ESCI – 8355 – 8007 – LKW 3 Tons Opel Blitz Truck (LKW. 3t Opel Blitz)

Description:

LKW 3 Tons Opel Blitz Truck (LKW. 3t Opel Blitz)

Unassembled plastic model kit in 1/72 scale of a German WWII Opel Blitz 3t truck, from the family of lights trucks produced by Opel and other makers during the war, without doubt the most iconic German truck of the war.

ESCI tooled this kit in 1974. In the next two years, used same base mould, cab and chassis to produced two more related kits, the  ESCI – 8342 – 8035 – Opel Ambulance (Opel 3,6 Ambulance) and the ESCI – 8366 – 8052 – Opel Antiaircraft Vehicle (Opel Blitz with 2cm. Flak 38) (which is not historically correct).

The kit history is similar to other ESCI kit, Revell, Hasegawa, Aurora or Polistil released the kit in the 70s. The last series were produced under ESCI-Ertl and in more contemporary times Italeri re-released it as  Italeri – 7014 – Kfz. 305 Opel Blitz.

The kit is basically correct. The main ods are the basic detail and some pin ejectors marks in visible parts, specially a wheel. It reproduces the Opel Blitz S variant which is the 4 x 2 rear-wheel drive, the most common one. The kit cab assembly is some tricky, it allows doors to be mounted open and even could allow to expose engine, but no interior detail such engine is provided. The kit also lacks of the width indicators in the front wheels fender. The cargo truck can be built with or without tarp.

The very experts on the Blitz truck identifies this variant as an early production because the wheels type but this is too much for our approach to model kits.

In summary it’s not a bad kit, though Roden and Fujimi releases for the 3t Opel Blitz are considered better by most of the hobbyist community.