Hey guise -

Picked up the Retaliation HISS today (gonna slap some Deceptaloid stickers on it and call it "Soundwave") - and it was quite a bit larger than I expected. I never bought the PoC Hiss - are they the same mold? Or are they at least similar in size?

If anyone can put up a side-by-side pic, that would be awesome.

Thanks!

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From photos, I believe the Retaliation HISS uses the same base body as the POC HISS with a new canopy and the additional weapons on the back. The POC HISS is pretty big compared to the vintage and even DTC HISS tanks.

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I think it's an entirely new sculpt based on similar designs. The body no longer has the gunner hatch in the back or steerings in the driver's seat... the elevation system is no longer there... the entire tread assembly is different...

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It's similar in body style to the PoC tank but it IS an entirely new, not just a retool as I had assumed. The chassis is identical between them but every other part is new though some details in the sculpts of the tanks are similar. Retaliation HISS took the inspiration of the Pursuit HISS but while gunner pod is a big step up, the treads and less detailed weaponry are steps back.

Yeah it is actually new. It's weird cause the mid-portion is the same and even has the various holes for the parts on the other HISS. The base part that holds the treads even has holes where the tubes attached. I guess it's possible they used the other HISS to build from and added the new parts. All the holes and such remained in place, so they got cast along with the rest. That's the best can determine. It's technically bigger than the previous HISS due to the guns and treads giving a slightly larger footprint. I like it over all. Not too bad of a tank.

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Well, crap - if I'd known they were this big, I might have snagged a couple when they were on clearance. Thinking they'd do well as a HYDRA/AIM vehicle. Off to Ross/Ebay, I guess....


Thanks, fellas!

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These just came out. They won't be on clearance for at least two weeks. Now the Ghost hawk 2...

I'm talking about the PoC HISSes that were clearanced all over the place at Ross and whatnot -- I passed on all of them because I thought they'd be tiny. I'd rather have the fully-functional ones than this current corner-cutting version, to be honest.

But yeah, that Ghost Hawk II doesn't even seem worth the $1.96 that I know it'll drop to in the next few days

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The PoC HISS is equal in quality to the Retaliation HISS IMO. They just each have different plusses and minuses. The working tracks on the PoC HISS are cool, but they don't work as well as they should, and the pop up gimmick is pretty lame. Plus the armament is limited to just side to side swiveling, whereas the Retaliation one can at least elevate the miniguns. I'm glad to have both. Though I would still like to get another one or two of the black PoC version.

Just snagged a Crimson HISS off eBay for $6 - gonna bash the best parts of each together and see how that goes.

Thanks again dudes!

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POC hiss trades do not work on the Retaliation under carriage.
In fact nothing is interchangeable. The Hiss Body is all new, you can't even swap the canopy.

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You have any need for the Horseman?

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So hasbro tooled up a completely new version of that vehicle with no real difference other than that cheesetastic little turret?

How is that cost effective?

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There are more differences than just the turret. The canopy, the additional weapons on the sides, the (crappy) treads. I'm just surprised they tooled up a new base body that looks so much like the POC version. Why not take the POC HISS body and build off that?

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Maybe they're using Enron math?

Seriously, my theory is that the cost of the new molds (a one time expense) is probably cheaper than using the PoC molds for large production runs. In other words, to produce 50 000 (Made up number, I have no inside info) PoC HISSes (with rubber treads, spring up feature, etc) is more expensive for Hasbro than to produce the same number of Ret HISSes (including the new tooling). Basically, by simplifying the design, they're saving in labour costs to have them assembled. New HISS has fewer parts than old HISS, so it's cheaper to produce. Add the fact that the driver is now cheaper as well, the box design (structure) is simplified and they're producing a larger number of units than with PoC and that adds up to the fact that it's advantageous to Hasbro to have retooled it completely. That's my theory anyway.

OB

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