¹⁄35

D9R Armored Bulldozer

Introduction

Well Meng’s D9 Armored Bulldozer does not need too much of an introduction at all. Arriving to the modelling scene near the end of 2013, this beast quickly jumped to the top of many a modeler’s stash pile. Even at 1/35, this thing is huge! The box is huge, the parts are huge and of course the finished product is as well!!

A while back I had the pleasure of reviewing Meng’s kit right here on Armorama: D9R Armored Bulldozer Review Live links . One of the best thing about this kit, aside from the price which was not too bad at all, is the ease at which it constructs. From the onset of the first sprue cut to the last glued part, every bit of the kit just kind of falls together!!

Construction

The cab interior appeared to be riddled with ejector pin marks, but there were actually only two that showed up after some dry fitting. The cab itself was a quick process and the fit of the parts allows for a decent dry fitting to inspect as you go. The most time consuming part of the build would have to be the tracks. But once you get through the cleanup process of the individual links, you can get right into a rhythm and assembly will move right along.

Before I started I realized there was some interior painting that would need to be done so a sub-assembly approach was needed. I tried to keep as much of the interior parts loose until after all of the painting was done, followed by a quick assembly and then some weathering as I felt this was in need of some dusty business!

Not too long after the interior was done it was time to get moving on the rest of the build; the lower hull of this behemoth fell together pretty much as the upper as most of these parts are rather large and the fit exceptional. Very little sanding was required over most of the kit with the small exception of the bogies. The fit was certainly not the worst I have seen but there was some cleanup needed around these areas.

One of the more notable features to the D9 Bulldozer it its ripper attachment off the back. This is a hydraulic piston driven claw protruding off the back of the dozer. There are a few parts to this section but moving carefully through the construction provides the complete movements of the armature after you are done.

With more or less all of the main construction out of the way, it was time to get the tracks together so I could get onto the fun part of any build for me; the painting. This was relatively painless and again, taking your time during the construction ensures each set of track will be workable when done.