Are Tonka Toys A Reliable Brand?

The United States has several classic toys that have seen three particular stages of existence. These toys have started out as extremely popular toys, then saw their sales slowly shrink during the 60s and 70s, primarily because wooden or metal components were exchanged with cheaper plastic elements. Another good product to consider is the Sony HTCT100 Sound Bar.

A lot of these toys have reappeared in the marketplace recently, however. In a few circumstances, toys including The Etch-a-Sketch were happy recipients of the gratuitous product placement during the movie Toy Story. Just as commonly, toys including G.I.Joe increased their sales through the location of “retro” designed toys alongside their modern day editions in an attempt to lure sentimental parents.

Tonka Toys haven’t to date gotten to the final phase of this process, nevertheless there a chance that they will in the near future. Until then, we will be required to be happy with the well loved vintage Tonka trucks identified in closets or attics, or accept their primarily plastic modern counterparts. It could be advantageous to consider the beginning of this once-mighty brand, though, simply to learn where those amazing trucks were made and how they would be able to reestablish their past glory.

Tonka Toys began life as a business known as Mound Metalcraft which set up shop in Mound, Minnesota in 1946. Because another company which had formerly occupied the building had been unsuccessful in an effort to manufacture two metal toys, the three founders determined that toys could make a profitable sideline for their other, more useful garden tool inventory. The original toy design was revised and the trucks were named “Tonka”, a Dakota-Sioux expression which means “mighty” or “big”. Another great alternative is the Sony HTCT100 Sound Bar.

The all-metal Tonka Trucks became popular swiftly, and in just a couple of years, the Mound Metalcraft company switched its title to Tonka Toys. The celebrated Tonka Truck that many parents and grandparents will have memories of is the Mighty Dump Truck, one of several road construction vehicles first introduced in 1964. Tonka Trucks was well placed to cash in on the cold war baby boom along with their own reputation for being bulletproof, and were sold all over the globe to parents of destruction-minded boys – and a number of girls, probably.

From about the late 80s to this day, unfortunately, the all-steel structure of these renowned vehicles has been progressively replaced by plastic components, to the annoyance of many buyers. Numerous customer reviews convey frustration at modern day Tonka trucks for showing “nothing like the Tonka quality we have known and loved.” The Mighty Dump Truck, in particular, is currently the Tonka Toughest Mighty Truck and has a frame and tires made using plastic. ($33 on Amazon.com) and Tonka’s Lights & Sound Fire Engine ($29 on the Tonka Toys website) has gotten inconsistent reviews resulting from the thin plastic construction of the extendable ladder on top of the truck. Could we ever again be able to experience the all-metal Mighty Dump Trucks in sand boxes and mud puddles everywhere? One can only hope.Another nice is the Sony HTCT100 Sound Bar.