Did not see a pictorial review for this guy, if there is one already please merge.

As a kid in the 80s I lived and breathed everything GIJOE. I love my transformers, but if I had to pick ONE franchise I had to dedicate to, it would be ARAH GIJOE. I'm a loooong time member of hisstank.com, and I would consider myself an expert on all things GIJOE. I've said many times my "ultimate toy" going back to when I was a kid til now, would be GIJOE toys that transformed.

GOOD ONES. Not some crappy shell of cheap plastic...or a jeep you just stand up..NO..from the time I was a kid til now I've ALWAYS wanted gijoe transformers. Hence why human alliance was one of my all time fav TF lines.

When this was announced I was nervous. Everything looked great at first...but then some of the early reviewers got this and really crapped all over it. I watched review after review..everyone hates it. Then I seen one guy review it..and he LOVED it. His kid and him played with it and loved it. That's just about when my preorder came in...

The reason many of the fans will shit on this..is simple. THIS WAS NOT DESIGNED FOR YOU. You may be a huge TF fan, that hates parts forming, believes (wrongly) rumble is blue, and you thought GIJOE was stupid because they shot lasers.

Well...I can tell you this is my new all time fav crossover, (I have a compete crossover collection minus ashoka) and this is one of, my all time favorite TFs now. I opened this with my son, now 14, and he told me flat out its one of the coolest transformers he's ever touched.

Presentation is killer. The box is nice, and I hope they all come like this. You get a CARDED O RING BARONESS, which will stay on the card..ive never had a carded oring baroness and this is amazing. Great inclusion.

The immediate thing that caught me, was that this isn't made with normal TF plastic bro. NO...this is made with the 80s style GIJOE plastic. THATS WHY, some are immediately turned off by it. I noticed it immediately. The grey plastic on megatron is the same type used for the main base of the tactical battle platform, and the black HISS plastic..is literally that tough ass plastic they made hisses out of.

Yes...ITS AMAZING. The sheer size of this toy is really impressive. Yes he has some articulation, but that's not why your here...your a Joe fan.. and they only way you can truly appreciate this toy is to have it in your hands. All the joints are perfect. No stickers, all paint and tampos...the hiss tank, is literally a solid BRICK, and when you shake it, the only thing that rattles are the tiny wheels. It's so solid as A HISS, the only real give away is the grey front between the treads, and the grey under the rear troop platform.

Transformers fans my not "get" this one..you may not like it. But for me, this is one of the best hasbro offerings I've seen in awhile. The overall quality if this toy is leaps and bounds better than anything I've bought from Hasbro in a long time.

If you ever laid on your belly and rolled a HISS, if you remember thinking "it must have tore up Snake eyes, when dicky and his LRRP team got slaughtered.." or "Major Bludd was SUCH a dick to shoot General Flagg in THE BACK?!?!" Then this toy is for you. Don't mind the pic of the canopy not closed all the way, it does, it CLICKS IN, and even has a new molded part on the canopy for a fingernail. Even the heel spurs are thick, durable and made of hiss treads, highly detailed. Yeah..there's hollow spots..but Megatron turns into a hiss. PERIOD.

It FEELS like a gijoe toy..its strong as a brick, "sturdy construction for rugged play" is in FULL EFFECT. JOE FANS...don't let this slip by...just get it. Having cobra commander in a HISS turret ON FREAKIN MEGATRON, commanding his troops is simply marvelous.

EDIT I noticed one of the shoulders I missed tabbing in all the way, thats my fault. when its all together the robot mode bricks just like the HISS. This thing is SOLID. Not Solid like "full of plastic" but buillt STRONG,a nd all the joints feel flawless. Im in love. ALSO< Used a modern POC hiss driver to show the new figs fit too.

 

I haven’t gotten a single crossover, but this one is very tempting. Thank you for the pics. You show it off better than what I had seen.

 

Great review and you really tackle something fundamental about this guy, Its made for Joe fans first.

I've seen reviewers unjustifiably shit on this figure because they never messed with a vintage Joe before so they hold Baroness up to the modern 3.75 standards and hold Megatron to a similarly high standard. This thing is Hiss Tank first and Megatron second, which is exactly what it is trying to be and what is supposed to be.

Can't wait to get one soon.

