hiss – European Joe's

More than meets the eye.

I went on a trip recently, spending 5hr on a plane. To pass the time, I downloaded several movies and series onto my iPad. One of them was the entire run of Netflix’ The Toys That Made Us. They have an episode on G.I. Joe which I had seen before, but now I also watched the episodes on Star Wars, Star Trek and Transformers. Since the 80’s Transformers and G.I. Joe have been sharing a universe within the Marvel comic book series. Rumor has it that a crossover movie is in the works for 2026. We’ll have to wait and see if this will be the next big thing for both Transformers and G.I. Joe, until then we’ve been getting some toys crossing over. This time around, I’ve got the Megatron H.I.S.S. and Baroness dropping in.

Straight of the bat, the box art is a nice split image showing off the robot form of Megatron and the Baroness in action with him transformed into a H.I.S.S. Tank.

The back of the box shows the actual toys in both shapes. It takes 28 steps to transform Megatron into a H.I.S.S. Tank.

Once you slide both parts away, you get the real manufacturer for all weaponry, Hasbro! The inner box, is not a simple brown box though. The back displays a Top Secret Dossier, while the top and bottom have a cool looking crossover logo.

Opening the inner box, we get most of Megatron already built and looking very menacing. On the left is the H.I.S.S. Tank canopy and swiveling turret mount, on the right are guns and a piece of the H.I.S.S.’ Armor.

Megatron is tied to the top part of the box. We can lift this one up to reveal the instructions manual depicting all the 28 steps needed to transform from Megatron into the H.I.S.S. Tank and back again. Alongside the little booklet, there is the Baroness figure, to my surprise, a fully carded figure!

On the front of the box, the outer sleeve really, is a print of the Baroness as if she was behind some plastic, reminiscent of the old 3.75” vehicle boxes. In the box, there was a small cardboard piece that held the figure with a plastic cover so you could see the figure that came with the vehicle. This time though, the outer box is just a cardboard sleeve, so I knew the Baroness figure would be presented in a different way, but I honestly didn’t expect to find a carded figure. She comes with her backpack and a sniper rifle.

The back of the card is showing the beautiful art from the sleeve again, this time with another crossover logo. The top of the card shows a familiar file card, less information than the good old days, but in 5 languages now.

That’s all for now, see you again soon. Until then, Happy Collecting and YoJoe!

Semper Fidelis Serpens

Today the mailman came to my door again with a lovely package from Hasbro. This time around I received the Cobra H.I.S.S. Techno Viper with the H.M.S.

The Techno-Viper comes in the H.I.S.S. tank color scheme and has several accessories, like a backpack, handgun, rifle and a remote control for the HM of the HMS. The HMS has 3 big missiles, legs that can be raised so it can be towed by the H.I.S.S. and a wheel on the back so it can be turned more easily.

Everywhere on the box, the new Cobra H.I.S.S. logo is featured prominently. I have to say that I do like it. It’s simple, but elegant and reflects the H.I.S.S. tank in the shape of the Cobra depicted. The art on the side of the box shows the Techno-Viper close-up and is – as with all the art of the Classified Series really – stunningly beautiful. Let’s hope somebody will be collecting these masterpieces into a little book someday – here’s looking at you 3DJoes :-)!

Also on the box is the Semper Fidelis Serpent emblem. This one is not really printed on, it’s more of an embossed print, it pops up from the cardboard. Not sure if you can see it in the picture, but if you have felt it yourself, you know what I’m talking about.

That’s all for now. See you back soon with new updates on the collection. Until then… Happy Collecting and YoJoe! (Or Hail Cobra! Or Semper Fidelis Serpens!)

It’s a small world after all…

Now that this happy little Disney tune will be in your brain for the rest of the day, you might think my work here is done. Keep on reading though, because something small has been added to my collection.

Not so long ago, I wrote a post on some small scale (one might even say tiny) Joe themed toys from Jada Toys. This week, I received a new addition for that subcollection.

As with the previous post, the main complaint I have is that this is the exact same figure that was released in the 6-pack and in the Series 1 boxset that contains 18 figures.

Other than that, it looks awesome. I’ve stopped complaining about them using the A.W.E. Striker as boxart for everything. I still don’t get it, but I just let it go (really going for all the Disney vibes here).

The vehicle itself looks really good in this 1:32 scale. Lots of details and a true little version of the original toy. The bodywork is the same as that ot the V.A.M.P. they released with Duke, so a bit of an easy release if you ask me. Still, definitely worth it.

On the back, they are now showing not only the set with Duke and the V.A.M.P., this one but also still the H.I.S.S. tank with Destro. Where is this set? Has anyone seen this in real life? I need it! Okay, that Destro figure will be the same as the previous 2 releases, but that H.I.S.S. just looks stunning. Come on Jada Toys, what’s keeping you?

That’s it for now, see you soon! Happy Collecting and YoJoe!