Keestrack Frontier Tracked Screener

Presented here is the 1:50th scale Keestrack Frontier tracked screener. The model is certainly a surprise and has been produced in China exclusively for Keestrack. Keestrack was established in 1988 and manufacture high quality mobile aggregate equipment. Based in Belgium, they have a varied portfolio of crushing and screening products including the Frontier Standard three grade screener which is reviewed here.

The level of detail is very high, with crisp castings throughout. The heavy weight of the model is impressive and there is a lot of metal used in the construction. Out of the box, the model is presented in a transport configuration with the three conveyors folded in and the hopper sides and rear folded. This is certainly a great and authentic load for any heavy haulage rig and priced around £90, the model is certainly worth the money.

Small hydraulics are connected to the hopper sides which fold outwords while the rear panel folds up. There is a recessed area on each side allowing the rear and sides to interlock and this works well, so that the hopper is rigid once assembled. The inner surface of the hopper has a ridged texture simulating the belt used to transfer the material onto the screen and this looks reasonable.

In the folded position, the rubber belts hang realistically, especially on the side conveyor and this adds to the overall level of realism. The linkages on the folding frames are very nicely engineered and the hydraulics are fully operational, allowing each of the conveyors to be set in their working positions, tensioning the belts just enough for them to still rotate freely.

The side frames of the screen box have more good casting details including the hydraulic motors and damping springs while the actual upper surface of the screen has perforations along the full length.

If there is one criticism of the model, it is the use of large headed rivets in several areas along with small screws used to fix the pivoting parts and hydraulics together. While these areas are initially noticed, the fact that everything is functional outweights the method of joining the parts together in my opinion.

Each of the conveyor belts are made from real rubber and this is noticable from the rubber smell as you open the box. The conveyors each have red painted rotating drums so that when in working mode, all three belts can be rotated. Simulated non functional rollers have also been added to ensure the belt keeps the shape and this is another nice touch.

The chassis and frame components are nicely cast with some good surface detailing, like hydraulic hoses while the engine covers have a crisp grill pattern with accurate printing of the keestrack logos.

Flexible hydraulic hoses have been added to the conveyors where modelled hydraulic motor housings are integrated into the frame, adding realism to the model and the undercarriage has linked metal tracks which rotate well.

To my knowledge, this is the first mass produced screener model and I have to say the results are very impressive. The paint finish is even throughout and the castings reveal some nice detailing. It will be interesting to see if Keestrack follow up the Frontier with one of their crusher products which would certainly make a great setup for a quarry diorama.