What is this vehicle, the "Devastator" or the large thing in the back? It's awesome and I want it. Any information?

You won't believe this. A couple of years ago, there was a seller off the NJ craigslist that was trying to pass that off as a rare Joe collectible vehicle and wanted $80 for it.

I made an inquiry and asked him for proof. He sends me a price guide list (with no pictures) that has a Devastator reference listed as a Joe item. Obviously, a Joe customizer or collector would know that isn't the official Joe vehicle release (http://www.yojoe.com/vehicles/89/devastator/).

I told him that it wasn't a GI Joe vehicle and that I might be able to help properly identify the vehicle so he could list it properly. I asked for some pictures. After a couple of weeks, he eventually sent me photos of the vehicle. On the bottom, you can plainly see an address 799 ladd road, walled lake MI. No mention of Hasbro.

A quick google search turns out that it is from American Plastic Toys. The toy looks very similar to the old laser force toys from the 80s for a reason. APT is the rebranded Gay Toys company from that era. Here is their website - http://www.americanplastictoys.com/corporate.htm

I gathered up all this info and sent him reference pics from yojoe and the APT corporate site which shows their address which matches the underside of the vehicle.

As a counteroffer, I mentioned that I would be willing to buy it for 10-12 bucks since we proved it wasn't a Joe vehicle.

He replied that he would not accept any lower than $80 for it since it was a rare GIJoe collectible. I told him that he had a right to price the item at $80 but that he was falsely claiming that it was an official Joe product. I also mentioned that since he now knows otherwise, he would be intentionally misleading any potential buyer who didn't know.

Never got a response from them. I sincerely hope an unsuspecting buyer didn't get taken for $80.

After that, I just decided to put the vehicle on my Custom To Do list. Since then I have been parting out pieces for it in a spare bin when I can. Ironically, a base I have planned for it was from another APT tank that I found in a thrift store.

The other upside to this story is that I got some pretty good pictures of the vehicle which I have included below. Maybe it will help give some other customizers ideas for creating their own version.

The original listing on CL.


Close-Up pics

Ironically the original photos where emailed to me by a craigslist seller who wants an arm and a leg for it. #NJPROBLEMS

Dang that thing looks pretty cool in the other photos. I don't remember seeing it around anywhere before either, which is weird because the APT/GT stuff isn't usually hard to find.

My sentiments exactly. I never had any of those vehicles, but I remember seeing them everywhere as a kid, and I always made a note of them and how cool some of them looked. I definitely would have remembered seeing this. I've never seen one on the secondary market, either, and that's coming from someone who spends a lot of time looking for obscure/knock-off items. It's really awesome, and I'll be on the lookout for them from now on.