Meng 1:35 D9R armored bulldozer

Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Sun May 04, 2014 12:47 pm

hi there and

to the build log of my D9R by Meng
i never build a kit from Meng so i was pretty suprised when i had a look in the box
the box is really packed with styrene and the sprues are kind of small but very easy to handle unlike some sprues from other manufacturers
i'm not going to do a inbox review as this is already done by schweinhund227
http://intscalemodeller.com/viewtopic.php?f=98&t=1840
he made a great review so if you want to see what is in this box just have a look here

i am planning to make a log that shows al the steps of the build and how i build and paint this specialist vehicle
as for the version of this bulldozer i have chosen the US Marine Corps version
there are 2 versions of the IDF aswell but i have nothing from that subject and i like the sand yellow look of the US vehicle

so let's have a look at the progress shall we

step 1 hull assembly 1

the steps are made up from about 3 to 6 parts each so very clear

step 2 hull assembly2

as you can see the fitting of the parts is very good and building goes fast

step 3 ripper assembly1

the detail is insane for just styrene
there are only some seamlines and that is all the cleaning that is needed

step 4 ripper assembly2

the details on the hydraulics are very nice as are the fluid lines

step 5 ripper attachment1

the hydraulic pistons for the ripper movement

hanging the ripper in place
this is a friction fit and keep moveable

and the pistons are in place
the way that Meng has designed this all makes it possible to have everything moving

step 6 ripper attachment2

this step let's you place the covers for the pivots that hold the pistons
and again the parts are well designed so there is no need to have glue near the pivot points
and as the pistons show they can still move

and that is all there is for now
i hope you like it and if you are thinking about getting this kit , i can recommend it
it is a enjoyable kit with good fitting
just get it at the right price as this is no cheap kit

cheers Mark

Post by **warpedcrisis** » Sun May 04, 2014 6:57 pm

Want one
looking good so far

Post by **gustavlekstal** » Sun May 04, 2014 7:21 pm

:There is some great details. Gonna be fun seeing this little doozer grow up.

Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Sun May 04, 2014 7:31 pm

thanks guys
the build is going rather fast so far
but it seems that i don't even have one of the needed paints in my stash
although i'm planning to build the entire vehicle in segments first and then start painting them once that is done
cheers Mark

Post by **portlandjoe** » Sun May 04, 2014 8:46 pm

I saw this on EBAY for $40.00USD with free S&H. I am really tempted to grab it now.

http://m.youtube.com/user/MrBobsBuilds · Post by **Rob** » Sun May 04, 2014 8:50 pm

Wow, what a kit! Lovely clean modelling too

Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Sun May 04, 2014 9:38 pm

portlandjoe wrote:I saw this on EBAY for $40.00USD with free S&H. I am really tempted to grab it now.

DO IT
you won't regret it
this is a really good kit and so much fun to build
i haven't had a single problem or piece that needs filling so far

Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Sun May 04, 2014 9:40 pm

Rob wrote:Wow, what a kit! Lovely clean modelling too

thanks Rob
the clean building is thanks to the kit
it almost falls together
it is really well engineered
i just want to see how big it is when build
and i get to do modern piece wich is rare for me
so a nice change of subject for once
cheers Mark

Post by **Donkeywalloper** » Sun May 04, 2014 10:19 pm

I was going to toss up between this and the Tortoise.
Such a interesting model and build.
Yet to start on the VsKfz from Meng yet but the box contents do look well planned and laid out.
Nice build Mark and good luck on this, will be following build.
Hope all you chaps are having a great B/H so far (weather has been good as my red nose testifies lol).

Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Sun May 04, 2014 11:41 pm

thanks
and i have seen that mine clearance vehicle
it is a some what weird thing to see but looks cool
as for this one , i wanted to build a.bulldozer in general for a long time
but altough there are some models of bulldozers most if not all are resin kits
and they burn a hole in your wallet
Meng kits aren't cheap either but i picked this up at a.modelshow where they had a good discount on it
but the quality of the parts and the styrene itself is very good
i was building this tonight and only now i had to fill the first epm's
that is on the inside surfaces of the cab
but that is to be expected i think
once i made the cab parts i will make a new update
cheers Mark

Post by **schweinhund227** » Mon May 05, 2014 2:36 am

NICE KIT!
mine is built but I still have to weather the Blade !
Not sure yet if I do Rusted ! or Polished and Muddy ?

Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Mon May 05, 2014 8:37 am

it is nice indeed
and not very hard to build so far
the interior painting should be a bit challeging though

Post by **alextheblue** » Tue May 06, 2014 10:56 am

Fantastic progress there Mark!!

