It's early Autumn in the Cape of Good Hope. The average temperatures are high twenties, low thirties and I spend a fair amount of time mucking around by the pool, accompanied by some sort of aquatic craft. I realise I could use my time to review anything... But I'd rather do a lesser-appreciated gem than tackle a W.H.A.L.E or Moray, Bugg or Hammerhead. Why? Well the interweb is bursting with info and discussion of clear fan favorites and I would for the most part be wasting my time covering how cool they are, where you can find info like that pretty much anywhere else. So I choose you... the Cobra Sea Ray! It's fantastic... if for no other reason than neither it nor its pilot Sea Slug are abbreviations of anything. It's such a drag punctuating upper case with little dots.
So the Sea Ray. What is it? The package touts it as 'A formidable flying nemesis for Cobra! It's a highly-armed attack craft that quickly disengages to become a submarine and glider wing!'
Okay. This establishes that like the 1984 G.I. Joe S.H.A.R.C, it is a flying submarine. And like its Joe counterpart, it lacks conventional landing gear and must therefore hydroplane on the surface of the water for take-off and landing. Like the S.H.A.R.C it has a central removable engine panel with a well detailed engine beneath.
Fortunately the Sea Ray's pilot sits upright instead of lying on his belly and that lends a bit more credibility to the craft's aerial capabilities. I'm not sure how easily one would pilot an aircraft lying down. The split apart feature is another distinction the Sea Ray has, though I would rather ignore it. The 'Glider Wing' isn't really a glider at all, but more of a giant jet pack.
The front end becomes a dedicated sub, leaving the thrusters behind and bearing more than a passing resemblance to Sly Rax' BARRICUDA from the M.A.S.K toys.
The problem with the splitting feature is that both halves become greatly impoverished in the split. The hanglider loses the cannons and the sub loses the bulk of its missiles. And how would the two then re-unite? Not in a rush, I will wager, as the hang glider pilot would be crushed. So for the remainder of this review I will treat the Sea Ray as one, flying-submersible whole.
I'd say this craft is designed as a coastal waterway attack vehicle, using its submarine stealth to stalk a target before launching out of the water and swooping down to deal some death from above. For this task, it is well equipped. It is armed with 8 air-to-surface missiles and two 30 mm sealed combustion cannons. Interesting to note that they work on combustion (apparently) so that must mean the ammunition is fired using pressure created by hot expanding gases. Perhaps this allows the Sea Ray to fire from an underwater position? Not practical however as even from the shallows the muzzle velocity and accuracy would be drastically reduced. But at least it has some weapon to ward off pesky Joe frogmen. And the fact that the cannons swivel up and down means that this craft can fire from a shallow seat upwards at ship hulls and shore-based targets.
The Sea Slug file card also offers us insight into the tech that make the Sea Ray effective in its role. Apparently the Ray '...is coated with a rubberized damper that sends back an extremely indistinct 'bounce' on all known SONARs. It is also equipped with a noise generator that can mimic the sounds produced by a humped-back whale. It has almost no heat signature and sits low in the water when on the surface.' So, safe to assume this badboy is pretty hard to spot... until it's too late. Which is the way it should be as the Ray looks incapable of withstanding any punishment at all.
So Sea Rays are deployed to coastal regions, sea and possibly lakes and navigable rivers, sneak up on their prey, launch out of the water and then...? Well may I just point out that as an aircraft, the Sea Ray can't be too maneuverable. Has no vertical stabilizer (tailfin), no ailerons, elevators or any control surfaces that I can see. Its ordinance is carried on top of the wings. Its wings are stubby and thick. Perhaps all that thrust it packs is used to keep the craft in a Harrier-like hover? Its nozzles do look to be directional. But this opens the door to a fuel problem which is often best ignored in a realm of vehicles that are all performance, minimal capacity (S.H.A.R.C, Sky Hawk, Firebat - to name a few).
Apart from sneak-and-shoot type missions, I reckon you would want a couple of Sea Rays to function as close air support for a Hammerhead or Bugg formation. Extremely close air support in fact, as this aircraft can stay with you as you disappear beneath the waves even.
