I got a 1087 and yes the 9000 series has a better over-all construction, and an one-piece upper case like the Filco/Leopolds.
the build quality for the most part doesn't affect typing feel whatsoever, at least I couldn't notice any, so I wouldn't worry about it too much. Plus, the Filco Tenkeyless at $135 from EK(when EK still had them)+ shipping isn't exactly "a few bucks more". That's a %40 premium over the Ducky.