Review – G.I. Joe Ultimate Battle Pack – Part 1, H.I.S.S. Tank and Driver

“The G.I. Joe team and the Cobra enemy are locked in an explosive battle to control the Dimantium Hill, the only known location of a rare ore that will make armored gear and vehicles completely indestructible.”
— from the back of the box

This Target exclusive toy definitely caught my attention when I first saw it on the shelf (Black Friday, 2008) during an early morning visit to the store in search of sales. (That’s also the day I picked up the new Matt Trakker figure, which I immediately posted to my LiveJournal.) A large, attractive display in which the three vehicles — a red H.I.S.S. tank, a Cobra Flight Pod, and a MOBAT — and seven figures — Cobra Commander, Destro, H.I.S.S. Driver, Cobra Vehicle Gunner, Steeler, Short Fuze, and Stalker — are arranged and easily seen, the Ultimate Battle Pack is one of the more impressive packages I’ve seen over the last year.

As the title of this post at www.toplessrobot.com says, this is a surprisingly ultimate pack. For about $50 ($35 at the last Target I was in; the pack has been put on clearance) you get three vehicles and seven figures, pieces that — individually — would normally run something closer to $70 or $80.

Due to the size of this package I’m going to review the contents across three separate entries. In this, the first review in the series, we’ll take a look at the H.I.S.S. and H.I.S.S. Driver (and compare them to the H.I.S.S., H.I.S.S. Driver, and H.I.S.S. Commander toys that I’ve already reviewed here at battlegrip.com). Check back next week for a look at the remainder of the box’s contents.

Opening the Box

My wife, Gina, was kind enough to open up the box, release all of the toys from the package, and apply all of the necessary stickers. When she finished pulling out the last piece — about an hour after she started — she wanted to make it very clear that this was excessive packaging. Sure, a lot of toys these days come with tons of wire and plastic bits holding them in place but she felt this one went over the top. After carrying the packaging trash away I’ll have to agree with her. These window boxes sure look nice but I miss the old boxes from the eighties.

Cobra H.I.S.S. Driver

Everything I said about the single-carded H.I.S.S. Driver in this review applies to the driver that’s packaged in this box. The figures are almost identical, with the only significant difference between the two being the coloring of the chest plate and the fact that this driver uses the H.I.S.S. Commander’s head sculpt (the arrow is larger on this figure than on the single-carded Driver figure); the single-carded figure’s chest plate is blue while this exclusive pack’s version has a silver chest plate. The accessories, including the display stand, are also identical. It’s not an issue for me, though, since it gives me another driver so that each of my two H.I.S.S. tanks can have an official Cobra H.I.S.S. Driver at the helm.

In the photo above you can see the two H.I.S.S. Drivers as well as the H.I.S.S. Commander (reviewed here); there’s really very little difference between the three figures.

Cobra H.I.S.S. Tank

If you’ve already read my review of the Cobra H.I.S.S. Tank and Commander then you know exactly what to expect from the tank. It;s the same tank we’ve seen for over twenty years but it’s in red (and even that isn’t new; check out this page at www.yojoe.com for a look at a red H.I.S.S.) with different numbering. Unless you’re a completest — or you’re just a nut for the H.I.S.S. tank design — there’s absolutely no reason that you need to own this particular piece. It’s nice, but it’s the same toy you’ve seen before.

In the photo above you can see the individually released H.I.S.S. tank and the red version from this Ultimate Battle Pack. Proof that the toys are the same!

Closing Thoughts

All I can add is that I personally love the design of the H.I.S.S. tank. This toy, more than any (except maybe the Cobra Rattler), is the vehicle when I think of Cobra. The H.I.S.S. spent many years in the comic, cartoon, and numerous backyards of my childhood and it’s distinctive, triangular shape is immediately recognizable to anyone who has ever spent any time with the G.I. Joe of the eighties.

Philip Reed is starting to question his willpower; he now owns three H.I.S.S. tanks. But that’s it! Absolutely no more H.I.S.S. tanks for Phil! Unless, or course, the Arctic H.I.S.S. comes out. Then he’ll buy that one. But no more after that!