|
|
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| High detail. |
 |
| Loader crane
and drill heads. |
 |
| Overview. |
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| Plastic parts
have an excellent colour match. |
 |
| Angled
drilling. |
 |
| A wide load. |
|
The Komatsu ZR77 is a blasthole drill used for
pre-weakening rock in quarries before mass excavation.
Packaging
It comes in a Komatsu branded box. Inside, the
model is contained between a pair of factory-sealed expanded
polystyrene trays.
There were no defects or missing parts on the review model.
Two light bars have to be fitted and an instruction
sheet is included.
Detail
The metal tracks are delicate and detailed, with some
detail in the casting of the frames.
There are four stabilisers and these have large pads on
the end of realistic hydraulic pistons.
Small air horns are located at each end.
At the front the operator's cab has wipers
and sharp graphics. The interior is one
colour. The walkways have metal handrails and
excellent etched floors.
Access stairs have photo-etched stair treads.
At the rear there is
fire suppression equipment, and
at the front there is a loader crane which is entirely modelled in plastic.
Equipment and boxes along the sides are modelled in
plastic, but the colour match is excellent, so it does
not show. There are large etched grilles on the
heat exchangers, and on the inside the fan enclosure are
to a high standard.
The engine area is detailed with the parts modelled in
plastic.
The mast is a
robust metal section which
includes a toothed rack for the drilling equipment
sledge. Handling equipment for the drill strings is
modelled in plastic.
The
drilling machinery sledge has hydraulic
hoses running to the motors, and down to the engine.
The drilling rod is metal with a plastic drill head.
Features
The crawler tracks are free rolling and are mounted on
spring loaded sprockets.
The stabilisers work by unscrewing to lower them.
They have smooth piston faces.
There are three access stairs which can be raised or
lowered. One has an opening railing at the top.
The loader crane can be rotated, and the boom raised or
lowered. The telescopic sections are fixed and
non-functional.
The mast can be set in the travelling position, and
vertical for drilling. It is also possible to set it an
angle to replicate the angle drilling function of the
real machine. The supplied clip for locking it in
angled mode is unsightly and most collectors
will want to replace it with discrete pins.
The drill motor sits on a sledge which travels up and
down using the rack on the mast and is moved by using a
supplied key. However, the movement
is limited to the upper part of the mast only, which is
a pity.
One
drill rod is provided, and it can be posed drilling or
on the handling equipment.
Quality
This a very good quality scale model with a high metal
content, and plastic used to provide detailing.
The paint and graphics are very good.
Price
It is a large model which is fully priced.
Overall
This is a good looking model of a blasthole drill, and
it can be posed in interesting ways. It is an
interesting addition to a mining model collection.
Footnotes
This model first
appeared in June 2022.
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|
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|
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| Out of
the box. |
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| Metal mast. |
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| Large grilles. |
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| Detailed
tracks.
|
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| Equipment. |
|
|
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| The cab. |
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| Drilling. |
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| At work. |
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| Impressive
combination. |
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