2007 soakers revealed!

[isoaker]

If you look closely on the box for the Covert Control, on the bottom right corner there is a kid using a larger gun with a strap - looks to me like that's the Hydroblitz.

Good observation! WildBoys actually emailed me yesterday with the same finding. Sadly, the image resolution isn't very high, thus it's hard to make out specific features (though it does look like a large, blue pistol).

[Ultor_Solis]

Here's what it looks like:

If you want, save it and blow it up with Windows Image Viewer or something.

I'll have to find out more about the HydroBlitz and a few of the others before I can make a verdict. But I think "gimmicky" was a pretty good preliminary summation. Hopefully, my expectations are wrong.



Edited By Ultor_Solis on 1166546611

[Crashdummy]

Man, I was hoping for something more lengthy than that. Looks like a shotgun. :p On the bright side they got the coloring right.



Edited By Crashdummy on 1166547153

[scorpion]

Man, I was hoping for something more lengthy than that. Looks like a shotgun. :p On the bright side they got the coloring right.

take a closer look. it looks like there might be a yellow colored tank in the back cuz something that small couldn't possiably hold 100 oz.

[isoaker]

I think scorpion is right in that there seems to be a large yellow reservoir that is unclear due to the low image quality. Without a back-side reservoir, that thing would be awfully imbalanced and hard to aim. With a rear-reservoir, that makes me more intrigued by the front, lower bulb-area...

[scorpion]

Upon taking a closer look u notice: the gun wud be to small for hasbro to put a strap on it if it were that size, the yellow spot is a different shade of yellow than the kids shirt, there is aellow around the mid section that is clearly not the kids hand or shirt.

[sbell25]

Don't forget that the background is also a different shade of yellow to the kid's shirt. The space between his right arm and the gun is just the background, and I don't see anything behind the gun that obscures the view of his shirt and left arm. Make sure to enlarge the picture right up though, because when it's zoomed out, it sorta does look like there's a water tank behind the gun.

I'm curious as to what the yellow line the kid's right hand is holding onto though.

[isoaker]

Not sure I agree with sbell25's opinion of the picture.



To me, beneath the kid's left arm, I see a different shade of yellow as well as a colour area that looks like a Super Soaker sticker and the shadow for the bottom of a reservoir.

Looking more at the enlargened image, I may have not properly outlined the complete extent of the reservoir as it seems to be casting a shadow on the kid's shirt and shorts. Of course, low res image isn't great for making guesses.

[sbell25]

I can't figure out what it's supposed to be now. What you observed seems valid, but it is very hard to tell with such a bad picture. However it turns out though, I'm just glad that finally there's a larger Super Soaker back on the market.

[isoaker]

hehe
For all I know, I could be overanalysing the picture, too. Heck, for all we know, that picture is just a prototype and the real one will be completely different!

Time will tell, I suppose.

[Dacca]

i believe that is either a handle or some sort of pull trigger (ie: super soaker 300). also if you look closely i think the 'thing' and his shirt might be the same color but only a diffrent shade. but hey, who knows. only time will tell

[SilentGuy]

Looking more at the enlargened image

Enlargened? :p

I would agree with you by saying that that large yellow area is the reservoir, but there's a problem. According to the picture, the kid must be left handed. So why is his firing hand around the reservoir? It looks to me more like that blue, angular section is the handle, some weird handle for sure. The reservoir is either the light blue below the grip or somewhere near the bright yellow above it.

Actually, the reservoir might be the light blue in the front. Or maybe this just isn't the HydroBlitz. Either way, a cubical gun with a reservoir in the front would go with the other guns in the lineup.

[HBWW]

I hope this pic shows more or at least provides something else to look at.



I used sharpening filters, plus it shows more of the box. (the jpeg aliasing from the original pic seems to have screwed it up.)



Edited By C-A_99 on 1166753934

[Adrian]

I'm gonna take a stab at deciphering this.

