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| The
box. |
 |
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| Classic 4100W
appearance. |
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| McAmis colours
are attractive. |
|
|
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| Ballast boxes
between the track. |
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| Underneath. |
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| Excellent track
drive chains. |
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| Boom sections are
dead straight and have internal bracing. |
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| Opening flap
for the battery box. |
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| Lifting a
concrete skip on the single line hook.
|
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| Convoy with
some of the parts. |
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| Transport load
with the track frames removed. |
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| Profile view. |
|
The Manitowoc 4100W is a significant crane
in the history of the Manitowoc Crane Company and was one
of the most popular cranes it ever built. It was launched
in 1968 and was in production until the mid 1990s with nearly
a thousand having been made.
This model is the lift crane version which had a lifting
capacity of 200 tons. It is in the colours of the US
contractor J E McAmis.
Packaging
The model comes in a Manitowoc branded box. Within the box is a single expanded polystyrene
tray with lid which contains the pieces of the model, all
well wrapped in polythene.
The review model was undamaged and there were no missing
parts.
The assembly manual is simple and straightforward to
follow. It dooes not fully
explain every feature of the model, but will be good
enough for most collectors. A Manitowoc
branded screwdriver is supplied to assist the assembly.
A numbered certificate is also included.
The boom luffing ropes are reeved in the factory, and
shipping tape needs to be carefully removed. On the review
model some work was needed to put the ropes back onto
pulleys.
Detail
The metal linked tracks are excellent and the track frames
are very detailed. Particularly fine points are the
spoked drive sprockets and the realistic working chain drives
which move as the tracks are used. The undercarriage
frame has attachable ballast boxes and these include patterned
steps and tiny warning notices. The ballast boxes
are not particularly heavy, although the undersides can
be unscrewed allowing additional weight to be added.
The crane body impresses because of the fine paintwork and
graphics. The cab is fully detailed inside with seat
and control levers, and the details continue outside with
patterned walkways, windscreen wiper and grab handles.
The cab door has detailed graphics applied.
Behind the cab is a metal ladder leading to the roof and
behind that is a fine slatted grille. At the rear,
the counterweight blocks are smoothly finished. Opposite
the driver’s cab side is another sliding door and this reveals
the engine compartment complete with various pipe work.
At the front, the structure for supporting the boom pivot
is very nicely reproduced.
The roof of the crane body has an exhaust with chrome muffler,
and the gantry structure is very well detailed with step
irons leading to a ladder which provides access to the top
of the gantry. All pulleys are metal and the model
engineering in this area is high quality.
The luffing rope has been knotted
within the equaliser and this is due to the way the
string has been reeved from the twin drums of the
luffing winch as two separate pieces. In practice this
does not detract from the look of the model too much.
The boom sections are very good and represent the Boom No
22 of the original. The boom butt section has two metal cylinders
which restrain the jib from over-luffing, and the casting
overall of all boom sections is very good with the main
chord members cast to replicate the inverted angled sections
of the original. Main boom sections all have internal
bracing.
The screwed connections between sections are good and positive.
The boom top section is excellent. It was designed
on the real crane in such a way that the boom can be at
a very steep angle without the lines to the hook being fouled
and so some complicated fabrication was involved to produce
the required profile. The model replicates this perfectly. Metal
pulleys and Manitowoc sign boards complete the piece.
Pendants are string and have metal connections and a
good job has been done to keep the lengths of pendants
the same.
Two hooks are supplied. A headache ball has a realistic
connector and the hook itself rotates. The main block
has four free rolling sheaves and the hook has a safety
catch.
Features
The tracks roll well, and the chain drives rotate also.
The track frames are screwed and detachable from the main
undercarriage and can be refixed at a slightly narrower
transport configuration. They can also be
completely removed. With a little effort the crane
can be posed in a realistic travelling configuration on
a suitable low loader.
The counterweight is supplied as a number of pieces
which push-fit together and fit to the crane body.
In addition to the two sliding doors and opening chain case
at the front, there is an opening hatch on the roof which allows a view
into the engine compartment. There is also a small
opening flap on the battery compartment.
The crane functions all work well. Rotation of the
crane is smooth. The luffing and hoist drums are operated
using a key which inserts through holes in the bodywork
and these work fine, not slipping under load.
There was not enough rope on the luffing drums of the
review model to enable the boom to be fully lowered for
disassembly on the ground. It is possible to
access the luffing winches by unscrewing the screws
underneath the body, but it is not a trivial exercise.
Quality
This is a high quality model with a very high metal
content.
The
paintwork and graphics are high quality.
Price
This model is good value for the quality
offered.
Overall
It is great to see the Manitowoc 4100W released as a
model again, and this one is attractive in the limited
edition colours of McAmis. Both detailing and
functionality are at a high level.
Footnotes
The original model first appeared at the end of 2007,
and was produced by TWH Collectibles in Manitowoc red.
Weiss Brothers re-released the model in 2021 in a
variety of colours. The McAmis version was
released in a run of 200 models. |
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|
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| Inside the box. |
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| Tracks set at
maximum width. |
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| Gantry is metal
and detailed. |
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| Excellent
profile. |
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| Sliding cab
door.
|
|
|
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| Detailed boom
top section. |
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| Opening side
door. |
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| Opening door at
the front. |
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| Lifting a beam
on the main block |
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| Opening flap. |
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| Transport load
with the tracks set to a narrower width. |
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| Erecting the
boom. |
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