Opel Blitz improvised fueltruck, 1/48

Started by Erik Gjørup · 57 · 2 weeks ago · 1/48, airbum, blitz, fueltruck, Luftwaffe, opel, quarter, Tamiya, WW II
  • Profile Photo
    Spiros Pendedekas said 1 year ago:

    The burnishing shade looks awesome, my friend @airbum! Pity it falls off easily, must be handled with care I suppose? Looking forward to your next steps!

  • Profile Photo
    John vd Biggelaar said 1 year ago:

    The chain looks perfect to me, Erik @airbum
    A pity it comes off that easily, how about applying a clear coat straight after.

  • Profile Photo
    Cricket said 1 year ago:

    @airbum well seeing them on the drums in the truck they do looks bit large but not badly. I know this sounds like a lot of work but maybe primer on the chains first then color? Have to roll them around get them evenly coated. Just a thought

  • Profile Photo
    Erik Gjørup said 1 month ago:

    @holzhamer, @gblair, @fiveten, @chinesegeorge, @johnb, @bikequeen and other visitors here, it has been almost a year since we last visited my improvised fueltruck, and today I have a small update for you.

    More dryfiting!

    Some priming, and then a cradle has been made

    With my new primer, it was time to get some on the Blitz!


    The grille looks rather battered – just like the real ones were after use in harsh conditions.

    I made a few lengths of plastic from a 2mm plate


    testfitted the lot. By the way, I got a book from fellow imodeler with a picture of this exact truck seen from the rear with the rear open! Lots of detail revealed - thanks for the great book @klavs1972

    I assembled the major parts, and then added some blocks to keep the drums from rolling



    Good to see some progress!

    Regarding the questions and suggestions, burnishing is a chemical reaction, so primer vill do no good on the chains. Perhaps they need to be primed and painted instead, but I think maybe after cutting them to length we shall see.

    I am still leaning towards on the burnishing, but time will tell I suppose – check in and see what happens.

  • Profile Photo
    George R Blair Jr said 1 month ago:

    Glad to see you working on this one again, Erik (@airbum). I was really interested to see how you handled all of those barrels in the back. This is like watching those TV series that are only on during the fall. Looking forward to the next installment.

  • Profile Photo
    George Williams said 1 month ago:

    Hi Erik @airbum, good to see you back on the case. Before I moved to China I was heavily into railway modelling. In order to keep the metal moving parts black priming and painting didn’t work. Someone discovered a product called “gun black”, I don’t remember the exact name, but it was sold by gun smiths to do exactly what the name suggests and it worked perfectly on our model rolling stock. It comes in a small jar and you just rub it on with a soft cloth, I guess it works like a chemical reaction. Maybe it’s an answer for your chains. Happy modelling.

  • Profile Photo
    Spiros Pendedekas said 1 month ago:

    Excellent progress and ditto looks, my friend @airbum!

  • Profile Photo
    John vd Biggelaar said 1 month ago:

    You made some great progress, Erik @airbum

  • Profile Photo
    Pedro L. Rocha said 1 month ago:

    @airbum
    Looking really cool Erik! Those oil drums will need some good paint and weathering for sure because all eyes will be upon them. Keep it up!

  • Profile Photo
    Erik Gjørup said 2 weeks ago:

    Thanks for all the constructive comments on this one @gblair, @chinesegeorge, @fiveten, @johnb and @holzhamer. Indeed some serious weathering will be neede for the drums. New ground for me!

    New chains!

    A package arrived today

    I had ordered some stuff from Special Hobby, but of interest here are some fine brass chains



    They state it is for 1/72, but even for 1/48 they seem a bit large. They are however a little smaller than the ones I have, even though they are round and not oval/flat.

    I dipped them in AK Brass photoetch burnishing liquid like the chrome ones had been.



    They got some color even after a few seconds, and all went in. Looking rather good after very short time, and hopefully they will be a bit more sturdy.

    Keeping up the usual pace some time will pass until the next update, but do tune in again to check

  • Profile Photo
    Spiros Pendedekas said 2 weeks ago:

    These are some amazing looking chains, my friend @airbum!

  • Profile Photo
    John vd Biggelaar said 2 weeks ago:

    Those chains look perfectly fine, Erik @airbum
    I don't think that anyone will notice the round instead of the oval shape once all is finished.