Gentlemen!!
After I build my
Opel bus early in the workshop version, a colleague was so passionate about the project that requested a same bus, for your collection. This commission project will not be a complete repeat of the early model (it will be a late version), but with different cammo, details, markings, equipment and tools.
Welcome to my current project: Opel Blitz Bus 3.6-47 model 39 - late type - workshop version.
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| Opel Blitz bus in the desert... |
History:
In 1939 Germany was rapidly preparing for global hostilities. The plans of the German command supposed an instantaneous capture of quite large areas of other countries, and therefore special attention was paid to the question of the greatest possible motorization of infantry units. Besides a large number of different types of trucks which were already in the Wehrmacht's inventory, staff buses also began to be taken on charge, whose main task was the conveyance of officers during offensive actions of the army with a likely prospect of minimal resistance by an opposing party in the conflict.
The practice of building buses on a truck's chassis had existed for a long time, and therefore the most common types of buses which came into the German's inventory were based on the most widely used trucks. One of the most popular trucks at this time was the well-known Opel Blitz, and on its chassis was designed a standard army bus (at the time the more common term for it was "omnibus").
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| Opel Blitz bus |
The Ludewig firm which was engaged in designing the bus, was located in Essen and had great experience in the manufacture of civilian multiseat vehicles. The standard chassis of the three ton truck was extended a little bit (up to 4450 mm), and the frame structure was reinforced.
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| Opel Bus chassis |
The original all-metal body of the new bus was quite elegant in outline, and only the front part where the engine was hidden, and the classic radiator with its distinctive logo, immediately reminded one of its predecessor, the famous "Blitz". Inside the cabin were several rows of seats which could be easily demounted if necessary (transportation of bulk goods, medical equipment, etc.).
Series production of the bus, officially designated the Opel 3.6-47 type W39, started in the second half of 1939, almost at the same time as the invasion of Poland by Germany and the start of WWII. At first, the number of vehicles produced per month was very small, but already in 1940 about one hundred units per month off were coming off the production line in Essen.
Series production lasted until mid-1943, when the situation became worse for Germany at the Front, basic industrial materials were in short supply, and as a result, Ludewig had to seriously simplify the structure of the bus. During this period 2,880 units of the early version were produced overall, which were sent both to the Eastern Front in Russia, and to the Afrika Corps of General Rommel in North Africa.
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| Opel Blitz bus in transport...She worked on virtually all fronts... |
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| Opel Bus in Afrika ... |
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..and in the Russian front. A Stalinetz S-65 tractor (captured)
tugging a stucked bus. A good idea for a diorama.. |
In addition to its main purpose - the conveyance of Wehrmacht officers - buses had to perform various other functions such as those of mobile headquarters, telephone exchange and radio station, mobile bakery and laundry, etc. Special note should be made of their role in transporting wounded from battlefield to hospital - rows of seats were removed and in their place several stretchers with wounded could be easily brought through the back door that opened into the interior, thus leaving space free for the installation of medical equipment.
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| Opel Blitz bus as command vehicle |
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| Opel Blitz bus in transport duties |
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| Opel Blitz bus with generator trailer |
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| Opel Blitz bus kitchen |
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| Opel Blitz bus ambulance |
Opel Blitz 3.6-47 buses were used by the army until the very end of the war, but immediately afterwards they quickly disappeared, giving way to more modern developments of the Opel concern during the early postwar years.(font: Roden)
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| Opel Blitz bus with cammo, in 1944. |
| Opel Blitz bus |
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Place of origin Type
| Germany - 8.336 made
personal transport vehicle |
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| Specifications |
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Weight
| 2 t (bare weight) 6.0 t (total) |
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Length
| 7.356 mm |
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Width
| 2,248 mm |
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Height
| 2,481 mm |
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Crew
| driver + 28 men or 5 wounded with medical assistance |
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Wheelbase
| 4.65m |
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Gearbox
| 5 speed gearbox with low noise 4th and 5th gear, middle shifting |
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Tires
| 190x20 (rear double 4x2) |
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Engine
| Opel 6-cylinder 3.625 cc
75 Hp at 3200 rpm |
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Suspension
| front: semi-elliptic, 10 leaf-spring suspension, forged I-profile with shock absorbers.
rear: semi-elliptic, 12 leaf-spring with shock absorbers. |
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Speed
Eletric
| 90 km/h
6 Volt, 12 Volt from 1942 |
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The kits:
Like the
Early project, I used the same brands (Roden and Verlinden) but different versions of models.
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Verlinden and Roden, togheter again....
Roden is the late version (#808) and
Verlinden is the Panzerwerk Repair Shop (#2778) |
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Roden box art - Amazing how the boxes are balanced without falling
(see the bottom right corner of the drawing ...) and the front left wheel soo weird! |
Starting the building. the Roden kit is delicious...Shame the vinyl tires!!!
As I building a workshop version, time to fill some holes for seats. I used stretched plastic of kit's trees (sprues). A good tip !!!
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| Filling holes with sprues....Good!! |
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| Done!!! |
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| Scribing the floor... |
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| Done!! Interesting..... |
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| Filling with putty the injection marks... |
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| Adding internal details with Plastruct... |
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| The floor scribed.... |
After detailing the interior, let's paint the inside of the bus ... Now the floor should look better ...
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Colors and colors. Cream for the interior and
panzer gray for the exposed metal... |
After closed the walls, time to build the Verlinden resin parts. The conversion kit is amazing and very well detailed...
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The floor's painting in detail... I liked !!!
