Caterpillar D6R Bulldozer
Presented here is the 1:50th scale Caterpillar D6R bulldozer which has been produced in China by Tonkin Replicas. The R series dozer has been replaced by the T series in most regions but is still a current machine in the emerging market countries and is a worthy addition to the Caterpillar model fleet.
Tonkin Replicas have certainly produced a good looking model with some rather nice touches, like the flexible hydraulic hoses to the lift and tilt cylinders and the surface engraving which highlights the various body panels, complete with inset handles, bolt heads on the engine housing and raised anti-slip texturing on the walkways on both sides of the cabin.
Fine details include raised filler caps inset into the side body panels alongside front & rear facing light housings with silver finished lenses.
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All the metal grab rails and handles are produced from metal which is great to see on a small model and raises the quality level in my opinion. Fine detailing of the cabin includes the rear antenna, front, side and rear window wipers and fine surface detailing of the cabin frame.
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The cabin interior has been modelled although on the review sample, the windows are slightly frosted and not crystal clear with fingerprints visible on the rear window |
The ROPS frame integrated into the cabin design is modelled with side fitted light housings but these look unfinished and don't have painted lenses like the other lights on the model although this is something that can be corrected with a touch of silver paint.
The tracks fitted to the model have been engineered to rotate freely and this really works well, with a smooth rolling motion coupled with pads that have the single grouser bar and bolt head detailing on each segment. The final drive housing has good surface engraving of the bolts and the track frames have a tensioned front idler wheel which is not overly tight, allowing the easy rotation of the tracks.
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The front grill has been produced to replicate the slotted structure and this works well, looking very authentic with the hydraulic lines for the blade tilt cylinder exiting from a slot at the front. |
The rear of the model is finished with a 3-shank ripper which has accurately shaped ripper shanks with all the heads of the rivets painted over and flexible hydraulic lines fitted to the cylinder. The range of movement of the ripper is a little dissapointing with it barely touching the ground when fully lowered |
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The blade can be raised and lowered although the cast pins on the track frames prevent the blade from lowering below the horizontal plane and some collectors may be unhappy with this. The blade can be tilted to change the angle and has some surface detailing of the main cutting edge although the paint finish here is a little thick and hides some of this detail. Overall, the paint finish is good with authentic placement of the Caterpillar logos and machine designation and as with the other Tonkin Caterpillar models, a collector card is included inside the box.
