Liebherr R944C Straight boom
There have been a number of after market boom kits over the years from companies and individuals like the Model Excavator Company and Miniature Demolition Company to name a few. The last couple of years have been quiet on this front until recently, with the launch of a new range of boom kits from Gaz Evans. The Liebherr R944C long reach kit is a recent addition and comes complete with all the parts needed to convert either the R954C from Conrad or the R944C from Universal Hobbies. I have chosen to update the R944C
The resin boom and stick are accurately shaped although there is no pipework integrated into the castings. The kit is supplied with white metal linkage, pins and boom mount housings. If you are planning on converting the R944C as I am here, you will need to source different hydraulic cylinders as the ones on the base model are not long enough. Anyone who converts models is likely to have some left over hydraulics in their spares box. Failing that, it may be possible for Gaz to supply a suitable hydraulic for the stick.
The bucket hydraulic can be constructed from the parts removed from the R944C base model and the bucket supplied with the R984C boom kit should make a good match for the R944C (As pictured above). Additional buckets which fit the stick are available, pictured below are a wide grading bucket and a narrow ripping bucket with shallow sides.
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The original boom and stick are plastic and fairly easy to dismantle, removing the re-enforcement joints and light housings for use on the new boom. The original flexible pipework on the back of the boom is perfect for the straight boom, so I carefully removed it, ensuring the entire section is removed in one piece.
I have had a 3-tine grapple hanging around in my parts box for a while now and the R944C is the perfect oportunity to make use of it as an alternative to a digging bucket. The design of the boom is typical for demolition applications and the grapple looks good. The design is quite interesting, using the bucket linkage to operate the jaws which have their own geometry and use a bar which joins to the stick.
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The white metal castings for the boom are too large to fit alongside the high rise cab so I have utilised the original parts from the scrap handling boom. This works very well and they do not look out of place (Pictured above). |
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I have added 1mm piping to the back and side of the stick for both the bucket cylinder and auxiliary circuit with small plastic blocks raising the piping away slightly for added realism. |
This has been a relatively easy conversion and has turned out very well. The paint finish is a closer match than I was hoping for, using Halfords white primer with a top coat of Liebherr construction yellow almost a perfect match to the original model.