Always liked the look of this one and the fact that it's movable - great work!

Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Tue May 06, 2014 11:41 am

thank you Alex
but it is easy keeping it moveable really
it is all thanks to the way it was designed
i'm working on the cab now and that needs some paint first
and i don't want to mask of each individual piece of glass so i will be painting a part of the exterior aswell
so that i can mask the entire block that houses the glass
should be saving a lot of time and effort this way
but i will show what i mean in the upcoming update
cheers Mark

Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Wed May 07, 2014 11:43 pm

hi guys
i hope everybody is doing well today (and other days

)

so i have a update on the D9R
i made the interior well the building stage really and i will show parts of the build from step 7 up to 13 wich is the cab interior and walls
i'm going to show the basics actually as i have to paint the entire interior before i will assemble it and continue with the exterior assembly
so here we go

the floor
i see that i missed the bad fit of the front cover when i made the photo but that is fixed with some extra thin and a little push to get it to sit right

drivers console
this has a lot of nice details but some epm's aswell

my forest of parts
you can spot some places where the epm's had to be filled and sanded but most are sticking out of the surface so they just needed some sanding

the seats after priming
after some advice i got around here i got me some ak primers and for the interior i used the grey
it is a good primer but i find that i have to turn down the pressure when i use this not much though

the roof
i try to make as many parts moveable as i can
it worked on the roof hatch as i fell open

and the complete drivers console
as you can see there is more then enough detail on these parts and should give a nice result when it is painted and weathered
it will need some masking though as parts of the interior are painted in henp since that is the color the IDF uses
and altough i'm building the USMC version from 2004 it is still needed
because when the US whent to Iraq they had D9 bulldozers but these where regular ones
so they bought several of these vehicles from the IDF wich had already upgraded the ones they had into D9R variant and then repainted the exterior sand yellow just like many other vehicles of the time
this the 3rd version that was armored they had D9L and D9N types before this
these where also IDF conversions
by now they also added slat armor to the bulldozer wich is availbleas a pe upgrade kit glad i'm not doing that one

and finally this is what i plan to do for masking all the windows
i know it is not yet painted but it is the idea that counts as i will paint the exterior part of the windows first and then i will paint the interior white
as for the glass bits i have seen a cool trick from schweinhund227/Norm
he mentioned that armored glass has a black finish on the sides made from a tar like substance i think
this is used to keep water out so there can be no weak spots in the glass
he used a black marker for this task and it is just a simple thing to do but gives a nice result when the glass is in place
if you want to check it out he did this it is in one of his updates on the LAV LORIT he made on youtube
now i just have to get some paints for this and work shall continue
i am planning to stick to the vallejo colors mentioned in the instruction if they are there as model air colors but i have the pdf file of that list so i can check that
and since i have been looking for some decent metallic paints for ages i will get some alclad and mr color metalizers aswell
i'm thinking that i will start with colors like steel and silver
but if anyone has a good suggestion for a other color that is a must have i will have a look for that since i will go this friday or saturday

oh and before i forget
the mister hobby metalizers are clearly metallic paints but are these the buffable ones i see Paul using or is that a different range of paints
so thanks for watching and happy modelling
cheers Mark

Post by **Donkeywalloper** » Thu May 08, 2014 1:50 am

Love it, love it, love it.
Nice work

Post by **PaulAyrey** » Thu May 08, 2014 5:31 am

Looks like an awesome kit. You are doing a great job, really look forward to seeing more

Post by **peppie** » Thu May 08, 2014 7:00 am

A great build Mark (again..)

Looking forward to the end result.

MarkVerploeg wrote:oh and before i forget
the mister hobby metalizers are clearly metallic paints but are these the buffable ones i see Paul using or is that a different range of paints

I have the same question, and also what to use to clean your AB.
Mark, let me know if you find it and where.

