Hi all. I just couldn't resist and had to jump into this build before the postie had reached the end of the street! Well, not quite true, but this one jumped right to the front of the queue!

The plan is to take this:


and turn it into something like this:


I will put some thought into a colour scheme as I work my way through the build, but I'm leaning towards a two-tone pattern on the cab, similar to the box image, with the main cabin colour continuing down the body sides. Maybe a deep pearl red with a chrome grille, and contrasting guards and roof.

Work started on the sub-assemblies. I was thinking about swapping out the straight 6 for a V8, but the kit engine is really nice and it will be good to bling it up and detail out the engine bay.



I have started on an In-Box review of the kit and will link it here once it's live.

Cheers, D

D,
Nice start to your truck conversion. This is going to be something real special.

Joel

Thanks for checking in Joel. I caught a glimpse of a towball at the back of the reference truck, so now I'm thinking that the tandem trailer I got a while back might need to be fitted out and painted up to match the truck. These projects just have a habit of growing and growing!



Cheers, D

D,
Well, the trailer is basically done, so it makes a lot of sense. But you're going to need at least a 3 ft. shelf to display it.

Joel

D., this build looks very promising and a little ambitious!
I have full confidence you can achieve a stunning result. I have very big eyes set on your blog!

Gabriel

Looks very interesting Damian. I saw something similar on a Netflix show - Rust to Riches - where the guy converted an old IH cabover in to a car hauler very similar to your picture.

cheers
Michael

Seriously cool project. Will be fun to see it evolve.

Thanks for the support guys, much appreciated.

I've put together a few of the main sub assemblies and cleaned them up a bit, close to primer stage.



I have also been researching "hot rod car carriers" to look at a few paint schemes for inspiration. There are some amazing 1:1 vehicles out there in this category, so incredibly talented auto engineers.
Here is a selection of a few of my favourites (who wants to do the yellow one for our Ford Group Build?).






I think I have come up with a colour combo that I like, but I will do some test shots before I divulge.

Cheers, D

D,
Now there's some well engineered transporters. And those paint jobs are out of this world.

Looking forward to what your paint scheme is going to be.

Joel

Following with interest D

Always good to have you on board Russ, thanks mate!

A little more progress tonight on this build, putting the cab together. This really is a great kit, virtually no flash to speak of, and the parts align beautifully! I assembled the seat and cab back wall onto the cab floor, and once this was cured I used it as a "template" to align the door/fender parts and taped them into place with masking tape. I could then line up the roof/hood part and cement it into place, and once it was cured a light sand to tidy up the contact line and cement the front grille in place.




I've now got two main sub assemblies to work on which will make final assembly a lot easier.

I have actually built this kit before, back in 2012, and once assembled, the cabin and tray can be dropped into place on locating pins where they are quite firmly held, but easily removed to display the chassis/engine detail. I am planning to use the tray parts from this kit to build a trailer to go behind the older build of the same kit.




Apologies for the crappy images, I can't find decent ones of this build. I will get better images and probably start another build log down the track when I get on to this one.

Cheers, D

Just tossing this out there as an idea starter:

I always wanted to do a three axle Blitz and that seems to make sense for a car carrier. I came up with a unusual suspension that was based on stock Opel Blitz parts. (But of course such a build would require buying a second Blitz kit.) Also how about a crew cab for you car hauler?




.
That #2 axle has been modified with what I call an "over the shoulder" gearbox to allow one driveshaft to transmit power to both rear axles. The secondary driveshaft between the two rear axles has yet to be added.

D,
you're making outstanding progress on your car carrier. The Cab is really taking shape nicely. But I'm a little, Ok a lot, confused as to the need for the other kit.

Michael,
Very interesting 3 axle conversion. Why not start a separate build blog so we can follow along?

Joel

Joel - my 3-axle Blitz "experiment" is just something I knocked together some years ago and again I only show it here as an idea starter for a possible 3 axle car carrier.

The second kit would be required to provide the third axle, the suspension parts and the additional doors and roof section necessary to build the crew cab.

Hi Joel.

