Ros Model Reviews

A very long an thin box with a partial window.

Inside the box the mast and jib sections are preassembled.

Detail at the cab. White string looks a little odd.

Counter jib detail. The spring is to tension the trolley operating mechanism.

This is the second 1:87 tower crane model from the Italian model maker Ros Agritec. The model is of a Spanish Linden Comansa tower crane, and is a 'Topless' model designated the 21 LC 290.

The model comes in a very long thin box. This is because the jib and counterweight section are preassembled as one piece measuring over 94cm (37 inches). It is packed within an expanded polystyrene tray and the model is well protected. The review model had one broken piece but this was easily fixed.

No instructions were included with the review model and although it is straightforward to build there are some floodlight fittings supplied in a small bag and it is not obvious where they should be fitted. One slightly strange aspect when placing the crane on the mast is that only three of the four connections are screwed, the fourth is just a locating pin.

At the base, the model screws onto a black plastic base plate to provide extra stability to the model and this works quite well. The cruciform arrangement at the base is all metal and includes an access ladder to get into the mast. The ballast blocks are concrete coloured and are solid pieces with grooving detail to give the appearance of being separate slabs. A detailed capacity board completes the detail at the base.

The mast is provided as a single piece representing eight separate mast sections and includes plastic ladders to match each section, with intermediate platforms. At the top of the mast is the slewing ring and a slewing motor is modelled. There is no ladder leading to the cab platform which is a pity and the platform itself lacks a mesh walkway of the sort provided elsewhere on the model. The cab is small with a seat inside.

The counterweight jib is made up of two pieces, a fully triangulated section and a machinery deck and counterweight support. Although made of separate sections they are not designed to be dismantled. An excellent feature of the counterweight jib is the mesh walkway flooring. Two gauges are used, with the finer gauge being the most realistic for the scale. Handrailing is good but perhaps inevitably not fine enough for the scale of the model. An electrical cabinet and winch motor complete the detail. The counterweight block is a single solid piece, with grooving in the casting to give the appearance of separate concrete slabs.

The main jib is made up of six separate fully triangulated sections but again they are not designed to be separated. The method of joining the sections together does result in a small downstand piece at each join but this is not too obtrusive. Overall the geometry of the review model was very good with the jib being straight and true to a high degree which is a significant achievement. A trolley motor is fixed to the first jib section and the various pulleys on the superstructure are brass. Fine mesh walkways extend the length of the jib. A set of floodlights are provided in a bag with the model and they can be fitted to the jib to provide lighting as favoured in some countries.

The trolley is metal and a second dummy trolley is located adjacent to the cab. The hook block is good and includes two tiny brass pulleys and a separate hook. Strangely white string has been chosen for the model. A black colour and a thinner string would look much better and some collectors will be tempted to change the string on the model accordingly.

A metal concrete skip is provided which adds weight to keep the hoist rope taught. It is perhaps a bit too heavy and large for the model.