S T I N G R A Y

Vivid Imaginations

This Vivid Imaginations Stingray measures around 9 inches long.

This is the 'Stingray Playset'. That's the major snag with this one. It's sold as a 'playset'. That means it's got an oversized figure to go inside an oversized chair inside. Shame about that. There's a large hinge at the rear of the upper cabin area so that it can be lifted up. Yes - it seems like Vivid decided to copy the Matchbox Stingray, but scale it down a bit.

Apart from the action figure/playset concept it's a nice little Stingray model. It does not have the 'Soundtech' treatment so there are no additional buttons for tiresome repeating phrases. You'll just have to say 'Flood Q' and 'Fire sting missiles!' yourself - as I'm sure you will. A button on the top of Stingray fires two torpedoes (sting missiles), four are supplied. So if you miss the rubber duck with the first salvo you can try again. Rubber duck? Well this toy is designed to sail in the bath. It has a clockwork motor. The motor is quite discrete and does not mar the appearance of the sub. The winding mechanism is underneath and a propellor is located in the 'ratemaster' tube at the back.

The periscope is too far forward, possibly to allow the top of the toy to hinge back. If only they'd put the thing a quarter of an inch further back so it didn't sit where the upper hatch should be. Still, that's only a minor detail.

I suspect there's potential with this toy for customizing. Perhaps an electric motor could replace the clockwork one, and then the opening upper area could be used to house batteries? You won't need to modify it if you only plan to sail Stingray in the bath though.
This Stingray toy was excellent value considering the fairly low price.

Okay, dive, dive, dive and look at more pictures down here.