I was talking about using the tray parts from this current car carrier build to scratch-build a heavy duty trailer for my previous Blitz build. I won't be using any of the timber tray bed or side parts on this current build.

Mike, that is a very nice dually conversion. Neat work. I did consider whether I might need to go for dual rear wheels, but most of the custom car carriers I could find are singles. The crew cab on yours came up beautifully as well.

Cheers, D

After a bit of tidying up seams and glue lines, time for the ever-sinister Mr Surfacer 1500 Black, and enter "Darth Blitz" -



Dry fit at this stage, just checking the alignment and getting a bit more confidence in the colour scheme that I have in mind.

Cheers, D

This might be an over the top detail to add but . . ..

Maybe add the rear end booster springs present on all late war Opel Blitz. (Don't know about post-war.) These additional springs raised the load rating on the Blitz to well above 4 tons.

.



___________________________

Damian - I really like the "Darth Blitz" tag line!

____________________________

Hey, who let that armor modeler in here?

( Sorry but I been building 1/35th scale Blitz trucks for years!)

D,
Looking real good with the Darth Blitz primer applied.

Have you started on the 3rd axle as yet? And how will it effect the rear springs? I'm curious about how that additional axle will mount on them.


Joel

Joel a few posts back Damian said that in his research most car carriers are only single rear axle haulers.
(I must agree with him on that.)
So I think he was saying he was not going to be doing the dual axle treatment.

____________________________

On a mostly unrelated note; the Russians converted some captured Blitz trucks to three axle. With the last axle being an idler - meaning it carried load weight but was not driven. (Like modern Greyhound buses.) I think they supported that last axle with half elliptical leaf springs much like those used on the Panzer II tank. This allowed that third axle to not interfere with the stock Blitz rear suspension or driveline.

Michael,
thanks for the clarification. I must have been thinking of the pictures with the twin rear axles you posted.

Joel

A couple of solid hours painting tonight. The thing that I love about Lacquer paints is the quick drying time so I can throw down some second coats and mask off for different colours in one session.

First up the chassis, MS1500 Black Primer then SMS Gunmetal (doesn't show up too well in the photos).




Then some work on the cab. Fist up a couple of shots with MS1500 Black Primer.



Next up a couple of shots with SMS Jet Black (on the outside only).



A couple of photos dry fit sitting on the chassis.



Then masked off and on with the bling! I figure that if I'm going to do something as radical as an Opel Blitz Custom Car Hauler, then it needs something eye-catching to drive the armour and softskin builders a bit crazy! Apologies to Mike (165thspc)







I will leave this for a day or so to fully cure then hit it with a good clear gloss. I'm happy with the choice here, and the custom tray will be in the same combination of colours, maybe with some black pinstripe decals.

Cheers, D

D,
Oh WOW The Metallic Copper is just outrageous.


Joel

Indeed! Sharp color combo.

Hi guys.

Mike (165thspc) sent me this PM last night:

"I am sending this privately as I do not want to appear as being critical in any way.

Just wanted to ask wouldn't the auto carrier require a lengthened fame moving the rear axle backwards to achieve better balance of the load?

Again no criticism just asking

Best Regards Mike"

My reply:

"I have no problem with you asking this type of question in the thread, it is not coming across as critical at all mate!

I considered this as well before I got started, but I sat the cab rear wall on the chassis and test fitted a 57 Nomad shell in a location approximating where it would sit once the "wedge" tray is in place, and the shell is very near centred over the rear axle. I will make the wedge longer than the original tray, as per the first reference image, to get the angle on the ramp, so I might need to put another cross-member on top of the very back end of the chassis for extra support there.

I will transfer this conversation across into the thread shortly because I think this type of discussion adds a lot to the flavour of the build log, and I really appreciate that you are following along! "

To all who are following my builds, and I can't remember how many I have going at the moment , please don't hesitate to offer up any questions, comments, critique, advice that you might have. This is an on-going learning process for me, and probably for all of us, and I would really hate to get to the end of a build and discover that I should have addressed a potential issue somewhere along the way.

Cheers, D