A KB Toys knockoff jeep and lots of plastic.

The G.I.Joe GATOR is part of a new program being developed to allow 2 modes of attack in the continuing fight against Cobra. The GATOR has a land and sea ability allowing it to be driven as a jeep and launched into the water to continue the mission. Its primary use is around grasslands and near swamp areas. Whenever the amount of land could be outweighed by the amount of water Cobra might travel through, the G.I.Joe GATOR is the vehicle to handle both and take down Cobra!

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When I first thought up this project, I had another vehicle in mind. I wanted to make this as much like the MASK version that the idea came from, but with a defined military theme. Then I happened to see this jeep at KB Toys one day. It looked like a perfect base vehicle but I knew it was going to take a lot of work.

The vehicle had to have the inner part totally cut away. The seats were needed for the boat and the shell also had to fit perfectly around the boat as well. So once it was free, there was no other way to turn the seating area into a boat except creating it from scratch. Lot of fitting and refitting had to be done so the jeep body would close correctly. A special hinge also had to hand made so it would allow the body to close correctly.

Overall the project was fun to do and I have a couple of more projects in the works to go along with this one. The GATOR actually ended up being pretty much as I intended. There are a few minor changes I would make if I were to make it all over again. Some of which were ideas I was suggested on the JoeCustom board.