With the recent release of the updated Meng 1/35 D9R Armored Bulldozer to include slat armor, Eduard has released a number of photo-etch detail sets to update the kit and add new details. This is a Meng kit so the detail is fantastic, but there can always be some room for improvement. This set includes replacements for all of the cooling slats and a few other parts.

This update set has one large fret and one medium fret of photo-etch parts for the kit. The large fret is almost entirely made up of slats to fit into the frames included on both frets. As usual with Eduard’s photo-etch sets, the detail is extremely fine, much finer than the molded on cooling slats on the kit parts. This update set is also surprisingly easy to build, even though it looks intimidating due to the number of parts, but most of the slats are easy to work with. For example, all of the engine cooling slats that are for G1, S1 and S2, the frames are easy to bend to shape with a decent bending tool. They also have nice notches that make dropping in the slats very easy. My only issue with using these parts is actually the notches, they make assembling the parts easy but they should be hidden after installation as they don’t show on the actual vehicle, but I am unsure how to do that easily, as there is no cover for the outside edges.

This kit also contains replacements for M3, M10 and U8; I believe that this is the external part of the air conditioner. These parts are nice but I had a hard time building them, specifically with folding over the notches for the slats. Even with my bending tools it was very difficult to bend these strips into place, the notches significantly weaken the strips and it is very easy to bend the notches out of shape which makes installing the slats very difficult. I had a very hard time getting some of them to line up.

Lastly, this set includes a full replacement for the front grill plate. This is a very impressive set of photo-etch parts but unfortunately I had a few issues getting these parts to fit correctly. Like the replacement parts for the air conditioning unit, the strips with the notches in them are very difficult to bend even with bending tools. I had a fair amount of trouble getting them into the correct position and getting the slats to line up. Once I did get everything together the result was very impressive.

Overall this is a nice update set. It provides some nice details for the exterior of the D9R and if you have a lot of experience working with thin photo-etch you can get great results using it. Recommended for use on both of the Meng D9R kits as it will fit both of them perfectly, but best photo-etch experience is a must. My thanks to Eduard and IPMS USA for giving me the opportunity to review this update set.