Construction, Combat Engineer, and Bridging Equipment

[bluntie]

Wheeled excavators!!!! eeeeewwwwww!!!! the creepy cousin of the earthmoving family!!,
i had a go on one once ,and found it to be much like being slightly drunk whilst sitting on an abnormaly tall bar stool...with 3 legs...
and the other guys pointed ..and said rude things.......

[Hobbes]

It does make sense to have an excavator on wheels but around here they are most often mounted on a tracked chassis. 

Interesting. Over here, wheeled excavators are more common than tracked versions. The wheeled versions are more practical in built-up areas, where they can be driven over pavement without damaging it. Tracked versions are mostly used for large groundworks where the excavator has to negotiate difficult terrain.

[frank2056]

Megahobby has the tracked excavator and the wheeled excavator in stock for around $18. No loader, though. I always thought that "Skip Loader" would be a good name for a used car salesman,

Frank

[John Howling Mouse]

Wheeled excavators!!!! eeeeewwwwww!!!! the creepy cousin of the earthmoving family!!,
i had a go on one once ,and found it to be much like being slightly drunk whilst sitting on an abnormaly tall bar stool...with 3 legs...
and the other guys pointed ..and said rude things.......

I thought they were all kidding about the wheeled excavators until I read this.  Those bad, bad men.

Seriously though, where in the modern world are paved roads built which cannot stand up to a wee little bit of tracked construction equipment?

What scale are these construction items in?  [Edit: Their website's back up, looks like these are 1:32 but their English version website's Heavy Equipment section is just blank] And what scale is this little "Wolf" going to be in?  Man, I've got to learn how to read German one of these days.

http://www.revell.de/en/products/model_kits/services/info_channel/picture_galleries/Wolf/?id=809&L=1

[bluntie]

Seriously though, where in the modern world are paved roads built which cannot stand up to a wee little bit of tracked construction equipment?
You would probably be surprised to know that a tracked vehicle such as a 900 series Leibherr does less damage than the wheeled version,with standard 350mm grousers ground pressure runs around 14-16 p.s.i. ,and when fitted with rubber pads on the grousers the worst that can happen is a bit of scuffing on the road surface. the wheeled version however weighs out at 38-40 p.s.i. on all 4 wheel sets, so what gives? basicly it is a question of logistics,wheeled excavators are almost exclusivley a European thing because of the sometimes very narrow streets found in most citys and towns there is no way to negotiate a prime mover with a transport trailer ,which of course is the only way to get a tracked excavator to where it needs to be,yes you could walk it ,but with a top speed little better than a jog,and the ensuing traffic chaos and time taken to get any where...well you get the idea, hence the wheeled version,they get along at a fair clip [30 -40 kph] which i can assure you is nothing short of terrifying,and as most are now 4 wheel steer,they can get into some of the tightest spots around.
yes there are some here too,but are very rarely seen out side of city centers.
So there you go ,excavator 101... 

[Mossie]

Yep, here in Blighty a lot of major roads are single carriage way & have plenty of twists & turns in them so little chance for overtaking.  I travel often between Hull & York, two large cities & the quickest route is one of these roads.  Getting stuck behind a wheeled excavator is a pain in the backside itself, but if a tracked one gets in the way, your down to a crawl.  Luckily these only tend to travel short distances.  It's even worse in Lincolnshire, virtually all the roads are like this, it can be a ballache if you get stuck behind a slow moving vehicle.  Unfortunately, some get too impatient & because of this you get regular serious accidents.

I saw some of these kits in the LMS yesterday & was intrigued, but I managed to ignore the voices inside saying 'buy me, you know you need me!'.  I'm sure they'd come in useful for some kind of armour build, but I can't think anything up at the moment.

[Hobbes]

Seriously though, where in the modern world are paved roads built which cannot stand up to a wee little bit of tracked construction equipment?

It's not the ground pressure that damages the road, it's the way a tracked vehicle turns. Most of the track is dragged sideways, which would gouge tarmac and rip up a cobbled road completely.

[bluntie]

Yep, dead right
                     hence the rubber pads for street use.

[TsrJoe]

picked up the wheeled excavator kit, definately concur with Jeff's comments, a neat lil model for sure, would definately look neat in eg. German camouflage as part of a diorama



cheers, Joe

[Jeffry Fontaine]

IF you manage to find a cheap MLRS you could modify the wheeled excavator and mount it as depicted in my butchered up image.  Maybe leave the engine compartment whole so that you don't have to rely on the prime mover as a source for the power.

[Jeffry Fontaine]

Will we ever see a modern bulldozer in 1/35th scale?  For that matter, what about other modern construction equipment.  The WWII era bulldozer kit is not going to work for a modern setting and the only other current offerings are the Revell of Germany "EasyKit" snap-together kits of the skip loader and the power shovel in 1/32nd scale. 

[Sisko]

MIG productions do a 1/35th scale loader in resin.

They also do a 1/35th scale Toyota Hilux ute.

http://www.migproductions.com/ficheros_tienda/english/index.html

[Jeffry Fontaine]

That JCB HMEE Backhoe looks like it might be a suitable replacement for the engineer vehicles that were developed from the Mercedes Benz UNIMOG and assigned to engineer battalions of the airmobile and airborne divisions. 

MIG productions do a 1/35th scale loader in resin.
They also do a 1/35th scale Toyota Hilux ute.
http://www.migproductions.com/ficheros_tienda/english/index.html

Forgot to mention the MiG Productions skip loader and it would have been excluded due to the price.  Beside the fact that the Revell of Germany Easy Kit is just as good, if not better for far less than what MiG is charging.  MiG based his resin masterpiece on one of the following die-cast metal models:

• Joal JCB 456B Loader http://www.dhsdiecast.com/shop/product_detail.cfm?product_id=783
• Joal JCB 435 Wheel Loader http://www.dhsdiecast.com/shop/product_detail.cfm?product_id=380

BTW, his overpriced pigments are actually based on commercially avaiable colored dye powders that are used to color concrete.

[puddingwrestler]

I do know AMT makes a pretty modern bulldozer in 1/24, but I guess that's no use to you.
Possibly one of the crazier wargames companies does such a thing?

[Jeffry Fontaine]

I do know AMT makes a pretty modern bulldozer in 1/24, but I guess that's no use to you.
Possibly one of the crazier wargames companies does such a thing?

The AMT/Ertl bulldozer kit is quite detailed but unfortunately in the wrong scale.  There are die-cast metal models available of modern construction equipment in 1:32, 1:35, and 1:34 scale.  While they are not cheap, they are certainly less expensive than the current resin alternatives.  Perhaps with a bit of paint and putty to hide the obvious hinge pins, these metal models might work out.