liebherrmodelle.de excavator

[paul1980]

Has anyone had any experience with this company and there 944B model?

Are they safe and reliable to order from?

Its a great looking model from the images but the 4-7 month delivery time is steering me more towards the rc4wd 4200XL.

Thanks
Paul

[Azonic]

They are a good company, the only down side seem to be the delivery time like you said.

A guy from norway have had his 574 loader on order since the summer i think.

How about Vario earthmovers?

[paul1980]

Thanks for the reply.

My max budget is around 6000 euro for a built and painted model and i believe the Vario earthmovers cost a fair bit more.

Could also go for the Wedico CAT 345D but im not too sure about that model.

Thanks for the help.

[Azonic]

Originally Posted by paul1980

Thanks for the reply.

My max budget is around 6000 euro for a built and painted model and i believe the Vario earthmovers cost a fair bit more.

Could also go for the Wedico CAT 345D but im not too sure about that model.

Thanks for the help.

Ok, i see, the Vario would be around 6700 euros built, painted with scale exterior parts and cabin.

If you have room and the muscles for a Vario, i say spend the extra euros for that one!

[Lil Giants]

The Vario is really quite simple to assemble, no special tools required. Not much script, and what there is is in german anyway. Some of the photos are lacking specific detail of how every single piece goes together, but given a little thought & trial/error, it builds itself. And the savings would put you well under your limit.

And I don't care what manufacture you buy from, there will always be little problems that need be corrected during ongoing use. I'd highly reccommend that you build it yourself & then you'd have greater knowledge to diagnose the problems when they occur.

[pigeonfarmboy]

Learn from my mistake and BUILD your model. You're going to have to maintain and take apart the model anyways sooner or later so just build it so you know the best way to do this. I have purchased many parts from AFV-Model which is the sister company to Liebherrmoddele and haven't had any issues. The wait time sure it painful but it's going to be worse if someone is building it for you.

[paul1980]

Thanks for all the advice.

I understand building the model myself would be the best option but as this is my first model of this tyre and value its a little daunting. Ideally i would like the model at least painted as im useless with the spray gun.

Who offers the best kit with half decent English instructions?

[Azonic]

This was my first model of this type as well, was also nervous about the hydraulics and such before i orderd mine, but you do save some euros building it yourself as well.

Expect no good manuals from Germany, they are imo very bad all the time, but you can instead get a lot of help from us here that already have build the machines.

Im sure you can order almost all parts painted but still as a kit, send Mike at Vario a mail and he will let you know!

Trust me, im glad i did becuse now i know every single part of the machine if something would break.

[elliot330]

Hi Paul1980,

I have a 944 Demolition from Liebherrmodelle - this one http://translate.google.com/translat...ca16919a307fe2

So I can confirm that Frank the builder/assembler of these models is fine to deal with. The wait is a killer, so much so that I even purchased another machine while waiting, but that's a whole different story for another time.

944 pros
Completely finished machine with lots of detail and very nicely assembled
Light enough to carry around and use on your dinning room table
Tracks very well
Very good service, one of my quick release connections snapped, I emailed Frank and with 3 days I had a replacement in the post.
2 year warranty
Cons
You can't assemble it yourself, only comes as a complete kit
it won't dig hard earth, its not heavy or powerful enough.
The delivery time is long.

Vario 850/470 Pros ( I don't own this machine, just played with it for an hour at a show)
Big and very powerful, this thing could dig the foundations for your house.. as Joe and the other owners can testify to.
Option to assembly it yourself
Quick delivery
Cons
Very heavy
Big, so you'll need a fairly large area to play with it.
Early versions didn't track well, but that has been addressed.

RC4WD
Reading Joes review I don't think its fair to compare this machine to the 2 above... yes its cheap and will give you plenty of play time, but expect to have to spanner on it and lot... but that said its a fairly good foundation to start with.

Wedico...
I'll let Joe talk you out of that one

Here's some pictures of mine from the weekend...







Hope that helps... if the delivery time is an issue, email Frank and ask what the latest for delivery is... the website could be out of date?

Any other questions, ask away

Elliot

[paul1980]

Thanks for all the info.

Elliot - Does the 944 have less power than the Wedico CAT? And who makes the O&K model in your pics? How is that machine compared to the 944?

Thanks
Paul

[elliot330]

Hi Paul,

I'd say mine has more power than the Wedico, but to be honest we've never compared what they can lift. The 944 is a lot quicker in operation than the Wedico, but that could be down to operator ?

