Meng 1/35 Middle Easterners Kit First Look

By Michael Benolkin

First Look

If you'll recall, Meng had produced a Toyota Hilux pickup truck kit with a number of options in the box including a nice anti-aircraft gun to create a 'technical vehicle'. With or without the gun, the kit provides an interesting choice of options to represent commercial options and add-ons that one would have with their personal utility truck. The box art and many of the options were typical of Middle East users (including the gun) and the kit was released shortly after the fall of the Libyan government. The only thing missing to make this kit into a decent vignette was a set of figures. Not anymore...

Here is a set of four figures representing a Middle Eastern family: man, wife, and two children, all waiting to be assembled and painted with their wheels. To my knowledge, this is the first set of injection molded figures of this type and provide some interesting diorama or vignette options with other kits on the market. As you'll see in the parts image, the molding is crisp and sculpting was very nicely done.

This is yet another nice kit release from Meng Model and I look forward to seeing what is coming from them in the near future.

My sincere thanks to Stevens International for this review sample!