6x4 Opel Blitz

35th scale 6x4 Opel Blitz

Story: The pre-war Dutch army used the TraDo axle to convert 4x2 medium trucks to 6x4 artillery tractors. The TraDo axle was a comercialy available product, and the Dutch Ford and Chevrolet trucks brought the axle into the Wehrmacht. Any 4x2, esspecially the rugid light Blitz would be able to take the axle extentions.

Model: 35th scale, Italeri Blitz, 3d late rear and TraDo axle, cargo bay tarp green stuff, and a few changes to cab and chassis.

Build: September 9 2018 - may 24 2025. All acrylics, partly airbrush. floorplate of the Steyr alterted to fit

April 29 2025

Little touch up's comparing to the original picture.

January 19 2025

The rope in the cargo cover is added and some small details, and again to the airbrush.

January 11 2025

Blending the chassi and together, thoug the wheels seem to dark on the pictures.

December 25 2024

Through all actions around the DAF M39, the knowlegde on the TraDo axle has been growing. So, lets print these axles! A sub-chassis to highten the cargo bay (as is on the photo), the cab details and onto the airbrush.

March 2019

The cab is finished except for the door handles. the first verion on the Trado axle is done. Between the drawings I have nand the pictures of the real thing there are differences. I have to go there to measure things.

October 10 2018

Base paint on the cab. A pre-shade airbrushed on top, and controle pictures to check for scrathes and other problems. The Trado-axle in the kit is not looking anything like the original. I have to make my own.

October 1 2018

Base coat of grey underneath, a new axle and the original fender cut in 2.

September 30 2018

Time to fix the cab. It's the old Italeri one, so the interiour I leave original, paint on it, and closed. This cab has some damage, so a little sanding and touching up. The chassis end I sand down to the normal form, the engine beams added and presto, anouthe reasonable Blitz starts to take shape.

September 26 2018

First I need a covered cargobay. An expiriment with green stuff is in order. It's nice enough. A little ragety but ok. It gets the boxes under the floor at a little different place.

September 24 2018

It's the last late version axle that I have of the A-Blitz project. (The master I used...) So, I need a new cast. The contents of the box seem a bit simple, but ok, we'll add some details.

September 23 2018

I swiftly grab one of the stock Blitzes I have a lot of. It needs to be a later war version so I need a late front wheel, a late axle and a middle production cab. No triangle on the roof, and it seems yellow. with a piece od sprue and 2 cleaned late version wheels it takes shape.

September 9 2018

My eye falls on a picture that is showing me a fantastic version of the Blitz. It promises to be a conversion set with a Trado axle! Trado? To me a TraDo axle is a mythical thing. Ktp. van der Trappen (Dutch artillery) en Hub van Doorne (DAF founder) pioneerd a device that you fix on any standard axle and make the 4x2 standard truck into a 6x4. The base of a complete evolution, that got front wheel drive, a special winch with chassis-tailsection and tracks around the tyres for the pre-war Dutch artillery prime-movers. Why do I think this picture shows a TraDo? the small circular extension between the wheels. The cab that's on the original axle. And of all things: on a Blitz!