Liebherr R936 Tracked Excavator
Presented here is the limited edition 1:50th scale Liebherr R936 tracked excavator which has been decorated in the Markgraf company colours from NZG. The R936 from Liebherr weighs in around 30-33 ton and has a Stage 3B/Tier4i diesel engine delivering 218hp with a bucket capacity between 0.7 and 1.75 cubic metres.
The model is very impressive, as expected from NZG with an excellent paint finish throughout the model which allows all the casting details to be seen. The latest cab styling has been accurately captured with the large windows highlighted with black printing of the rubber seals. The slightly tinted windows reveal the replicated interior within the cab where the highlighted seat and joystick controls can be seen.
Accurately scaled grab rails are located on the cab frame with an integrated rear view mirror, roof window and rear mounted radio antenna. A black highlighted filler cap is located just below the rear window showing the attention to details that NZG have put into the model. The side panels have highlighted door handles with an intricately printed mesh pattern printed on the side grille.
Black printing is used on the upper panels to simulate the anti-slip texturing with the main engine cover having some very nicely cast ridge and grill detailing which has been accented with black paint for a more realistic look, complete with small silver hinge highlighting.
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The engine compartment is considerably larger than that of the R916 and this shows the additional space needed within the engine compartment to house the exhaust gas treatment systems to comply with the latest emmision standards. The track frames consist of nine rotating bottom rollers and two upper rollers which provide more realism than the simulated rollers typically found on the undercarriages of similar sized machines. The individually linked triple grouser track pads are tensioned and are fairly tight, however they will rotate and the drive wheels have excellent detailing of the toothed ring and fixing bolts. |
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The Markgraf decoration consists of the standard Liebherr corporate colours of grey and yellow with a red stripe running around the main body incorporating the white Markgraf name and logo with a red printed contact number located on the body panel behind the cab.
The range of movement of the boom, stick and bucket linkage accurately captures the movement of the full sized machine and the hydraulics have a smooth operation, allowing any pose to be obtained and the cylinders are stiff enough to remain in position. The pins used to assemble the digging equipment are small with painted ends allowing them to blend in to be almost unnoticable. The quick coupler fitted to the model allows the bucket to be removed although the model is only supplied with a general purpose digging bucket.
The main boom has pipework cast into the rear surface which has been highlighted with silver paint, coupled with flexible black piping leading to the stick and bucket cylinders and two light holders with painted lenses, one on each side. The stick has raised blocks visible on the sides where auxiliary piping would normally be fitted and this is a nice addition on the model. The coupler has integrated lifting hooks and is a touch wider than that fitted to the R916 so it is not possible to swap attachments which is a pity. The pins used to connect the bucket are a smaller diameter and are less noticable.
