You won't find the Menards HO Die-Cast Tower Cable Excavator (SKU 2793925) in the store's growing model railroad section. Maybe it's because it comes in a plain brown wrapper of a box that just wouldn't display well? Whatever the case, you order it online and can get it shipped directly to your home for a small charge or delivered for free to your closest store. It took about a week for mine to show up for pickup.
The crane is a model of ? Good question. Kaidiwei seems to be the name of the diecast company, not a prototype. There are other Kaidiwei construction vehicles on the market and they all bear a generic resemblance to some sort of modern equipment. They are priced quite reasonably in looking them over, so if you don't need the spcificity of Cat or other popular brands, the value of these models will appeal to you versus higher priced factory-authorized alternatives. Menards offers several other vehicles in this HO line (hydraulic excavator, material handlers, and a "crush"/jackhammer demolition crane) as well as many more in its O and near O scale lines.
The crane stands about 72' high with the boom fully raised. The boom could be disassembled, but only by removing rivets that would be hard to replace. The bucket is kind of grossly out of size, but is heftily made enough to allow lots of play action...and you can grasp and lift things with the bucket because of the heavy spring used with it. If it must be replaced, there are several good alternatives to turn this into a really impressive model by adding one of them.
The two large gray knobby things on the side facing us are used to raise and lower the boom and the same with the bucket. They do not come off, but this also makes them hard to lose.
The cab is wonderful, with lots of details and "glass" more than making up for the funky bucket IMO.
The most disappointing part of the model for me were the tracks. They're rather narrow for this size of crane I'd think. The detail level on the crawler drive isn't up to that of the cab, but it is sturdy, tight and allows for 360 degree rotation.
It's hefty nature also allows for the crane to lean the boom way over and still not tip over, very well balanced.
Finally, the obligatory drone shot.
I'm happy with the new crane and am hinking about ordering one to break down for transoprt as a load. As is, lowering the boom would allow transport on a 85' flat car. The tracks are 12.5' wide,
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Mike,
That's a nice model....but I believe they have the name wrong....Here in the US..that would be considered a dragline crane excavator. There is a cable connected to the bucket and chassis that is pulled toward the crane when the bucket is on ground dragging the bucket to fill it up...once filled, the drag door closes , then can be lifted and moved to dump.
I've seen a few in operation in the early 50's right near My house in Chgo near the south branch of the Chgo river. They were using it to dredge parts of the river and it was mounted on a barge, pushed by a flat faced river tug. The river was only two blocks from My house.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragline_excavator
Take Care!
Frank
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
I really shouldn’t argue with such an august person but the clam shell bucket is the wrong bucket for a “Dragline”, Frank. Still the price seems reasonable and it definitely has potential for various kitbashes. Cheers, the Bear.
Bear,
I agree.....now that I see both sides of the bucket. The shot on WPF looks like a dragline bucket. Although I still don't understand why they call it a excavator. Oh well! looks good anyway.......
''Merry Christmas''.......To All....
I have one of them and a tower crane for about five years nice models.
Russell
I spent my working years being around cranes everyday. As I mentioned in the WPT, this is a good representation of a Liebherr ("lay-bear" is how the operators pronounced it), specifically the LR 1100. It's real close. The tracks could be a little wider, but it is close.
This can be used with a clam bucket, a dragline bucket, or as a crane, with no bucket, and just a ball and hook. The industry calls these crawlers cranes. Crawlers have a winch at the base of the boom, so they can be used as a dragline.
The Menards crane, judging from Mike's pictures, looks sturdy enough to actually play with, and use.
They look like nice rugged models, and I've been wanting to get one, and detail it a little to be more prototypical. I'd leave the knobs on the side, and for photographs, not show that side.
Menards makes a track hoe, type excvator, with the long boom and dipper, like whats used for digging ponds and opening up drainage ditches. I'd like to get one of those, also. You could put grapple hooks on it and use for handling pulp wood, or a grapple and magnet for scrap iron.
Nice Mike, thanks for the review.
Mike.
My You Tube
If I got one of those I would either have to hide it or let my 3year old grandson play with it. Guess which it would be.
mbinsewithis is a good representation of a Liebherr ("lay-bear" is how the operators pronounced it), specifically the LR 1100. It's real close. The tracks could be a little wider, but it is close.
Thanks for adding that, as I forgot to mention it at that late hour. It's a good starting point to guide me in backdating it, although I suspect the Liebherr is probably rather modern, too.
