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06-30-2022, 06:11 PM | #1 |
US military family
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Fort Campbell, Kentucky
Posts: 2,214
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Let me open this thread by saying I am completely enamored by the masterpiece which is the HasLab H.I.S.S. tank, and the only reason I am not purchasing one is because it is not 1:18 scale compatible. Other than that reason, I consider this purchase a must have for any Classified series collector who can afford one (or more).
With every new version of a G.I. Joe line vehicle, I objectively consider the upgrades and improvements over previous versions. Is this new design for the H.I.S.S. tank an upgrade or a downgrade from the original iconic version? The 1983 H.I.S.S. tank had the drive bogey in the rear, with an upper and lower idler bogey in the front. The transmission ran horizontally under the centerline from the engine in the front bottom to the drive sprocket in the rear. Heat and exhaust ran upwards and vented out at the engine radiator at the top between the driver area and the gun turret. The HasLab H.I.S.S. tank has the drive bogey in the top front, with a four lower idler bogeys below atop the treads. The transmission runs vertically from the HISS-CS22 engine at the front where the radiator used to be, down to the drive sprocket at high front wheel. Heat and exhaust are vented to the sides through the front areas of the skirts, which are sometimes below the water line. This causes the HasLab H.I.S.S. tank to often stall in wet and muddy areas. The presence of the drive sprocket up front makes it more vulnerable to damage. I don't even pretend to know what sort of transmission problems a vertical tank transmission would experience, but you can use your imaginations with that one, considering vibration and shock. The reason that drive sprockets are now almost always at the rear of the vehicle is to prevent premature track and undercarriage wear. If the drive is at the front, there is more power consumption (slower/weaker tank) because the drive sprocket must pull the track along the top carrier rollers and around a rear idler, and finally to the ground. This method has much tension on the track all the way around, causing heavy wear on track pins and bushing as well as idlers and carriers. But the original H.I.S.S. tank had the drive bogey at the back and idlers at the front to pull the track along the ground and sort of throw the track up at the back, and so the track is loose riding along the top when moving forward. The 1983 H.I.S.S. tank offered the gunner some protection from landmines, but the HasLab H.I.S.S. tank does not. The steel floor of the troop compartment is directly at blast level, killing the gunner and occupants when it rolls over a mine. The 1983 H.I.S.S. tank had ground equipment lockers on either side of the exterior, and the HasLab H.I.S.S. tank has them more easily accessible inside, in the form of storage racks. The 1983 H.I.S.S. tank had twin 30 mm Diablo guns, which could be brought upon a target with lethal effect, but the HasLab H.I.S.S. tank has weapons which elevate or swivel independently, for a less accurate/less lethal effect when aimed in various directions. The 1983 H.I.S.S. tank had a pair of self-sealing fuel canisters located deep in the rear above the treads on either side of the vehicle, mostly well protected by armor, but the HasLab H.I.S.S. tank seems to have completely forgotten about fuel, being more of a sentry box than a tank. Where there should be some fuel cannisters, there are now two mount points for the optional missile racks. The good news is that there are many improvements to the HasLab H.I.S.S. tank which the 1983 version sorely lacked. The rear personnel platform had no rails or grips, so the passengers were tossed off of the platform like they were riding a mechanical bull at a saloon. The driver would have to execute a powerful dead hang pull-up just to attempt to get back inside if he was doing so away from a step ladder or loading platform. Drivers were exposed to enemy fire with both versions, but the gull-wing frame of the HasLab H.I.S.S. tank offers increased chance of bullet defection and a stronger reinforced canopy. Are there any other design changes which I have overlooked? Possibly. Let's hear them.
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... freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. The only way they can inherit the freedom we have known is if we fight for it, protect it, defend it and then hand it to them with the well thought lessons of how they in their lifetime must do the same... - Ronald Reagan |
07-01-2022, 07:16 PM | #2 |
US military family
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Fort Campbell, Kentucky
Posts: 2,214
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When comparing and contrasting the H.I.S.S. tank (High Speed Sentry) vs. the L.O.S.S. tank (Low Speed Sentry), I have overlooked one obvious feature. Okay, somebody might take offense at my sense of humor, so let me more accurately change that to the 1983 H.I.S.S. tank vs. the HasLab H.I.S.S. tank, which has similar, yet different, lighting systems.
Both of them have the forward-facing Tungsten Spotlights, which not only lights the way, but allows the tanks added concealment when they hide behind a wall of light, similar to the tactics used by law enforcement during some traffic stops. But the HasLab H.I.S.S. tank offers even more lights. Installed on the underside of the Spotlight Shroud are additional spotlights! These are described as the tank Fog Lights. The HasLab H.I.S.S. tank has added rear Cobra convoy lights, which are very nice, but seem a little bright for a tactical convoy movement. Maybe if these could be made to be dimmer... And the best for last, the HasLab H.I.S.S. tank now features the Cobra Insignia Beacon. When I first saw it, I thought of it as just an amusing Bat-Signal type display, but changed my mind the other night when I had this dream about it... I envisioned six of these HasLab H.I.S.S. tanks finding a level clearing at night to form a large circle, facing inward projecting their Cobra Insignia Beacons with turrets facing outward, forming a security perimeter. Then a large Cobra Helicopter or VTOL capable aircraft descended into the LZ. It was magnificent. Of course, there is the Sunbow-esque description of illuminator intimidator rays built into the Cobra Insignia Beacon to send their opponents cowering in fear, but I prefer to think of them as Landing Zone indicator lights.
__________________
... freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. The only way they can inherit the freedom we have known is if we fight for it, protect it, defend it and then hand it to them with the well thought lessons of how they in their lifetime must do the same... - Ronald Reagan |
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