Caterpillar 982M Wheeled Loader
Presented here is the 1:50th scale Caterpillar 982M wheel loader which has been produced by Norscot. It is an upgrade to the previously released 980K with a number of small and subtle differences in the tooling and printing which is certainly great to see, rather than just rebadging the 980K.
The range of movement of the loader arms and the tipping range of the bucket are excellent and this is great to see with fairly stiff hydraulics allowing the bucket to remain in the chosen position.
|
The articulating chassis achieves a reasonable range of steering motion with working hydraulics and the addition of a drive shaft to the front axle. Plastic ladders are fixed to each side of the chassis to provide access to the cabin. |
The tyres fitted to the model are a wider profile than those on the 980K and have a fairly deep tread pattern moulded into the outer surface with plastic wheel hubs highlighting the fixing bolt detailing. |
|
|
The detailing of the updated cabin is good throughout, with a modelled interior containing the driving seat, console and operating levers. The safety railings are made of plastic but are very realistically scaled with additional handrails fitted to the roof and rear view mirrors fitted to the cabin frame with front screen wipers.
The rear engine casting has been captured well with textured grille panels incorporated into the casting and an angled rear engine grille with inset rear facing lights and centrally located Cat logo. The upper surface of the walkways has an anti-slip textured surface which looks good and paint has been used to highlight the perforations in the upper and side panels which gives a more realistic appearance over the previous version.
While many of the components are new castings, the method of producing the pistons from formed rod rather than cast parts still remains and this is the only negative aspect found on the model. The bucket fitted to the model has a straight blade along the lower surface with a raised upper providing protection to the tip cylinder. All the connecting pins have painted heads which improves the appearance and realism of the replica. The paint finish is of a high quality with good printing of the Caterpillar graphics and a high metal content although there are several areas on the model which are produced of plastic and have a slightly different colour.
