The Opel Bedford Blitz is actually a Bedford CF1, but when Opel's own Blitz series was retired in 1973, GM wanted to keep the Blitz-name alive... not for nostalgia, but for profit, of course. Bedford was never a strong brand in Germany, but Opel certainly was, so by rebadging the Bedford CF1 as an Opel, it was hoped to attract German customers.
The tactic failed and the Opel Bedford Blitz never became a success, the Bedford source-model, however was a mega-seller for years.
The Opel Collection-model quickly became scarce. There are at least two good reasons for this: 1. A severe lack of modern diecast models of the CF1 compared to the success of the real van, meant that there was a huge 'unsaturated' market and 2. Like many others of the later Opel Collection issues, Ixo (the maker) decided to use most of the surplus castings for different versions (including a blue/cream one), rather than bulk-sell them to online eBay shops.
