Connections are screwed - positive and strong.
Handmade brass sections are not perfect, with mild curves and kinks present. They are the first sections with internal bracing however.
Luffing jib head.  Whip line head was not made using a jig so the geometry is twisted and poor.
Quality hook.	Spoked pulley.
Excellent detail at the hoist drums with hydraulic lines.  No brakes though!
If you want to display it without the luffing jib you have to remove the lower fixed rivets shown above.

TWH 005 - Manitowoc 18000 Crawler Crane
Model Review February 2006

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Features

The crawler tracks work extremely well.  The heavy weight of the model combined with the excellent quality means that the tracks move smoothly even on a slippery surface, and, as the links appear to be pinned, they are not susceptible to spring apart like on early versions of Conrad's CC8800.

The crane body features four jacks which are used to lift the crane body during assembly.  These drop into slots on the body and as such they are unable to simulate lifting the crane as they would just push themselves out of their slots.  However as the model has sadly not been designed to be stripped down to transportable parts, this is not an issue.

To operate the model a tool is provided for the winches in the crane body.  The winch drum for the moving mast has a good working brake mechanism.  When the tool is pushed in the drum presses against a spring and away from a brake surface such that it turns freely when the tool is turned. This is a fine system but actually it is unnecessary on the model as supplied since the moving mast is permanently riveted into its final position and cannot be adjusted. Bizarrely the position is reversed on the other drums.  They are all free rolling with no brake whatsoever.  Collectors will need to chock the drums with a matchstick or similar if they intend to display the model under load - clearly not a satisfactory situation.

The MAX-ER attachment has wheel assemblies which rotate to allow the unit to be towed, or to move in a circle when the crane rotates.  The pendant connections at the top of the MAX-ER are spring loaded in order to ensure tension in the pendants.

A major feature of large crane models is the ability to rig them in different ways like the real machine and to be able to strip them down to transport-sized pieces for carrying on suitable haulage models.  It is in this area that the 18000 is at its weakest.  The crane body, under frame and track all come in the box joined as one piece.  Although various screws are visible which may enable these parts to be split, clearly the makers do not intend this.  Similarly the MAX-ER counterweight carrier is not easily split down. 

The position is perhaps even worse with the boom and jib sections.  For some inexplicable reason the luffing jib is permanently riveted to the upper boom head so it appears that the model maker has intended that collectors display the model in only one configuration, with a luffing jib, and that is it.  Even stranger, it is only one connection that is riveted in this way, with the luffing jib masts readily removable with screwed rods!  Fortunately it is not a difficult job to drill out the offending rivets and use small M2 screws instead, but you have to wonder what the thinking was behind this part of the design.  Even more so when the supplied configuration actually makes the model a little more difficult to assemble as the luffing jib parts flap around a bit.

The situation is repeated with the moving mast on the crane body which is used to erect the back mast.  Again this is permanently riveted to the back of the crane body when, for the provision of a couple of screws, a detachable arrangement could have made this a more flexible model.  

The quality of the casting is pretty much first class with very fine detail appearing throughout the model.  Steps, walkways and handrails are all top rate.  Boom and jib sections are very good, although as described previously their handmade nature means that the geometry of the parts is not perfect.  Pendant bars are all metal and these are so much better than the plastic versions found on other models.  The downside here is that they can be bent easily and once bent, they are difficult to get perfectly straight again.

The paintwork and lettering is first class throughout with no areas of missing or poor paint found on the review model.

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