Here's one in action : H.P.

Out-STANDING! I love it that they haven't over-simpliified the engine, either.

It's a Caterpillar D7 with hydraulic-controlled LaPlant-Choate R71 Trailbuilder, LeTourneau R7 Power Control Unit and an Armored Cab M2. There's an Armored Bulldozer coming from Mirror Models, that means a full armored dozer (the engine too), not only the cab. But with another kind of hydraulic system. http://www.mirror-models.com/135-US-Armored-Bulldozer.html Michael

I've just bought miniart's D7M bulldozer. this one : LINK The kit contains lots of tiny part and it is higly detailed one but it has a great problem that the quality of plastic of the kit is really poor. Sometimes some parts are fell to pieces for 3 or 4 and it really makes annoy. In my opnion, the kit doesnt deserve its price. If you have time and money to waste, you can buy the kit

Thanks H.P. and Michael,very informative! Anybody care to elaborate on MiniArt's plastic?Having never had any experience of their kits I'm interested to hear of others experience....

I've just built the little tractor (and I wrote it to Miniart, Kiev): the material is poor. BIG and MANY attatchments of the parts to the sprues. And you have to cut the parts very carefully from the sprues to get them in one piece. I think it's the problem of the slide mold technic. The parts broke just at that points, the parts seem to be connected in their form, one end has a little hole, the other a very little pin.. Nevertheless the Minart models were very detailed, but overenginered. I'm going to buy them all, but to build them needs time, long time. http://armorama.com/forums/234936&page=1 Michael

I am part way through the angled dozer kit, and have also experienced the same problems with parts breakage, particularly sprue "C". Most of the broken parts consist of the control linkages beneath the floor (which can't be seen anyway) and the steering and braking levers. The levers are more problematic, because they are more difficult to scratch build. I have requested a new sprue from Miniart. Having also built the Mirror Models kit, it is far easier to build, and many of the parts are much finer (i.e. the brake levers and the covers that protect the track tensioning mechanisms). The plastic is also much stronger. The floor and the radiator cover are photoetch, and more convincing than the Miniart rendition. The Mirror kit does lack the level of detail that the Miniart kit has, but in my opinion is is quite acceptable.

I was wondering when the hydraulic models entered US army service. I believe the miniart d7 is an ealier model than the mirror models version. One had a crank handle starter.Then upgraded to a donkey engine starter all of which used cable operated devices, hence my question about the hydraulic models.

All versions had 2 cyl. donkey starter engines it is just a question as to where the hand crank to start the donkey came out. Early Cats had starter crank coming thru bottom left front of radiator, later had crank coming up thru top of bonnet (engine hood) and latest had crank coming out left side engine cowl just ahead of the track.