"Ersatz" Opel Blitz

There was a time 20+ years ago, when it was impossible to get your hands on a 20mm Opel Blitz and inspired by a post on Will's Wargames Blog I thought I'd share a couple of photos of two British vehicles that made their way into the miniature WW2 German arsenal.

This rehashed old Airfix Austin K6 was a solution, and the vehicle is still in my collection today from back then

Nowadays of course you don't need to go to such a ridiculous end as there are so many kits and ready-made options available.

Another "Ersatz" vehicle was this Opel Blitz ambulance bus below. This was a more recent concoction, using a die-cast Bedford OB Utility bus.  There are kits of the Opel Blitz bus available but at the time I thought that from a distance this could make the grade. 

Happy New Year to all you fellow modellers, gamers and toy collectors out there !

Airfix Austin K2 Ambulance

The Airfix ambulance is from the “Airfix RAF Emergency set”, which contains incidentally several hard plastic figures and an Austin K6 Crash Tender.

The ambulance has no real interior detail, and static modellers will probably want to replace the wheels, but all in all it is a fair representation of the vehicle in question.

The stretcher bearers are not included with the kit, they are soft-plastic figures from the Airfix 2nd version British Infantry Set.

Esci Opel Blitz Ambulance

Esci Opel Blitz Ambulance - Diorama by Stephen Brezinski




By Stephen Brezinski, Maine USA (10/01/2000) (original article formerly on the miniaturezone.co.uk website)


The vehicle is a 1/72 ESCI Opel Blitz truck, painted in dunkelgelb with a green camoflage pattern. This vehicle was one of the most common German 3-ton trucks, produced in either a 4x4 or 4x2 version. Besides fuel and cargo versions, the van variant was common and used for ambulances, command,and communications vehicles. The van could even be seen on the tracked Maultier (Mule) version of the truck.





I opened up the rear doors and added four bunks using the stretchers from two ESCI SdKfz 251 ambulance kits, a desk/operating table, seat, and various boxes and bedrools. Windows were also opened up and clear sheet styrene glued in with Kristal Clear. Inside I also scribed in the door panels to match those on the outside walls of the van. Wood steps were created from a model RR kit.


The markings and license plates are decals from the kit, set down with Solveset. Clear windows and windshield was also cut and added to the cab. There were fit problems with the cab which required careful fit and putty. Also added to the cab was a rearview mirror, wipers, and width indicators on the fenders.


The grass was created with model RR flocking. The figures sitting, table, and chairs are from Preiser's 1/72 tank repair personnel (in hard, polystyrene plastic)








Most all the paint used were acrylics, though the flesh tones are enamel which can be blended a bit with a brush dampened with thinner. Overall the kit can be challenging but looks great when the fit is corrected. The figures are superb and I hope more are released.

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© Stephen Brezinski, Maine USA


10/01/2000