Metal Hobi MH-245 kit as Hitachi ZX245 excavator

[Blender]

Here's a build thread of the Metal Hobi MH245 excavator kit. It's the 3 valve mono boom in 1:14.5. Had the 7 valve split boom with plow been available that would have been my choice. This is my first equipment kit although i have a mostly finished telehandler scratch build. Something easy to complete will renew my interest in the hobby. There is very little info about this kit online. Even tried searching the big German language boards with minimal results. I like the short tail appearance and it fits with my preference of smaller models. Unlike their larger Hidromek models, this excavator uses brushless electric drive on the tracks and slew. Much simpler.

Before committing to the kit a "test" order was placed for a modest value, but useable item to see how the transaction would go. The test purchase was a micro brushless pump. It's rated for high pressure ~25-30 bar. i measured flowrate to be 200 mL/minute although conditions were not ideal. Not sure what i'll use the micro pump for yet. The excavator order was a smooth transaction and allowed paypal which offered some monetary protection.

On to the pictures:





initially i acquired proper John Deere/Hitachi construction paint, but test sprays where not to my liking. Said paint would not lay smooth and still had the gall to run/drip. I've never had such an undesirable experience. To salvage my effort i used the sample spray as color reference to find appropriate colors in an easy to use paint:

Hitachi Construction Grey is very similar to Dulux charcoal grey. A pretty good match to my eye.
Hitachi Industrial Orange is approximately PMS166C. Match is not perfect. The pantone color is a bit lighter/brighter, but good enough.

Next couple of weekends should hopefully have good painting weather before it gets too hot.