Kyosho 1:50 Construction Line

[sparkycuda]

This line of machines is OK for occasional play but are not hobby grade. I have the dozer and truck and use them in training classes for heavy equipment. All are infrared-control, meaning line-of-sight is required to operate them. At 1/50 scale and mostly plastic, they don't have the heft or pushing guts of bigger models. The dozer uses screwdrive rams for blade movement but trackdrive could be geared down for slower operation. The truck has good speed and the bed dump works well. From written reviews, I understand the newer version of the excavator - the HD version - is far superior to the original (and costs more, also). Not recommended for use in dirt. I have pushed rubber mulch with the dozer and hauled glass marbles with the truck and they did fine. Had to tweak the dozer track spring tensioner with a bit of brass plate to hold the front idlers parallel to the frame - a hard pivot turn would cause the track to walk off.

I've added a couple of pictures: dozer at work and a truck size-comparison.

They can be fun and I've noticed the price has come down since first released. Can be purchased directly from Japan through HobbyLink Japan, www.hlj.com. The shipping was actually quite reasonable.

Ken