Already causing some conflict within the G.I. Joe fandom, the G.I. Joe: Retaliation vehicles continue to be a conundrum to me. Somewhat cheaper feeling plastic, figures that only move at five points of articulation, yet still sporting some very nice improvements on previous releases, and pretty fun vehicles all told.
But do some improvements justify the cost of these new vehicles? In some cases no (you can probably tell which ones I have not been able to justify by the fact that reviews have not been posted on the site yet…) but in some cases, yes. Which category does the HISS fall into? Check out my G.I. Joe: Retaliation Review Page or just hit the link below to find out.
You’re right that, if I’d not known the PoC HISS had such neat elements like the functional tracks, this HISS would have been awesome. It’s a nice, more simplified version, and that turret is excellent. I guess the PoC HISS is for fans and this one is for everybody 😉
It’s a rather lovely HiSS (which the only duff HiSS was the brown Mk4 and the Black and blue variant).
I think I prefer it to the PoC HiSS. So this is a must have.
Shame about the Driver, still at least the head is salvageable.
Are the heads on the non-articulated figs swappable with normal figs?
yup, this is the unarticulated HISS version of CC’s head on the Dollar General CC’s neck, no mods to the socket under the jaw were necessary. I assume this goes for all the Retaliation drivers. http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b190/wookietattoo/Mobile%20Uploads/2012-06-05182622.jpg
Nice. They’re good for something at least.
That looks pretty damn slick. Love the red faceplate.
thank you
Great review – almost tempted to pick one up, still a possibility based on review. Damn shame about the driver – amazing sculpt job.
This is by far my favorite of the wave 1 vehicles. Visually I actually prefer this one to even the black HISS, even though I wish this one was black as well. I totally agree with your assessment of Cobra Commander. Awesome figure……..if only he had some articulation.
This one is a must have as far as I’m concerned. I’ve picked up a couple and will get a few more before I’m done. With the Ghost Hawk being the only other vehicle worth getting, it’s not much of a hit on the wallet to get a few extra ones of just this one vehicle.
Once again Justin, a great review. I’m usually a sucker for all Hisstanks, this one is no different. Rubber treads or not, I am buying every one i see.
Honestly, I like this one a lot. Non-functional treads sound awesome; the ones on the PoC HISS got in the way more often than not. They have a heck of a time moving on carpet, and that’s most of my apartment. That, and if the HISS was locked down, the treads kept getting caught on the sculpt of the main body. If you tried to push it from behind (’cause if your hand was on top the treads got caught) then it would just pop up randomly. It was a neat idea, but it didn’t work for play.
This one is much better, and gets rid of the bell and whistles that mostly worked against the previous tank. Granted, I liked the inside back gunner rather than going back to the top gunner, but from a toy standpoint, the top gunner is more exciting. That and I loves me a big cannon!
Overall I’d totally get this save for two things: 1.) I want to try to get the SDCC Shockwave version, and I’m running out of vehicle space (too many 25th things…) so I don’t want two of these around. 2.) Cobra Commander is too disappointing. That sculpt is AWESOME. I would have bought that vehilce on sight if CC was a normal figure. Just friggin’ fantastic. I love ever little detail; especially the arm gun. BUT…he’s useless, and I don’t need the tank taking up space when it is just going to provide a figure that takes up space.
So as much as I like this thing; I gotta pass.
I completely agree with Alexx. The POC HISS/Crimson HISS is a fantastic design that absolutely failed on execution. I own both and neither one has treads that roll in either the down or up position. The pop up mechanism is okay but the armament is totally lacking for a tank. It probably sounds dumb but I really like the symmetry on this tank’s weapons. It has to huge gatling guns and a sweet main gun. The chin guns is small caliber and will work great against infantry. This is a great design that isn’t saddled with barely functioning action features. The ARAH HISS was awesome and had zero action features.
CC on the otherhand is a huge disappointment. What a fantastic design! I love armored suits like that. It reminds me of the Sigma 6 CC Battlefield General figure with the weapon gauntlets from the first version. I also like that he is armored in general and he looks protected riding into battle. Even with all of this I find that the figure fails because of the lack of articulation. It’s a huge bummer H made such an awesome mold and then gave it vintage SW articulation.
I do like how CC’s helmet looks like the new movie version. I can imagine that we will see a lot of customs using that head.
I usually read the General’s reviews before I buy something, but I saw this guy in the store, and with other toys being bumped back to March, I bought it right away.
I originally thought from the pictures online that this tank would look better in black, but I really really love that blue. I agree with the review in that this tank feels light.
Overall, I’m really happy I bought this one, as it looks more like the traditional HISS tank than the POC version does.
The thing I love the most about this HISS? There’s a tiny sticker on there with a VIN number, and text saying “This number must be used when ordering service parts,” followed immediately by that same text… in Spanish.
HA! That’s seriously awesome.
the tank rocks but that figure means that i won’t be making a purchase. i understand the concept of hobbyists supporting the line but it gets to the point where your just throwing money away, no, i am saving up for a third sideshow viper thank you very much! now theres a figure i am down with!!!!
I also love that the chain guns can be moved up to just behind the cockpit. Thinking about grabbing another one cheap and using the guns from it to outfit a really badass version.
5 POA figure?
Uh-uh. Homie ain’t playin’.
Now, I know I’m a broken record on this, I’ve made my proclamations about the drivers before. This review just seals the deal for me—no-way, no how. Ain’t playin’.
Originally the Joe line was all about the vehicles and the drivers and single carded figures were secondary add-ons, but the tables have turned on that. Now the emphasis is on the figures and the vehicles are secondary………and yet the drivers herein are relegated to Happy Meal toys.
I think that freakin’ sucks, because the sculpts DO look nice. These would be bang-up figures IF they had more POAs.
There are things that could have been cut in the line ( spring-launched weapons for example) but it might have been retailer politics/demand that called for their inclusion.
A pity a chance could not have been taken and NOT included such ( useless) extras for once, and given us better driver figures. The spring-weapons feel like patronizing to consumers–but I don’t really know any more if kids truly dig that stuff. I have a small tub full of those spring-weapons and I’d just as soon toss the lot.
Ah well, this is what we got.
I haven’t pulled the trigger on a single Retaliation vehicle yet. I’m usually a sucker for bikes, AWE Strikers, and HISS tanks, but..I just can’t. And it isn’t just the drivers. Not sure I can quite put my finger on it. This review HAS made me consider going looking for a HISS tomorrow morning (ah, the freedom of summer vacation is so much sweeter for the teachers) but I’ll probably just stare at the box for 5 minutes and then leave it be.
I agree with you about the Cobra Commander “figure”. It has a really cool looking sculpt that Hasbro just ruined with the lack of articulation. Why did they even bother?
I, for one, love this HISS, much more than the POC versions across the board. I wasn’t a fan of the POC HISS drivers, so my purchases were never based on the drivers anyway. With this new HISS, I am seriously considering selling off my POC HISS tanks, as I feel these guys are a much better, playful, playable version. The weapons are awesome, that turret is exactly the call back to the OG HISS that I think was missing from POC, and the treads and lack of “pop-up” are actually boons in this case. Matched with the translucent canopy, and I am in HISS love. Great review, as usual, BTW.