After the
two LRDG Chevrolet trucks with their masses of stowage, and as I been having trouble finding time to paint, I wanted to do something light and quick. That was the plan anyway.
I've been wanting some transport for my Bolt Action LRDG/SAS force and rather liked the look of the Rubicon Models
SdKfz 305 Opel Blitz. Reuse of captured enemy vehicles was fairly common in the desert war so my plan was to use this model, but for simplicity as a "counts as" British truck for rules and transport capacity. This Opel Blitz version is 3-ton, but the largest truck available in the "Behind Enemy Lines" list is half that at 30 cwt. To indicate that only part of the larger vehicle is available for troop transport I decided to add... stowage.
I built a small block of stowage from some foam board (to give it height) topped with a pile of boxes under a tarp from
Rubicon's Allied Stowage, along with a fuel drum and the spare wheel from the Opel Blitz kit. The German driver from the kit was replaced with an LRDG driver from a Rubicon Commonwealth jeep, with his legs trimmed off to fit into the cab.
After priming with Stynylrez yellow the truck body was basecoated Dunkelgelb and the rear section in a mid-brown. I painted a small dark shield-like shape on each truck door and then applied a small DAK insignia. The body was then over-painted in UK Light Stone, with care taken to not fully obscure the DAK palm trees.The idea was to give the impression of a hurriedly re-painted vehicle; the interior of the cab is still Dunkelgelb, though this turned out to be nearly impossible to see without peering inside and using a light source.
An RAF air recognition insignia was added to the roof of the now British truck, along with a bundled up German flag that could be used in the event that pesky Luftwaffe were spotted. (I'm not sure if the LRDG ever did this, but have certainly read of the SAS carrying false air recognition signs painted onto boards.)
After a coat of varnish the truck was weathered with AMMO of Mig
Jimenez Ochre for Light Sand
as a filter coat on the truck body and
Brown for Dark Yellow on the rear section, AK Interactive
Africa Dust
added to edges and crevices, and finally some AK
North Africa dust pigment, mostly on the tires.
Not sure what's next, but there are some Ghar staring at me.
