I remember sending off a massive glut of GI JOE Flag Points to order 4 Cobra Hiss tanks and 4 ASPS for them to haul from behind (never really knew what to make of the ASP but anyway) and 4 GI Joe Sluggers). After a period of time had elapsed in excess of the normal shipping time (I was big into mail ordering GI Joe weapons as I considered the 1983-1984 weapon systems the best) I wrote the company explaining I had not received my order yet. The company replied saying they shipped it but just to make sure they reshipped it. Within another few weeks I'd received both shipments! Talk about a kid in a candy store! #Goodtimes
Um grande abraço aqui do Brasil. Eu tinha este tanque e mais um monte de bonecos. Eu também tinha o caça. Tempo bom que não volta. Hoje as crianças só querem ficar no eletrônico.
The HISS is iconic. It was a bit small compared to the MOBAT or the Mauler, but I think it's role was more towards urban combat and fast attack tactics. When I first got one I loved the taller stature and all black color scheme (with red emblems). Knowing that it could hit 70 mph is pretty cool. Thanks for the great video. Note: I often question the blueprint details. 90 mm shells would be a bitch to reload for one operator.
This was the one vehicle that I wanted when I was a kid and was never able to get. I saw it at a store one time. Pleaded and begged my mother to get it for me. The answer was no. So this will be the first time I'll get to see this toy out of the box. Thanks
great video, as for the vehicle itself, if Cobra contracted Destro to design it, he took inspiration from "how not to build an armored vehicle". As a former US Army Armored crew member, I can assure you, we would love it if our enemies drove this, it's an easy target with multiple week points, the reverse slope front end, high silhouette, flat sides, as well as the exposed tank gunner or commander, the final drive for the track is either the high front or the lower back, this means the engine is either in the middle of the tank or they are using a drive line to power the drive sprockets, both are bad ideas. now in a normal tank if you hit the brakes hard your crew will be angry with you, since they are all higher than you, and the momentum of the tank stopping suddenly slams everyone into the gunsights, machine gun mounts and metal turret guards, this thing may just fall over forward. It's no wonder in the cartoons GI joe took theese things out in droves :D
Ahhh...but did you ever come up against a tank that could drive 70 mph and with shell proof canopy? NO, they Destro would unmake your Abrahms in a heartbeat!!!!
Richard DeShirlia : A lot of these toy vehicles overly expose one or more of the crew. I think Hasbro wanted kids to see the figures inside. I also expect they made sure some of the enemy vehicles had built in flaws that offset any advantages they might otherwise have; to stack the deck in the Joe's favor. They want the heroes to win after all.
i had 4 or 5 different paint schemes for this hiss molding. i had a black(this one), light blue, red and dark blue.i would also remove the turret and put a few figures inside.
Great review! My friend had one of these as a child, I was in such awe struck over it. I just looked at my Hiss Tanks, never knew my White sticker version was a mail away, interesting.
Great toy. Great review. As an 80s boy I can attest to the unfortunate reality of Floppy Cannon Syndrome. They just dont stay as perky as they did 20 years ago.
To answer one of your previous questions HCC there's a COBRA member named RIP IT who wears a dark COBRA blue uniform based on the H.I.S.S. Tank Driver's uniform. His uniform also has the silver COBRA logo on the front. He's a named character and ranking officer who commands the H.I.S.S. 3. Check out YO JOE.COM and go to the 2007 figure line up, scroll up, and you should see him. He's usually associated with Lt Clay Moore. I hope this helps.
Talking about the "shell proof windshield" ballistic tests proof pretty well that due to the angle of the cockpit, a guy shooting from ground level would mostly ricochet rounds off the windshield. With that being said artillery, would be the biggest threat. Snipers maybe. But the his is nicely defended.
If memory serves a tank commander in a normal army would be a sergeant, with a first lieutenant commanding an armoured platoon (i.e. four tanks). So you're right, lieutenant colonel is way, waaaay too high for a tank commander. Lieutenant colonels would be in charge of a tank regiment and would normally be in their mid to late 30s. And yes, it is a very bad design for a tank. If they'd at least made the tracks longer towards the front of the vehicle, then it would've been far more stable, and maybe even a pretty good design for traversing harsh terrain. As is, it's too nose heavy and stands a good chance of toppling forward. The canopy also needs to be fully armour plated with a view port in order to make the driver less vulnerable. The gunner would need to be placed further down into the tank, with a flip up lid to protect him from gunfire, maybe with cameras to show where the gun's aiming.
Ah Ye Olde HISS tank, cheap, paper thin armor, twin 90mm cannon. Look the MOBAT was outfitted with a 130mm cannon, and the Mauler with a 125mm cannon, the HISS tank is basicly a light tank fighting far superior MBT's. The cockpit looks like it could fail to standard RIFLE rounds.
