HISS With HISS Commander G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary Review

[Shogi]

This Hiss is the exact same mold as the Blue Target Hiss. The vehicle is mostly the same as the Operation Crimson Sabotage set from 2004. The changes this time around (as in the Target Hiss) are the foot pegs on the back are smaller to accommodate the newer holes in the feet and the seat in the cockpit has been pushed back to allow the slightly larger figures to fit in there.

Unfortunately the width of the cockpit is still the same so it’s a tight fit for figures to fit in there, especially the Hiss Driver with the large gun holster on his leg. I would have liked some more added details like the other vehicles got, but a re-release of a classic vehicle with mods to make new figure fit in it is good too.

Vehicle Rating: 7 out of 10

[Shogi]

Back in 2001 I found a Hiss at TRU with a blue driver called Rip-It. Now the Hiss Driver being mostly in red and the rest of the original Cobra army being in blue always bothered me, so seeing a blue Hiss Driver was awesome (I also like the color blue) so it's no wonder that when the new 25th Hiss came out with a blue Hiss Commander, I was stoked!

The Hiss Commander's body is the exact same mold as the Hiss Driver, it just has a different paint scheme with blue being the main color instead of red. The head has a slight change to it from the Hiss Driver's head. While the ridge in the middle of the Hiss Driver's head ends in a point above the visor, the Hiss Commander's ridge ends in a wide triangle above the visor. At first glance it seems to be painted to look like Rip-It, but there are some changes. In fact the only thing they have in common to their color is the blue part of the uniform! There are silver highlights on the head, torso, wrists and the boots are completely silver. The silver on the boots shows the detail of the sculpt a lot better than the black boots of the Hiss Driver. The red on the chest plate adds a nice contrast with the silver Cobra sigil. The only problem I have with this figure is the same one I have with the Hiss Driver, the pads on the arms are quilted. It's a minor nitpick, but I would have liked them to be flat like the chest. The Hiss Commander comes with a Pistol and a Cobra Stand with his name on it.

All in all, this is a great figure that I've army built more of than the Hiss Driver itself. Something odd I've noticed with both of mine is that the removable belts have been put on upside down


Figure Rating: 8 ½ out of 10

[VIPER 48]

Thanks for the review. I am looking forward to getting this...

[Zefram]

I'm glad to hear the seat was pushed back a bit. I had a hell of a time getting the driver to fit in the Target blue Hiss.

[Shin-Gouki]

It's the same dimensions as the Target HISS

[Zefram]

*sigh* -_-

[Trigue]

Great review and good pictures. Just picked up a HISS today at Wal-Mart, they was out of everything except two HISS Drivers and this HISS. My only complaint, isnt really a complaint more of a wish, is that with the new HISS is that they didnt put in a headlight like with the RAM, Armadillo and VAMP. They've spoiled me hehe.

Mine also had the upside down belt, also the rubber bands holding the turret broke the two pegs inside that position the gun.

[t34bag]

they are the same body style but the blue HISS commanders helmet has a silver arrow-tip pointing down at the eye-brow level, the Driver does not. minor difference.

:)

[BigErn]

Once again a great review Shogi, thanks. I thought I should add that the Hiss Commader's head is slightly different than the Hiss Driver. The details coming down the center of the helmet end just above the visor on both figures are slightly different. The Hiss Commader's ends with an upside down triangle and the Hiss Driver's ends with, well with something more in line with the pattern.

edit t34bag beat me to it.

[Shogi]

they are the same body style but the blue HISS commanders helmet has a silver arrow-tip pointing down at the eye-brow level, the Driver does not. minor difference.

:)

Once again a great review Shogi, thanks. I thought I should add that the Hiss Commader's head is slightly different than the Hiss Driver. The details coming down the center of the helmet end just above the visor on both figures are slightly different. The Hiss Commader's ends with an upside down triangle and the Hiss Driver's ends with, well with something more in line with the pattern.

edit t34bag beat me to it.


Great catch guys! I never even noticed that!

I've updated the review to reflect the new info

[BigErn]

The only reason I noticed was the silver over-spray on the pics of the Hiss Commader's helmet. I don't have an opened Hiss yet so I looked at my Hiss Driver to check for over-spray and saw the differance. It's actually pretty cool they made at least a tiny change in what is essentially the same figure.

[Unclassified]

hey did any bodies hiss's stickers come crooked the ones put on at the factory. i think every one of mine has crooked stickers. an then the other side in which i did is perfect. i wish they would jus leave the one side down an not attempt to apply em . like the old days, when we used to put em on crooked ourselves! :)

[Metroponok74]

Ahh the good ole days, you got to do everything, check out the blueprints, put it together, add crooked stickers, even applying some to spots you felt just looked better there......Hell half the fun was just trying to get them on perfectly, and always seeming to have that one you just couldn't get just right

[sweeper]

I broke the foot off an old Scrap Iron figure. It happened when I tried to force it on the back peg of a Crimson Sabotage HISS. The foot blew off n' went zinging across the room. It shattered in the middle. So I glued the front end of his foot back on. He's all better now. Good times.

[Crimson Rage]

Funny thing about the upsidedown belt. Mine was too and I thought it would be a one-off, but to hear they all are... I hadn't noticed the helmet difference either until now. I'd make a rubbish detective!

I can't fault the HISS. It's been pretty well perfect from the beginning so is still cool 25 years later. Only little things annoy me (the white Cobra stickers and the moulded "x's" on the cockpit seat) but the logos at least are easily fixed thanks to CobraStickers.