For Frank and the other dragline enthuusiasts, I have good news.
The yellow end of the uncoupler is pointing at the third winch already in place to serve in pulling in cable needed to rig a dragline bucket or another line used for other alternative buckets. Another thing that gives this model extra value.
Now here's another question for those who know their cranes. See where the pointer is in the next pic?
I kind of think that this cable is mislocated and should go under the crossbar that it's resting on. At first I thought it was just mistrung from the factory, but the pic that Menards uses to illustrate the item on its website also shows this configuraton. Looks to be easy to take the cable off the drum, restring it and use it that way. But you never know, maybe it is right. What do you think?
Even though there are some things that give up scalability for heft and operation, I think its a nice model.
Not being a crane guy, I think the knobs on the sides could pass for protruding air filters.
The stringing of the cable might be a compromise for helping the model to actually operate....as are the ghastly tied cable ends just above the pointer.
- Douglas
mlehmanI kind of think that this cable is mislocated and should go under the crossbar that it's resting on. At first I thought it was just mistrung from the factory, but the pic that Menards uses to illustrate the item on its website also shows this configuraton. Looks to be easy to take the cable off the drum, restring it and use it that way. But you never know, maybe it is right. What do you think?
The cable should come off the top of the drum, not from bottom as it does now, and, it should run under the cross bar.
On the prototype, there are no heavy rams that lift the boom. The boom is controled by the pulley and winch set up from the rear drum, if you follow what I'm saying.
Good observations, Douglas and Mike. I was just in the layout room fiddling with the crane, Basically, for the hook for now, I unrolled the cable to the end, then reversed the direction . This gets thecable coming off the top of the drum, rather than the bottom of it. Will take it loose later to solve the cross bar issue.
The big knots that Douglas observed? You have to leave something for the modeler to do
In this case, the other side of the cable drum that raises and owers the boom was better positioned, which hid the nasty knot down in the drum where it was less visible. To be honest, there's way too much line on that winch and it tends to spilll off the drum. It's unnecessary, because it's more than the range of the boom anyway.
I don't know much about heavy equipment like this, but I would place some serious money on a bet siding with the argument that the cable ought to either be under that brace or riding on a pulley where it diverts toward the drum after passing over that brace. There's no way on this earth that an engineer would agree to just lubing a cable so that it would pass more easily, under tension, over that metal bar. As Mike suggests, the drum should have the cable comming over the top, just like toilet paper should.
Well, you can always change out the TP if someone gets it backwards, but the cable drum is a bit of a different matter. It would need a pulley or drum to be right the way it came. Anyway, I ertainly agree it's better to go under -- and I did -- only to find the cable lightly presses against the underside of the crossbar. Still it's less impingement and look better.
On the boom lift winch with the double lines, it's some trick knot that I'm not going to try to say I won't mess with, but I'll probaby defer ntil it needs to come off for another reason. I trimmed up the wild knoe to be neater., though.
Mike, Really great of you spending time putting together such an in-depth & comprehensive review. Wish there were more product reviews like yours.
Just a thought, and not a comparison, but imo there are few cranes that rival the Sheepscot models in scale fidelity and delicacy of the boom. Unfortunately it appears that Sheepscot products are rare to none nowadays.
Thanks and regards, Peter
HO-Velo Mike, Really great of you spending time putting together such an in-depth & comprehensive review. Wish there were more product reviews like yours.
Peter,
Thanks, glad everyone seems to be enjoying it. And fair and measured in their comments. Nothing is ever perfect and thoughtful criticism advances the cause, but Rome wasn't built in a day. That sums up my critical philosophy when it comes to the hobby. A good model railroader can find the good, fun parts in alsmost any item that makes a good effort at a credible model. More and more, that's what we find available. I'd like to encourage that trend.
HO-VeloJust a thought, and not a comparison, but imo there are few cranes that rival the Sheepscot models in scale fidelity and delicacy of the boom. Unfortunately it appears that Sheepscot products are rare to none nowadays.
I couldn't agree more. I have several Sheepscot trucks and a really great crane that is a close-enough of one I have pics working the transfer yard in Alamosa.
I heard somewhere, not even enough to be what I'd call even a rumr, that Sheepscot was hard to find anymore. I haven't ordered anything really recently, so I can't clarify anything other than to join in your sentiment of missing them a lot if they will be unobtanium.