Cobra Sea Ray

I had a Cobra Sea Ray way back in the day.   I thought I would try one out again 26 or some odd years later, only adding this one into my collection this very last week.

I am really trying to remember many details about my Sea Ray from back in the day.    Being a 1987 vehicle, and at the time, me being in the middle of nowhere in Upper Michigan, and us moving by '91, I would guess I got my original Sea Ray for Christmas in 1987, or a birthday in 1988, or Christmas 1988.   And it was discarded by me at least sometime before winter of 1990-91.   In all, one of the rare things that broke and I didn't like playing with anymore.  

I always thought it would be great to have the Sea Ray take on the S.H.A.R.C., two flying submarines against each other!   Back in the day with my original Sea Ray, the only S.H.A.R.C. was the one my best bud at the time had.   I can't remember if we did this or not, though.   We did have some "big battles" in that old U.P. basement.   I think I ended up with this S.H.A.R.C., but I am not sure what I did with that, however, I do know I had his Deep Six.  And I did have a mail-in S.H.A.R.C. after we moved from the U.P., and somewhere along the lines I discovered that mail-in version had no styrofoam, while my best buds (an original retail) did have styrofoam.   Bugs me that I can't remember what I did with that S.H.A.R.C. if I did have it now....  anyhoo....

What ultimately happened with my Sea Ray was that a tab that held the two parts of the vehicle together broke resulting in a toy that just wasn't as fun for me.   The canopy hinge as well as the tab broke, as well.   I think I put it under the back stairs at our old house outside, and that's where it was last seen.   I did save all the rockets, I think I figured I could use these on other vehicles.    These rockets were around for awhile until finally traded away.




The Sea Ray is really interesting, I think it takes on that organic sea creature form rather well.   It fits in with 1987 vehicles and their ability to have as many play functions built in, namely the multiple vehicles in one angle.   Consider the Maggot and Mamba.

They are headlights on the box, but the two tabs really take on the look of eyes and the smooth flaring form with almost a hanging whiskers look, really says "sea ray" to me.   A vehicle that sits on the bottom until ready to strike?

The overall form is very front heavy and tapers back into a very thin tail.

Three thrusters propel this craft, but does just the top one work until the glider is launched?   I guess I have had that imagination that kind of wanted answers on how things worked; how it was believable.

This is the canopy hinge that snapped on my original Sea Ray.   The canopy has no "snap-in" or open position that it can hold.  It flops down as soon as one lets go of it.

That little tab also broke on my original Sea Ray.   Not having a canopy that was solid made my old one not as much fun.

After not having a Sea Ray in my hand for 26 years, I wasn't surprised at the sparse interior of the Sea Ray cockpit.   I didn't remember it this sparse, though, either.    Maybe that's why my memory didn't remember much of it?

Well, since the canopy came loose during the above shot, below, the hinge does have some bow to it.   Is this common, or is this Sea Ray just a showing play wear?

The Sea Ray does have a pair of big guns.   Do they fire underwater?   Are they more powerful than a Cobra H.I.S.S. cannon?     I sort of remember having this craft sitting on the bottom of an imaginary lake, shooting upward at the over passing W.H.A.L.E. or Tiger Shark.

Now, I had a Conquest and a Night Raven in my classic young days collection, both sleek, fast craft.   I think that the Sea Ray's less than slippery fighter jet looking form led me to not use it as much in aerial combat.   

I suppose in 1988, or about this time that I got this vehicle, I was a little older.   I do remember questioning in my head how this craft operated, even as I do at this very moment.

No landing gear, not even really skids.   No visible VTOL jets (like a Sky Hawk, or Flight Pod).

My imaginations solution:  the two square shapes were where there were lifting thrusters to get it off the ground were.

While we're down here, lets take a look at the glider portion of the Sea Ray.

Sea Slug and other figures really fit fine, and I really like that the backpack peg holds the figures on well and that there are well placed figure hand hold posts.

Can't forget to showcase the other backpack peg hole holder on the forward "sub" section of the Sea Ray.   I never had any Cobra Eels until closer to 1993, and I while I always wanted some cobra divers...., what would an '85 Eel have done with this backpack on the sub section?   Also no figure hand holds up front.     Either way, I still had fun putting these figures on this craft today, it adds some weight and..., I don't know... some fun.

That bottom wide tab that slides on to connect the two parts of the Sea Ray together.   I only separated this Sea Ray once, and I am not sure how many times it was separated prior to me buying it, but coming apart it made a distinct snap sound.  I don't see anything broken, but I didn't expect that sound.  It went back together with a snap that wasn't anywhere near as obvious.  
I think I have some fear of this one breaking like my original one did.

Very machine like detail, but also some very organic styling throughout.

The three connection tabs.   

The Sea Ray has an engine cover, I always liked this, one of my favorite features on vehicles.   This engine compartment is especially deep.   On my original Sea Ray I used it as a weapon storage compartment.

The Sub section is kind of neat.  I may have had this as a space ship back in the day, when play was not strictly limited to realistic military battles.
 And it floats?    Well, I do remember floating my old one, and I may have to float this one.   

As a powered glider, even back in my younger days, this just looks heavy for a figure.  Perhaps this is why Sea Slug is such a muscular character?   As I think about it now, Sea Slug has a nice glider uniform design.  the helmet and eye protection make sense here.  Less so as an underwater submarine operator, where, for an example, the Secto-Viper would look more in place.
Of course, Sea Slug is another layer of elite on top of Eels, perhaps on par or more trained than Snow Serpents.

