Vault Review:
GI Joe Wolf Hound

Vault

When my TRU finally received the Pursuit of Cobra HISS Tank, I had to have it. While I was excited that my year-long wait was finally over, there was another vehicle at TRU that day. It had a new name and a new driver, but I knew it from my childhood. I couldn’t leave without the Wolf Hound.

If you’re thinking that the Wolf Hound looks familiar, you’re right. This mold was first released in 1985 under the name Snow Cat. It would be released in a few more decos over the years until its fifth and latest incarnation, the Wolf Hound. My original Snow Cat was one of my favorite Christmas presents. That’s why I had to buy it, it was a little piece of nostalgia sitting in the toy aisle wanting me to take it home.

I’m not exactly sure why Hasbro released this vehicle in the middle of summer. I know I would have had much more fun taking pictures in the snow with all my arctic Joes. That’s the closest thing I get to playing with my toys these days. Most of the time they just get posed and set on a shelf. Maybe this winter there will be another arctic release and I’ll get a chance to bring this guy outside again.

Although the body of the Wolf Hound is almost entirely the same as the Snow Cat, the Hound has undergone a few minor changes. Namely the addition of a bluish-gray color streaked throughout its white body. The original Snow Cat’s body was all white. Compared to the Wolf Hound though, it comes off very plain. This new mixed in color not only gives a nice camouflaged feel, but it makes the vehicle unique to a certain extent. I doubt there will be two with the exact same swirled paint deco. Mine isn’t even consistent throughout. The driver’s side has much more paint than the passenger side. This might give you Joe collectors with OCD pause, but I like the randomness.

The Wolf Hound has two front working wheels two hidden wheels underneath the rear threads (they’re just for show). I realize we just got a HISS Tank with moving treads, and even though they have problems, I would like to see this trend continue into other vehicles. I always enjoy as much realism as I can get on my fake military vehicles.

Wolf Hound has two sets of weapons. The first are two yellow torpedoes that sit on skis. I remember the old Snow Cat commercials where these torpedoes would slide easily downhill and take out some Cobra baddies. So cool, but I could never recreate that effect in real life. The Hound’s second line of attack is its missile launcher. The entire battery can rotate 360 degrees while the head can move up and down. This gives it a huge range of attack. When I was a kid, the Snow Cat had four missiles that sat firmly in grooves inside the battery. Toy technology has come a long way since then. The missiles don’t just sit inside, but they can be launched by pushing a small lever from one side to the other. As the lever passes each missile, it activates a spring, shooting that missile out. It’s a pretty swanky little contraption. Plus, the missiles fire with much more force than I expected, easily clearing three to four feet. Continue to Page 2….

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28 thoughts on “Vault Review:
GI Joe Wolf Hound”

  2. From the looks of things, that’s not a paint app. It appears they mixed another color in the plastic to create a random ‘marbled’ effect.

    Good review! I always thought the high point of the entire RAH Joes were the vehicles.

  3. I was so happy to find the Wolf Hound at TRU last week. I know it’s an oldie, but its one of my favorite POC vehicles.

  4. I’ve got a lot of vehicles with different names and different drivers, so I don’t mind the name change or the driver change one bit. All the vehicles are compatible across the entire line, so it would be boring if they just released this as a Snowcat with Frostbite again. If folks want a Snowcat, there’s always the original and the SpyTroops version already out there to be found.

    I am still waiting on that 25th Anniversary Frostbite, but I wouldn’t want him to be a Snow Job/Snake Eyes repaint like Whiteout.

    1. I agree, it would be boring to get the same stuff over and over. But I do want a 25th Anniversary Frostbite for sure. You’re right, no repaints. He needs to be an update of the original, and they need to keep his hair black this time, lol.

      1. I concur. I have vivid memories of plastering “NO STEP” stickers all over Joe vehicles.

        I think half the Skystriker’s label sheet was “NO STEP.”

  6. I love it when Hasbro releases arctic-themed figures and vehicles in the summer. You can imagine guys like Arctic Vipers sitting around in their gear, sweating their asses off.

    I’ll definitely pick this vehicle up, if just for the driver. His body will make a good base for a Lost Planet custom figure!

  7. “Frostbite and Beachhead don’t look alike”

    It’s really just a ski-mask head. Is it inconceivable that an arctic Joe might have a few different types of headgear? You might not like it, but that’s the POC Frostbite. I’m with you in wanting a 25th Frostbite though.

    1. Every time I hear the word “inconceivable”, I think of The Princess Bride.

      I feel like Hasbro’s being lazy when they throw the ski mask head on characters that should look unique. It’s not inconceivable that Frostbite is under there, but it is boring. The original Frostbite had a unique look which I’d like to see return. Hopefully the 25th line will get around to him.

      1. Well, the 25th line has to come back first. One little Lowlight doesn’t impress me.

        I don’t think it was lazy, I think it was just the nature of ROC. Nearly every vehicle in the ROC line ended up with cobbled together drivers. One was entirely Croc Master! The budget wasn’t allocated for them to be original. The alternate to the ski mask head was that he’d clearly be Deep Six or Dusty. If you’re making the call and you don’t have money for a new head, which is really preferable?

        1. Yeah, you’re right. I’d prefer he didn’t look like Dusty.

          The 25th line may not be back yet, but that Lowlight is impressive.

  8. I like how the windshield is frosted except for where the windshield wiper goes. Smart thinking, there. The old toy had that too, right? It’s nice that Hasbro kept that, even though it is small and could easily have been overlooked. It adds something to the vehicles authenticity and realism.

  9. i like this vehicle a lot. that is something joe has done better than anyone else (except star wars) is vehicles. i wonder when/if joe’s going to fire up something more complex ala the new AT AT?

    1. I don’t know if Hasbro thinks the Joe fans are as crazy as the Star Wars ones.

  10. I wonder if the name change is because Snow Cat got licensed for their transformers line, and it was transferable over to GI JOE

      1. I forgot about that. You might be right, but I don’t know if losing the name to a Transformer was worth it.

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