Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

Hello Fellas,
A very long while ago I sold my 922 liebherr and was set on getting a Damitz RH excavator because the hydraulic drive was just so cool and unique, until I found out how slow they are and how very little power they have compared to others, so on youtube I go and there we have it, a video of a 944b moving some soil, that was a done deal, I wanted one right there and then, until I found out the cost:eek:. So started saving up and was able to pull the cash together. Now to order it, should be easy right? NO. I emailed and emailed this company for at least 4 times, no answer, no reply , nothing. Hmmm, I contacted my guy in Germany to maybe try from there and get me one, no luck, they did not want to work with him at all. So we went with plan B, get it from the source , THS modellebau since they were willing to help me, or should I say help US. I wanted everything available as an option (things I would use that is) , included on the top of my list was the awesome adjustable boom, ripper, extra wide bucket and LST grapple, Rock fall protection , heavy counter weight, Demolition track and chassis, the 20ch Brixl radio and screen monitor was just a must at that point with such outstanding machine! I wanted an orange color to match my fleet and man they got it spot on. I very much hoped to do some business with the original company but the lack of contact or to even say we don't want your business would have been some answer, instead I got nothing. Oh well.

It's been a long year to wait for this beast to be built but finally she's here :bounce:, took 18hrs for it to arrive from Germany to St. Louis airport but got stuck there for 12 days.... So stupid if you ask me. I get a call from the customs office saying they need payment ASAP for fees and duty taxes otherwise they won't release it to the shipping company. What do you do at that point? pay the **** fees so they don't send it back. The crate and packing job was very well done, nothing loose or broken . It's an awesome machine to tell you the truth, feels nice and solid and the detail work is amazing. I am a very very happy camper!!! I still have not got it running yet but just a few teaser pictures until I get it outside.

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/...ps62d0b3cd.jpg
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http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0d69b27e.jpg

Thanks for looking!

P.S. I blame Paul and Mike for this purchase (:

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

Wow looks like a beauty. When should I drop by to try her out? ;)

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

I'm gonna need you to go ahead and keep that Brxl radio away from me. In fact just the whole package.... HA Congrats!! You going to Eds if/when he has the gathering this year?

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

Oooh! I like it! Congrats on your new "baby"!
Cheers, Neil.

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

LOL! Thanks guys ! Nate, I would love to go and meet everyone but we are expecting twin baby girls soon and this guy is grounded for a very long while or at least until the babies can walk. This is it for me as far as machines go until that Volvo ADT comes out. My wife has been very nice and letting me get this stuff but now I have to save up for diapers and college and such.

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

Ok ok, I'll watch over all of it if I have to.... When should I arrive with the trailer exactly? We can't have all those hydraulics rot out from no use hahaha.

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

That is one nice looking machine. The workmanship and detail is amazing. Would love one but will have to make do with operating 1:1 excavators instead

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

Congratulations on your new arrival - I was at the factory a few weeks back and saw this being assembled - Looks like you ticked all the options boxes!. You've got the new scaleart rams as well ;-)

Enjoy it.. they're great machines

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

very nice machine - good choice on the colour as well..

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

Thanks guys for the kind words! I am excited to own this beast :)

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

This was a very nice purchase and to say the lease very expensive with todays Euro. You were very wise to get everything you needed to run it and had it match I assume by them so you will be happy with it right out of the box and not have to mess with it, I know building it may be half the fun but when you spend that kind of money you want to get it running right away and not have any problems with it. Good luck with it and hope you have many hours of enjoyment with it. Ed

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

Thanks Ed! I figured if I made a small mistake it can cost me lots of time and money so I just wanted peace of mind. Hendrik is really a master builder .

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

****! That's one **** of a package you got! :)

A lot of $$ in it but you did get an awesome setup, that brixl is very nice!!

Congrats!

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

Thank you! The Brixl is very very nice, I'm very happy with the way it feels.

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

That is an amazing machine and radio.

Congratulations!

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

:D NICE !!!! ..Congrats shes a beautie for sure ..I can imagine your excitement when you first opened the box ...lol..I remember when My Damitz was delivered :D:D :jaw::bounce:

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

Incredible .That is one AWESOME machine.The radio is super cool also.I can't wait until you can come out and play with that machine.Congrats on the baby girls that are on the way.

Ed

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

Thank you guys!! The babies will give daddy a little helping hand with the digging I hope :).

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

Holy cats! That's awesome. What a good looking machine. Congratulations on that. Did they paint the radio for you too, so it matches your equipment colors? Nice touch! I think we all would love to see some more photos and video footage of this thing running. That radio is pretty cool. Looks like something you'd see used for remote 1:1 equipment operations, like booms, cranes, locomotives, ect. I bet those big sticks will feel better for control.

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

Thanks buddy! the sticks feel exactly like the 1:1 remote machines indeed. they are all 3 functions, I will post more detailed pictures of the inside of the machine and stuff. I just need the time. I will also do a video for you guys to see how everything works.
Later

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

Very nice... Love to see how the brixl controls are setup...

