|
| Mast sections are excellent with no plastic at all. Ladders have safety cages. |
|
|
| Mast head details are faithful to the original. |
|
| Distinctive Potain styling is replicated perfectly. |
|
| It is hard to distinguish the model from the real machine. |
|
| An achievement of the model is the very straight jib. First class model engineering. |
|
| 'It's very high'. A large concrete bucket comes with the model. It features a working chute - here shown open with the handle pulled down. See separate review here. |
TWH 047 - Potain MDT 178 Tower Crane
Model Review February 2008
Detail
Initial impressions on getting the crane out of the box are that TWH have produced a very detailed model on behalf of Potain.
The base of the crane consists of a large heavy base plate on which the cross-shaped support structure is mounted. It includes a short piece of ladder which provides access to the mast even though this becomes largely obscured by the ballast blocks provided and this indicates the level of attention to detail throughout the model. There are 16 ballast blocks which interlock to form the base ballast which may not represent a common arrangement on a real crane but they are much less vulnerable to being knocked off at model scale. They are textured to resemble concrete and two have the Potain insignia. Overall a very heavy base results and this provides robust stability for the model.
The mast sections are excellent including detailed lattice work, and jacking points for a climbing frame. The ladders set a new standard as they are complete with a safety cage. The intermediate platforms are of fine mesh and there are even pin holders to hold the mast pins for joining the sections together. Thirteen mast sections are supplied with the model. The only detail missing on the mast is a capacity board which is a pity as this would have looked good in this scale.
At the top of the mast is a reducer section which reduces the mast from a scaled 2m square to 1.6m square. It also includes the connections for the climbing frame. There is a short section of ladder which is fitted to provide access to the cab mast.
The cab mast section is a superb piece of modelling in 1:50 scale. There is a heavy toothed slewing ring which sits on a support section which is modelled in a simplified way compared to the original. The cab has good internal detail including a footrest, and the windows have windscreen wipers as well as subtle sun shading. There are two opening doors one of which is an equipment cupboard and includes electrical wiring. On the inside of the access door to the cab there is a tiny printed load chart. Outside the cab, the access platform has a mesh floor and realistic handrails and a host of detailed electrical cabinets and wiring. There are also two excellent slewing motors. The detailing continues into the tube mast section with a ladder and wiring visible internally. Above the tube mast the structure concludes with a derrick and the model includes the auxiliary winch which is an option on the real crane. Strangely the 'A' sections at the top of the crane miss out a horizontal member, but on one side only. Icing on the cake here would have been the addition of a model anemometer for measuring wind speeds.
The counter jib holds a fine auxiliary winch with associated wiring, and has mesh flooring and hand railing extending to the rear. At the back the counterweights are copies of the arrangement on the real crane and are textured to represent concrete. Each weight has a couple of lifting eyes modelled. On the rear platform the Potain name is perfectly rendered in metal.
The construction of the main jib is interesting. It is formed of six separate lengths rather than the eight of the original for a jib of this length. The separate sections are joined by screws on the underside but surprisingly rivets are used for the top connections which means the sections are not easily split. The skilled collector will be able to carefully drill out the rivets and replace with small screws and nuts in order to vary the jib length or display pieces as transport loads. Each section itself is not a single casting but is made up of two pieces. One is the top two sides and the other is the horizontal underside, and the two pieces are joined together.
The main jib has the hoist and trolley motors together with access platforms and are all modelled very well, and the mesh walkways extend for nearly half the length of the jib. Both motors have electric cable running back to the cab area. Various pulleys are present for either the hoist or trolley wire.
The trolley is all metal and allows for four falls of rope to the hook. It also has a fine basket attached with railings and a mesh floor. The hook is also metal and accurately represents that of the real machine.
A further accessory is provided with the model and this is a concrete bucket which provides interest as a load for the crane. This is no makeweight part of the package however. It is a fully detailed bucket, all in metal and has a working chute mechanism which works very well. The only issue is that it appears on the large size scaling at over 2m high.
If a set of lifting chains had been provided this would also have complimented the model well.