VOYAGER Opel Blitz 3ton 4x2 Cargo Truck/Shallow cargo bay.

This Voyager Set for the latest Tamiya Opel Blitz kit is hugely comprehensive though I must admit to being dissapointed .












The kit consists of three large frets of Brass , five smaller frets , film for the guages , a resin Pick , a resin Notek , 4 pieces of 1mm brass tube for the Canvas hoops , a piece of .5mm brass tube , a piece of .3mm steel wire , a piece of 1mm plastic rod , a piece of .5mm plastic rod and two pieces of 95mm x 105mm x 1mm Plasticard !

So what do we get ? Well starting from the front we have a choice of two Opel Blitz emblems for the front grill ,a full new notek & mount , new headlight mounts , new tool fittings for the shovel including a new shovel head & a full resin pick & fittings , a penant frame , new width indicators & an entire new bonnet & catches .

Moving to the cab , we have replacement door handles for interior & exterior , replacement rear view mirror , wipers & spot light mount , the sideboards have new replacement anti slip plates , Jack fittings & replacement handle . Internally is a new dash panel, new brake + accelerator pedals , a traffic marker with holder for the door & a new rifle rack .

The full rear tray makes up the bulk of the build , replacing the full Tamiya rear tray completely ! Unfortunately it is in this section that the big dissapointment with this update is , what appears to be either a resin or perhaps wooden tray for the cargo bay is plain ordinary unscribed plastic card ! So comes the big dilemma with the kit , do you throw the Tamiya cargo bay sides & scribe the individual beams , then add the wood grain ? Or do you sand the fittings off the Tamiya parts , fill the sink marks & the ejector pin marks , while re-adding the texture of the wood ? Or do what possibly Voyager should have done & try and source some basswood or similar in 1mm width ? There is of course a fourth option , which will make maximum use of the Voyager set & model a burnt out wreck !

Back to the set , beside the plastic card panels , everything is included , the supports for the trays chassis , all three tool boxes in brass , the jerrycan holder , convoy light & number plate , guard mountings & mud flaps . The metal frame for the bed , indicator paddles , hinged sideboards the fittings for the canvas hoops , both stowed & upright & the tiny tarp loops are all there . The fittings to lock the sideboards & the tail plate are included including the fold up steps.

The set is hugely comprehensive , everything that can be replaced , is replaced , the detail is fine . In summary if resin or basswood parts for the tray were included this would be a must have . Being that the part is plastic card you wonder why they would bother . Surely the photographs which show a replacement material used , may give the appearance of a improved material than the original kit offers . Don't be fooled it is just plain plasticcard !


Reccomended with reservations on the substitute offered for the tray !

Jenny

Option 4 - burnt out wreck! I actually like that idea a lot. Too bad about the bed, though it wouldn't be too difficult to scratch one from bass wood. But, I guess that defeats the purpose of the handy update!

R

...and one of the strongest points of this Blitz from Tamiya is just the tray wood appearance...

Thanks,Jenny,for sharing...

Luiz.

Hey Luiz ,

I am looking forward to seeing how the Lion Roar etch is in comparison .

Jenny

Thanks for the review Jenny

I saw this set on the weekend and gave it a miss after reading the review. The plasticard tray is a big turn off. You can't tell that it's just plain ole plasticard from way the set is packaged (with the plasticard under layers of PE frets).

I think most PE sets today are overkill as manufacturers try to cram as much as possible into the set to make them more attractive. But in reality you don't need to use that much PE to create a beautiful piece of work. Best example of minimal PE but fantastic final result would be Sam Dywer's and Anthony Sheedy's builds.

Laz

Hi Laz ,

I must admit to loving PE sets , I just cannot help myself .

Luiz is writing a review on the Lion Roar etch set too for the Blitz so you will have a fairly good comparison soon .

Waiting on a set of P.E. just don't know which set to get.
Panzer