Thanks
Peter

Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Thu May 08, 2014 8:50 am

thanks guys
i'm glad you like it so
and Peter onxe i found out wich are.the best options i will let you know
cheers Mark

Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Mon May 12, 2014 9:11 pm

hi guys
i have a new update on the bulldozer
the interior has been painted and lightly weathered because it was overhauled just before the USMC received them so no big weathering here
and the exterior has been painted but there are a lot of parts that need to go on there
but here are the pictures

all the parts before assembly
i used vallejo model air for painting these parts
i just followed the instructions for this
there was a big decal that was supossed to go on the instrumentpanel but i think it will never set on the plastic part with all the raised detail on there
so i painted the parts by hand and the things that are to dificult where cut out of the decal and applied as small decals

a look inside

and from the front

the outside of the cab
and that concludes step 7 to 13
and this is step 14

i actually made this part when the paint was drying and put this on the cab floor first because this has a good fit on 3 sides and acts like a jig for the cab walls ensuring a proper fit

and that is all for now
i hope you like it
cheers Mark

Post by **gustavlekstal** » Mon May 12, 2014 9:23 pm

great work

http://www.youtube.com/user/longlance67 · Post by **longlance67** » Mon May 12, 2014 9:38 pm

great work mark

seems like a very intense build indeed

keep it up

Shane

Post by **AchtungPanzer** » Mon May 12, 2014 9:44 pm

Very cool model ! Good work, well done mate

Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Mon May 12, 2014 10:40 pm

thank you gentlemen
and Shane it is not a very hard kit to build but with the glass it takes a while.as i don't want to spill paint on them
but i had to wait anfew days for the paint anyway
so i went on building other parts but i didn't post them yet as that would mrss up the building order from the instruction book
and my plan was to show the build step by step

i did find the first bad thing though and that is part A3 i think
these are 6 small grab handles taht are divided on 2 sprues so 3 each
but they are conected to the sprue on the aides and not on top in the middle and they are.very fragile as i foud out
i needed 3 and snapped all 3 of them
so i glued them in place and pushed the breaklines against eachother and touched it.with some tet so glue them back together
fidley but they look like nothing ever happened
so off to the next update i guess
cheers Mark

Post by **PaulAyrey** » Tue May 13, 2014 5:42 am

Looks awesome, just love the interior of the cab, stunning!

Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Tue May 13, 2014 5:56 am

Thanks Paul
i happy with the interior as it looks better then expected
just hope the outside is going to match
cheers Mark

Post by **fly1ngdutchm4n** » Tue May 13, 2014 6:07 am

Bloody hell... What a awesome kit!
Now I want one too...

Awesome build Mark, and fast too.
That must be cause the parts are so well detailed so minor cleaning up to do.
Keep it up for I'm following this with interest!

Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Tue May 13, 2014 10:05 am

thanks Frans
it is rather fast and the people at meng did think it trough when designing this kit
but i hit a problem as.i want the roof removeable but i won't fit very good
so maybe i have to glue down
but for the most part it goes together very well
and painting and weathering should take up a lot of time
with the masking mainly i think but we'll see when i get to that stage of the build
cheers Mark

Post by **bradsbunker** » Tue May 13, 2014 6:57 pm

This is going to look awesome when completed!

Looks a very busy build?

Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Tue May 13, 2014 6:59 pm

hi guys
i'm back.......again

so here is yet another update on the D9R
so step 14 was done yesterday and now work continues with step 15

step 15 external cab assembly 2

just some small bits and pieces on the left side of the cab
the only hard part is the ledge on the top this is not so easy to get in place because there is no reference on where it is fixed
but there is a big piece like this on the back and that can only be placed 1 way so i used that to get this one on the proper spot
also the door fell off again so until painting i will leave it off
and you can 2 small pieces of styrene for filling i don't know if i made a mistake with the cab building but i wouldn't fit that well so some filling and sanding was needed

step 16 external cab assembly 3 and step 17 attaching windows

more small stuff but nothing special

step 18 attaching roof armor

well the gap was not only on the front but on the rear aswell
i started to fill this with some more styrene strip (not done yet)

step 19 attaqching rear lights

the filling is done here
and the last bits are added to the roof and the antenna's
you have to fit the lights aswell in this step but these have a protective part over them so that will be painted seperate and added later on
the roof is still not glued here and can be taken off

step 20 attaching pipelines
this is skipped until the paint is done
as these are the flex lines for the hydraulics and the kit part is a nice3 rubber tube so no need for paint and it would be a shame if i sprayed it sand color by mistake

step 21 attaching mg
i don't have to do this as only IDF vehicles have a mg on the roof and it had a jerrycan holder wich is not featured on a USMC vehicle either

step 22 attaching cab
i tried it and it holds on just by friction and i think i will leave it like that as this should be easy when it comes to painting it all sorry i didn't make a picture but it will fall over to one side with out the running gear attached

