by Dan Eastwood
Dan Eastwood sold this model on eBay in early 2009. Prior to selling it he attempted to confirm its origins, but to date no definite information has turned up. In this article Dan speculates on who may have built it, but we would still be very interested to hear any further details someone might have. -- Derek Redmond
I do not know who originally made this wooden model of a Ford GPA amphibious jeep (or seagoing jeep -- "seep".) The scale is approximately 1:14 or 1:15, and there are no identifying marks on it as to its origin. One possibility is that during WWII wooden model kits of several military vehicles were used as incentives to encourage the sale of war bonds. Mod-Ac Mfg. Co. is known for manufacturing 1/24-scale wooden models of jeeps, Army half-track trucks, etc. but this one is a much more impressive size. This photo shows its size in comparison to a 1/24 scale car.
The body of the Ford GPA (G=Government, P=80" wheelbase, A=Amphibious) was designed by Roderick Stephens Jr. of Sparkman & Stephens Inc. yacht designers, in the same vein as his earlier design for the DUKW six-wheel-drive amphibious truck.
Because the model seems to have been carefully crafted, it might have been a desk-display model given to US Government "customers" by Ford in gratitude for their contract, or made by the US Army Training Center as a model for contract discussions.
Model dimensions:
Length 13.0" (33.0 cm),
Width 5.0" (12.7 cm),
Height 3.5" ( 8.9 cm),
Wheelbase 5.75" (14.6 cm).
You can find more details on these interesting vehicles elsewhere on the web, including the story of "Half-Safe", a GPA that was sailed and driven around the world (from 1950-1958) beginning with an Atlantic Crossing in a hurricane!
All four wheels roll smoothly (see a bottom view, 70K JPEG.) The water-propellor (110K JPEG) turns only slightly. I've gently blown the dust off the model but it could use careful cleaning and possibly some touch-up paint in spots. The steering wheel (100K JPEG) is thin wood that broke at some time in the past and was crudely repaired with hot-melt glue by a former owner.
Thanks to Dan for taking the photos of this unusual model. Any information anyone can provide would be much appreciated.
Also on The CJ3B Page, see cast metal GPA's manufactured as WWII Jeep Recognition Models.
There have been many other miniature versions of the Ford GPA; this would be a great topic for a future article on the Toy Jeeps Pages. -- Derek Redmond
Return to the Toy Jeeps Pages.
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