The Tonka Toys Story

Рет қаралды 128,971

3 жыл бұрын

The history of Tonka toys, from their post-war beginnings in Minnesota, to their success, to bankruptcy, and onwards, all while making indestructible trucks.
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Some of the images comes courtesy of www.tonkatoys.com.
Sources:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonka
• Tonka - KARE11 Intervi...
community.fortunecity.ws/busin...
• Tonka Product Design -...
www.neatoldtoys.com/history_mo...
www.neatoldtoys.com/history.htm
www.thrillist.com/cars/12-thi...
• Tonka Story - 40th Ann...
segamasters.wordpress.com/201...
www.chicagotribune.com/news/c...
www.nytimes.com/1991/02/01/bu...
www.tonka.com/
www.latimes.com/business/la-f...
Link to my other channel - Big Car:
/ bigcar2
#littlecar

Пікірлер: 388

@skies619 2 жыл бұрын

Lüh tonka lüh crank

@giovanniprocopio9800 2 жыл бұрын

im in dat big boy tonka

@InformedPath 2 жыл бұрын

Yeah, I got big boy racks

@prestonheard7692 2 жыл бұрын

im in the tonka baby..come show me love!

@Centure120 2 жыл бұрын

😂😂😂

@imnotactuallydead8890 2 жыл бұрын

Luh tonka

@1farin 2 жыл бұрын

Frfr

@suggy4721 2 жыл бұрын

Lmao

@Nimmo1492 3 жыл бұрын

I had a Mighty Dump when I was a kid, and I've been searching for that kind of satisfaction again ever since.

@kenbakker3241 3 жыл бұрын

I have that satisfaction every morning.

@gabrielboudreau6701 3 жыл бұрын

Lol cool. I still have a few original metal made Tonkas before they incorporated plastic to them.

@CandidZulu 2 жыл бұрын

Greek Yoghurt every day will make you have the "after no2 smile" every day

@ve2vfd 3 жыл бұрын

Tonkas were tough as nails! I got the Mighty Dump Truck, Road Grader, Front End Loader and Fire Ladder Truck in 1971 and my cousins and I heavily used them in the sand at my families beach vacation house for decades, and my nephews are still playing with them today. No cheap stuff or planned obsolescence there!

@Filmsbaked 2 жыл бұрын

Yeat

@prodbxrii 2 жыл бұрын

lül tönka

@therealneutrxl 2 жыл бұрын

luh crank

@soop3r872 2 жыл бұрын

I’m only here for they yeat comments

@hctertsjn 2 жыл бұрын

tonka skrt in dis dirt no mozzy #twizzyrich

@Btzfrmhell 2 жыл бұрын

Lül tonka

@upsidedowncross 2 жыл бұрын

TÖNKÄ

@dino-_-4550 2 жыл бұрын

twizzy?

@TRUSTINYAH 2 жыл бұрын

twizz talk2God ✝️

@stariiwes8358 2 жыл бұрын

luh tönka 🚜🚜🚜🚜

@suggy4721 2 жыл бұрын

@@TRUSTINYAH 😈😈😈

@ryananderson8702 2 жыл бұрын

Lüh Tönka

@bubot17 3 жыл бұрын

All our Tonka toys are still alive, including the mighty dump and the crane,great toys

@jonnycando 3 жыл бұрын

I’ve none of mine sadly but I know they were enjoyed by other kids…

@bubot17 3 жыл бұрын

@@jonnycando I still have a few of them with me, my nephews are the ones enjoying the Tonka trucks, they are scruffy looking paint chipped but still no signs of giving up, I'm just glad that they are playing with them instead of the electronic stuff

@Zeefashun 2 жыл бұрын

Yeat brought tonka to different level 😎

@sparky6086 3 жыл бұрын

That fire truck was the holy grail for a kid in those days.

@ve2vfd 3 жыл бұрын

I still have my 1971 Tonka Ladder truck... it might explain what I've been doing for a living for the last 30 years ;)

@jameswood231 3 жыл бұрын

@@ve2vfd Wish I still had mine. I had the Tonka road grader and Tonka bucket loader as well. I had the "Buddy L" dump truck instead of the Tonka "Mighty Dump" Go figure. Lol.🤣We had the best toys growing up in the 60's and 70's.

@johnbockelie3899 3 жыл бұрын

We had lots of these when I was a kid. They lasted a long time too.

@johnbockelie3899 3 жыл бұрын

The "Mighty dump" I hope the title got a round of laughter at the factory.

@thomastrout9997 3 жыл бұрын

After 22 years we were packing for a major move when in a box at the back of a closet I found the Tonka fire hydrant you needed to make the fire truck hoses work. Not a speck of red paint left on it but it made the move, how could it not? A survivor from Christmas 1958 deserves a little respect.

@j1701why1 3 жыл бұрын

They had real tough toys for real tough boys. Tonka.

@jfilm7466 3 жыл бұрын

Far to masculine for modern soy boys.

