[Stormgard]

Dominator by Magnus-L, on Flickr

Dominator by Magnus-L, on Flickr

Dominator by Magnus-L, on Flickr

Getting ready to head out on a mission by Magnus-L, on Flickr

"The Dominator has been described casually as a "snow tank" but it could be more accurately described as a modern armored car that excels in the armored reconnaissance role. Its six large wheels give it reasonable mobility even in snowy conditions and give it considerably more speed than a tracked configuration would offer. The Dominator has a crew of two - a gunner/commander and a driver. Its main weapon is a 90 mm cannon mounted in the turret, and considered effective against all but the heaviest armored vehicles. The Dominator also mounts three 7.62 machine guns - one mounted coaxially with the main gun and two in the hull firing forward. The effective accuracy of these hull mounted weapons can be questioned, but they are at the very least useful in providing suppressing covering fire when the Dominator runs into an enemy it can't defeat and needs to de-engage in a hurry."

BattleForce 2000 is a subteam of G.I.Joe that gets a lot of flack from many serious G.I.Joe fans, in part because it incorporated a combining base feature that never quite worked very well. My version does not try to replicate this flawed gimmick, I just tried to recreate the basic shape of the original (minus the silly side skis), and adding a much needed driver's position in the hull. I'm especially happy with the angled shaping on the glacis on the front of the vehicle.

The Dominator was my favorite BF2000 vehicle (as well as one of my favorite of the arctic Joe vehicles overall). For all of BF 2000's limitations, it had some cool elements, and I'll likely have a go at other vehicles in this subteam eventually, and perhaps even attempt some kind of improved "modular mobile base" feature in other vehicles. For now, the Dominator takes its place in the ranks of my Joe team's winter/arctic forces.

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