step 23 attaching pipelines 2
again skipped this

step 24 running gear assembly

pretty big parts
you start with making the 16 small roadwheels that are made up of 2 parts each
they are a bit though to clean as the sprue gate is on the very fragile rim of the wheel (point of inprovement for meng)
the rest is made up from 2 big sides and the 2 big wheels on each side
i made the assembly without the small wheels and with tweezer i added them once the glue had set on the boogies themselves and this whent pretty easy and better then getting 8 wheels to sit straight at the same time

step 25 attaching running gear

here you would have to glue the running gear in place and make the 2 drive sprockets
they have poly caps in there so easy to fix them in place
i just don't have a picture of the parts in place ( yet )

step 26 track assembly
so these are made up from 3 parts for each link : 2 parts for the chain and 1 plate
here is how i made them

so i made the lenght of the chain with the parts that have the pivot 43 in total as per instruction

then i added the cap
i used tet so to prevent it from seizing up and get deformed i moved the track chain a few times so it will remain a workable track

and then the plates are added and in my case primed as i was priming just before imade the picture
and these will be painted of the vehicle any way
they look hard to make as it all looks very flimsy but they are pretty easy and it took me about 2.5 to 3 hours for the pair

here is the build so far

it is a friction fitted but it does give an idea on the size of this little earth mover

now i didn't do this all since yesterday but while work of the cab couldn't go on due to drying of paint ,klear and washes
but it does make a long update
and that is all for now
i hope you guys like it and until next time
cheers Mark

Post by **peppie** » Tue May 13, 2014 10:03 pm

Looking great Mark

Was the glass green/blue in the kit or did you colour it (or did I miss it..)?

Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Tue May 13, 2014 10:43 pm

Thanks Peter
no you didn't miss anything
the kit comes with 2.sprues of clear parts
they are the same but one is clear and the other is the green tinted
so i used the green for the armored glass and will use the clear for the lights
cheers Mark

Post by **Donkeywalloper** » Wed May 14, 2014 5:20 am

awsome build mate.
It's such a break from the norm and yet brutal looking to the extreme.
It's really looking a brilliant build and watching with increasing interest

The weathering and paint job will im sure be immense

Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Wed May 14, 2014 7:52 am

thanks mate
the paint and weathering will be a big task for sure but can be done in steps as the stuff like the blade and the.running gear can be taken off the body as is the is cab wich is just friction fitted
so that should make it a bit more easy to work on
cheers Mark

Post by **alextheblue** » Wed May 14, 2014 8:44 am

That is looking totally awesome Mark!!

Bet you can't wait to start getting it all dirty and weathered!

Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Wed May 14, 2014 9:27 am

thanks Alex
and no i want to finish it for sure hopefully before before the d-day gb but if not i'll put it on the shelf for a bit
as i don't want rush it
should look awesome when it is done though
cheers Mark

Post by **schweinhund227** » Wed May 14, 2014 1:54 pm

Really Nice progress !!!

Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Wed May 14, 2014 4:13 pm

schweinhund227 wrote:Really Nice progress !!!

Thanks

Post by **snappercity** » Wed May 14, 2014 7:07 pm

That's coming together well.

Post by **Prop72** » Wed May 14, 2014 9:54 pm

That's a beast of a kit.....Looking good!

Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Wed May 14, 2014 11:16 pm

Thanks guys
It is a weird thing though as it is much higher then it is wide so it look strange
A tank is the complete opposit
But this beast should be ready for paint before the d-day gb or even painted but work will stop once the gb starts and continues whrn the gb build get on the way
Cheers Mark

Post by **Mike00** » Thu May 15, 2014 4:02 pm

Fantastic build and updates, I love the details.

The kit looks awesome I want one

Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Thu May 15, 2014 4:40 pm

Thanks Mike
It is a great kit and if you see it at a good price you should get one
It is a fun build with no real issues but it is expensivr most of the times
I got mine at a modelshow and guy had a 20 euro discount on it
i almost ran over somebody to get it

Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Thu May 15, 2014 11:10 pm

good day to all
so yet another update
and (spoiler alert) this time the building stage is completed
it is amazing how well and fast this kit comes together
and altough this looks like a complicated build i think that a beginner can build this and have a good time in the proces
atleast for me building this little beast was tons of fun

but lets go over to the proces photo's shall we
last time i stopped at step 26 the tracks so now i'll start at 27

step 27 light assembly

there are 2 options here as always with this kit and there is a difference between the IDF and the USMC version here
but these are the US lights

step 28 external parts assembly

nothing special here
just the exhaust pipe and the air intake
the intake was a bit harder to do as you will have to cover the sides with a piece of pe that is just big enough to fit but if you attach one side and let that dry for a few minutes you'll be able to wrap it around there with ease