@LtHarkness187 3 жыл бұрын

My mum manage a cement works on magnetic Island in the 80's/90's my Tonka trucks where scattered everywhere around the yard, not 1 was ever destroyed yet we had operators hauling dirt/rocks/gravel/cement and there's me 7/8 just playing around with Tonkas in the middle of a god damn death zone lol I have no idea how I survived? I look back at then and just wonder wtf no health and safety, I literally played in cement because it fell from up the tower and rained down, was really fun.

@happyaccident2263 2 жыл бұрын

@@jfilm7466 playing with toys is masculine? 😂

@LeanXo 2 жыл бұрын

Luh crank

@raulplaysz9509 2 жыл бұрын

Ayo yeat rapping bout dis

@Mnpctech_Giveaway_PC_Mods 3 жыл бұрын

I toured the original Tonka factory with my 4th grade class in 1979. They had a giant playroom with all of their toys. After eating our lunch in the playroom, they gave everyone a mini yellow dump truck to take home! ....The building is still there today in Mound, Minnesota. It was later occupied for awhile by the TORO COMPANY. They used this location to warranty and service their cordless lawn trimmers and leaf blowers.

@johntollefson5610 3 жыл бұрын

I did the tour about ten years earlier and still distinctly remember the paint and hot plastic smells. At that time we got a single tire.

@DavidSalazar-ro3lv Жыл бұрын

Que hermoso recuerdo

@Oliverdobbins 3 жыл бұрын

Anyone remember the commercial where they ran two dump trucks off a cliff? Amid dramatic shots of a real dump truck being shoved over a cliff alongside its Tonka equivalent, the voiceover intoned “We took two of the worlds toughest trucks...” CRASHING TWISTED METAL AND COLOSSAL DEVASTATING DAMAGE vs bounce, thump and a couple of scratches “...and this was the one made by Tonka”.

@aussieausdeutschland4245 3 жыл бұрын

No, but it would be pretty cool to see though.

@LittleCar 3 жыл бұрын

kzfaq.info/get/bejne/jtaenNl9nKuWZWw.html

@aussieausdeutschland4245 3 жыл бұрын

@@LittleCar Thanks Mate! Actually I think I kinda remember that but on our B&W telly we had in the late 70s.

@steveespinola7652 3 жыл бұрын

I remember that commercial.

@cherylasher2935 2 жыл бұрын

One of the trucks is a Euclid R-27. The other is a tonka mighty dump.

@Ricketik65 3 жыл бұрын

A teacher at my high school in the late seventies and eighties had a reputation for being indestructible (he never missed a single class in the years we were there) and since his last name was Tonkens, his nickname soon became Tonka.

@markfryer9880 3 жыл бұрын

What a great nickname for a teacher. Did he know about it and embrace it?

@hertzair1186 3 жыл бұрын

A rare dedicated teacher...

@wofuldragoon5648 2 жыл бұрын

Yeat ?

@eltonronjovi2238 3 жыл бұрын

If you ask any guy what the absolute best toy they had as a child, you'll hear a lot of different things. Then ask about the yellow Tonka dump truck. Every single one tosses their first answer and agrees emphatically the yellow Tonka dump truck was by far, number 1. When you see a older, grown man smiling at just the mention of his childhood Tonka toys, you gotta figure they were great toys.

@jetsons101 3 жыл бұрын

I proudly keep all my old Tonka Toys on in a lawyers bookshelf in the living room for all to see. Thanks for a great video.....

@simonhodgetts6530 3 жыл бұрын

One of my favourite childhood toys was a Tonka car transporter - the cab was based on the dumper truck in the thumbnail, and it was robust enough to sit on and ride. Also had a Jeep Waggoneer (a green one - I loved that one!), a couple of VW Beetles and another couple of jeeps and beach buggies. My grandparents had a huge garden, so it was ideal for outdoor play with my Tonkas! Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

@rickintexas1584 3 жыл бұрын

These videos always bring a smile to my face. I was born in 1963 and remember these toys fondly.

@paulrobinson1337 3 жыл бұрын

Awesome - we had several Tonkas in the 1970s - fire truck, dump truck, bulldozer, front end loader are the ones I remember the most. Used to ride the dump truck down our hill and take them to our nearby beach at the ocean. Thanks for the walk down memory lane.

@rjc7289 3 жыл бұрын

Tonka trucks were an iconic part of my youth. Loved the durable, all-metal construction! I had the Mighty Dump, the Crane, the Chevron oil tanker, the off-road 4X4 with removable tires, the cement mixer and a flatbed truck with a towing arm. Today's Tonka trucks can't hold a candle to the old ones from decades ago, because they use too much plastic now. Nothing compares to a vintage Tonka!