I didn't want to wait for the Liehberr and nearly ordered a Wedico, but went to show in Germany. Once I'd seen the 944 I was sold, I ordered it there and then!

The O&K in the pictures is made by Damitz http://www.damitz-modelltechnik.de/index3.htm
http://www.dermodellbagger.de/

Considered by many to the be the Rolls Royce of excavators - Its 100% hydraulic, the slew and tracks are all hydraulic. While this is realistic they didn't track very well. Damitz have now changed the pump set up and at 100% power they track much better and faster. However the waiting time for a Damitz makes Liebherr look short

You can also buy Damitz models are varying stages from self assembly to fully built, again as with Liebherr I'd mail them and see what the waiting time is.

Power wise from most powerful to least I'd rate them like this
Vario
Liebherr
Damitz
Wedico

Other than the Vario they are much the same... its just that the Vario is monster powerful.

Also, decide now what you want to do with it. I thought I'd get bored of digging, so ordered mine with extra valves and hydraulics so I can fit grabs and all sorts in the future. If you just want to dig holes then you don't need the extra, thus making the machine a bit cheaper.

PS. I can't see from your profile, What part of the world are you? If its the UK then you are welcome to visit our monthly meets...

[paul1980]

Thanks for all the info Elliot.

I didnt notice you was from the UK. Im from the south near Brighton.

Where do you hold your monthly meets? I didnt know such clubs/meets existed in the UK so its good to find out they do. I would enjoy coming along some time.

Thanks
Paul

[elliot330]

No problem, that's the good thing with this forum, its full of good advice.

The photos I posted were from a meet held in Detling in Maidstone.

The construction scene in the UK is small, but getting bigger. There is a fairly large show in February in Brighton, where you'll hopefully see lots of plant.

There are also lots of other events that you can get involved in if and when you acquire a machine.

As others have said, which ever route you go, post a question on here and it'll be answered within 24hours, or I'm only a phone call away if you want to chat. I can build & assemble, just can't paint!

[paul1980]

Thanks Elliot, its great to know the help and support is there to help answer any questions once i get the model as like i said this will be my first hydraulic model.

I did goto the Brighton model show about 2-3 years ago and i think i saw a Damitz O&K model like yours and that was what sparked my interest. I will go again in February and hopefully see some more plant.

Will you be at the Brighton show with your models?

[elliot330]

Yep I'll be there for the whole 3 days... I'll have my 944, dumper and tracked loader there.. it's definitely worth a visit this year, there will be at least six 360, four dumpers, wheel loaders, tippers etc, plus all the lorry kit as well. It'll be a good show. If we don't speak before, find me and we can have a chat there.

[paul1980]

Good to know there will be plenty of plant there.

Was it you i would of seen 2-3 years ago with the Damitz?

Do you have MSN? Would be good to see some more pics of the 944 if you have any?

Thanks

[elliot330]

If its 2-3 years ago, it would've been a red and white O&K I think

Not me, I've only been into plant for the last year...

I've got skype, but not MSN. My typing is terrible... so easier to call me if you have any questions!

I will get the 944 out over Christmas and do a full review and post it on here.. I've meaning to do it for a while!

[Ulrich]

Good Morning folks,
some infos on liebherrmodelle.de:

For Frank and Tom the company was a thing aside regular work. I think they´ve never expected the success of the 944. In october they reorganised their business. Tom is now back in AFV and Frank founded an new company together with Bertold Osswald. It´s called "Premacon". More infos on Trucks&details online.

With this step, they say, they´re improving production and delivering. So sometime soon, the wait hopefully won´t be as long as it´s been in the past. They´ve reacted to that "con".

As far as I´m informed there´ll be some models sold as a kit soon. The first is a Dumper, close to herndrik seipt´s
http://www.truckmodelle-hs.de/bell_58.html
...then rumour says a new excavator.

As far as I can judge, the 944 is a good compromise between performance and looks. Me growing up with liebherr (hard to guess looking at my website ;-)), I can only recommend the 944. In my scratch built one, the pump from frank is running without any problems.
bye
Ulrich

[Azonic]

Great info Ulrich, very intreseting!

Thanks!

[Ulrich]

@Azonic:
You´re welcome. I know it´s not easy to get all the information from our german boards if you´re not speaking german. That´s why I try to inform you guys with the most important things.

With premacon (premium machinery construction?) they´re trying to expand in a wider range. Osswald has been in business for over 20 years. He´s a former member of the ScaleArt-team and does production of truckmodels as a full time job. With his possibilities and frank´s ideas I think something great is coming up.

bye
Ulrich