 |
| XCMG
branded
box. |
 |
 |
| The parts. |
 |
|
Good looking excavator. |
|
|
 |
| Track frame
detail. |
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| Handrails are
plastic. |
 |
| Grille details. |
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| Battery pack
storage. |
|
The XCMG XE490DK has an operating weight of around 49 tonnes.
This remote control model is in the large scale of 1:18.
Packaging
The model comes in a large XCMG branded box with carry
handle. Inside the box, the model is contained within
an expanded polystyrene
tray.
The review model had no missing parts. An initial
electrical fault was fixed.
An instruction sheet is included but on the review model
it was only in Chinese.
Detail
The majority of the model is tough plastic with only the
bucket being metal. There are metal counterweights
inside the body.
Looking underneath, there is
little detail on the
undercarriage, but the underside of the body has some
panels detailed, and there is an on/off switch. The track frames have
small graphics and working top rollers. The tracks are
plastic bands.
Outside the operator's cab the mirror and grab rail is
soft plastic, but the mirror is not silvered. The interior detail is good, and includes a
rather small figure at the controls.
The body has some subtle detailing with small warning graphics adding
detail.
There are lifting eye lugs above the counterweight but
they are solid with no holes.
On the side there are plastic hand rails,
and the roof has textured surfaces with small graphics
on the engine cover.
The boom has hydraulic hoses running to it from inside
the body, and the boom top has pipes modelled. A
large internal gear wheel can just be seen at the end of the
boom. There are nice large graphics
on the boom.
The
bucket is a heavy all metal casting.
Features
The model is remote controlled using a control pad. When
it is switched on there are light on the boom and loud
sound effects. The volume cannot be adjusted, but
the sound can be switched off.
It uses a rechargeable battery pack inside the model,
and standard AA cells in the control pad. The
battery life is good, and the motors are powerful.
All controls are stop / start, so there is no
proportionality meaning that slow speeds are not
possible. At the limits of movement the gears slip
with a loud clicking, but this seems to work well
enough.
Each track is independently controlled and they work
well. They can traverse rough terrain and a steep
incline.
Rotation of the body is limited to approximately one
turn in each direction, presumably to protect the wires
running from the body to the track motors.
The boom, stick and bucket have a moderate range of
movement.
The model has demonstration and programming modes.
The programming appears to be able to record and replay
movements but the mode was not intuitive on the review
model.
Quality
This is a robust large model with the plastic
able to withstand some rough handling.
The decoration is very good.
Price
It is reasonably priced for a remote control
model.
Overall
This a large model which is fun to operate
although the ability to have slower speeds would have
made it more realistic. It is also a good-looking
mainly plastic model.
Footnotes
It first appeared in August 2020. |
|
 |
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|
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| Inside the
box. |
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| Profile view. |
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| Small graphics
add detail. |
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| Plastic tracks |
 |
| Operator looks
small. |
|
|
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| Decent
hydraulics detail. |
|
