1/72 Opel Blitz 3ton – Roden 710

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A couple of months ago I attended a local 1/72 group build, and I thought maybe I should give it a try with something fun and easy to build. So I picked up this kit from Roden; it is cheap, fairly good engineered and very fun to build. Roden provides only the early version of the truck (Academy, for example offers both steel cab and late wooden cab). However, I’ve learned Roden’s version is slightly better than Academy and much better than Italeri or Airfix. Decal options cover no less than six different units. I opted for the DAK version, but in the end I regretted as the decals were no good.

A nice feature of this kit is the engine, very little and very well detailed. Only minor upgrading was necessary.

I continued with the chassis. That was the moment when I noticed the Roden plastic was more softer than I was used to and some how crumbly. Some extra care was necessary but nothing too difficult. The back tires have some sink marks that needed to be filled with some ordinary putty.

The cabin was placed on the chassis and then the cargo-bay. I added the door handles and replaced the plastic width indicators with wires. Headlights were holed. I lifted one side of the hood so at least some of the engine could be visible.

A somehow major fault of this kit are the front wheels. Simply because they are for the 4×4 version. Since the kit doesn’t provide the 4×2 front wheels, I was forced to do some hub reworking. You can see the corrections bellow:

After that, there was not much left to do for the construction. I continued with a few layers of tan yellow from Vallejo Model Color, applied with a brush. The weathering was done by dry-brushing the exposed areas with German grey and some brown colour, then pigments and oils applied at the end, followed by a good coat of flat varnish. The barrels are not from the kit.

In conclusion, this is one of the best Opel Blitz in braille scale, and, with a little effort it will turn out into a beautiful version of this iconic truck.

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