German Vehicle (1944)
Opel Blitz with Provisional cab

MAC Distribution, 1/72 scale

Reviewed by Glenn Porter

MAC's 1/72 scale German 3T Vehicle is available online from Squadron.com

With Roden and Academy about to release 1/72 scale kits of the Opel Blitz and Italeri having already gotten the ex Esci kit on the market, it might seem we don't really need another. However, this one from MAC Distribution is a little different.

Towards the end of the war Germany, in common with other countries involved in the conflict, were trying to conserve materials such as steel, which were required for munitions and weapon production. Opel, makers of the famous Blitz 3 tonne truck, helped by substituting the steel cabs of their late war vehicles with ones made from wood. They tended to look like vehicles produced in the twenties but still had the load carrying and cross country qualities that made the Opel Blitz the most produced soft skin in Germany. About 82,356 units were made between 1937 and August 1944.

This kit from MAC, with the wooden cab, won't have the mould quality we've come to expect from Academy or the detail from Roden but should be on a par with the Italeri offering with a lot more detail from the PE fret. Having said that the mould quality is not bad, just requiring a small amount of clean-up of each part.

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

The kit supplies a type A and type B flat bed mount onto the chassis but my sample has one of the type B parts missing so I'll have to stick with the type A. Also, the art-work on the top opening box shows a Blitz with a Notek light on the front left hand guard but no parts are supplied in the kit. The shovel and pick are part of the PE fret which means they will look a bit flat but at least they are separate parts unlike many 1/72 scale kits.

The decals by MPD are nicely printed with plenty of markings for the four vehicles in the instructions but oddly have three DAK palm trees complete with swastikas. I have my doubts about the DAK having any of these lorries.

In summary, this is a very nice little kit and something a bit different from what we might expect from the other manufacturers.

Highly recommended for experienced modellers.
 

Thanks to Squadron for the review sample.

Review and Images Copyright © 2005 by Glen Porter
Page Created 08 August, 2005
Last updated 08 August, 2005

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