Norscot 55175 - Caterpillar 657G Wheel Tractor Scraper
Model Review April 2009

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The CAT 657G Scraper.

CAT box.

High ground clearance when travelling.

An interesting machine.

Large plate at the front to enable pushing of another 657G, with a lowering bail to hook on for a tow.

The CAT 657G Wheel Tractor Scraper is an 'open bowl' scraper capable of loading and unloading itself.  These machines are often used for highway construction or other large scale earthworks applications.  Typically they are most economic where the haul distance is in the 500-5000ft range.

The 657G is the largest scraper currently made by CAT and has a heaped capacity of 44yd³  (34m³). It has a maximum travel speed of 36mph and a shipping weight of 147,000lb (66 tonnes).

This model is 1:50 scale, and is manufactured by Norscot in China.

Packaging

The model comes in the usual windowed CAT labelled box, with the model secured inside between clear plastic formers.  It is tied to the cardboard base with plastic ties and Norscot collectors will be ready for the struggle to remove these and free the model.  There were no defects or missing parts on the review model.

As with other CAT models there is no particular information about the real machine and in this respect better use could have been made of the box to provided some technical specifications .  No assembly is required on this model.

Detail

The CAT 657G is a heavy chunky model.

The tyres are very convincing with a good heavy tread pattern and they are mounted on authentic looking hubs.  The driving cab has a step ladder and detail such as door handles, but there are no windscreen wipers.  Inside the cab the operator's station is modelled, although the steering wheel sits high and looks large. At the front the lights are simply detailed and there is a nice cushioned plate and hydraulically actuated bail for joining 657G's in series. 

There are nice metal handrails and steps which are black on this version, rather than yellow.  The main support to the bowl is executed well with cylinders and linkages nicely modelled and it just lacks the complexity of the hydraulic lines found on the original. A big plus point is that the rivets used are painted to match the rest of the model so they do not look obtrusive. The model has a busy feel in this area.

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