So what is it lacking? Answer: an air-to-air, and sub-to-sub capability. All its missiles are air-to-surface and so there is no versatility in what the Sea Ray attacks (ground vehicles and ships) and how the Sea Ray attacks (by launching into the sky). It could engage targets like helicopters with its guns I suppose, but it would be hard pressed to take out say, anything faster than a Sky Hawk. It is seriously lacking an underwater weapon such as a torpedo or two. If a S.H.A.R.C happened upon one of these craft, it would have two shots at torpedoing it, to which the Ray would have no reply except to rocket out of the water and hope the S.H.A.R.C doesn't evade by sinking deeper. Also, if it steers using thrust, I suppose that means it can go very fast in a straight line but would then lose speed dramatically when required to maneuver. This would be solved if it had control surfaces on its wings. But alas, not for the Sea Ray. I also wished it had conventional landing gear as that would improve its versatility, being able to launch and land at inland bases. Nevertheless, I have found a use for it, especially when paired with a submersible vehicle like the Hammerhead which can deploy no less than 14 torpedoes but only two surface-to-surface missiles.
Something must be said about the Sea Slug troops. They are chosen from the EEL ranks to pilot the Sea Ray. That tells me that this is a marine craft first and an aircraft second or an Air Viper would be a more logical selection. They are purple with some flair that steps outside of the 'Modern Army Action Figure' realm and into the realm of the Supervillain.
He has wraparound red... feelers (?) on his helmet that make him look like a contender for the name 'Mothman', or at least a henchman to a feller named Mothman. He has short sleeves and enormous muscles, weirdly ornamented shin-guards and comes with what looks like a silver raygun. the Sea Ray vehicle logo is tampographed onto his enormously muscular chest. I think this figure is best summed up as a reject Flash Gordon baddie. I guess you might easily imagine him as a denizen of Cobra-La, though why you would want to is beyond me. At least the cockpit of the Sea Ray is roomy enough to accommodate most other figures, including modern era-style, and a Defence of Cobra Island Lampreys looks very appropriate manning the Sea Ray if I do say so myself.
One oddity before I go. The underside of the sub-portion of the Ray has a backplug for a ARAH figure to hitch a ride, akin to the S.H.A.R.C. Not sure you'd want to be attached when it took off. Definitely sure you don't want to be attached to the underside when it lands. Ouch.
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| Same Shot as the S.H.A.R.C article, I know. But it's a goodie, especially with that shadow... |
So the Sea Ray. What is it? The package touts it as 'A formidable flying nemesis for Cobra! It's a highly-armed attack craft that quickly disengages to become a submarine and glider wing!'
Okay. This establishes that like the 1984 G.I. Joe S.H.A.R.C, it is a flying submarine. And like its Joe counterpart, it lacks conventional landing gear and must therefore hydroplane on the surface of the water for take-off and landing. Like the S.H.A.R.C it has a central removable engine panel with a well detailed engine beneath.
 |
| The mark of a quality toy: A panel pops off to reveal a detailed engine sculpt. Unnecessary perhaps, but soo classy. |
Fortunately the Sea Ray's pilot sits upright instead of lying on his belly and that lends a bit more credibility to the craft's aerial capabilities. I'm not sure how easily one would pilot an aircraft lying down. The split apart feature is another distinction the Sea Ray has, though I would rather ignore it. The 'Glider Wing' isn't really a glider at all, but more of a giant jet pack.
 |
| Bears more than a passing resemblance to the C.L.A.W, though no sensibilities such as landing gear... |
It is indicated on the blueprints to be jet-propelled with its 'Thruster 26 000 lb Turbojet Engine'. Which is 1000 lb of thrust more than the F-15 Eagle powerplant produces in afterburn. Which according to the Sea Ray blueprints is capable of mach 2. Not sure how I feel about this airframe breaking the sound barrier... twice but hey, Cobra's on the cutting edge right? I suppose it may need a big kick to blast it out of the water and into the air. It also says something about the Sea Ray pilot, Sea Slug, who mans the glider by sandwiching himself between the jet exhaust nozzles.