step 29 attaching external parts

nothing big but you will have to place some grab handles and the parts from the previous 2 steps

step 30 hydraulic cilinders
another IDF step so it is skipped

step 31 blade hydraulic cylinders assembly

these parts are not hard to make but make sure that you remove the epm's on the inside of the tubes as they will block the piston arms

step 32 attaching the hydraulic cylinders

as it was like with the rest of the build these parts fit very nice and the seamline doesn't need removing as the real vehicle has them

step 33 attaching hydraulic pipeline

step 34 attaching lights
this is for the IDF version as they have other covers on top of the cylinders

step 35 attaching lights

the covers that hold the lights need to be sanded though as the hve a seam line
i filled them with some ca glue and sanded them down again showing the glue in the seam

step 36 blade assembly

finally the buisness end gets build

it is fairly easy but will need some time drying in between the steps that are part of the complete step

step 37 push arms assembly

easy and with a good fit of the parts but the ends look a bit woobly to me

step 38 blade assembly 2

o yeah it is getting there

step 39 attaching blade

and as a final building step
you get to put on the big blade

and here is how it looks now

as you can see i left of a few parts as they keep falling off if i don't glue them and i want to paint those parts separate so i don't have to mask them and to make sure i don't knock off parts
so all that is left for now is to get it ready for the primer and then paint
but that is for the next time

so i hope you guys like it and untill the next time
cheers Mark

Post by **fly1ngdutchm4n** » Fri May 16, 2014 5:41 am

"I hope you guys like it" are you kidding me? I'm freaking love this thing!

What a great model this is Mark.
I can't wait to see this beast painted mate.
I reckon you've got a lot of masking to do with the windows?

Good luck with the priming Mark!

Post by **robertw** » Fri May 16, 2014 6:35 am

I've been eyeing this kit for some time. I want it even more now! Quick question though. How much experience do you think one would need to attempt this kit?

Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Fri May 16, 2014 6:35 am

Thanks Frans
And i don't like masking so that is why i already painted the window blocks
Now i just have to cover the entire block and it is masked
Besides that those edges around the glass are pretty thick so i think it would be a huge job getting the masking tape out of there
But i'm not planning on a whole lot of real chipping as i never had that much luck with hair spray method or the ak stuff for the same effect
I will do it on the blade as i have mr metal paint for it and that is enamel so i should be easy there i hope but it will be sealed in anyway just to make sure it will work out the way i want
I will be priming today i hope and let it dry for a night and tomorrow i have to go to militracks so i don't think much is going to happen then
But i should be able to start paint this weekend if all goes well
Cheers Mark

Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Fri May 16, 2014 6:42 am

robertw wrote:I've been eyeing this kit for some time. I want it even more now! Quick question though. How much experience do you think one would need to attempt this kit?

Hi Robert
I don't think you need years of experience for this
The fit is great and the instructions very clear and easy to follow
Just pick the version you want at the beginnig and look for abc logo in each step
And check each part before glueing as there are some strange mold edges with a small bit of flash on a lot ot edges of the parts but a sanding stick removes them in just 1 or 2 passes
But it is easy to build so i think even somebody with 2 or 3 builds under there belt can make this if they take there time with it
So a real recommended kit

Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Mon May 19, 2014 9:18 pm

Update time on this little earth mover
Last time the build was donr and i started the now easy task of masking
It took a full 15 minutes so that went quick

I have removed all the parts i want to paint seperate as this should be easyer then a full assembled bulldozer
I then used ammo primer grey instead of the planned yellow wich was to dark for my liking

here it is in the base color of sand(ivory) by vallejo model air
This color is a bit light but i think a filter could bring to the desired shade

Then it was time for some masking as the heads of the hydraulics are in a other color
The instrucions call for gold yellow but the pictures show a orange color
So i mixed the gold yellow with some fire red and sprayed it on
Both are model air

The front of the blade was painted using mr metal chrome silver but i lost the photo
But as the front blade will be scratched up the color will show when it is done
And the tracks needed some paint aswell

they are primed with ammo primer and then after they where dry painted with mr metal dark iron
Once that had dried i buffed them up with a q tip so not all of the surface is buffed

And that is all i have for now
Next up should be the blade being painted in thw base color and then chipped and then i can start on the decals wich should be quick as there are just a few and then weatherin can begin
So i hope you like it and untill the next time
cheers Mark

Post by **PaulAyrey** » Mon May 19, 2014 9:20 pm

Wow, that is coming together really well, looking absolutely amazing. Love the tracks!