Scale Plastic & Rail

1/24 Kfz.305 Opel Blitz from Italeri

1/24 Kfz.305 Opel Blitz
Italeri
Catalogue # 6354
RRP: £26.99

The Opel Blitz will forever be associated, as far as modellers are concerned, with the standard German trucks used by all parts of their armed forces throughout WW2. Actually, the story is much more complicated than that. First built in 1930 by Opel, production did not actually cease until 1975. By the mid-1930s, there were 4 basic types of the 1 ton truck and no less than 14 types of the 2 or 2½ ton trucks. These basic types then saw service for the remainder of the production lifespan, albeit with many upgrades, modifications and revisions.

In the service of the German armed services, not only was the Blitz used as the standard transport truck but became the basis of many other vehicles; from ambulances, anti-aircraft platforms, tankers and mobile workshops all the way through to Military Police "Black Marias" and command posts. The major change in the war was the adaptation of the vehicle into a half-track, called the Maultier, which itself saw many uses. However, it is as a transport for small numbers of troops that the standard vehicle is still best remembered (below).

Credit and copywrite: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-303-0554-24,_Italien,_Soldaten_auf_LKW_Opel-Blitz.jpg

Italeri, at some point over 10 years ago (I'm afraid I have not been able to discover exactly when) to the plunge and released a 1/24 model of the Opel Blitz. They had previously released a 1/35 kit of the truck (and of its half-track variant, the Maultier), so the research had been done – but why a 1/24th truck? Well, all I can think of is that one of four things happened:

The growing popularity of 1/24 and 1/25 scale civil vehicles suggested a military truck would fit in well to collectionsThe availability of Luftwaffe aircraft in 1/24th scale from Airfix (the Messerschmitt Bf 109E, Focke Wulf Fw 190A/F and the Junkers Ju 87B Stuka) meant diorama builders were crying out for vehiclesTamiya's small range of 1/25 AFVs were calling out for a transport vehicle to be modelled alongside themIt was launched on a bit of a whim and no-one remembers why

Who knows which is correct? The model seems to have sold reasonably well and the moulds were later adapted to produce a Firetruck version. Having been out of production for some time, Italeri have fully upgraded the moulds and now re-released the Blitz. With newer Trumpeter aircraft models in 1/24 scale, along with the newer 1/24 AFVs and associated military vehicles from the likes of Tasca, it will be interesting to see how well the big Blitz sells this time around.

The standard Italeri box contains four dark grey sprues (one of which is a duplicate), two black sprues, a clear transparency sprue and a small decal sheet. Examining each in turn, the largest of the grey sprues (below) holds the basic pieces for the cab and its interior together with a selection of wheels, some of which will not be required. The moulding is clean and relatively well defined. The model shows it age in the dashboard and the solid engine compartment louvres but the front grill is really well done and some thought has obviously been given to the best placement of the injector pin marks. It is a real pity the doors are moulded shut, not great for diorama builders.

The next sprue examined (above) contains the tyres in black plastic halves. I berated Revell recently for providing the tyres in their re-released 1/25 Porsche Carrera RS 3.0 kit (JIM, please add link here when that review goes live) in halves, but those were in soft vinyl. Vinyl joints are impossible to hide whereas, with care, the Italeri plastic tyres can be made to look okay. It would have been better though, needless to say, to replace them with complete soft tyres. The other black sprue (below) provides the chassis, suspension, transmission, engine and details and controls for the cab interior, along with the rear wheel arches. The radiator grill calls out for some etched brass mesh detailing and the seats are unconvincing but the basic engine is fine and items such as the wheel arches and fuel tank are really well represented.

The second grey sprue (above) provides the flatbed for the rear of the truck along with its sides, supports and various fittings. Again, the kit is better here than its age would promise, with the wood grain being just about right for this scale when a layer of paint has been applied. A close-up shot (below) confirms this good level of detailing in the flatbed.

The final grey sprue, which is duplicated in the kit (above) gives further wheels, jerry cans, fittings for the truck body and some tools, which although they are not required, are actually really nice and could be placed on the flatbed after a little modification. Some of the fittings are a little on the thick side and could do with thinning down or replacing, though thankfully the hoops for the canvas cover are just about spot-on. No option for a covered rear flatbed is given in the kit. The transparency sprue (below) is alright but not of the highest quality; there was a little distortion through both of the side windows in my review kit.

Finally, we have the small decal sheet (above), in good register and with good density. There are 4 options (not 2 as is stated on the front of the box!) which are:

Wehrmacht, unknown unit, sandgelb and olivgrunWehrmacht, 21st Panzer Division, sandgelbLuftwaffe, unknown unit, sandgelb and olivgun (the latter interestingly painted as representing long strips of foliage down and around the bodywork)Wehrmacht, 110th Infantry Division, Panzer Grey

So another re-released kit crosses my desk but unlike several recently seen, I quite like this one. I've seen a couple built up over the years an, with a little work, the model can look really good.

So What Do We Think?
A model in a different scale that will benefit from time, effort and a little improvement to end up with a really nice German truck.

A worthy effort

Our sincere thanks to Italeri for the review sample. Italeri model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit www.italeri.com

Robin Jenkins.