The front end becomes a dedicated sub, leaving the thrusters behind and bearing more than a passing resemblance to Sly Rax' BARRICUDA from the M.A.S.K toys.
 |
| I wasn't responsible for the upside-down decal, okay. Bought it second hand like any other latter-day Joefan. |
The problem with the splitting feature is that both halves become greatly impoverished in the split. The hanglider loses the cannons and the sub loses the bulk of its missiles. And how would the two then re-unite? Not in a rush, I will wager, as the hang glider pilot would be crushed. So for the remainder of this review I will treat the Sea Ray as one, flying-submersible whole.
I'd say this craft is designed as a coastal waterway attack vehicle, using its submarine stealth to stalk a target before launching out of the water and swooping down to deal some death from above. For this task, it is well equipped. It is armed with 8 air-to-surface missiles and two 30 mm sealed combustion cannons. Interesting to note that they work on combustion (apparently) so that must mean the ammunition is fired using pressure created by hot expanding gases. Perhaps this allows the Sea Ray to fire from an underwater position? Not practical however as even from the shallows the muzzle velocity and accuracy would be drastically reduced. But at least it has some weapon to ward off pesky Joe frogmen. And the fact that the cannons swivel up and down means that this craft can fire from a shallow seat upwards at ship hulls and shore-based targets.
The Sea Slug file card also offers us insight into the tech that make the Sea Ray effective in its role. Apparently the Ray '...is coated with a rubberized damper that sends back an extremely indistinct 'bounce' on all known SONARs. It is also equipped with a noise generator that can mimic the sounds produced by a humped-back whale. It has almost no heat signature and sits low in the water when on the surface.' So, safe to assume this badboy is pretty hard to spot... until it's too late. Which is the way it should be as the Ray looks incapable of withstanding any punishment at all.
So Sea Rays are deployed to coastal regions, sea and possibly lakes and navigable rivers, sneak up on their prey, launch out of the water and then...? Well may I just point out that as an aircraft, the Sea Ray can't be too maneuverable. Has no vertical stabilizer (tailfin), no ailerons, elevators or any control surfaces that I can see. Its ordinance is carried on top of the wings. Its wings are stubby and thick. Perhaps all that thrust it packs is used to keep the craft in a Harrier-like hover? Its nozzles do look to be directional. But this opens the door to a fuel problem which is often best ignored in a realm of vehicles that are all performance, minimal capacity (S.H.A.R.C, Sky Hawk, Firebat - to name a few).
Apart from sneak-and-shoot type missions, I reckon you would want a couple of Sea Rays to function as close air support for a Hammerhead or Bugg formation. Extremely close air support in fact, as this aircraft can stay with you as you disappear beneath the waves even.
So what is it lacking? Answer: an air-to-air, and sub-to-sub capability. All its missiles are air-to-surface and so there is no versatility in what the Sea Ray attacks (ground vehicles and ships) and how the Sea Ray attacks (by launching into the sky). It could engage targets like helicopters with its guns I suppose, but it would be hard pressed to take out say, anything faster than a Sky Hawk. It is seriously lacking an underwater weapon such as a torpedo or two. If a S.H.A.R.C happened upon one of these craft, it would have two shots at torpedoing it, to which the Ray would have no reply except to rocket out of the water and hope the S.H.A.R.C doesn't evade by sinking deeper. Also, if it steers using thrust, I suppose that means it can go very fast in a straight line but would then lose speed dramatically when required to maneuver. This would be solved if it had control surfaces on its wings. But alas, not for the Sea Ray. I also wished it had conventional landing gear as that would improve its versatility, being able to launch and land at inland bases. Nevertheless, I have found a use for it, especially when paired with a submersible vehicle like the Hammerhead which can deploy no less than 14 torpedoes but only two surface-to-surface missiles.
Something must be said about the Sea Slug troops. They are chosen from the EEL ranks to pilot the Sea Ray. That tells me that this is a marine craft first and an aircraft second or an Air Viper would be a more logical selection. They are purple with some flair that steps outside of the 'Modern Army Action Figure' realm and into the realm of the Supervillain.
 |
| He traded in his Eel outfit for that? |
One oddity before I go. The underside of the sub-portion of the Ray has a backplug for a ARAH figure to hitch a ride, akin to the S.H.A.R.C. Not sure you'd want to be attached when it took off. Definitely sure you don't want to be attached to the underside when it lands. Ouch.
Flip its cool bud!
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