MiniArt German 3T Cargo Truck 3.6-36S Pritsche-Normal-Type Military Service (35442) 1:35

[Mike]

German 3T Cargo Truck 3.6-36S Pritsche-Normal-Type Military Service (35442)

1:35 MiniArt via Creative Models Ltd

 

 

Opel was Germany’s largest truck producer during the 1930s, and their Blitz line of trucks played a large part in transporting Germany and their military around Europe, with over 130,000 of all variants made before the end of WWII.  The name Blitz was given to the vehicle after a competition to find its new name, with a stylised S logo that resembled half of the SS badge, but also became the Opel logo that remains today.  By the mid-30s there was a growing range of body-styles and load capacities available, replacing the locally produced engines with General Motors units nearer the outbreak of war, after GM bought Opel.  This led to a 3.6T load-carrying option, which became almost ubiquitous in Wehrmacht service, but the new engines made it easier for the Allies to press captured Blitzes into service with a few tweaks, thanks to some familiarity with the motor.

 

Unfortunately, due to its common usage, the Opel brand and its trucks were somewhat tainted by the War Crimes carried out by the Nazis and the SS, building them at the factories using forced labour, transporting prisoners to death camps, and even as a ‘gas van’ to carry out the heinous act itself.  The rest of the Wehrmacht used the type for more typical roles of transport and carriage of men and matériel to, around and from the battlefield.  They were typically painted in the colours of their operators, but the wooden load bed was sometimes seen in green.  Following WWII production restarted, and it wasn’t until 1952 that a complete new design was used instead of the old pre-war Blitz.

 

 

The Kit

This is a new tool from MiniArt, and the start of a line of variants that will hopefully steer clear of certain subjects.  The kit arrives in a standard top-opening MiniArt box, and inside are twenty-one sprues in grey styrene of differing sizes, a clear sprue, a sheet of Photo-Etch (PE) brass in a card envelope, a decal sheet, and instruction booklet that is printed on glossy paper in colour, with profiles for the decal options on the front and rearmost pages.  MiniArt have a habit of creating highly detailed kits that include interiors to the cab, engine and under the chassis, that are augmented by the sensible addition of PE parts where scale thickness will benefit.  This is common practice for them now, and there’s no reason to expect anything else.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction begins with the ladder chassis, which has some small raised marks removed from the main rails, spacing them apart by adding four cross-braces between them, with another three and a fuel tank in the second fit, applying a spare tyre that is made of six layers to achieve the tread pattern, sited on the top of the twin brace, and a fitting a towing shackle at the rear.  Flipping the chassis over, a protective cowling is fixed between the moulded-in front leaf-springs, adding two L-shaped brackets on the chassis sides, a pair of leaf-springs on the rear, and two hooks at the ends of the chassis rails.  An interlude sees the engine built from a four-part block, festooning it with ancillaries, intake and exhaust manifold, the transmission housing that is built from seven parts and mated to the rear of the block, serpentine belt and fan to the front, dropping it into the front of the chassis, and mounting a stowage box on the left rail near the spare tyre.  On the opposite side, a Jerry can is made from two halves with a PE seamline trapped in the centre, adding triple handles and a filler cap on top, then securing it in a three-part frame, held in place by two PE straps.  Two more hooks are fixed to the front of the chassis, with a horn between them, and a two-part exhaust that stretches from the end of the manifold to the rear of the vehicle, turning left and exiting to the side, with a long muffler that hides the joint between the two parts.  A scrap diagram shows where the downpipe should fit in relation to the engine and chassis.  A substantial axle is mounted under the front leaf-springs, stretching a drive-shaft between the rear of the transmission and the rear axle with differential bulge, making it from two halves.  A couple of small parts are added to the sides of the chassis near the front, and the radiator is built from three layers, plus feeder hoses, mounting it in the front on two pegs, a small PE bracket in the centre, and noting the location of both feeder hoses that supply hot water to and colder water from the radiator.

