German Medium All-Terrain Truck 3 t (4×4) Opel Blitz Type 3.6-6700 A
Heller 1:76 Scale Vehicle Review
Heller advertises the Opel Blitz three-ton truck as a 1:72 scale model. If you expected a new kit of the Opel Blitz and the PaK 40, you will be disappointed. The kit is not new, it is the venerable Airfix Opel Blitz. The model is 1:76 scale, regardless of what the box says. This is not the first time that a manufacturer takes a third party model kit into his own product line and changes the label from 1:76 to 1:72, despite the fact that the model has not been changed at all. When this has happened in the past, the company’s reputation was damaged, customers lost trust in the product line, and revenues did not increase measurably. Eventually, the company correctly labels the product as 1:76 scale again and tries to forget the incident as soon as possible.
Evaluation
Production quality is as good as it was in 1979. The parts are practically free of flash.
The Heller kit is great if you need more 1:76 scale Opel Blitz trucks.
The uniform painting instructions are incorrect. Humbrol 66 Olive Drab is the wrong colour for German uniforms.
Heller sells this kit with only one set of decals featuring the 21. Panzerdivision which served in Normandy in 1944. Accordingly, the model now represents the divisional anti-tank unit Panzerjäger-Abteilung 200. The old Airfix kit offered two sets of decals, one for 3. Panzerdivision on the Eastern Front, and the other for 21. Panzerdivision fighting in North Africa.
The information on the box cover incorrectly attributes this Heller kit to 23. Panzerdivision, but the decals undoubtedly belong to 21. Panzerdivision.
Follow this link to read the complete review of the Airfix Opel Blitz published in January 1998. The 7.5 cm Panzerabwehrkanone PaK 40 received an excellent review in February 1997.