[Elite Force Cobra]

thanks for the great review

[Gung.Heaux]

I'm glad to hear the seat was pushed back a bit. I had a hell of a time getting the driver to fit in the Target blue Hiss.

its the same mold as the target HISS...looks like another hell of a time for you my friend.

[HIT'n'RUN]

Nice review. I was highly disappointed that the Target HISS would not fit a 25th figure, without a lot of cramming.

So i had doubts about getting this version, but, it seems this one worked fine with the driver included.

More HISS are always a good thing anyway right?

[wheeljaxx]

i can fit my figures in there fine, you just have to position the feet and lower legs like they are driving with peddles and not stretched out all the way.

[darthdrew13]

For this HISS, I wish they would have made molded headlights instead of stickers, and red Cobra logos instead of white. Other than that, I'm good. Bring on the Skystriker! (F-14 ONLY, the F-18 custom looks good, but the F-14 is waaaaayyyy better).

[JR0d28]

huhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuh You said RIP-IT!!

[whiteknight]

Good review, Shogi. When the Target exclusives first came out, I wanted the HISS. I hesitated because of the light blue color. But when I got wind of this black version, I definitely waited. Good thing some specialty stores here in the Philippines get these things, albeit at twice the price. I will probably NEVER see the vehicles on the mainstream retailers. Heck, I'm having a hard time getting the figures, with some mook hoarding them and selling them through the specialty stores at twice the price.

[arch2b]

Good review, Shogi. When the Target exclusives first came out, I wanted the HISS. I hesitated because of the light blue color. But when I got wind of this black version, I definitely waited. Good thing some specialty stores here in the Philippines get these things, albeit at twice the price. I will probably NEVER see the vehicles on the mainstream retailers. Heck, I'm having a hard time getting the figures, with some mook hoarding them and selling them through the specialty stores at twice the price.

is it difficult to mail things to the phillipines? if not, i would pick up some for you at my cost. these are not terribly hard to find here. with shipping however, it would likely add up about what you pay there though. that sucks. unless you buy a couple? is there any savings on multiples?

[whiteknight]

is it difficult to mail things to the phillipines? if not, i would pick up some for you at my cost. these are not terribly hard to find here. with shipping however, it would likely add up about what you pay there though. that sucks. unless you buy a couple? is there any savings on multiples?

Thanks for the offer, arch. I'm currently experimenting with a shipping company I recently found out about where I order stuff on-line and have the stuff sent to their warehouse in CA. When all the orders are in, they'll send all the stuff in a box and it'll reach me in a month or so. Sea freight allows consolidation and has lesser weight considerations. They charge more for bulk than anything else. So, potentially, yes, there could be savings in multiples, but I've yet to do the numbers.

[Lightning LA]

Great Review.I love this new Hiss,i'm going to definitely grab up a few of them!And it's hard to believe I can go to a Store,and buy a brand spanking new Black Hiss!I feel like a Kid again,I didn't think i'd ever see a brand new Black Hiss again.Now just give me a new Stinger,and i'll be one happy Camper!!

[sweeper]

This is better than the '83 black HISS. Dark gray cannons & lower half, which I didn't even notice until I saw one up close. It would SURE be nice if hasbro could just stick with 1 peg hole diameter for all their figs. But I would rather have pegholes that are too small than too big.

And having to carefully peel off n' re-apply the stickers. Because they were put on crooked. Thanks to repro stickers it's an easy fix. Other than those 2 minor beefaronis I have, it's great. Rip-It belongs in the blue hiss, that's where I put him.

[Dreadnoks-R-Go]

Does anyone know why Hasbro went with "001" sticker on the tank and not "788" that's on the box and on the file card?

P.S. The factory slapping on some stickers was a bad idea! As a kid I loved carefully applying the stickers to the vehicles and I still do! Gotta get those twissers out!

[Rodimus Prime]

hey did any bodies hiss's stickers come crooked the ones put on at the factory. i think every one of mine has crooked stickers. an then the other side in which i did is perfect. i wish they would jus leave the one side down an not attempt to apply em . like the old days, when we used to put em on crooked ourselves! :)

Nice to know that I wasn't the only one. Actually this happened with a lot of the vehicles I got, so I ended up having to carefully take them off and reapply them correctly...

[Monkeywrench]

I love the Rip It figure

[Fast_Draw]

overall, I like it. I was hoping for an all black "generic" type version as opposed to this one that is meant to be the only since he's the commander and the tank is 001. The Target one is nice, but the figure wasn't anything to write home about and the blue body is just alright. I really like both the Hiss Tank driver and Rip-It.

Slightly disappointed to hear about the arctic Hiss...not really sure if that's even practical. I can't see the Hiss doing too well in the snow. I think they could have given us a different arctic vehicle and given us the "generic" all black army building type Hiss.

[C.G. Immortal]

Yup, the red HISS driver is cool. But I love the blue HISS Com.

[arch2b]

overall, I like it. I was hoping for an all black "generic" type version as opposed to this one that is meant to be the only since he's the commander and the tank is 001. The Target one is nice, but the figure wasn't anything to write home about and the blue body is just alright. I really like both the Hiss Tank driver and Rip-It.

Slightly disappointed to hear about the arctic Hiss...not really sure if that's even practical. I can't see the Hiss doing too well in the snow. I think they could have given us a different arctic vehicle and given us the "generic" all black army building type Hiss.

the cartoon routinely used vehicles in very impractical situations.
thake the drednoks with thier motorcycles at the icy north along with many joe tracked vehicles as well (mass device/pyramid of darkness). they there is the skystriker with added booster for space travel (episode with cobra tv broadcasting space station)... there are too many references to begin to scratch the surface.