 

This is how I look at it and I'm content with it. Looking forward to Bumblebee AWE.

Would you have an original HISS tank? Curious if the Megs Tank and the HISS are 1:1 scale.

 

Could you put it next to a Leader or especially a Commander? Or any particularly large TFs? $90 is just a lot for me to swallow as a price, period, but if I can convince myself the size justifies the price (as hasn't been the case with... any of the other Crossover figures. Even if I was impressed by the figure it felt like a ripoff) then I could really get behind this. I could use a big Megatron. I want a HISS. This could work.

 

I have a couple HISSs, but they are boxes and sealed.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say this HISS, is 1000% 1:1 scale and a damn near flawless HISS. I've handled the original 80s mold enough...im here to tell you it will fit right next to another hiss and besides the 2 grey spots..its in disguise. Ill go so far as to say they used some of the panel lines on the original hiss to make the transformation breaks. To me..This one is really a MARVEL..but you have to kinda know the HISS to appreciate it. PLUS...its that TOUGH ASS Joe plastic..Even the small tread bits are just Diesel and tough, nothing will "fall off" or "pop off" of this figure any time soon. Im even warming up to the fusion cannon on top of the HISS.

Another thing, the original mold had a connector for the guns, the detent system usually broke, but these guns are just standard ports and they pop in without detent, and you can pose them at different angles, or take them off for your own guns or just the fusion cannon!

Here's a couple other bots for comparison. It's actually a tad taller than MP megatron.



Aaaaaaaaaaaannnnd we finally realize how forward thinking hasbro was...to give Duke the "O face"....its because he just watched a HISS transform into a walking war machine!

 

Nice. This might be the opposite of the other Crossovers where I'm not overtly impressed with the figure per se, but I feel like I'm getting $90 of toy from it.

Plus I'm getting more into 3.75 scale and have literally never owned a 3.75 scale vehicle and desperately want to change that.

What are the shortcomings in robot mode, though? The (oddly aggressive) review kinda didn't say that, only that it doesn't matter because "Joe first!"

 

If the backpack and canopy are really bothering you, Think of it this way, The ballitic canopy would not lend well to true transformation, So I got that covered...And you would NEVER let your Supreme Commander ride into battle without him being wrapped in an armored shell, So I can talk myself into that easy..

I can picture the conversations between Cobra Commander (MY cobra commander is the MArvel Cobra Commander that lands in Springfield and Kicks a dog...) giving commands to his troops and Megatron, Megatron fighting other Autobots, and Cobra Commander using the hiss cannons to take out human targets while Megatron Does work..

SOOOoooo gushing over this one.

great point.

OK..with my bias asides..

He has Hollow legs (from TFmation), and his forearms are hollow (Same Feet fold into them).

He has decent arm articulation, decent leg articulation, but no ankle tilt. no wrist swivel. I REALLY love the shoulder Armor. They Split the HISS Driver cab, and the floor board swivels up to become the TOP of his shoulder armor, and the rest wraps around, The armor moves, and so does the arm..its really pretty good for all thats going on there.

So..I fall back to yeah, This misses some of the key modern points TF fans REALLY look at these days..But for myself, Everything can be overlooked by the size and quality of what I bought. I REALLY thought this was gunna be a disappointment..But once I FELT it in hand..Shit started to change FAST. I even really like the gloss on this HISS too. You can see reflections in it its so nice. The original HISS did not have a gloss like THIS, but then again...THIS HISS is Cobra COmmanders Personal Ride..and Megatron is not a big fan of looking all dull n stuff  

 

I love this toy.

 

It's legit right? Besides the grey between the treads, it is a PERFECT hiss, isn't it? It even has a trailer hook!! All joe toys had it..that tells me a true joe fan had a part in this design.

 

Seems worthwhile to me. I've paid $40 for a mediocre Megatron that was half the size (CW) and am willing to shell out $30 for a HISS, and the combination seems to be more than the sum if its parts. I'll prolly pick this up.

 

100%. Like I said, I think it takes an 80s Joe fan to even realize its made of plastic we dont normally see anymore.

