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| Track links are pinned together. |
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| Loaded up with ballast. |
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| Close up showing the slewing drive motors and auxiliary winch drum.. |
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| The ballast car unloaded. Note the position of the U-shaped walkway pieces. The manual does not describe these. |
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| Booms are die cast and therefore dead straight. |
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| Ballast wagon loaded, but not fully. |
Conrad 2736 - Liebherr LR1750 Crawler Crane
Model Review July 2007
Features
The model features working jacks to lift the crane body off of a transport vehicle. These rotate out from the cross frame and screw down to lift the crane.
The crawler tracks roll nicely and are mounted on a frame which is spring loaded at one end so that removing the tracks is straightforward.
The cab is a swing away type which tucks in at the front when in transport mode. It can also be tilted slightly to allow the operator comfort when the crane is lifting at height. The hydraulic ram which governs this has a cylinder jacket which is a couple of millimetres too long which restricts the tilt somewhat.
A working hydraulic hook is provided which is connected to the moving mast so that the crane can assemble its own tracks. This has a suitably stiff cylinder so that the hook can be posed at a variety of lengths and hold a load without the ram ‘bleeding’.
All three hoist drums in the crane body are spring loaded and resistant to slipping under load. They are operated using detachable winch handles which push through holes in the crane body and they have a slotted end so they can be driven using a powered screwdriver. The three hoist drums mounted in the boom and back mast sections are operated similarly so that all the functions of the real crane can be replicated. There is also a small auxiliary hoist drum at the front of the crane by the slewing motors.
The ballast carrier has screw jacks so that it too can be posed in transport mode. The stinger which attaches the ballast carrier to the crane is telescopic so that it can be positioned at different radii for very heavy lifts. The wheel assemblies on the ballast carrier rotate fully and there is a form of floating suspension also.
A major strength of the model is the ability to build it any configuration. Booms and jibs can be any length desired. A luffing jib can be mounted, or not, and the back mast is also an optional fixture. Similarly a variety of ballast weight configurations is available.