Pegasus Hobbies, German Army Trucks, Kit No. 7610

Making the Italeri Opel Blitz, I considered the possibility to use it to improve the Pegasus Mercedes L3000 S. I had already seen the preview (here) and I was aware of the features of this quick building kit.

The kit is composed of two twin moulds and an instruction sheet. There are no decals nor any transparencies, but each truck has a driver.

In a very simply way, just two pieces compose the whole vehicle; the solid chassis and the cab with the flatbed. A few other pieces are given to complete it. Before starting modifications I dry fitted the model and it didn't look bad, although the eye of a display modeller immediately notes how it needs urgent intervention. The smaller details are missing (lights, tools, dashboard) but the general look is well represented. Two faults can be noted almost immediately: the wheels of the two axles, though quite well done are a little undersized, are wrongly different. The front axle are the 8 holes/8 bolts type, while the rear axle are the 6 holes/6 bolts type. On the basis of the photos I've seen, the L3000 wheels were of three types which had 2, 4 or 8 holes. The second fault is with the chassis. As with the Blitz, the L3000 had two types of flatbeds. The first was fixed to the chassis and the second was elevated over it, but (as far as I know) in a very different way from the Opel truck. This feature can be barely seen in the WW2 b/w photos, but looking at the photos of a restored truck the thing is well visible. Pegasus moulds have the spare wheels on the right side of the chassis. I can't tell if this is really wrong, but in the photos I've seen, it was fixed on the left side. In some way this kit looks to be directly inspired by the 1/35 Italeri kit. On the L3000 were placed most of the closed bodies styles seen for the Opel Blitz (see article), giving us a wide range of conversion possibilities.

The Blitz and the L3000 were dimensionally similar and this suggested me that parts from Blitz kits could be used to improve the Pegasus kit. Measurement comparisons indicate the Mercedes was 15.0 cm (2.1 mm) longer, 2.5 cm (0.3 mm) narrower and 20.0 cm (2.8 mm) higher. The wheelbase was 20.0 cm (2.8 mm) longer compared to the 4x2 Blitz. The cab is 26.4 mm wide. Compared to my drawings it is slightly wider (+/- 1.4 mm). This is not serious, because the rear edge is moulded vertical and straight. The real truck had domed sides and the thickness of the plastic will allow filing without causing other problems.

		1/72	kit
Length	6,255	86.9	86
Flatbed length	3,500	48.6	49.4
Width	2,240	31.1	31.4
Height w/ tarpaulin	2,585	35.9
Wheelbase 4x2	3,800	52.8	52.3
Front track	1,685	23.4
Rear track	1,650	22.9
Tires	190-20	13.6 x 3.2	12.3 x 2.7

As told, the L3000 was produced as a 4x2 chassis (L3000 S) or as a 4x4 chassis (L3000 A). Unlike with the Opel Blitz, its wheelbase remained the same. If the front axle is not visible the difference between the versions can be seen by the space between the wheels and the mudguards. From the photos I've seen, the front axle looks to be different from the Opel counterpart so the Airfix part wouldn't be useful.

I found very little info on the net. No dedicated sites or restoring forums. Useful walkarounds can be found here and here, but these vehicles have some modern details missing on the WW2 trucks, such as the rear bumper.

With this little information and some photos here is what I did.

Cab

I cut off the cab from the flatbed and sanded the rear flush.
I drilled open the engine crank hole at the base of the radiator and added its cap.
I opened the little window on the rear wall.
On the ceiling there are two ejector marks. I removed them using a motor tool.
I made a new dashboard with plastic sheet.
I added the gear lever in the centre and the hand brake to its right using stretched sprue. I didn't add the pedals as they're not visible from outside the cab.
The rear vertical edges were filed and sanded to reach the wished domed profile, after having engraved the door line. Also the sides and the doors were inserted. On the doors I made the rain shield moulding with stretched sprue.
The handles, filed off during the shaping, were replaced using stretched sprue.
The roof was shaped to a less sloped profile.
The narrow panels between the bonnet and the doors weren't flat. They were curved inside. I filed and sanded to have the correct shape.
I added Italeri details: the lights and the Notek. The latter had its support made using stretched sprue.
On the roof I scratchbuilt the towing indicator.
I added the mirror using metallic wire and a plastic punched disk.

Chassis

A little adjusting was needed to correctly fit the cab between the mudguards.
After having filed flat the interlock bulging present on the frame I glued the forward suspensions to the Pegasus chassis and then I cut off the chassis just behind the spring coil.
I glued the cab floor to the Pegasus chassis' front, after having glued a shaped plastic piece to make the fuel tank.
I cut the Italeri chassis (57.0 mm from the rear) and I glued it to the Pegasus front. The chassis floor helped to strengthen the assembly.
After being cleaned, I added steps, bin and tow hook, taken from the Pegasus chassis.
I glued the Pegasus rear suspension to the Italeri chassis.
The Italeri drive shaft was cut in two parts as for the Opel Blitz. The forward segment was horizontally assembled.
The front bumper was cut off and glued in its place after having the overhanging supports reduced to 2.0 mm. On its ends I glued width indicators made from metallic wire and glue drops.
Above the bumper I glued the Italeri hooks.
The front axle received the steering rod made from metallic wire.
I replaced the first segment of the exhaust with stretched sprue and aligned it with the Italeri pipe.
The wheels are well done, but have the problems already mentioned above. I chose to use the Italeri wheels. They have 6 holes, but they are identical between the axles. The better option would be replacing them with those from the Roden kit that has 8 hole wheels. I don't know of any aftermarket manufacturers that produce the 2 or 4 hole wheels.

Flatbed

I filed off the floor and the front plate using a motor tool. Then I very carefully cut off the benches, and after having refined these along with the interior, they were glued to their places.
The interior sides are flat, but I didn't engrave the planks because I planned to use the fabric cover which is quite good, however the whole body could be replaced with the Italeri one to improve its look.
I replaced the front plate and the floor with the corresponding Italeri ones. The latter needed to be adjusted to fit.
Under the floor I glued the rear fenders, after having shortened their rear part to make them symmetrical.
As far as I've found, the way the flatbed was fixed to the chassis was very different from the Opel Blitz. I made the transversal raised supports with shaped plastic strips.
On the photos I found, the spare wheel was mounted to the left, not the right. I separated it using a motor tool and opened the holes. A staple provided the rack. A stopper made from a plastic strip segment was fixed just beside its position.
The two rear bins were taken from the Italeri kit, modified and put in place. On the right a large bin was fashioned from a resin kit sprue adapted to replicate those in the photos. The layout of the bins varied and jerry cans racks could replace one of them.
The Italeri kit also provided the rear plate.
I added the Italeri shovel and pick to the sides.
The fabric cover has a nice detail, but it has a straight bottom edge where it meets the flatbed side's edge. As far as I've seen, the fabric edge overlapped the body sides. Furthermore its inside is almost completely flat, which is ok if one leaves it closed, but I chose to have it opened. I softened its appearance using a motor tool and I glued a plastic strip over the bottom edge. When dry, I worked the plastic and used cyanoacrylate glue to give a soft edge that overlaps the flatbed sides and open its rear. Inside I glued the braces made from bent metallic wire.

Conclusions

As for other quick building, this is a very good choice for war gaming. In my point of view it is a good base for inexpensive conversions. I mated this kit with a flatbed truck, but I'd could have used an "ambulance" kit as well, to make one of the many closed body variants. Seen in this way I consider it a very good modelling opportunity.

Review sample purchased by the author.

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Article Last Updated: 16 October 2018	Back to Home Page