The Deals on Wheels editor tries out a remote-controlled toy bulldozer and finds out it’s better than he expected
With the end of the year rapidly approaching, the more organised ones among us are putting thought into what to purchase for their family and friends for Christmas. If they’re one of the many who are impacted by the current economic climate, then chances are dollars, or namely the spreading of them wisely, will be of major importance.
One option could be a radio-controlled toy bulldozer, which are available in numerous price ranges from suppliers within New Zealand or offshore.
The machine (can I call it that?) we picked up cost around $80 and was purchased online from an offshore supplier, although in hindsight, it would have been better to spend that money with a local business, such as Hobby Station (hobbystation.co.nz), who we later found had something very similar for $89.
Similar in height and a little wider than a couple of blocks of stacked butter, the not-so-catchily-named Xuezhishan 1:24 scale model duly arrived in my mailbox a couple of weeks after being ordered, and considering the packaging it came in, along with the distance it travelled, it was in perfect order. All it required was a charge of the main batteries and the installation of a couple of AAAs into the remote control, then it was ready for action.
Build quality
A first-over look shows a fairly decent build quality, with the machine having a nice solid weighty feel to it — something
I didn’t expect much. There was nice detailing of the moulded plastic parts, with the tracks and track gear also being made of plastic. How long the running gear will last who can tell, but I’m sure the owner will get some decent hours of use in before the little machine gets consigned to the back of the storage cupboard.
Everything else looks reasonably sturdy, although, I would suggest not letting the pet dog use it as a chew toy.
The blade and ripper are made of metal, so any budding operator can get stuck into some real work with the knowledge that the blade won’t fall apart in five minutes. Unfortunately, the ripper is locked into position and is mostly there for show and to add some weight to the back end. There’s a small amount of movement, but it has to be done by hand.
The remote control
Designed to fool you into thinking you’re using a PlayStation handset, the seven-button remote control gives the operator access to pretty much everything a real-life bulldozer has: forward, reverse, turning, blade up, and blade down.
Other buttons control the headlights and sound on/off. For those who just want to watch it do its thing around the floor, there’s a demo button, which might come in handy for mopping up any stray cat biscuits.
As mentioned earlier, the remote control gets its power from a couple of AAA batteries, unlike the bulldozer itself, which has a rechargeable power pack.
Doing the business
Fortunately for me, across from my office is a small gravel beach and once the tide had receded, it was the ideal spot to push a bit of material around that was about the right scale for the toy.
Headlights blazing and getting to work, the little bulldozer made quick work of pushing up a pile of gravel before it started to lose traction. If the work area had more sand so the machine could get more grip, I would say that it would be easy to fill the blade with each pass, as there was plenty of power being delivered to the tracks.
I found controlling the movement of the blade with the remote control quite awkward, as it’s raised or lowered from two centre buttons, not a joystick. This made it difficult to operate the blade while the machine was in motion, which, speaking from experience of decent hours on the real thing, is an important feature. Having said that, it can be done; I was just not ambidextrous enough to do it.
The directional movement of the machine was remarkably good, and it went where it was pointed without any difficulty, although, any user needs to bear in mind that there’s not a lot of ground clearance due to the battery pack, so it’s not too difficult to lodge the machine on a rock or lump of dirt.
Who is it suited for?
Let’s face it, price-wise, the little machine sits at the bottom end of spending for a wireless remote-controlled toy, and I think it’s great value for money.
It can be used for fun in the garden or inside, keeping the pets on their toes. Heck, I reckon it would have regular use in my house just retrieving the remote control from under the couch.
Once upon a time, any kid or young-at-heart adult would have gagged to get their hands on something like this, and I’m sure today isn’t much different. Sure, you could buy the mega-expensive full-blown die-cast version that we all watch on social media, but maybe something like this would be good as a starter unit before going full noise.
If you’re looking for a Christmas present that will stand out from the rest for less than a hundred bucks, then this would definitely be a starter, but you better get ordering soon, as the festive season is just around the corner.
Images by Editor