Cheers,
AP

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

Congratulations on your purchase, it looks fantastic and might i say your choice of color is exceptional .
Let me know how it works in the dirt because i still havent had the heart to put mine out there yet :o

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

Thanks Guys! Well first thing I did is I narrowed the track width so it fits better on the Goldie, then took her out for a first time test. I wanted to do a video but of course the batteries on all my cameras were dead, so I just took some pictures. I have to say Hendrik did an awesome job setting up everything, the pump was mixed to only turn on when you move the sticks, I wish I knew how to do that with my loaders, if anybody has any idea please help me out, I suck at mixing channels. The machines had tons of power, I need to get better at the stick first before turning up the PSI's. Very smooth all around and the adjustable boom is awesome for those long reach areas. I am going to have fun with it for sure.
Here you can see the narrow tracks.
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/...psa923728c.jpg
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On to only just a few build pictures of the grapple as when my buddy Grant is here we seem to always "TEST FIT" things but never actually take them apart and take pictures since we're already halfway done, a little tip, if you plan on getting this as kit, it will save you 200 euros and it's not that hard to build, only thing is the holes have to be drilled bigger and parts come on the casting tree and will need cutting and may need polishing or sanding. Otherwise not bad. I am gonna have to redrill and retap this little valve block and this the only one that is pissing me off.
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/...psa14a681d.jpg
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Now the question is, to paint it or not to paint it???

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

Sweet! So the undercarriage can be narrowed up? Is that transport mode? I know some of these machines are like that. The grapple looks awesome. Is it brass, soldered together? I'd paint it. It will look better.....not that it's really neat to look at models in a raw state, but finished, it will just look more realistic.

Radio mixes aren't to hard to do, assuming you have a computer radio that is programmable. Some are easier then others. With my Futaba, I can pick and choose what channels to mix, and even turn off or on that mix when I need it. Check your manual, but usually the steps are similar. You go to the mixing channel menu, pick a master channel, assign a slave channel, then adjust how much you want the slave channel to react to inputs from the master. Usually set up on a graph, as a curve, with a percentage of movement.

I.E. the master channel shows +10% stick movement, and if you assign the slave to mimic the master at 50% mixing, it will follow the master channel by outputting half of the movement that the master does, so it would be at +5% travel, throw, throttle, ect. If you keep the master/slave mix ratio at 100%, both channels will have equal, linear movement. A negative percentage mixing value can make the slave channel move the opposite direction. Don't be afraid to play with it. It's pretty easy once you figure it out. Practice with a couple servos plugged into a receiver. Watch how they react when you adjust the mixing value. That's the best way to learn it.

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

The grapple/grab is awesome... painted or not.

Which part of the valve block requires drilling/tapping?

And I agree, saving 200 Euro is great...

Of course the whole excavator looks great, and I am sure it functions well.

As per Espeefan's comments on the mixes, you might want to start a new thread in the construction tech area... let us know what radio you have, and what you are trying to achieve, assuming your pump is already controlled by a channel I am sure we can help out.

Cheers,
AP

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

Thank you for the info. I will start a new thread, I was just pointing out that I'm not good at it. I only have computer radios,DX6I, DX10T, Aurora 9 and now this Brixl monster. The grapple is brass, soldered and bead blasted, the parts are lazer cut and the freaking thing is very heavy. But the fit of it once assembled is perfect, you can pick up a piece of paper with it. I will have to paint it but I will not be adding LST decals or the blue paint, LST always reminds me of the stupid Losi LST trucks with giant shocks. God I hate those things:cool:.

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

Wow was a beautiful model. So scale looking. So now I guess you need a scale heave haul truck eh?:D:D

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

LOL ^^ . We'll see about that. OK so here is the valve block that needs to be drilled out, The red circle shows the well seated fitting with the washer, the red arrow shows the exposed thread on the fitting after it stops and wont turn anymore on both holes.

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/...psa62dabe5.png

So my options are, add more washers which may leak, cut the fitting shorter which may cause it to break because it's hallow, or option three redrill and retap the mini block.

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

What a beautiful machine, how much US$ did it cost to get it to your door?

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

Shipping, insurance and custom fees were around $950

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

We hired a new operator for the new machine, Vladimir Van Scoopz , you can see the excitement on his face from getting behind the controls for the first time.
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/...ps07e17f9a.jpg

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

I was going to comment in my first reply, but forgot! That display console in the cab is awesome. Functional too? Is it an onboard battery monitoring system? Very cool.

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

Looks like his facial hair is a little darker than on the top of his head...Is he trying to 'reclaim' his youth?

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

Yep all functional, battery voltage, AmP draw to ESC, pump temp and voltage. When something is hot or battery goes low the corresponding sensor turns Red and starts blinking . The radio has the same info as well.

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

LOL! He went a little crazy on the Just for Men products :). Was gonna paint his hair but that was too much work .

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

HAHAHA! Seems to me that I did the same thing in my late twenties:rolleyes:....I blame the young women I was chasing at the time...:Dlol

Reg

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

That looks great! You have a really nice fleet!

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

That sure is a beautiful set up: excavator, controller, grapple. wow! congrats on the purchase, very nice indeed.

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

Thank you guys! I keep wanting to take some videos but the rain is not letting that happen :(

Re: Liebherr 944b Demolition!
 

Whats the real size difference between theses two? They look really nice btw.