This big open front area on the glider never said sleek to me, and some things never change.

This is just the tail of the Sea Ray.   I may have gotten more play out of this part when it came to my original Sea Ray.    This was just a little space ship that was zooming around back in the day.  I had a multi-vehicle diaclone robot, plastic model aircraft carrier jets, and other things that got in on these battles, too.

Sea Slug was a bruiser of a character, one of the main bad guy's in my early collection, often Serpentors right hand tough guy.   Check out my old HQ's weapons tray to see how my early collection was armed.

I was never a big fan of pistols, and Sea Slugs was no exception.   It's funky its own way, but I never liked using it.

I think having other vehicles for size comparison is important.     

I was fortunate to get a box with this Sea Ray, which was part of the appeal to me.     I really like to read the mission statements and other things on the boxes that are not often as easy to see on pictures of boxes.   I think little things like that add more to the imagination behind the design.    Being my original Sea Ray was an early vehicle in my original collection, saving paperwork or boxes were not even thought of then.

Now, how is that glider being propelled?

Grateful

 I wish I had more things going on on the G.I.Joe front.   I loaded up a vehicle (the Desert Fox above)  for the first time in at least a couple of years it seems.    I don't have a lot of vehicles anymore, and I have had some of the smaller ones out every so often since relocating to the new and current H.Q. in 01/2013.

I tell you, there's a good feeling of setting up figures and there's a good feeling of setting up vehicles on a shelf in museum style .., but an even better feeling I've had with my collection in awhile was having a figure loaded vehicle in hand.    I don't how to explain it other than to compare it to the lack of the same feeling when loading up the modern figures on the modern vehicles here.    Was it the solid foot pegs holding Rampart and Salvo securely to the Fox, with Wild Card gripping the steering wheel and Downtown still able to hold himself steady enough with the one hand on the dash while shooting off the side with the other? 
I don't know...., I do know it made me miss a lot of my former collection. 
It also made me wish I had a big diorama scene built up in my basement to set stuff up on.  Errrr, I should say my "H.Q.  outer shells lower level" had a diorama scene set up in it.     

I did bust out my entire self-chosen G.I.Joe team, too.   Even with just 28 figures, it filled up some time.  Below is most of my team, not shown are my two chopper pilots, along with my Air Force,  Coast Guard and Navy members, as well as my one resident tech. guy.  There rest are here:

I've picked one or a handful of these figures out at time over the last 3 years I've been at this location, even when no "Junior Joes" were around and I intended to get everything out, it just didn't really happen.   So, not really doing much with the figures as a whole for awhile was really interesting.   If you remember, I spent a lot of time deciding on trimming down my collection, finally deciding on the team of 28 members.

I wanted something that was fun to play with, captured the small and cohesive essence of the "original 13" ARAH team, represented the broad range of the ARAH toy lines years, included the many different service branches represented by the figure characters fictional origins as well as figure-characters that originated from outside military lines or originated internationally.   
I wanted to hold on to some familiar figure characters that have been in my collection for some time, figures that have that sort of childhood nostalgia or even a sort of personal sentimental value.   Core characters that almost any average person might be able to name.
I also wanted some fresh blood, figure-characters that are relative "blank-slates" that have not been overly popularized...., figure-characters that sort of represent the ARAH line as something that continued past 1985 or 1986.  But more for me on this point, to keep things somewhat more interesting having something sort of unfamiliar, sort of new-to-me.
I also wanted to be able to split this team of 28 figures into two teams, essentially giving me the ability to make up a "13" member squad if I wanted.   I wanted a more overall military look to my team, too, one that was more green than tan, but also had some dark commando gray, with a mix of sci-fi and technology mixed in; not to mention just wild looking.   With that "13" member squad, I wanted to have that mix of specialties and accessories that sort of echo 1982's line up, too.

And why, "28?"    To an extent, two-13 man teams,  with 2 in command or support roles.  But really, it is based off the 1983 G.I.Joe A.P.C..   That vehicle, which floats, is also a carrying case.    I don't have it, but it can transport my team if I did.    A fully loaded A.P.C. is something every G.I.Joe fan should carry by the handle at least once, in my opinion.


Having had a couple years of not really picking through it all, I questioned why I picked what I picked as I had all the figures out, some of them I had to really think about.    It seems like I'm always re-evaluating this, doesn't it?
I'll admit, Cutter seems out of place without the WHALE or any watercraft at all.   Originally my line up did not include this character, but, I wanted to have that service branch represented. 
I think Shockwave is out of place a bit, I wanted that Detroit service origin and otherwise cool figure, but I think I picked him over another figure as that figure had a high rank.  It is all fictional, but I really nitpicked over little details.   I suppose I can always swap at some point, right?

No matter what, though, I always remain grateful for being able to have what I have had in the past, and what I have now. 

I think with perhaps tweaks to this, my team, and definite future tweaks to the motor pool, one of my future challenges will be infusing my self into my collection.   I think I have a collection that while simple is a good G.I.Joe ARAH general representation of the whole entirety, but now I wonder if I can make something original of own that really makes it all stand out apart as something that says this collection is Icebreaker's collection.   Something that brings it all together as a cohesive set, a unique yet common thing.