I think they got lazy with the blueprint details on the guns. They look closer to 25mm, like the single gun on the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, which is probably a good real world equivalent, though the Bradley's crew is much better protected!
while nothing may be as iconic to cobra (or the line itself) as the HISS tank...i do have several problems with it. While i do love the design...having only one gun turret is a let down...especially considering the toy line was OBSESSED with missles! A chin gun would have done wonders! this tank seems severely under-powered offensively. I dare say that this is mid tier at best but nostalgic love for this makes me more forgiving as i ought to be. Destro's demon tanks, several joe tanks, and even the dreadnaughts thundermachine severely outclass this IMHO but i cant get past the soft spot i have for this particular tank. Top tier in my book..even tho maybe it doesnt deserve that designation.
As a kid, I found the unique wrist bands of the HISS tank driver interesting. I interpreted them as being weaponized. It looked like each wrist had some kind of small spring loaded weapon that fired some kind of spinning projectile on a wire. Just a thought. Again, as a kid, I was really into the idea of wrist weaponry and I really dug the HISS driver so I didn't want him to be defenseless. Although, I'm sure a total dedication to evil makes you a pretty tough customer even without a weapon^^.
The hiss driver looks good with any vehicle, get 3 fangs. 1 with CC, 1 with the Hiss driver, and the last one with a special character( Baroness, Zartan, CO, anyone who qualifies for the rule of cool.)
It's more of a tracked vehicle than a tank. It's way too high profile and has far too much of the treads exposed in the front of the vehicle. You wouldn't even need to take out the driver, just a few well placed shots to the treads in front. However, it is an iconic, instantly recognizable design, which is far more important from a toy design standpoint.
High Speed Sentry was kind of campy sounding to me when I got mine; I gave my H.I.S.S. a more impressive acrostic name- Heavy Intraterritorial Strategic Striketank
HCC, I just purchased a white HISS Tank, turret missing as well as the driver. The date stamp on the bottom is from '04. I haven't found anything online about it. Would you happen to know anything about it? Help me "Joe"-bi Won Kenobi, you're my only hope.
I assume that's the Arctic Hiss from 2009. If it's date stamped 2004, then they were probably using the same mold as the Operation Crimson Sabotage HISS from '04. Sometimes they don't bother to update the date stamps. www.yojoe.com/vehicles/09/arctichiss/
my take on the hiss is that it's an occupation vehicle w/ ATV capabilities . since Cobra is terrorist organization & not a legitimate army. the Hiss fills a vital role necessary to Cobra to strike fear in the hearts of the ppl they've conquered & subdued & doubles as a cruising vehicle to survey & secure, and might have some speed for pursuit. it's a terror vehicle to bully smaller targets.
Honestly, who puts a clear canopy on a tank?! The gunner is once again exposed, life expectancy in most of COBRA's vehicles could be measure in minuets if not seconds! Also, if Destro is their main weapons supplier, couldn't he or the Xamot twins pull some strings with the Soviet government and acquire some T-72 or T-80 tanks?
I remember sending off a massive glut of GI JOE Flag Points to order 4 Cobra Hiss tanks and 4 ASPS for them to haul from behind (never really knew what to make of the ASP but anyway) and 4 GI Joe Sluggers). After a period of time had elapsed in excess of the normal shipping time (I was big into mail ordering GI Joe weapons as I considered the 1983-1984 weapon systems the best) I wrote the company explaining I had not received my order yet. The company replied saying they shipped it but just to make sure they reshipped it. Within another few weeks I'd received both shipments! Talk about a kid in a candy store! #Goodtimes
Totally epic!
Um grande abraço aqui do Brasil. Eu tinha este tanque e mais um monte de bonecos. Eu também tinha o caça. Tempo bom que não volta. Hoje as crianças só querem ficar no eletrônico.
Three packages arrived... waiting for my son... One of the boxes is huge! Huge enough to be the two H..I.S.S. tanks!
My first GIJoe vehicle Christmas 1983!
Mixing Viagra in with the fuel, helps with the floppy cannon syndrome.
That's funny😀
The HISS is iconic. It was a bit small compared to the MOBAT or the Mauler, but I think it's role was more towards urban combat and fast attack tactics. When I first got one I loved the taller stature and all black color scheme (with red emblems). Knowing that it could hit 70 mph is pretty cool. Thanks for the great video. Note: I often question the blueprint details. 90 mm shells would be a bitch to reload for one operator.
sam torres and that glass windshield would make for a frightening experience on the battlefield
This was the one vehicle that I wanted when I was a kid and was never able to get. I saw it at a store one time.
