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Thursday, October 29, 2020

Indiana Jones Raiders Of The Lost Ark Cargo Truck



Perhaps one of the most famous action sequences in any movie is the Cargo Truck scene in Raiders Of The Lost Ark.

Indiana Jones chases after a German Cargo Truck holding the stolen Lost Ark Of The Covenant.

Once on board Indy is thrown in front of the truck, manages to climb onboard once again, after dispatching the driver, and recovering the Ark-but not for long.

The Cargo Truck toy from Hasbro Toys not only is a cool truck but it also comes without a foldout diorama to display the Cargo Truck in.

Although the last Indiana Jones movie (Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull) wasn’t the box office hit Paramount Studios and Lucas Films hoped it would be it did spawn some neat merchandise.

Hasbro Toys put out a whole collection of Crystal Skull toys but it also produced action figures, playsets and vehicles from Indy's other films.

From Indy’s first film (Raiders Of The Lost Ark) Hasbro made the Cargo Truck that carried the Ark Of The Covenant pilfered by the Nazi.

Everyone remembers the sequence.  Indy jumps to the truck from his horse, he climbs to the trucks cabin, knocks the driver out and starts to drive away.

The soldiers in the back attempt to stop him only to be brushed off the sides of the truck by Indy’s erratic driving.

The head Nazi manages to reach the cabin, knocks Indy through the windshield, upon which Indy grabs the grill, uses his whip to latch to undercarriage of the truck, climbs back into the truck and back to the cabin and knocks the Nazi out the window where he is crushed by the truck.

The military green Cargo Truck toy is an exact miniature duplicate of the movie truck.

Every thing seen in the movie is there, except the figures of course.

The Cargo Truck looks like a standard German transport truck of the time period (the late 1930s) and is well built.

The rear troop/equipment area is supported by a series of eight tires (four on each side).  Protecting the tire and wheels are large fender/wheel wells.  On each side of the cargo area are single steps leading up to the wheel wells which in turn allow soldiers to stand in foot slots on each side of the canopy covered area.  Additional handgrips are at the top of the canopy.

A step in back area allows the passengers to enter the canopy-covered area.

Several action figures can sit in the back area on the inner wheel wells or on the truck bed itself.

The cab of the truck is supported by two wheels/tires.  A fender covers each.  In front of the fenders are the truck lights, a heavy grill (that breaks away) a heavy bumper and a grip bar.

On top of the cab is a caged area for storage.  The cab has two heavy doors, open windows on the side and front, full interior details and enough room for two action figures.

Attached steps allow passengers to enter the cab from both sides.  Two spare tires (one on each side) sit just in front of the doors.

A special insert is enclosed in the two layer display box with color illustrations.

By following the simple instructions a full diorama can be made that recreates the desert scene as seen in the movie.

Of the various vehicles and accessories made for the Indiana Jones series of toys from Hasbro the Cargo Truck (in my opinion) is the best of the lot.

Details are right on, the vehicle is rugged and well put together, color is sharp and crisp and the added action extras make for a fine town.

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