Crab Droid - TCW [R] - Deluxe

LM-432 crab droids are armored infantry units that easily move over rough ground. Their legs work independently of one another, allowing them to move with agility and speed as they track their targets and take aim with their blasters. Also known as Muckracker droids, they threaten Republic forces on many planets during the war.

The Crab Droid was a very interesting choice for The Clone Wars line if you ask us. Not very prevalent in the first season of The Clone Wars and not appearing in the film at all, it was one of the first releases in the newly resurrected Deluxe line. First appearing in the Bombad Jedi episode, it had a heavier and more aggressive appearance in the fan favorite The Zillo Beast storyline. Instantly, fans of the television show realized that the Crab Droid had an unprecedented “personality” for a Separatist droid. Despite their antics, they were an imposing force on the clones and Jedi and while they could be easily defeated, their size was alarming. Hasbro felt it was time to get the Crab Droid back into the Star Wars toy line and they essentially released it in the same fashion they did when it first came out. This Deluxe Crab Droid is a repaint of the 2005 ROTS Deluxe Crab Droid. Unbelievable! Nothing else new is added. The same action feature has been included and that is the launching of the missile from the chin gun. Aside from a different color, nothing else has changed.

We’re not sure why, however, that Hasbro hasn’t re-sculpted this character from scratch because it doesn’t fit into the format of the rest of the line. Hasbro has been upfront with us from the beginning when it comes to The Clone Wars line. The characters would be a hybrid of realistic and animation stylization when translated into action figures. Yet, no changes would be made to the vehicles since there aren’t too many visible differences aside from an occasionally skewed interpretation here and there. So we would determine the Crab Droid to be breaking Hasbro’s format. Perhaps Hasbro is considering this to be a small vehicle, but it’s a droid and we would prefer to see an all-new sculpt. Besides, it’s not accurate. The Crab Droids in The Clone Wars television show only have four legs. Since this is the same mold as the Revenge Of The Sith line, it has six legs. Granted, the legs are easy enough to pop off of it, but the body as well as the remaining legs should be that mixture of realism and animation. Due to its chunky size however, the Crab Droid thankfully blends in nicely with the rest of the figures in The Clone Wars line. It may be the slightest too big, but we could be off on our assessment.

Through the vernacular slang, the Crab Droids are called “muckrackers” since they are frequently used in marshy terrains. But officially, they are known as LM-432 units. Their armament includes twin blasters and a water and mud jet sprayer. Manufactured by the Techno Union, these large walkers wreak havoc on the Grand Army of the Republic during the many battles of the Clone Wars. We bet Hasbro could have made an awesome Crab Droid (i.e. better than the 2005 version) had they created an all-new sculpt. There is so much character in these droids thanks to seeing them in The Clone Wars that the ones from Episode III just do not capture. Do you remember how Jabba wowed us from 2009’s TCW [B] Jabba’s Palace Battle Packs set? We think a new Crab Droid would have elicited the same response. Hopefully Hasbro will get creative and eventually create an all-new sculpt. It will just depend how often they are used in the episodes. (Editor’s Note: The Crab Droid has been used in multiple season 3 episodes.) Will the Deluxe Crab Droid grace your collection? We think it may not miss it if you decide to pass. But the choice is yours.