Weathering the interior in progress... |
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| Dry-fit of the roof !! |
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| Testing...testing... |
I do not plan to leave the open roof (hate "demountable" kits...). As the bus will be closed, I will detail all the inside before closing the "housing cover".
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| Future place of air compressor... |
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| Testing the positioning of benches .. |
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| Painting the hardware stuff... |
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| In place... Notice the transparences in position!!! |
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| Air compressor, welding torch, buckets, anvils etc... |
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| Notice the details in the driver position...scratch... |
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| Working lamps on the ceiling ... |
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Oh, shit ... The oil dripped in the workbench and floor.
The Feldwebel will kill me !!! |
I finally will test the
ELF BELARUS lights I bought on the Internet. The parts are composed by a reflector headlight with its base, glass lenses and bulbs lamps ... Interesting ...
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| I replaced the complete Roden part by the headlight from ELF BELARUS |
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| Done...I liked the aspect !!! |
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| Notice other details... And the top of the bus was glued in position!!! |
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| Pretty girl!!! |
Before painting, time to mask the transparencies. How I hate to cut masking tape, I used home-made Maskol. Half PVA glue, half hair shampoo!!!
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| Primmer and pre-shadding |
My client asked for a painting in the Afrika Korps markings. I hear and obbey, Bwana !!!
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| Desert-yellow, very burned and worn ... |
I send to my friend a real picture of Afrika Korps bus and his mind was blown away!! These are the markings that I want !! Is it possible with the flag, too???
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| Opel Blitz bus in Afrika Korps colors. |
The publication of any images related to nazism, fascism or any other totalitarian regimes must be understood as the reproduction of historical accuracy and not as apology to these regimes, leaders or symbols.
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| Desert colors |
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| Lifecolors - great stuff!!! |
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| Wheels...wheeeee!!! |
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| Afrika Korps... The Löwe is borning,,, |
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| Future to prevent silvering... |
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| Afrika Korps palm...so cute!! |
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| Rear viewof the markings... |
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| Improving the painting of tires ... |
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| Wheatering...desert vehicles are usually worn ... |
After a matte varnish shower, I removed the Maskol from the glasses and glued the doors in place.
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| Doors in place... |
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| Left side of the girl... |
Now, it's flag time!! I made the Nazi flag with tracing paper and an old RPM decal from my spare box parts. I planned to use only the swastika with his circle, painting the rest of the flag with acrylic. Let's see the method:
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| Tracing paper and RPM spare decal |
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| A mixture of 50% PVA glue and 50% water to strengthen the paper. |
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| The glue mixture...with an old soft brush... |
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Applying the mixture to the paper (on both sides) with brush.
It rolls and rolls, but when dry, it will craning again ... |
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| The paper drying ... |
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| Testing the size of future flag on the roof of the vehicle ... |
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| Do not let the flag dry on the roof ... It can glue on the bus |
While the glue in the flag dries, lets prepare a mask tape for the painting of the flag. I used the decal measures as a model ...
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| Making the circle in tape... |
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| The glue in the flag dried and with the masking tape in position |
How I'll use the complete white circle decal, I chose not to paint the center of the flag. I will paint only the red and leave the center transparent (color paper) for not redden or darken the white portion of the decal.
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| Painted in red with the center masked |
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| Flag done... Notice the center transparent... |
The publication of any images related to nazism, fascism or any other totalitarian regimes must be understood as the reproduction of historical accuracy and not as apology to these regimes, leaders or symbols.
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| The decal with white circle and swastika in place |
The publication of any images related to nazism, fascism or any other totalitarian regimes must be understood as the reproduction of historical accuracy and not as apology to these regimes, leaders or symbols.
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| After the decal dried, I used matt varnish to seal all work... |
The publication of any images related to nazism, fascism or any other totalitarian regimes must be understood as the reproduction of historical accuracy and not as apology to these regimes, leaders or symbols.
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Tying the flag on the roof of the bus...
Air reconnaissance marking |
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| Like the real pic... |
The publication of any images related to nazism, fascism or any other totalitarian regimes must be understood as the reproduction of historical accuracy and not as apology to these regimes, leaders or symbols.
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| The girl is almost ready... |
And the girl, finally, was ready for action... Opel Blitz Bus 3.6 - 47 model W39 - late version. Field workshop - Deutsches Afrikakorps, DAK - 15th Panzer Division - May, 1942 - Africa
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Opel Blitz Bus 3.6 - 47 model W39 - late version. Field workshop
Deutsches Afrikakorps, DAK |
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Opel Blitz bus - Afrika Korps
The inspiration... |
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| Opel Blitz Bus 3.6 - 47 model W39 - late - left side |
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| Opel Blitz Bus 3.6 - 47 model W39 - late - right side |
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| Opel Blitz Bus 3.6 - 47 model W39 - late |
The publication of any images related to nazism, fascism or any other totalitarian regimes must be understood as the reproduction of historical accuracy and not as apology to these regimes, leaders or symbols.
The publication of any images related to nazism, fascism or any other totalitarian regimes must be understood as the reproduction of historical accuracy and not as apology to these regimes, leaders or symbols.
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Opel Blitz Bus model W39 - late, with
Kojak and Rover, the dog. |
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Opel Blitz Bus model W39 with Panzer IV Ausf F
Deutsches Afrikakorps, DAK
Africa, 1942 |
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Opel Blitz Bus model W39 with Panzer IV Ausf F
Deutsches Afrikakorps, DAK
Africa, 1942 |
Well, Gentlemen. We finished another project ...
Stay with us ... The next kit will be something really rare:
