I am sure everyone must have heard of Tonka toys, I remember the name and the cars and trucks they used to produce from way back when I was a child, I didn’t know the brand was still going all this time. We were offered the chance to review some of the Tonka range on the blog and Zander my son, is absolutely crazy over cars and trucks right now so it came at a fantastic time.
I was shocked when the box arrived and it was full of Tonka toys, Zander would be in his element once he saw them.
Here is a little about Tonka;
TONKA originated in 1947 in Mound, Minnesota and was originally created and manufactured by Mound Metalcraft which was a manufacturer of garden implements.
The company began selling metal toys, which soon became the primary business. In November 1955, Mound Metalcraft changed its name to TONKA Toys Incorporated. The name TONKA comes from the Dakota Sioux word “Tanka” or Tonka, which means “great” or “big”.
In 2001, TONKA trucks were inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame at The Strong in Rochester, New York.
For almost 70 years, TONKA trucks have been undisputed kings of the sandbox for decades. Built on the notion that “a toy shouldn’t break just because a child plays with it,” they’re strong, sturdy and long lasting. Back in the ‘70s, TONKA even had an elephant stand on one, just to prove their point.
The first toy we pulled out was the Tonka Diecast Monster Truck, it is a green truck with big wheels, I did have to look up which vehicle it actually was as I wasn’t quite sure and Zander always calls it a tractor. It is, in fact, a garbage crusher. It’s 1:55th scale.
It has really big and thick wheels which deep tread, looking at the wheels, they look taller than the actual garbage crusher. Then on the top is the garbage truck with a moveable bit with prongs attached to the sides of the vehicle.
Our next pick was the Tonka Diecast Big Rigs toy which is a flatbed crate truck. It is again 1:55th scale.
It has 3 crates on the back that can be put on and taken off at will. The truck is like a mini version of the real thing with the funnels up each side of the cab, the small window at the back left and right side of the cab where the driver would sleep when not driving.
Even at the bottom of the cab is little engine parts.
Zander pulled the next packet out and it was the Tonka Diecast Emergency 3 pack which had a police car, ambulance and fire engine in it. Again they are 1:55th scale.
The detail put on these are amazing, although Zander does keep asking why the doors won’t open.
These were the first lot of toys he got to play with and he got playing straight away and has not stopped since he is obsessed with cars and trucks and they will be the first things he will pull out of his toy tower in the mornings. I like that all of the Tonka toys here are so robust.
Zander has even posted these through the cat flap several times and they have not even scratched!
The final two packets in the box were Tonka Tinys Car Crush Escape Playset and the Tonka Tinys three pack. The three pack comes with two Tonka Tinys trucks on display and a third which is hidden in a crate ready for you to open it and find the surprise truck.
The Car Crush Escape Playset are again Tonka Tinys, it has a crane and a car crusher and a tiny recycle truck too. You can launch the cars in the air, using the green arch above the bins for the little bits although I’m not quite sure that is what you are supposed to do. I think that you are supposed to use the other green part to launch the little bits so they go into the bins.
Both of these are cool mini playsets, even with the smallness of the trucks there is so much detail on them all, it really is amazing.
All of these Tonka Toys are priced individually between £1.99 and £9.99
Tonka is now on sale in selected ASDA stores and until 7th October selected stores have a 25% rollback promotion on Tonka Toys. This is an in-store promotion only!
Some of the Tonka toys range is also online to order today.
Disclaimer: We recieved these Tonka Toys for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are our own and not influenced in any way.
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