Rarities - 1985 CAT Tank (Sears Exclusive)

The MOBAT sucks.  It's important to start out with that as a statement.  It was, easily, the worst toy to debut in the line in 1982.  And, it was never compelling.  Sure, it was cool in the comic and cartoon.  But, there, you got to see characters interacting with it in a way that was simply not possible with the actual toy.  So, Hasbro recoloring the tank in black and red for release as a Sears exclusive in 1985 didn't really solve any of the limitations of the toy.  But, the Crimson Attack Tank (CAT) exists and remains a prized piece for collectors: even if it's undeserved.

It's tough to remember that Sears was the king of retailers as the '80's dawned.  The catalog sales model was a proven way to reach massive amounts of consumers who didn't have access to a physical Sears store.  But, Sears was also pretty effective at getting stores into even small towns.  (The small town where my cousins grew up had a stand alone Sears store.  It was about the size that a Dollar Store is today.  But, it was clean and efficient.  It stocked a few items.  But, mostly, it was a place where customers could come in and order from the catalog.)  So, them being able to afford an exclusive run of toys made a lot of sense.  And, starting in 1982, Sears carried their first exclusive Joe toy, the craptastic Cobra Missile Command.  

In other profiles, I've written about how my dad was a Sears junkie.  He could go in and look at the tools for just as long as I would look at the toys.  And, as they were near each other in our local store, I'd often find myself free to wander the ample toy section while he browsed the hardware.  Really, my only memories of spending time looking at toy lines I didn't collect was in Sears.  My time in Toys R Us or Children's Palace was always Joe focused with little time to spend browsing around.  I recall looking at He-Man and Sectaurs at that Sears store on the north side of Indianapolis.  In these sessions, though, I also discovered the CAT and the SMS.  I distinctly recall both of them being on the end of an aisle and the boxes were neatly stacked on the floor.  The display was huge and the stock was more than ample.  The following year, I found the Dreadnok exclusives in similar format.  Since my dad liked Sears, we found these toys under the tree.  Except, that is, for the CAT.

For Christmas of 1981 or 1982, my dad's best friend bought my brothers and I, each, a remote controlled tank.  They were undersized for Joes and not really meant for action figures.  We played with them for a day or two.  Once home, though, they got tossed into the toy box where they'd stay.  They were too big to match the grocery store plastic soldiers that every kid in the early '80's had in spades.  And, they were too small for Joes or Star Wars figures.  So, they weren't that fun.  Because we had these, though, my mother was adamantly against us getting any more motorized tanks.  I asked for the MOBAT once because I wanted Steeler.  The tone of my mother's "no" ensured I didn't ask again.  

Aside from Steeler, though, I don't think we really missed anything.  Our friend around the block had a MOBAT.  And, no one every played with it.  It was big, didn't interact well with figures, and, you couldn't roll it into battle like you could the toys with free-rolling wheels.  

To this day, I do not own any incarnation of the MOBAT.  Through the years, I've had the original and the 1998 versions.  But, I sold them all off as they are bad toys and worse display pieces.  I've never owned either CAT.  And, I've never had any inclination to do so.  It makes no sense to pay a premium for a vehicle that I don't like and would never, ever use.  But, the CAT is a relatively hard to find item, especially complete with the gun cap.  And, for that reason, it's always been popular with collectors.  The 1985 version has always commanded a premium price, even when alternative versions were getting clearanced from KB Toys' website for a couple of bucks each.  

At its core, the CAT is just a MOBAT colored in black and red.  If the MOBAT were a good toy, this recolor would be an awesome addition to the Cobra army.  But, since it's not, the CAT is just a big hunk of black plastic that takes up huge amounts of space in photos and can't hold any figures.  In Canada, an all black MOBAT was released.  I actually prefer the two-tone CAT, though.  While both toys are rare (the Canadian being substantially more so) they both are heavily limited by the MOBAT design.

Today, with a bit of perseverance, you can find an open sale of the tank for about $250.  But, this is an  item that dealers always pick out.  So, there is consistently plenty of stock available.  The tanks are just sold in the $350-$400 range.  And, lots of people pay that price since the tanks are there for the taking and $100 is worth not having to wait for a year or more to get one at a real market price.  

Rarities - Canadian Consumer Distributing Cobra Combat Tank

Hasbro was always looking for ways to expand the Joe brand.  And, even in the early 1980's, retail partners were keen to cozy up with Hasbro to produce exclusive toys.  In the early days, these items were heavily focused on retailers with large catalog business.  In the U.S., both Sears and JC Penny's were able to carry specially packaged Hasbro products.  And, Sears was even able to secure exclusive toys for sale in their catalog and in their stores.  Sears was even able to secure an exclusive toy for their Canadian stores: the infamous Cobra M.S.V.  And, it is to Canada we look for another exclusive vehicle: the Cobra Combat Tank.

In 1984, the Consumer Distributing chain of stores was able to secure a Hasbro exclusive.  They got an all black repaint of the MOBAT.  This was named the Cobra Combat Tank and included a swivel arm version of the helmeted Cobra Commander figure.  It has since become one of the rarer vehicle repaints and is highly sought by many collectors.

Consumer Distributing was a warehouse store.  It seems to be most analogous to Service Merchandise in the U.S.  You ordered from a catalog in the store and waited for employees to bring it out to you.  (My Service Merchandise store had a conveyor belt on which your items would slide from the back of the store to the front where you picked it up.  So, it is this image I associate with this model of retail...even if other chains may have looked differently.) They were large enough to secure an exclusive repaint.  It would be interesting to know how many of these items were produced.  It's likely that the total number is quite small.

Consumer Distributing tanks are expensive.  It's rare to find one in mint and complete condition.  They aren't as rare as the M.S.V.  And, they only have one really small, easily lost part whereas the M.S.V. has several.  As a repaint, it's kind of boring.  It's just a black MOBAT.  And, the MOBAT, in general, sucks.  But, as a rarity, the tank is somewhat useful.  It matches well with Hiss Tanks and Stingers and would be an excellent addition to a pre-1985 Cobra army.

In 1985, Hasbro repainted the MOBAT for the U.S. market with the Sears exclusive CAT Tank.  Hasbro got their money out of the MOBAT mold.  But, it's somewhat odd that Cobra actually got more releases of the MOBAT than Joe did.  So, you can make a case that it's actually a Cobra vehicle, now.

Here you can see inside of the battery compartment.

Below are the blueprints for the CDT.  You will note that they still feature Steeler being placed into the turret.  You can see the instructions in both English and French.

As a cheap novelty, I'd love to get a couple of these to match up with my classic Cobras.  But, as an expensive, hard to find item, I have no interest in the Cobra Combat Tank.  I never liked the MOBAT and don't see an all black repaint of it being worth the hundreds of dollars or so it would cost to get a nice one.  Many collectors like the MOBAT, though.  That, and the fact that it was a Canadian exclusive, keep this item more desirable and expensive than I will ever find it.  But, this item is a great reminder of both how strong toy lines used to be and how powerful retail chains once were to commerce.