Background

Prior to World War II, Adam Opel AG was the largest automobile and truck manufacturer in Germany. Their 3.5 ton truck, known as the Blitz, was well respected, and its chassis was used by many body builders to produce special vehicles. The subject of this kit is the streamlined “Aero” bus produced by the Ludewig Brothers. These medium size busses were used to transport people from city to city along the autobahns. This design had seating for twelve passengers in the front, setting at an angle in individual seats, plus a separate “cabin” area at the rear where eight more passengers could sit facing each other. It is an interesting design. During my research for this write-up, I found several interesting web sites related to the Opel Blitz. One is http://www.pietvanhees.nl/blitzbus/index.htm, which has lots of good photos and background material.

According to the blurb on the side of the kit box, the Opel Blitzbus Ludewig “Aero” was built during the mid 1930’s. The vehicle was made on the chassis of the Opel Blitz 3-ton truck in the workshop of the Ludewig brothers. The actual vehicle’s swoopy futuristic exterior lines were paired to a luxury interior and was not only used for transportation purposes but as a propaganda tool as well. Not many were produced due to the (even then) high cost of production. This particular kit represents the militarized version used for the transport of high ranking Wehrmacht officers on the Eastern Front during WWII.

The Box

The 6’” by 10” box features the dreaded end flaps, rather than a separate top. The box top features a cool painting of an olive green colored Aero ripping down a muddy road. Painting and marking instructions appear on the bottom of the box.

The Sd.Kfz.260 Kleine Panzerfunkwagen is a four-wheeled light armored car used to transport and protect signal units. It had a four-man crew protected by relatively thin armor and a mesh grenade screen, and was unarmed except for the crew’s personal weapons. Approximately 500 of the 260 and the similar 261 were built and used from 1940 till the end of the war. The really significant difference in the two vehicles was in antenna and radio fit. The 260 used a dipole antenna for medium range communications and the 261 used a frame type antenna for long range radio.