Pleaded and begged my mother to get it for me. The answer was no. So this will be the first time I'll get to see this toy out of the box.
Thanks
Between the canopy and the gun seat, the HISS is certainly one of the most dangerous (to the crew) vehicles ever!
The Hiss tank was the first vehicle I ever owned I loved that thing .brings back good memories
great video, as for the vehicle itself, if Cobra contracted Destro to design it, he took inspiration from "how not to build an armored vehicle". As a former US Army Armored crew member, I can assure you, we would love it if our enemies drove this, it's an easy target with multiple week points, the reverse slope front end, high silhouette, flat sides, as well as the exposed tank gunner or commander, the final drive for the track is either the high front or the lower back, this means the engine is either in the middle of the tank or they are using a drive line to power the drive sprockets, both are bad ideas. now in a normal tank if you hit the brakes hard your crew will be angry with you, since they are all higher than you, and the momentum of the tank stopping suddenly slams everyone into the gunsights, machine gun mounts and metal turret guards, this thing may just fall over forward. It's no wonder in the cartoons GI joe took theese things out in droves :D
Ahhh...but did you ever come up against a tank that could drive 70 mph and with shell proof canopy? NO, they Destro would unmake your Abrahms in a heartbeat!!!!
Richard DeShirlia : A lot of these toy vehicles overly expose one or more of the crew. I think Hasbro wanted kids to see the figures inside. I also expect they made sure some of the enemy vehicles had built in flaws that offset any advantages they might otherwise have; to stack the deck in the Joe's favor. They want the heroes to win after all.
They should have made it slightly longer and wider with a back compartment and made it the COBRA Armored Personnel Carrier.
I always loved the HISS. It was one of my fave toy designs even though that canopy was a bit ridiculous as you pointed out. Cool video!
Always liked the HISS tank and the FANG.
I just remembered: we used to joke that HISS Driver's snake spine on the helmet looked like Mr. T.'s mohawk. It was 1983 after all!
i had 4 or 5 different paint schemes for this hiss molding. i had a black(this one), light blue, red and dark blue.i would also remove the turret and put a few figures inside.
Great review! My friend had one of these as a child, I was in such awe struck over it. I just looked at my Hiss Tanks, never knew my White sticker version was a mail away, interesting.
Great toy. Great review. As an 80s boy I can attest to the unfortunate reality of Floppy Cannon Syndrome. They just dont stay as perky as they did 20 years ago.
Does anyone remember the dual turret H.I.S.S. tank from the cartoon? Always loved that version.
To answer one of your previous questions HCC there's a COBRA member named RIP IT who wears a dark COBRA blue uniform based on the H.I.S.S. Tank Driver's uniform. His uniform also has the silver COBRA logo on the front. He's a named character and ranking officer who commands the H.I.S.S. 3. Check out YO JOE.COM and go to the 2007 figure line up, scroll up, and you should see him. He's usually associated with Lt Clay Moore. I hope this helps.
Talking about the "shell proof windshield" ballistic tests proof pretty well that due to the angle of the cockpit, a guy shooting from ground level would mostly ricochet rounds off the windshield. With that being said artillery, would be the biggest threat. Snipers maybe. But the his is nicely defended.
Ohh, can you do a hiss 2 tank?
I love the 80’s car frontend
If memory serves a tank commander in a normal army would be a sergeant, with a first lieutenant commanding an armoured platoon (i.e. four tanks). So you're right, lieutenant colonel is way, waaaay too high for a tank commander. Lieutenant colonels would be in charge of a tank regiment and would normally be in their mid to late 30s.
And yes, it is a very bad design for a tank. If they'd at least made the tracks longer towards the front of the vehicle, then it would've been far more stable, and maybe even a pretty good design for traversing harsh terrain. As is, it's too nose heavy and stands a good chance of toppling forward. The canopy also needs to be fully armour plated with a view port in order to make the driver less vulnerable. The gunner would need to be placed further down into the tank, with a flip up lid to protect him from gunfire, maybe with cameras to show where the gun's aiming.
Thanks to this video. I got me a hiss tank with driver.
Thanks to this video I got myself a complete his tank.
The HISS is a great design ...legend and iconic
Ah Ye Olde HISS tank, cheap, paper thin armor, twin 90mm cannon. Look the MOBAT was outfitted with a 130mm cannon, and the Mauler with a 125mm cannon, the HISS tank is basicly a light tank fighting far superior MBT's. The cockpit looks like it could fail to standard RIFLE rounds.
I think they got lazy with the blueprint details on the guns. They look closer to 25mm, like the single gun on the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, which is probably a good real world equivalent, though the Bradley's crew is much better protected!
