Ford GPA

[Rich]

I picked up a couple of these off of Ebay. They are part of a series, not available in the U.S. They are 1:43 scale Ford GPA's. They were developed as an amphibious jeep for World War II. They did not do well. There are quite a few that have survived. As much stuff as the govt. made available to public safety, I figured at least one fire department somewhere got one. I took it apart, and took all the parts off. The glue was really well applied. I had to use liquid plastic glue to soften up what they used. Once I got it apart, I painted the body, which is all diecast, and the chassis, which is all plastic. I also painted the bonnet for the bow but did not use any clear coat on it. I also painted the wheels. I left the dash alone, as I am sure they needed to see all the stickers and stuff. The windshield is one piece frame and windows. I will paint that later. I am only mocking up parts now. The hose reel, extinguishers, Indian pumps and deck gun are from a Corgi Seagrave. In taking the Corgi apart, I discovered just how much resin Corgi used. The entire hose bed was a solid block of resin. The hose reels are plastic, the extinguishers and Indian tanks are also resin. They were held in with metal pins. The deck gun is cast metal, and will have to be filed flat before I can mount it.

[Troy]

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Very unique find there. I still think this would make an amazing collectible but since it's a "one of" I doubt the investment would be made.

[Rich]

I'm with you Troy. The white over red bread box looking trucks get a bit old for me. I like the unique.

[UnMarkedCarr]

Rich and Troy, there actually were models made of the LARCs like Milwaukee, Tampa and Miami had. I want to say Conrad made them. I have the Tampa model and I know Ron Arnow had the Miami version. They're quite basic but cool nonetheless.

[Rich]

They were done by Ashton. Quite crude considering today's standards, but they were good quality.

[JoeO]

Rich these are real cool looking, I like how you dressed them up.