1:50th Scale Manitowoc 4100W Vicon Equipped Crane

Presented here is the second variant of the 1:50th scale Manitowoc 4100W Vicon Equipped crane which is supplied with a dragline bucket, magnet and clamshell grab.

The model does require some assembly with the undercarriage weights, complete with access ladders, rear mounted counterweights, side mounted counterweights and boom sections all provided in the box.

The tracks are individually linked and the idler wheels are sprung loaded to keep the tension. One very nice touch here is the visible drive chain on the outside of the track frame which actually moves as the tracks rotate.

The cab is fully reproduced with controls, detailed operator seat and sliding cab door. Grab rails and front mounted wind screen wiper are visible on the outside of the cab complete with replicated diamond plate walkways along with gantry access ladder and radiator cooling grill visible behind the cab. On this version, the battery compartment door can be opened to reveal the molded batteries within, as shown in the picture below.

The boom is connected to the block with rope pendant lines which screw into place using the supplied screws. The main A-frame is already rigged although because the block is loose, the ropes easily come off the shieves during transport, even though they have masking tape to hold the rope in place. The fairlead for the drag rope has been fixed to the upper structure below the boom mounting points and features all metal construction with freely rotating pulleys and rollers.

The A-frame lifts into place and has extending rear supports which fit into each other while the main boom winch in housed deep within the body. The side of the model features a sliding door giving access to the engine compartment, complete with detailed engine block. There is also a roof mounted panel which opens, showing more of the internal engine details along with a roof mounted exhaust stack. The front chain case door also opens to show more internal details.

The two main winch drums are operated using the supplied winding keys by inserting them through the small holes in the body side. The rear counterweight parts connect to each other using friction fit lugs and plastic inserts. Once the three rear pieces are assembled, the side weights slide into place and help lock the weights together.

A generator pack is included in the box which is used to power the magnet and this needs connecting to the rear counterweights which have four holes that locate with the generator and upright support frame. The generator is highly detailed with radiator grill, cooling fan, motor and protective mesh screen. Even the electrical cable can be seen exiting the generator and the cable connected to the boom drum fits into the hole on the magnet for total realism. The paint finish is first class with authentic red and black colour scheme with accurate decal placement on the body, counterweight and boom panels.

Changing from the magnet to clamshell version is relatively straight forward requiring only to disconnect the tag line and electrical cable and remove the generator assembly from the rear counterweight. The dragline version requires a different boom configuration so it is advised to decide which work attachment you want to use on the model before assembly.