Pixar Cars - Disney Store "Crabby" Tugboat - An issue of scale.

When it comes to the way that both Mattel and Disney are handling the seemingly endless run of Cars related diecast toys, there are moments when Mattel seems to be the obvious leader because of release count, diversity of line, and exposure in stores.

The Disney Store has kept a premium sort of presentation since the first movie with it's larger scale releases. Very much made to showcase in the box for the adult collector.

But there are really nice standouts that the Disney store takes care of, that don't even make it into the normal diecast line by Mattel. This is one of the characters in Cars 2 that was only seen in the early part of the movie, in fact being the first character onscreen that helps identify one of the new main characters, Finn McMissle, and sets the stage for letting people familiar with the Cars world that the action will be taking place in a very different place than the desert area of Radiator Springs.

Back of the box.

I recall as a kid seeing a film about tug boats and how powerful they were. Pushing boats around and seeming to be these just awesome little hard survivors of the sea.

I'm not going to kid, I was disappointed that there was not more to this character because his design and personality immediately seemed more interesting than Finn's (whom, if you've not seen the movie, was onboard being transported out to sea).

Closeup of the front of Crabby.

I'm not a completion crazy collector when it comes to the Cars line in regards to buying every release. I prefer to get the characters and playsets that compliment each other scale wise and especially the ones that I liked the designs of.

After opening up the display box, I was already enjoying the overall detail and the nice touches of worn paint and rust stains that were all over the hull. A few more protective plastic pieces cover other parts of the softer plastic parts on the deck.

The hull is actually the only part that is diecast metal, the rest of it is varying degrees of plastics, some soft, some more rigid. Sort of an odd construction as some of the earlier releases were almost all metal.

Though the outer box had some scuffs on it, Crabby is well protected inside.

Crabby, as you can see below comes with this great add on that adds to the play value for the younger set. It's this blue plastic combination display stand and rolling play platform that when I first looked at the packaging, hadn't even noticed it.

Crabby in the included play platform/display stand.

The hull is one solid casting of metal, which I guess if one is feeling adventurous, you could use this as a more pricey tub float toy. (I'm joking on that, yes it did float for a bit before capsizing because the balance is all kinds of off on this thing, and what parent in their right mind hands a diecast toy with a keel like that to a toddler in a tub?)

The deck and other details don't have as nice of a paint application to them.

The rolling play platform is sturdy, well made, has four low profile wheels under it, and a nice application of white and blue paint to the wave break part on top.

Scale wise, Crabby doesn't come close to the size relation that his movie role depiction shows, but he is decently sized for what he is, and with some small exceptions the graphics on him are fairly accurate.

My final thoughts on this diecast? I'd say he's a good buy if you can find him around the $20 or under range. For completionists, it's the better release to get for your Cars collection compared to the one that came out in the Mattel "Action Agents" line, which looks to be suffering from some sort of late era Elvis bloating or something. Seriously. It's a goofy looking toy.

Thanks for reading, I have many more reviews coming now that I've started opening and photographing a larger portion of my collections. - Mario, the Rogue Hobbyist.
 

Stats	Rating/Information
Item	Crabby the Tugboat
Made by	Disney
Rarity	Uncommon
Classification	Modern - Released in 2014
Condition	Very Good
Procured	Cargo Largo (Retail Reclaimation Store), KCMO
Worth	between $25 to $85 on ebay as of Dec 2014
Investment	$13
Further Research	http://carsthetoys.yuku.com/
Trivia & Fun Facts	Though the toy above has a diecast metal hull, most tugs in the real world are built of wood or metal-sheathed wood; the resiliency of a wooden hull prevents damage to both tugboat and vessel in sea/dock operations.