We see from CA99's pic that the kid is hanging on to a somewhat bent piece of plastic in the back. This appears to be some sort of back handle or pistol grip.

The kid's right hand is holding some sort of yellow grip, which seems to protrude perpendicularly to the gun. Possibly a return of the "pull action" guns from the 90s? Seems likely, unless the kid's a lefty. This vertical handle is clearly what his right hand is holding - no doubt about it.

We've got a black and blue barrel, and some sort of light blue underbarrel attachment, which I think is either a reservoir, or...dare I even speak it...a large CPS chamber? This light blue thing appears to be about the size of a 2-liter bottle, if the scale is to be trusted. I don't know how many ounces that is, but I'm guessing it's close to the 100oz limit of the Hydroblitz. It'd also explain the vertical handle - that would provide some sort of fulcrum (maybe) for a front heavy gun.

The area labeled "reservoir?" in Isoaker's pic is actually the kid's shirt. The (very long) strap curves around to the back of the handle, and we can clearly see the orange of his shirt differentiated from the yellow of the background.

There are two things missing from this gun - a pump and a reservoir. The light blue thing on the front is not a res. IMO, putting 100oz up front is not generally a good idea when marketing to the kiddies. There's no protrusion for a pump (which is usually forward of the barrel, unless that vertical handle is a pump...), and definitely no space for a reservior...which leads me to the belief (hope) that this maybe a QFD only gun.

I'm thinking it's safe to say this is going to be a CPS soaker, or an XP with a massive pc, something like what DA has designed in the past. Looks to me like it's the soaker version of a chain-gun. Neato.

Adrian

Edit:Ok y'all, I want you to do me a favor and go back and view the original (not posted, on the website) pic - that's the only way we're going to get any sort clear view. It seems to me that there is a whitish bit of plastic inside what I hypothosized is the handle, and also below what appears to be the hinge of the vertical handle. Now, my guess is that this is not superfluous plastic, but is instead sort of a "white out" on the picture, designed to prevent us from mistaking, for example, his hand with part of his shirt...the more I manipulate this pic with Photoshop the mored confused I get. The white, now, appears to be part of the gun...wonder what it is...



Edited By Adrian on 1166759355

[isoaker]

Actually, staring longer at the pics, I think I am wrong about the sticker and reservoir placement in my previous pic. I'll push up a re-defined picture later, but I now believe that the reservoir is being hidden by the kid and is on his right side. The grip his left hand is holding sticks out perpendicular to the blaster and is simply the grip region while his right hand is on an SS300-style lever trigger. As Adrian puts it, it looks like a chain gun, Super Soaker-style.

I still am not sure how this thing would be pumped, but wouldn't expect it to be a QFD/fast-fill-only soaker.

More to follow later...

[scorpion]

Well, as pointed out it looks like there is no pump. so here are my guesses. The top handle is some new sort of pump because of where the tank is located it wud make sence. the second is it is an extremely powerful piston with the same pumping micanism.

[SilentGuy]

iSoaker, you may very well be right. The white part could be the reservoir on the other side of the handle, like I said earlier but thinking it was inline. One problem, though, is the weird setup of the strap.

What about that light blue part below the nozzles? Does not make for an effective gun. The black part underneath it could be the pump. Also, the sideways handle part could be a shield.

These are just drawings, right? And anyway, chainguns and miniguns are different, not that it makes a difference. The most important part is how you use the blaster. And I simply can't see anybody sneaking around with the blaster or flanking and dodging. That's the most important part, and it's definitely lacking.

[DX]

I really hope it is not a useless QFD-only gun. That would be a major let-down.

[Dacca]

but that would mean they'd have to bring back the qfd system for that to happen.

[isoaker]

1: strap
2: lever trigger?
3: nozzle
4: pump?
5: unknown PC/reservoir/other? in foreground (i.e. not attached to nozzle barrel)?
6: side-grip? perpendicular to soaker?