OK, Imma get a bit personal here, But I love this community and I have spoke of my son on these boards since he was born. My son is now 14, He grew up LOVING TFs and all of his and my toys..He is getting to the age where he just plays with his HALO MegaBlocks Guys and he makes stop motions, and plays video games..You know. Ill show him a new COOL Transformer, and he will look at it, MEH..He has ZERO interest.
Last Saturday when this Arrived, My daughter had a friend over for the night. So I told my son, "At some point tonight, You're MINE for about 45min ok?" He said no prob dad..I took the girls to a haunted house, did my fatherly chores, and then David and I went into the Dave Cave, Closed the door, and I popped this out of the shipping box.
He had NO Idea what it was, Just that he was sincerely excited that Megatron, HISS, and TRANSFORM, were All on the front of the box. He grabbed it, flipped it, Seen it TF'd and got up to the hobby desk to grab a knife, He cut around the "seal" and split the box, Then cut the inner, and when he opened it and seen how BIG Megatron was, He said "Holy SHIT, Dad.." I didnt even Bat an eye, Because Im pretty sure I said HOLY SHIT in my head.
He jumped up, got snips, handed me the carded Baroness..We talked about how Id like to keep it carded, I have enough of her..Just not an og Oringer...
He laid out the instructions, Got SO frustrated, Said "Im going solo..the Instructions are no good dad.." and he TF'd it, Put on the guns, and he handed it to me. The weight was impressive. I massaged it to truly BRICK it, and I was blown away. Opened the canopy..Detailed interior.. The Girls were upstairs content..we got lost..

This Chunky, Heavy, Gorgeous HISS, just came from THAT Megatron.

My son ran up and grabbed some of his older Cobras he has under his bed. We played with that thing for an hour and a half, when my wife got home from work and walked in on us.

One of the best days ive had like that in awhile. Effin Baddass I tell ya. This thing just absolutley charmed my boy right back into playing...I think this one is THAT cool of a toy. Its tough too. I would hand this to almost any kid, and as long as they didnt try to bend the canopy back, there is no way a kid could break this. Its freakin JOE TOUGH.

I cannot wait for the BeeStriker now, I will Haslab back a Skystriker Rattler Combo. I want a Mobat Steeler, A Vamp Clutch..Every one of em come with a carded O ring Joe????

Im SO in. All of em. What if Blasters minions were packRats? Serpentors Air Chariot, Turns into Battle armor for him? Im SO in..This is the 1st one, and the 1st ones usually suck, if this is the beginning, Then they are doin JUST fine. Bee comes with a carded Stalker right? Cant wait. Might start buying 2 of each, just to open them Brand spankin new Oring figs. People that are opening them Im SO jealous. Did they have that "New Joe Smell"? If you had joes back then you KNOW hwat im talkin bout..only O ring figures did it, because the rubber band was stuck in the bubble the whole time and New joes had this kinda.."Petroleum" smell to em that quickly went away.

 

Was looking at the pics in the thread, and noticed something, I can pry this part up, after I seen it was a separate part. I was really hoping for matching detail, with the modern pegs under it, but alas, that it's not the case.
So some 3rd party could make a part like this for modern pegs, or is it possible they did this for future repaint compatibility? Or was it just easier to mold that part with the pegs separately...

 

Does he have a holster or do you have the 25th Anniversary HISS Driver?? I read the 25th is tricky to get into a vintage HISS because of the holster and am wondering if that is the case here.

 

I dumped all my 25th stuff when it skyrocketed, now I have a few boxed gems I kept. The 25th was a bit tricky, but I'm pretty sure he did fit. I wanna say they even had a 25th driver with a vintage hiss. Pretty sure it was the clear box.

Yep..pretty sure he fit.

 

Did you actually pull that whole footwell panel off? I'm curious to see the underside of it. I want to sand the pegs down to fit the smaller foot holes on the Cobra figures I've got, but I have a sneaking suspicion that the pegs might actually be hollow, and sanding would leave me with holes instead of smaller pegs.

 

I tried to pop the little footage panel oit, but it's either glued or has a tough tab in in towards the middle. I didn't want to destroy it, but I was able to lift it enough to see there are NO holes left from the pegs. Yes, we can snip this footpeg, and swap it with the styrene rod for modern pegs.

It would work.

 

Mine should be here by this weekend. I was already looking forward to it, but this just ups the anticipation!

Are his weapons blast effect compatible?

 

Cannot wait to get mine, hope this line continues with 2-3 new figures a year.