LINCOLN INTERNATIONAL STINGRAY MIX & MATCH

Following on from my Fairylite Stingray post, here’s my Lincoln International version.

I never had one as a youngster, although I’d seen them about. It’s obviously a much more accurate looking Stingray than the Fairylite. I believe it would have originally come with a guarantee sheet, a couple of spare bulbs, and possibly a set of stick-on decals.

It shared the same moulds with the friction drive ‘Lakeside’ Stingray, which was available in the U.S., although that had a four-wheel arrangement underneath similar to the Fairylite toy, and unlike the red Ratemaster on the ‘Lincoln’, the ‘Lakeside’  version was clear with a coloured paper spiral pattern  inside. It also had a less sophisticated paint job.

But back to my ‘Lincoln’ Stingray. This was another restoration project, in which I used two damaged toys to create a reasonable working one.

Here’s a photo of the two donor Stingray toys.  Both were fairly cheap and one came with an original box on which someone had written a pre-decimalisation 2/-( 10p ) on the front.  As the toy appeared around 1964, and  UK decimalisation took place in February 1971, I’m assuming someone got a jumble sale bargain in between those years, as the toy retailed at 39/11 (a fraction under two pounds) when new.   

 The boxed toy still had its original periscope and fins, but for some reason someone had taken most of it apart, including the wiring, motor and lights.

The second toy was missing a few parts, but the workings inside were fairly complete, apart from a blown bulb.

So, I set to work using the best parts from both in an effort to make a good one.

The good thing about these vintage toys is they are easy to work on, and after a little wire soldering, new bulbs and a clean-up of the battery terminals, my hybrid Stingray was soon up and running.

Everything worked – the forward and reverse motion, the spinning red Ratemaster, the lights and the horn, or Asdic buzzer as it’s called ( ASDIC was actually an early form of Sonar and apparently stood for the British Navy’s Anti-Submarine Detection Investigation Committee )

It has a unique steering system which allows the toy to easily turn when the remote control cord is pulled.

The remote control unit, apart from battery operated features, has a whistle, a ‘play’ microphone, and a ‘Siren’

Even Troy Tempest himself would be delighted with all the details.