ITALERI'S 1/35TH OPEL BLITZ
EINHEITSKOFFER
FIELD RADIO TRUCK

KIT NO. 368
RETAIL PRICE: $20.00

By Ray Mehlberger

HISTORY:

The Opel truck was one of the light/medium transport vehicles used extensively by the German forces during WWII. Thanks to its reliable construction the Opel 'Blitz' was used in many different versions: as a troop carrier, cargo, ambulance, fire truck, tank truck, and even as a platform for anti-aircraft guns. Widespread use was made of it as a field command and communications truck, equipped with various radios and antennas.

TECHNICAL DATA:

LENGTH: 6 m 
WIDTH: 2.27m
MAX SPEED: 85 km/h
RANGE: 320 km

WHAT'S IN THE BOX?

Italeri has taken their old Opel Blitz truck (a kit that has been around for some years), and re-released it as a field radio truck version. I picked this kit up at the local shop.

The first thing I noticed, when I opened the box, was one of my pet peeves with Italeri kits. The parts inside are NOT in cello bags. I found several parts broken off the trees and floating around the box. These parts were damaged where they were ripped off the parts trees at the attachment points in some cases. Also, the clear parts had the passenger side cab window missing. I later found this part to be hiding behind a inside flap of the bottom tray of the box - but it gave me a nervous moment or two before I found it. I thought the factory had kept it in Italy. No cello bag also makes for scratched clear parts. I wish Italeri would put the parts inside of cello bags.

Parts consist of three light tan trees of parts. One tree holds the parts for the truck's cab, engine, headlight housings, jack, front fenders, fender pennant frame, and front wheel rims, etc. There are 51 total parts there.

Another large tree of light tan parts holds the parts for the walls of the rear radio compartment, the truck's frame, exhaust, rear fenders, radio aerials, wheel rims etc. No less than 101 parts on this tree.

A third, smaller, tan plastic tree holds two parts that are the floor and roof for the radio compartment.

A tree of clear parts holds 13 pieces that make up the cab windows, light lenses, and windows for the radio compartment. Some of these were scratched because of floating around free in the box.

The final tree of parts is the eight vinyl tires.

Parts all look crisp and free from flash. No figures are in the kit.

The decal sheet offers one each license plate number for a Luftwaffe or a Wehrmacht vehicle. Also included is a single German national cross that goes on the rear door of the radio compartment. A loading stencil is given for the driver's door.

The instruction sheet is in English and seven other languages. It is a large, bi-fold affair that telescopes out to 10 pages. The first page is the history of the vehicle. The second page (and the top of the third page) is the parts tree drawings. 11 assembly steps are then given. Two paint schemes are shown on the last two pages of the instructions. One is a three color cammo of sand, medium green, and red brown for a Wehrmacht truck in Russia 1944. The second scheme is the standard overall panzer gray for a truck used by the Luftwaffe in France 1940. The plans have this scheme labled as being army - but the decals you use for it will be the luftwaffe license plates 'WL'. Also the decaling guide shows decal no. 1 as being 3A - this is wrong and not as it is on the decal sheet. The same goes for decal no. 2 - it is called out wrong as 4A on the instructions!.

I would have prefered the aerials were in the extended position also as a alternate - they are in the collapsed or folded position as molded - and the radio cabin doors would have been nice to have as separate pieces instead of molded in. I have an idea to put the DML radio command center set inside this puppy and maybe leaving the roof removable. I also want to scratchbuild the aerials in the extended position. I saw the same aerials in a book on the Sd.Kfz. 251 halftrack in the extended position. They consist of 10 telescoping sections with a crows foot aerial on top.

SUMMARY

Other than the discrepancies on the instructions regarding the decals and the lack of cello bags, I think this kit will make up rather nice