People wonder if the Theme Park CAR WARS Diecasts are from Mattel.

Several things.

First, does it really matter? They are part of the Expanded Universe as they are Disney Pixar CARS characters, they are diecast, they are essentially 1:55 in scale, and they are an official license product. Now, if they are logo-marked from Mattel, that would clinch it but as with any Expanded Universe releases, their “canonocity” depends on whether you want it or not. For instance, while Pirate Mater, Goofy Mater or Mickey Lightning are definitely from Mattel but like the CAR WARS diecasts, there is no back story but again, from Disney, they are based on Disney Pixar CARS characters, 1:55 in scale and diecast metal so they are in. Whether you collect any, all or some of the Expanded Universe is totally up to you and there are no hard and fast rules.

So, are these diecasts manufactured by Mattel?

Short answer – I do not believe so. Here are my thoughts, you are free to disagree with me but here are my thoughts.

The strongest evidence is they do NOT have the Mattel logo on the back of the packaging. When Mattel produces them for the Disney Theme Parks, as the Time Travel Box set or the Time Travel Wedding Day box set or the Pirate Mater, Goofy Mater & Mickey LM set, the cards all have the Mattel logo on the back and the production dates are stamped underneath as with every regular Mattel release. It’s clear that precedent is set so why would the CARS WARS diecasts not simply continue this tradition if they were produced by Mattel?

AND while they had to create a new sculpt for Stanley, all the other Mattel production CARS for the Theme Parks are repaints with plastic pieces attached. There’s no financial compelling reason they would create a new 1:64 scale Porsche sculpt as Princess Leia Sally.

Even though they created a new POrsche 911 mold for the 2014 Magen Carrar release, it’s still a wide mold like Sally.

First, the Disney Theme Park Group designs their own products (not just for CARS) as evident by the signing event last year. For smaller items, the Disney Theme Parks group probably used 3rd party model sculptors (as many toy companies do – even Mattel). As I noted in last year’s post, my feeling is they simply handed sculptors in Hong Kong/China the Mattel releases and said, make sculpts like these. That’s how we ended with sculpts virtually identical to Mattel’s.

For the Porsche 911, they clearly had a 1:64 sculpt for their work for other diecast companies, why reinvent the wheel in this case since all they had to do was glue some “hair extensions?” That’s why the bottom differs so much. This is the perfect evidence it’s not from Mattel – why create a new mold when all you need to do is glue some hair buns to the side of Sally?

The other releases are all fairly unique to CARS characters in terms of their design – while Luigi is clearly an old school Fiat 500, not only are there not many 1:64 releases, in 1:55 scale, he’s not only wider but with a face/mouth expression, you have to create a new mold anyway.

Again, note that CPO-Luigi is slightly smaller than the Mattel one. If Mattel produced it, they might have to make a new mold as CPO-Luigi doesn’t have the “hair on the roof,” but they  certainly would not bother to make a new mold slightly smaller – why bother having to create a new base also – same with Guido, if you can’t glue enough parts to Guido like Uncle Topolino’s Band, you might use a new sculpt and mold but there would be no financial point in having to create a new base or source different size tires.

I think my theory holds for Luigi’s base – they copied it but didn’t do as much work as Mattel did. Again, if Mattel actually produced them AND even if Luigi was EXACTLY the same size, why bother going to the expense to making a new base? But if you have to make a new base for a new client, why not just crib most of it from Mattel?

As for the scale. It’s a complicated business relationship. So, while Mattel has the 1:55 license and the Disney Store has the 1:43 scale arena, both companies offer diecasts that wander in size anyway. The Disney Theme parks probably simply decided they didn’t want to spend as much money on metal as the Disney Store 1:43 scale, they aimed for the 1:55 scale.  They couldn’t really reuse the Disney Store molds anyway – other than maybe Sally so they might as well start from scratch. Since they’re limited in production and availability, Mattel just decided to let it slide. They figure it doesn’t really cut into their diecast sales and there’s no point in getting in a fight with Disney over a small part of the business when the bigger long term business relationship is worth so much more. Plus Disney owns the property – it would be different if it was another 3rd party toy company making 1:55 scale diecasts for another licensed property.

Could Mattel be manufacturing them for Disney Theme Parks as an “OEM” like manufacturer? Sure but it seems unlikely. Mattel has their own plants that make Hot Wheels and Pixar CARS (the ones that are from Thailand) or from Malaysia (I believe Hot Wheels only) but I think they are pretty much cranking full time and my sense is it would be too expensive to manufacture for other companies. Or we can see exactly what they charged the Theme Park Group for a new sculpt and gluing plastic to Lizzie in the Wedding Day set – so the Theme Parks had to charge $34.95 for the 2-pack. Obviously all theme parks merchandise have a hefty markup but this 2-pack was a little heftier than most.

All of the CAR WARS diecasts say China – just like most CARS diecasts which are plants owned by others that produce CARS for Mattel. Now, could the Disney Theme Park group use the same plants that Mattel uses? Sure, of course, these are independent companies that manufacturer whatever their clients want. Or it could be plants that the Disney Store uses, just with different molds. But whether these are produced at plants that Mattel also uses or others, they are not Mattel diecasts.

Bottom line – when Mattel produces CARS diecast to be sold by the Theme Parks Group, it clearly says so. Even if they break precedent here, why would they reinvent the wheel, literally by creating molds slightly larger or smaller – necessitating new bases and tires when they could repaint or attach plastic parts to molds they already have?

But it doesn’t really matter – the CAR WARS diecasts are part of the Expanded Universe. If you like them, buy them – if you don’t or think they are not canon, you can skip them.