1:35 Opel Blitz early spare wheel rim (2pcs)

The most widespread German truck

During the Second World War the Opel Blitz truck carried practically everything that could be carried: ammunition, fuel, the wounded and troops. The three-ton version was built at the Brandenburg plant from the second half of the 1930s and so many were made that it became the most common German truck of the whole conflict. A six-cylinder gasoline engine gave it a decent pace on the road, but off a made surface a machine with a single driven axle struggled.

The spare wheel rim

The package holds two rims corresponding to the early production period. On trucks the spare wheel was stowed behind the cab or under the frame, and it is usually the disc that faces the viewer, so that is what shows most on a finished model. The casting therefore addresses the shape of the disc, the pressings and the center section.

Early and later versions

The two periods differ in the forming of the disc. If you are building a vehicle from the first war years, this is the variant that belongs to it; for later examples the manufacturer carries a separate item. The parts can also be used off the truck: propped against a workshop wall, stacked in the corner of a store or dropped by the roadside, they work as a small prop that makes a scene feel lived in. Before painting it is worth sanding the contact face and letting the part dry for a while.

How many forms the truck took

It was built with a range of bodies: alongside the classic cargo bed there were ambulance, workshop and signals conversions, and some vehicles received drive to both axles so as to cope with the mud-bound roads of the Eastern Front. Later a half-track version was derived from the chassis for terrain where wheels alone were no longer enough.