 

Building the cab starts with the dash, adding instrument backs and other small parts to the rear, plus a dash-pot, an oil-can, and the steering column, flipping it over to install the steering-wheel and a lever, applying four dial decals after detail painting.  The floor has  eight small notches cut around the sides, turning it over the apply the foot pedals, handbrake and gear levers into position arranged around the left seat, then making two engine cowling side panels that have the lowest end of the A-pillar moulded-in, using alternate parts for one decal option, then gluing them to the floor, trapping the dash and the radiator cowling with separate logos between them, and placing a bench cushion over the hole in the floor.  The cab rear has the back cushion glued to it along with a pair of vents, and a small rear window in the centre, mating it to the growing cab assembly along with the roof panel that has the windscreen frame moulded into it, slipping a clear screen in from outside.  Two decal options have a warning triangle mounted on a PE bracket in the centre front of the roof, removing two small rivet marks from further back.  Turning the assembly over, the front arches with moulded-in running boards are fitted after drilling out some holes and removing raised location marks on the curved top-sides.  PE brackets are attached within the engine bay, and windscreen wipers are created either from PE parts, or styrene alternatives if you prefer, making a pair of headlamps from styrene backs and clear lenses, plus optional slit covers for wartime use, attaching to the arches using small raised markers to locate the PE brackets.  The cab doors have open or closed window options plus a choice of open or closed quarter-lights installed in the frame, adding a door card, handle, winder and lever to the insides, plus handle, drip-guard from PE, and a long-stemmed wing mirror for the driver’s side.  Before they are put in position, a three-part jack is fixed to the co-driver’s step, and of course they can be posed in open, closed or any position in between.  The bonnet can be posed open or closed too, starting with the tapering fixed centre section, leaving the rest until later in the build, but adding a convoy light on a PE bracket at the front of the left wheel arch.  The cab is dropped into place over the engine, adding rabbit-ear indicators to the rear on PE brackets, and mounting a pair of supports in the rear of the chassis.

 

The closed engine cowling is made from two L-shaped segments with louvres moulded-in, plus clasps at the bottom edge, or the same cowling parts can be used tilted up along the centreline, utilising different open versions of the clasps, and supplying a support rod from wire of your own stock on either or both sides, depending on whether you decide to prop both sides open.  A framework is created from three parts that is placed within the outer frame of the load bed under the floor panel, which has copious planking and wood texture detail moulded-in, as does the header board that can be made from a single layer for the “basic” modellers”, or two for the advanced modeller, which requires a little adjustment of the parts, trimming some details off with a sharp knife, and adding PE tie-downs.  The rear arches have short supports inserted into recesses that lock them in position under the bed, making the sides in either Basic or Advanced manner for later installation.  A pair of stowage boxes are made and glued under the rear of the bed, mounting a PE bracket and number plate holder upon it, and fixing a light further up.  A Notek convoy light is fitted to the rear lip of the bed, with another bracket on the opposite corner that has just a styrene light glued to it.  Two pairs of wheels are required next, making the single front pair from five tyre layers around the hub, and the rear tyres are each made from five tyre layers each, but have different hub parts, and a three-part jointing lamination between them.  The bed is mated with the chassis, the wheels are installed on their axles, and front bumper with number plate is fixed to the front of the chassis, returning to the front axle to add a steering linkage and bar with the aid of a scrap diagram.  Completing the model involves choosing whether to fix the sides and tail-gate up or down, attaching locks to the corners, removing the lugs for the open option.

 

 

Markings

There are six decal options included on the small sheet, with a variety of schemes, some of which are two-tone.  From the box you can build one of the following:

 

• Unidentified Luftwaffe Unit, Poland, 1939
• Unidentified Wehrmacht Unit, Poland, 1939
• 267. Infanterie-Division, France, 1940
• Organisation ‘Todt’, 1939-40
• 31. Infanterie-Division, Rifle Company, Eastern Front, 1940
• 62nd Separate Motorcycle Battalion, 2nd Ukrainian Front, Red Army, Czechoslovakia, Spring 1945

 

 

 

Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas.

 

 

Conclusion

The Open Blitz played an important role in transporting the German Reich around, and this kit is of excellent quality and detail that should be an out-of-the-box build for most modellers due to the high standard.

 

Highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of