Toy on a Budget: G.I. Joe Raft

Presenting a raft for G.I. Joe. Note that this is NOT official G.I. Joe merchandise, this is a Chinese army toy that did not even warrant a real product name, did not have a seal that says it was inspected by the DTI or Bureau of Customs for lead content and other hazardous chemicals - in fact it probably is chock full of lead paint, don't eat it, wash your hands after playing with it and for God's sake, DON''T LICK IT!

The G.I. Joe Raft was purchased, surprisingly, in Toys R' Us here in the Philippines under the sections reserved for really, really cheap toys. I often trawl these sections looking precisely for items like this and I was quite happy with what I found this time for only PhP 35.00 (approximately US$ .81 cents).

What's to like about the G.I. Joe Raft?

What I particularly like about this cheap G.I. Joe Raft - aside from the fact that it can float - is the detail that went into it. The G.I. Joe Raft has a pivoting mounted outboard motor (Unfortunately, no it does not tilt), two oars (Also which don't tilt but can be swiveled out), cargo netting for the floor, allowing greater footing for whoever is riding in the G.I. Joe Raft or allowing divers like G.I. Joe Torpedo to easily climb in - or out. 

There's also detailing for a small radio set and a removable radio antenna at the back of the G.I. Joe Raft and a mount for weapons up front.

What's not to like about the G.I. Joe Raft?

Where did Polly and that other guy go?

Well the size of the G.I Joe Raft. It's a two man raft as you can see from the photos, so don't even think of bothering mounting a forward weapon (Why would you want to do that anyway?). I was hoping that it could be one of those SEAL landing craft, but it's waaaay too small for assault landing purposes - at least I think it is. 

Also, as mentioned, none of the swiveling parts tilt, so as you can see in the photo, G.I. Joe Shipwreck isn't going anywhere because his oars aren't - and can't touch the water. 

It would have been nice if the Chinese actually painted the G.I. Joe Raft with greater detail. Still that means that you can custom paint the G.I. Joe Raft, add detail, maybe even decals to it. 

Right now, unfortunately, the G.I. Joe Raft is the pride of my G.I. Joe Navy. Still it only cost PhP 35 so I'm not complaining