Here is my latest project I will be working on. I wanted to do an Opel Blitz that has been converted over into a mobile flak gun mounting a 3cm flak 38/103. This will be somewhere in Germany in 45 with the truck being crewed by Luftwaffe gunners trying desperately to shoot down an allied fighter. For this build I will be using

Tamiya Opel Blitz
Dragon 3cm Flak 38/103 Jaboschreck
Dragon 2cm Flak Crew
Hussar Opel Blitz Late Wheels (still to arrive)
Lion Roar Opel Blitz Detail Set
Archer Opel Blitz Instruments and Placards
Masterpiece Flak Sled
Bronco Sd.Ah.52 Ammunition Carriage Trailer (possible?)

I am not too sure if I want to use the trailer or not or even if the truck was capable of towing it after the gun was mounted to the bed. I do not know much about the gun it’s self since info on it is hard to find, but seeing how desperate the Germans were during the final months of the war, I can see this thing being mounted to a truck for extra mobility and ease of operation.
Chris

Just begun assembling the chassis frame for the truck today. I sanded down all the mold lines on the frame prepping for some basic details to follow later. I did some simple work to enhance the towing pintle as this could use some extra detail. I added some plastic rod, sheet, and resin blots to the hitch area to mimic the details seen in the Kagero book. I also plan to add some simple wire and plumbing to the frame.

I have the Italeri kit, that I will be building soon, thanks for listing the AM stuff I need to get yet. Needless to say, I will be watchng ths one.

Here is a progress update on the build so far. I have completed the chassis frame which was a simple affair with no trouble at all. I have added the hydraulic lines and e-break cables for the rear brake drums along with a brain plug for the dif cover. The large style tool box was mounted onto the frame from the lion roar set which has some outstanding detail as assembles very easily. My only complaint about lion roar’s set is the working hinges; these are quit fiddly to work with and require a steady hand to work with them. I instead took a short cut and glued the hinges in the position I wanted and bent the hinges to shapes. I moved onto the cab and replace the dash with the new photo etch part which has better detail on it. All the injector pin marks in the cab have been filled in and waiting to sand smooth in prepping for paint which should come in the next few days.

Thanks JC, I haven't added the clutch yet since it's a photo etch part and don't want to add it to the floor board just yet in fear of it breaking off. But other than that, this build is very simple and falls together nicely thanks to tamiyas eningeering.
Chris

Excellent project, Christopher!! Looking forward to more pics...

Rob

Fantastic project. Really interesting. I do love self propelled AA. Have you joined the "Targets shoot Back" campaign? this would be a worthy entry.

By the way, your PE work on the tool box is immaculate! It looks like a marketing photo for Lion Roar!

Thanks everyone for following and commenting on the build so far. One thing I found out about lion roars photo etch, it's better to aneal some of the parts just before bending them. I started to bend the mounting frame for the tool box only to start twisting the whole part until I took a lighter to it so the part could bend easier along the the fold line. New thing to learn during construction I guess.

Here is an update just prior to painting beginning tomorrow. I just finished up detailing the rest of the cab and adding the last bit of parts needed. On the rear of the cab I added to small storage bins to the top of the wall used for maps and papers. This was made from plastic strips cut to size. I went ahead and added the clutch pedal to the floor board and hoping this part will not break off during painting. The dash was finished out with an electrical button just below the dash at the center. Another thing I added was the turn signal switch on the stirring column; this was made from plastic strip and rod. One thing I have notice is some of the trucks have the switch and some do not. Another weird thing is I have also seen Mercedes parts used on the blitz, I am guess some of the parts were interchangeable between them. Work also started on the flak gun and had to modify it just a bit so that the gun receiver could fit into the cradle just right. Here you can see that I assembled one of the crew figures for the gun which needs some slight surgery on the legs to make them seem more natural and fit better. Other than that I will be starting to paint the cab so I can move onto the rest of the truck.

This is looking really good Chris, it's close to one of my dream builds

Looking great. Cannot wait to see the next installment. Very cool project and lovely work.

Looking great, I will be adding a Flak gun to my Opel when I get round to building it.

Looking great! I too have the Blitz and Flak sled, so I'm definitely keeping an eye on your build.

Thanks everyone for the great comments so far. Well I have begun to paint the cab today and here are the results thus far.

First I primed all the parts with Tamiya red brown to act as pre-shading.


Next up came dark yellow also from tamiya for the base coat lighty airbrushed on. I then added deck tan to the paint to fade the center portions of the parts. Then straight deck tan was painted on. One of the doors was left in panzer grey to imply the part came from another source as a replacement part. This was painted up in my own brew of panzer grey with different Tamiya paint and semi-gloss clear. I cannot for the life of me remember what went into mixing the paint since I made it a while back for other projects.




From here I mixed up Vallejo British tanker highlight, stencil, and thinner to highlight certain high points on the parts. This may seem just a bit bright, but once final weather is complete, the highlight will tone down more.


The last thing I have done so far is to apply filters from mig. One coat each of blue for panzer grey, brown for dark yellow, and brown for desert yellow was used. Later I will go back in with a pin wash, chipping and the rest of the weather.

I am enjoying your work. Very interested to see how this turns out.

Well I have completed the cab with all the painting and assembly and now I am ready to move onto finishing the rest of the truck. A thin pin wash of mig brown wash and lamp black was flowed in and around raised details to add shadows to the cab interior. Next up I faded the doors with streaked oil paint to add the grimy look to them. After that I went to town with some chipping to the paint with Vallejo British tanker highlight and ss camo black brown. Once that was complete I painted the smaller details like buttons and switches with different color paints. Everything was thin sealed in with a flat clear coat to protect the final painting. The dials for the dash came from archer sealed in with a drop of future floor wax. The floor board received some pigments to simulate dried mud from the crew.









I also received in the mail my new wheels from hussar and I have to say I am very pleased with the detail on them since this is my first time to use them. The set also came with two styles of front wheels with different hub assemblies.


With the cab complete I can now move onto the rest of the truck and from here I assembled the rest of the front hood and tackled some of the parts for the bed. The gunner for the flak has been modified just slightly so that one of the legs is rest on top of the flak mounts and hands adjust to grab the adjustment wheels better. The rest of the build should go very quickly from here as there is not too much left to build up.

Great work and thanks for posting. I have always been scared of representing leather seats but you made yours come out beautifully.Thanks for the pictures.

great work!!! well done mate !!