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| High quality box.
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| Good looking
MAN tractor in H N Krane colours. |
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| Detailed
equipment tower. |
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| Detailed
chassis.
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| Cover on the
gooseneck. |
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| Small graphics
on the module edges. |
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| Detailed graphics
on the van. |
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| Warning sign
opened up. |
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| Fairly simple
underneath. |
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| Fully extended
telescopic vessel bed.
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| Ready for the
road. |
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This model is one of Heavy Transport Models (HTM)
series of H N Krane models and is made by WSI.
H N Krane
is a German crane and heavy haulage company headquartered
near Rostock.
The tractor is a MAN TGX XXL 8x4 and the
trailer is a Scheuerle InterCombi with 2, 3 and 4-line
modules and a pair of configurable vessel beds. A Volkswagen
BF3 Escort Van is also included.
Packaging
The packaging is a high quality Tii-branded presentation box with the
model parts held within black foam rubber, and the whole
box was shrink-wrapped and delivered in two outer layers
of packaging.
There were no missing parts on the review model.
However the cab of the MAN cab would not tilt due to
some careless gluing in the factory. It was freed after
some surgery.
There is no information provided about the real machine
but a colour instruction sheet provides the main
assembly points for the model.
Detail
The MAN tractor has very good chassis detail underneath
with drive shafts, differentials and suspension modelled,
and the gearbox is rendered in silver. The tyres have
different treads on the front and rear axle pairs, and
are mounted on detailed wheels with smart trims.
The cab is fully detailed with windscreen wipers, colour
coded mirrors, and orange beacon lights. Inside
the cab, the details include nice moulded seats and MAN
is printed on the steering wheel.
Under the cab is a detailed engine and it has 'Common
Rail' written in tiny text.
Behind the cab, the equipment tower is very detailed
with various tanks and a fan on top which is covered by
a realistic mesh screen. A fine grab rail and twin
exhaust pipes are included and coiled lines are
available to plug into a trailer.
Diamond plated surfacing extends to the fifth wheel, and
plastic wheel arches cover the rear three axles. At the
back, the lights have plastic lenses and there is an
authentic number plate.
The trailer is made up of the gooseneck, three Scheuerle
modules and two options for the vessel bed.
The gooseneck is a metal part with some very good
details such as banks of hoses and the cabinets on each
side have excellently detailed handles. A couple
of plastic boxes sit in the load storage area, and two
width marker signs can be fitted. A plastic tarpaulin
cover clips on the gooseneck and it has some detailed
graphics.
The Scheuerle modules consist of a 4-line, 3-line and
2-line unit and they are from the standard WSI Scheuerle
range.
Underneath the modules there are intricate hydraulic lines
joining the tanks. The wheels are nice and the structure
of the trailers is modelled in an authentic way. The
steering linkages are metal and diamond plated metal cover
plates provide the protection.
Decoration of the modules includes maximum speed signs,
yellow edge stripes, and
a pair of clip-on rear light clusters is provided.
The vessel bed is provided as two complete sets.
One has telescopic beams and the second set has three
different lengths of fixed beams. In the main the
parts are well engineered although some parts had very
stiff connections. The
pins used to secure the beams have painted heads which
is a nice touch. Four plastic pivoting support
pads can be clipped to the main beams.
The Volkswagen van is fairly heavy for its size.
Underneath the exhaust and spare wheel are highlighted
by painting. The small wheels look fine, and the
body is a good casting with details which are
considerably enhanced by excellent graphics, including
number plates.
The roof has many beacon lights and the warning sign
arrangement is modelled well in plastic.
Features
The MAN tractor has stiff steering with very
limited movement.
The cab tilts forward to about 45° and can pose in the
tilted position.
The gooseneck has working cylinders so different angles
can be set. Two supports are
provided which can be used when the gooseneck is not
connected to a tractor.
The Scheuerle modules have excellent independent
suspension and the steering is proportional on the
4-line and 3-line modules and parallel on the 2-line. The steering
is configurable by adjusting the position of the metal
steering bars, although no information is provided on
this aspect and unlike other Scheuerle models no
additional steering linkages are provided.
The vessel bed beams come in two sets. One set is
telescopic and the other consists of three different
length beams. Either set can be configured in a narrow or
extendible wide configuration. There are two plastic loading ramps which
can be attached in the normal width arrangement and
separate pivoting load spreading brackets.
The Volkswagen has working steering with a reasonable
range of movement. The warning sign can be raised
and a clever folding sign can be placed in front of the
rear doors.
Quality
The set is high quality with plastic used
appropriately. It is generally well made and well
engineered.
The paintwork and graphics are very good.
Price
The price is a little high although it is a limited
edition model.
Overall
This is another good addition to the H N Krane series of
models and with the Volkswagen van it makes an
interesting set. It is easy to highly
recommend.
Footnotes
The model appeared in August 2012 in a run of 200
models.
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| Quality foam interior
- and instruction sheet. |
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The set. There are spare vessel bed pieces too. |
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| Smart wheel trims. |
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| Tilting cab. |
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| Underneath of
the 3 and 2 line modules joined together. |
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| Detailed
gooseneck. |
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| Load brackets
attached to the beams. |
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| Nice lights
all round.
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| Warning sign
closed up. |
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| Unrealistic
short configuration with narrow fixed spine. |
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| Configured with
the module units only.
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