Packaging: The Action Toy Gear Combat Assault Raft arrives in a white box with the Action Toy Gear label on it. That box is inside a brown box which gets the Priority Mail labels, address, and postage. The packaging emotes that classic Secret-Agent-Man feeling that you get when military collectibles, coins, or other rare items arrive in the mail. Jorge Joya, a former Boston Banker who is now a full-time toy manufacturer (Action Toy Gear) got his start in 1993, converting after-market hard-plastic Zodiac rafts into 1:6 scale two-man rafts with camouflage netting. After a few years he decided to build a bigger raft, fully inflatable and portable, and after three years of design and planning, the Combat Assault Raft was born in 2002! Next up are "Modern Duffle-Bag" sets which will hit the online stores in September or October and the World War II German Assault Raft which will be distributed in November.
Nylon Carrying Bag and Flashlight: The nylon carrying bag is in olive green color and it has carrying straps just like a real carrying bag. The bag is way cool because once the Combat Assault Raft is ready to go, the Carrying Bag can be filled with TNT, weapons, timers, and other gear. The Flashlight or Searchlight has a trigger button which works great on any of the hands I tried it on. The gripping hand acts to push the trigger down, and the Searchlight lights up. There is a key-chain factor which means that you can use the searchlight as a key chain or you can cut off the key ring and use it strictly as 1:6 Scale Gear. Or you could loop it onto one of the seventeen D-Rings so that the Searchlight could permanently hang off one of the sides of the Combat Assault Raft. Your imagination is the only limitation, as Elmo says!
The Combat Assault Raft: It took about a minute to inflate the raft. The inflating knob pushes into the raft when you are finished, and it is conveniently located in the back of the raft so that it is really hard to see in any "action" photos! The four 7" paddles have individual paddle holders, and there are also straps to hold weapons or other gear. The bottom of the raft is very sturdy. It seems to have several layers of thin rubber on the bottom of the raft. The thickness makes it easy to pose figures on the raft, and it also makes it harder for them to tip over or fall off. There is a grab line for tethering the raft or so it can be pulled by another vehicle. The Combat Assault Raft also has five sturdy Grip Handles for climbing on board after an Underwater Demolition Mission or for a quick escape. The raft floats great in a tub, and it floats even better on a swimming pool or lake. If you can take it out to the beach, it would be great to see the Combat Assault Raft on the surf.
Availability: Currently the Combat Assault Raft is available from several online dealers and the price is around $35.
Overall: The Combat Assault Raft has to be seen to be appreciated. The extreme details and quality of construction make this an outstanding buy. Consider that it is approximately the same size but at about half the price of the Hasbro G.I. Joe Zodiac Raft. Additionally, you can fold it up and put it in the nylon carrying bag, and your Seal Team is walking the streets incognito with their raft in one bag and their weapons and gear in their other bags. The fact that you can store this baby and do not have to keep it under the bed or boxed up makes it ultra-playable. You can actually keep the Combat Assault Raft anywhere and then take it out when you have the time to put together a Seal Team Mission! It is such a cool concept!
Grade: A+
