Kewl RC Submarine Toy

I found the coolest toy at WalMart this weekend -- it was one of those impulse purchases where I went through the "see - recognize - decide to buy - grab" cycle in about three seconds. What was it that made me so excited? Here it is:

The main selling point for me, of course, was that it was named after my old boat USS Connecticut (SSN 22). They also had one named after the Seawolf -- the two subs operate on different frequencies, so you can have them fight each other in the pool, I guess. (If played correctly, Connecticut should always kick Seawolf's butt, being a newer submarine and all.) They also had a USS Chicago RC sub, but it had the wrong hull number on it (I think it was 665, but it might be wrong; I've also read about a USS Dallas.)

As you can see by the photo below of the toy compared to my going-away gift from the Connecticut, it's not an accurate reproduction, but if it actually can dive and maneuver in the water like they say it can, it's still about the coolest $20 toy I've ever seen.

Unfortunately, I don't have a pool at my house, but there are other uses for something this sweet. For example, I think it'd make an excellent gag gift for an old fast attack shipmate who's taking command of an Ohio-class boat -- you could tell him that he'll still be able to practice driving while the other crew has his sub.

And for those Connecticut guys who were wondering -- yes, I think this toy is even cooler than the USS Connecticut G.I. Joe: