History of the Water Warriors® Line

Note: Special thanks to L.B., B.J., and J.Z. for their input on aspects of Larami Corp. and Buzz Bee Toys Inc. history.

In the summer of 2003, a new name appeared on the toy shelves in many stores. Water Warriors® brand water blasters, manufactured by Buzz Bee Toys Inc., began to appear at numerous retailers throughout North America. At a time when Super Soaker® was virtually synonymous with any water blaster or water gun, this new, small company seemed to appear out of nowhere, offering an intriguing selection of products more or less on par with the performance of the available Super Soakers® of the day, yet selling at a lower price for comparable items. Of course, though Buzz Bee Toys Inc. was a newly formed company and not known by the public at large, the individuals behind it were actually already very knowledgeable in the area of water blaster design and development.

A Brief History Behind Buzz Bee Toys Inc.

Once there was a company called Larami Corporation. Larami Corp. was founded back in 1959 by Al Davis and Myung Song. While Larami Corp. produced a number of toy products, even since its early days, one of its staple products was that of water guns / water blasters. Products such as the Uzi Water Gun were relatively popular during the early-to-mid 1980s during the reign of motorized water guns. Without a doubt, Larami Corp. is probably best known for introducing the world to the Power Drencher (a.k.a. the Super Soaker) in the l989 / early 1990s. Due to the wildly popular success of the Super Soaker brand of products, Larami Corp. enjoyed a strong dominance in the world of water blasters and larger toy corporations took notice. In 1995, Larami Corp. became a subsidiary of Hasbro Inc., having its name subsequently changed into Larami Ltd. Reportedly under the deal, Larami Ltd. would more or less operate independantly of Hasbro Inc. for approximately 5 years. It was a 5 year deal that ended up lasting 7 years. As the acquisition was completed, the newer generation of Super Soaker-brand models were labeled solely with the Hasbro Inc. name.

Once Hasbro Inc. had completed its acquisition of Larami Corp., a number of former Larami Corp. employees were dismissed as Hasbro Inc. desired to streamline its operation. Having been developing toys, most notably water blasters, for many years already, these individuals who had shared a good history together opted to continue to pursue what they enjoyed, forming a new toy company soon thereafter.

Buzz Bee Toys Inc. opened its doors on May 1, 2002, only a few blocks away from the old Larami Ltd. offices.

Development and Evolution of the Water Warriors® Line

Water Warriors Product Evolution Tree

Though offering good value products, the Water Warriors® brand name was all but unknown during their first year of release in 2003, losing the brand name recognition game against the Super Soaker®, and sometimes being mistaken as simply another cheap Super Soaker® imitation. However, word began to spread about these often overlooked water blasters as performing reasonably well, though still considered lacking compared to the golden water blaster age of the Super Soaker® CPS-series of water blasters (circa 1996 to 1998).

For 2003, there were six (6) water blasters for the Water Warriors brand: Wasp, Hornet, Zzapper, Firefly, Lightning, and Blazer. Interestingly, all the Water Warriors blasters, except for the Wasp, feature some form of pressure gauge with a physical sliding gauge for the smaller water blasters (i.e. Hornet and Zzapper) and an electronic pressure gauge for the larger blasters (i.e. Firefly, Lightning, and Blazer). As well, the two largest water blasters employed a novel pressurization technology called "Hydro Power". Unlike the Super Soaker CPS-based blasters, Water Warriors Hydro Power blasters use a rubber diaphragm disc instead of a full rubber chamber. This, together with the electronic pressure gauges, were likely done to avoid patent infringement issues with various Super Soaker patents. The end result, however, were two new blasters with CPS-like performance which were retailing at lower price points. Granted, Hydro Power blasters were not truly constant pressure as streams tended to noticably lose power as the pressure chambers emptied. However, at a time when Hasbro Inc. had just introduced the EES Super Soaker Series of blasters, seeing higher performing blasters for similar prices was welcomed by those who found them.

While 2003 was their introductory year, 2004 was the year more individuals started to take notice of the Water Warriors brand. The number of water blasters in the Water Warriors line more than doubled, but many of the new blasters were simply naming and restyling of 2003 models (i.e. the Firefly versus the Yellow Jacket or the Lightning versus the Piranha). Interestingly, the 2003 models were also still being sold alongside the 2004 counterparts in many stores. The water blaster types new to the line were the Kwik Grip and Kwik Grip XL models which are trigger-based water blasters. As well, a water balloon filling system under the name "No Knot" was also released. The "No Knot" Water Balloon Filler was the first portable pressurized water balloon filling aparatus available that employed use of re-useable valves for sealing the water balloons (the balloons, themselves, were not re-usable). Another interesting model was the Water Warriors Armor-Dillo. Unlike a typical water blaster, the Armor-Dillo was a water blaster that relied exclusively on garden hose pressure to fire. While appealling to some, others found the Armor-Dillo unnecessarily, simply opting to use typical hose nozzle attachments instead.

In 2005, Buzz Bee Toys Inc. introduced a novel air/water-pressurization system deemed Water Warriors® Aqua Master Pre Chargers. This new design split a cylindrical chamber into two halves: one containing pressurized air, the other containing water. These halves are separated by a sliding piston divider. The idea is to first pressurize the rear of the chamber with air by pumping, the pump in water into the forward side of the chamber. By separating the pressurized air from the water, mist shots were all but eliminated. As well, since pressurized air was stored, one only needed to pump a few times with water to achieve maximum pressure and optimum stream performance. The water blasters of differing sizes employed this system: the Argon, Xenon, and Krypton. While this system gave CPS and Hydro-Power-like performance to these air-pressure based blasters, these was also a downside. The first generation of Aqua Master Pre Chargers were known for being prohibitively difficult to pump in water after fully pressurizing the back-side of the chamber with air. Furthermore, the amount of water that could be pumped before the safety release valve kicked in was not as much as similarly-sized CPS or Hydro-Power-based blasters. Some also found the whole concept of having to pre-pressurize a blaster with air before pumping in water confusing. Later generations of the Aqua Master Pre Chargers were made easier to pump after getting user feedback, but despite the novel technology and functionality these blasters offer, their popularity remain only luke-warm. The other novel blaster introduced in 2005 was the Water Warriors Hydra Pak (previously known as the Aqua Pak; it was renamed so as not to be confused with the Super Soaker Aqua Pak reservoir extensions). In a similar vein to the Super Soaker SC Power Pak and Super Soaker SC Big Trouble, the Hydra Pak was an elastic-bladder-backpack-based water blaster. However, unlike the Super Soaker backpacks, the Hydra Pak was filled through a cap and manually pumped to pressurize the blaster. The total volume of the filled pressure chambers is quite impressive and there was also some additional water remaining in the backpack for re-pumping up the PCs if away from a water source for an extended period of time. Water pressure achieved by the dual bladders is respectable, but slightly less than those of the Super Soaker brand, likely due using spherical as opposed to cylindrical rubber bladders. That said, the Hydra Pak holds one of the longest shot times for any stock water blaster on the market, able to continually fire for nearly 3 minutes on its ~1x (30mL/sec | 1 oz/sec) nozzle setting.

In 2006, the Water Warriors line was expanded again with some new designs, many recolorings, and two water blasters in particular featuring novel technology. The Splat Blaster is a quick-to-prime, quick-to-shoot water blaster that is appropriately shaped like a small shotgun. Its pressure chamber is spring-loaded with the trigger serving to hold the extended spring in place until pulling. Unlike typical water blasters, the Splat Blaster's nozzle valve is a water-tight flap that seals closed when water is drawn into the firing chamber. Pulling the trigger both opens this flap while releasing the catch, allowing the spring-loaded chamber to snap quickly forwards. The other novel water blaster for 2006 is the Scorpion. The Scorpion can be considered revolutionary in that it combines the performance of an elastic-pressure "Hydro Power" pressure chamber with the manual-pump-free action of an electric motor. The Scorpion comes with a rechargeable battery pack that powers its internal motorized pump. The pump, itself, is strong enough to keep this water blaster firing until out of water on its smallest nozzle setting. However, the Scorpion also features some larger nozzle settings that work quite well when powered by a fully-pumped pressure chamber. The motorized pump is automatic, turning on when it senses low pressure and shutting off when the pressure chamber is filled. The pump can also be manually turned off as well by toggling a switch. The primary drawbacks with the Scorpion's design are its additional weight due to the motor and battery pack, the louder noise made when the pump is activated, and no means to manually pump if one happens to run out of charge in the middle of use. Granted, the lifetime of the battery pack on a full charge could easily accomodate hours of typical play.

In 2007, the Water Warriors line underwent a stylistic makeover. Water blasters such as the now 4-year-old Blazer and Lightning were being replaced by the newly styled Orca and Tiger Shark, though the Blazer and Lightning could still be found at some retailers. Two other new water blasters were also introduced: the Steady Stream and the Tarantula. The Steady Stream is a novel piston-based water blaster that features a spring-based pressure chamber. Unlike typical piston-pressure water blasters, when pumping the Steady Stream, part of one's stroke goes into pressurizing the chamber, thus making the Steady Stream continue firing momentarily longer after one stops pumping. What this means is that if one were to pump the Steady Stream quickly enough, it was capable of producing a continuous (i.e."steady stream") of water. The Tarantula, on the other hand, requires no manual pumping at all, instead relying solely on its motorized pump to generate its stream. More akin to the 1980s motorized water guns, the Tarantula has no pressure chamber unlike the Scorpion. However, unlike older motorized water guns that had more pulsating stream performance, the Tarantula produces a fairly smooth and consistent stream.

The year 2008 appeared to be a transition year for Buzz Bee Toys Inc. in some ways. Basically, the entire Water Warriors line was given new packaging designs as the original Water Warriors Logo was replaced by a new, more stylized design. There also were a number of new water blasters added to the line, most of them being pump-action piston-based blasters. The only new non-piston water blaster released was the Jet. Aimed at those in the 2+ age range, the Jet is a small, battery powered motorized water blaster, being the baby-brother of the Tarantula, but not coming with a rechargeable battery pack. Instead, the Jet draws power from 3 AA batteries. While its performance for its size is slightly less than comparably sized air pressure water blasters, the Jet is much simpler to use for its target audience. The other new water blasters for 2008 include new piston-based blasters such as the Avenger, M-16, and Hydro Blast.

Overall

In the end, the Water Warriors line by Buzz Bee Toys Inc. offers new promise in the world of water warfare. iSoaker.com is personally extremely grateful to the members of Buzz Bee Toys Inc. both for the various new products they have created as well as the numerous opportunities they have given. Buzz Bee Toys Inc., as it has since its inception, continues to innovate, creating new designs and employing new technologies in order to produce the best water blasters it can. iSoaker.com is truly grateful for all their efforts.