Pola G 331865, G-Scale Opel Blitz

Sooner or later my garden layout is going to grow and I'm going to enrich it with a lot of decorations in order to turn it into a real miniature world. There are several options available here and one of the most recognized is the Pola G line of models. I was really anxious to try a Pola G model so I went ahead and bought this nice looking Opel Blitz truck building kit:

The model's number is 331865 and, yet again, I placed my order at MSL. The recommended retail price is set at 32,99 € but it's slightly cheaper at the store and it cost me less than 28 €. The model comes in a very sturdy and a rather big box:

My first reaction after opening the box was: where's my model? All I could see was a lot of light grey paper.

But no worry - it's there. And all this paper filling is a great idea, since it really helps avoid the parts touching each other during transport.

All the parts are painted (great for lazy people like me!) and there are around 80 of them. Some of them are very big while others are really tiny. Decoration stickers are also included. Glue is not.

The manual is of course also there. It's 12 small pages long describing the entire process in around 40 steps. And it's almost exclusively pictures. Text is used only to indicate places where glue should not be used.

The manual is mostly very clear about what you need to do, although there are steps where you need to use your imagination. And you also need to pay attention to the pictures, since it's very easy to miss installing a smaller piece here or there.

OK, let's start. The first step of the build is creation of the front wheel set. The tires are real rubber which is a nice surprise. The wheels are connected to each other with a rod and they always turn left or right together.

Unfortunately this is also the step where my first doubt appeared. I'm simply not sure whether I should be gluing the tires to the wheels or not. The manual does not state "don't use glue" but I'm pretty sure my cement won't react with rubber. What to do? Let's leave it unglued for now...

Now it's time to attach the front wheels to the chassis which is really straightforward as all the elements fit perfectly.

Next come the back wheels. And here's another surprise - the manual wants me to use a hammer to force the axle into the wheels. Luckily, being a huge Lego fan, I do own a hammer with a rubber head and it works perfectly here.

It's time to place the engine and the radiator in the front of the truck.

Then the seats, the gear stick and a spare wheel.

Next it's time to create elements of the driver's cabin...

...and use them to complete the cab.

It's also time to build the truck bed along with the fenders.

Once the cab and the bed get attached to the chassis, the truck is complete except for some small details. This step however is not so simple. The bed snaps nicely onto the chassis and the manual is clear here about not using the glue.

The cab however is probably expected to be glued. That would be fine and not problematic at all, since the cab fits perfectly in its place, but it's just not clear where to put the glue. And once I test-fitted it there to see where to apply my cement, it somehow attached to the base and wouldn't allow me to be removed. So that's another thing I left without gluing...

All that is left are some details like side-mirror, windscreen wipers, stickers, etc. Once installed, it's time to take some nice photos.


How did I like the set?

Well, I absolutely loved building it. It can probably be done in around two hours but I spent four very relaxed evenings working on it. And I enjoyed it very much.

I also like very much the model itself. It looks great and it's just a very nice thing to have in my collection. The colours are great and the level of detail is impressive. The plastic used for model's parts has also a very strong "quality feeling", so I definitely don't regret the money I spent.

What I like a little less is how fragile the truck seems to be. It cannot be used as a toy at all, and it would break immediately if played with. And that would be fine, since this IS a model and NOT a toy. Except for the fact that the kit is declared weather-proof and could be used in a garden layout. My feeling is however, that it's not safe to place it in a busy garden (we get up to 10 kids in our garden at times) and that even some bad weather (like a heavy rain) could break some of the more fragile parts.

Would I recommend buying it?

Yes. It's fun to build and a real pleasure to look at. Just remember that it's not heavy duty. Die-cast metal models will be a better choice if you don't have a full control over who's playing with your toys :)

Pros:

• great looking
• fun to build
• good quality plastic
• weather-resistant
• acceptable price

Cons:

• fragile
• instructions not always very clear