Yeah I always saw the HISS guns as something in the 20 to 30mm size.
i feel like HISS should be an APC instead of a "tank".
while nothing may be as iconic to cobra (or the line itself) as the HISS tank...i do have several problems with it. While i do love the design...having only one gun turret is a let down...especially considering the toy line was OBSESSED with missles! A chin gun would have done wonders! this tank seems severely under-powered offensively. I dare say that this is mid tier at best but nostalgic love for this makes me more forgiving as i ought to be. Destro's demon tanks, several joe tanks, and even the dreadnaughts thundermachine severely outclass this IMHO but i cant get past the soft spot i have for this particular tank. Top tier in my book..even tho maybe it doesnt deserve that designation.
Oh man I was so fucking excited when I opened that up for Christmas.
Cool video! I have played hours and hours with that Tank! Lovely memories.
As a kid, I found the unique wrist bands of the HISS tank driver interesting. I interpreted them as being weaponized. It looked like each wrist had some kind of small spring loaded weapon that fired some kind of spinning projectile on a wire. Just a thought. Again, as a kid, I was really into the idea of wrist weaponry and I really dug the HISS driver so I didn't want him to be defenseless. Although, I'm sure a total dedication to evil makes you a pretty tough customer even without a weapon^^.
I love the Hiss tank I wish I had it
I have the Hiss Tank and I did a price guide review for it! I do not have the driver though!
Super spiffy! 788 - and now I know! This knowing is half the Hooded Cobra Commander!
The hiss driver looks good with any vehicle, get 3 fangs. 1 with CC, 1 with the Hiss driver, and the last one with a special character( Baroness, Zartan, CO, anyone who qualifies for the rule of cool.)
Cobra H.I.S.S driver: my very first Gi joe figure.
8:35 I never liked that design feature, Recondo was the only exception...cause he was just THAT BADASS!
Great review. The driver could have been considered part of the Crimson Guard.
Great video!
It's more of a tracked vehicle than a tank. It's way too high profile and has far too much of the treads exposed in the front of the vehicle. You wouldn't even need to take out the driver, just a few well placed shots to the treads in front. However, it is an iconic, instantly recognizable design, which is far more important from a toy design standpoint.
Where is the video for repair the canons?
An *evil* disco dancing sci-fi tank driver! Definitely Destro is behind this.
I have HISSTANK&HoodCobraCommander
Loved the Hiss but its 1 of the biggest fails in vehicle history. Rubber treads woulda been rad.
Why is 788 the # of the tank? Is that a model #?
Curious how the new retro walmart hiss stacks up against the classic
I just bought one, its fucking awesome
It can stop a shell if its made out of transparent aluminum!
High Speed Sentry was kind of campy sounding to me when I got mine; I gave my H.I.S.S. a more impressive acrostic name- Heavy Intraterritorial Strategic Striketank
I think the Cobra troopers call it "Hope It's Still Standing." Ya know.. because it gets blow up a lot.
Good point! ROTFLMAO
HCC, I just purchased a white HISS Tank, turret missing as well as the driver. The date stamp on the bottom is from '04. I haven't found anything online about it. Would you happen to know anything about it? Help me "Joe"-bi Won Kenobi, you're my only hope.
I assume that's the Arctic Hiss from 2009. If it's date stamped 2004, then they were probably using the same mold as the Operation Crimson Sabotage HISS from '04. Sometimes they don't bother to update the date stamps.
www.yojoe.com/vehicles/09/arctichiss/
Just bought one.
Transparent aluminum, old chap.
over time you may develop floppy cannons lol
DISCO DANCE!!! Hahahaha!
Where?
my take on the hiss is that it's an occupation vehicle w/ ATV capabilities . since Cobra is terrorist organization & not a legitimate army. the Hiss fills a vital role necessary to Cobra to strike fear in the hearts of the ppl they've conquered & subdued & doubles as a cruising vehicle to survey & secure, and might have some speed for pursuit. it's a terror vehicle to bully smaller targets.
It's just a toy.
My Cobra Hiss Driver has the Red Cobra Symbol on his chest and not the silver one. Anyone else has this variant?
I'm not aware of that variant. Maybe it is a modern version. I don't know.
I know a soldering gun go right through it
never got the appeal of this one
Honestly, who puts a clear canopy on a tank?! The gunner is once again exposed, life expectancy in most of COBRA's vehicles could be measure in minuets if not seconds! Also, if Destro is their main weapons supplier, couldn't he or the Xamot twins pull some strings with the Soviet government and acquire some T-72 or T-80 tanks?
Max Brandt Its not really even a tank, it is an APC
BEWARE! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!