@DavidSalazar-ro3lv Жыл бұрын

Tonka Vintage son de lo mejor y valen su precio. Los actuales de Funrise NO SON LO MISMO

@harrybriscoe7948 3 жыл бұрын

Born in 1959. We had a mix of Tonka , Buddy L, Structo and some off brands Defiantly they were summer outdoor toys. We used to make roads in the sand by 1st sifting gravel for a road bed and then paving with mud

@garrylawless3550 5 ай бұрын

Great video. I loved my Tonka Jeep with trailer and racing car that my Grandad bought me in the 70's. It was better to play with, due to its size, and rubber tyres. I still had it in the 90's, and passed it on to my young nephew.👍🏻

@markhenryabello2193 3 жыл бұрын

I clicked this to learn about Tonka and ended up being a toy nostalgia trip. I think all of us has had all of the brands mentioned. Good job!

@LittleCar 3 жыл бұрын

I think I should rename this to "The Nostalgia Channel".

@danpreston564 3 жыл бұрын

This channel needs a video on Wiking cars. I used to spend my summers in Germany as a kid and one of the great joys was going to Kurz toy shop to buy a Wiking model car. Very small, plastic and extraordinarily detailed.

@paulc9588 3 жыл бұрын

Herpa also deserves a video.

@perseusjoppa426 2 жыл бұрын

Fantastic toys, the Tonka trucks and cars. I still keep several units and playsets in actually good condition. Beautiful documentary!

@RichardDzien 3 жыл бұрын

I had one of those dump trucks... I pushed it about so far the wheels actually wore out!

@truthsayers8725 Жыл бұрын

in 1969 when i was 4, i got the Mighty Dump Truck, the Road Grader, Front End Loader and the Bucket Scoop truck. i still have the original boxes but having been stored for the last 5 decades in my parents attic, they are dry rotted and very fragile. the crane/bucket/scoop truck never really scooped very well but my friends and i played with them a LOT. i also had a blue version of the VW Beetle you show (its in red with another truck next to it) but i have no idea where it ever ended up. maybe sold in a yard sale... i had no idea they were as diverse as they were.

@assi47 3 жыл бұрын

I still buy Tonka toys on flea markets and online. The newer models i sell in my webshop, but the old metal originals i collect and i have loads of them. Who knows? Maybe for a museum one day....

@eggbirdtherooster 3 жыл бұрын

I wish you did more in terms of what some toys are worth nowadays with collectors and stuff. But never the less, another great video man! Keep them coming

@wintersbattleofbands1144 3 жыл бұрын

Um, look up do a search, then click on "sold items" on eBay. Value is completely subjective.

@DrewsCustomDiecastDrewMSmith 3 жыл бұрын

Excellent video on Tonka's history. As a kid born in the mid 60's I had my fair share of them including the Mighty dump. I put so many miles on it I actually wore out the tires by the time I turned 9. I still have several smaller ones that I'm going to be doing restorations on.

@vintagesnowmobilekid 2 жыл бұрын

I’m proud to be from Mound, MN! We have a lot of Tonka Toys laying around here lol

@capetown53 3 жыл бұрын

I had a mighty dump truck in the early 70's my dad brought me back from Canada.This toy lasted very well and i took it to South Africa as a child i loved that toy so much, thanks for the nice memories.

@rob1tnt 3 жыл бұрын

Love it! Really like the toy history videos!

@LittleCar 3 жыл бұрын

Glad you like them!

@millomweb 3 жыл бұрын

@@LittleCar Have you done the Buddy L brand yet?

@aussieausdeutschland4245 3 жыл бұрын

I had a little green beetle made by Tonka in the 70s, it didn't survive to well after my dad drove over it in the ole HG Kingswood by accident unfortunately.

@cyclenut 3 жыл бұрын

I loved Tonka and other brands that made outdoor construction and farm trucks and cars. Matchbox were for indoor play.

@ergodoy7741 3 жыл бұрын

Those Big Dumps are truly heavy. We had them at my preschool...stored on a shelf. I pulled one down and got myself two stitches on the top of my head that day when it came crashing down.

@Henry_Jones 3 жыл бұрын

Great vid! You have to do a Bruder video now! My son was Bruder obsessed all through his early childhood years. Their attention to detail and functionality and build quality has always impressed me to the point where I find myseld flipping through the Bruder catalog wondering what Id like lol. We have tonkas too but he always liked rhe Bruders more because theyre scaled down versions of real models and function like the real thing. Like the recycling truck has hand cranked nautilus screws in it and can compact trash for real lol.

@TechnoBoomer 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for this video. Tonka toys are a great part of my childhood. :-))

@LittleCar 3 жыл бұрын

You're welcome Francois.

@anibalbabilonia1867 4 ай бұрын

I still have some of them old Tonka’s! I have bulldozer, jeep’s, the dragline, the dump truck and a mint in box front loader!👌😎👍

@PhantomLover007 3 жыл бұрын

As a kid, I had the big yellow Tonka dump truck and the blue ertl twin boom tow truck that my uncle had given me. I absolutely loved my toys and would often take them to school with me. I would play with them for hours outside. I wish I still had them, because around 8 to 9 years old, I lost my uncle due to a semi accident. I have purchased the tow truck from eBay and I’m looking at one of the dump trucks also

@carlosojeda1956 3 жыл бұрын

We use to ride our Mighty Tonka dump trucks down the steep hill in our neighborhood.

@brucecaldwell6701 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for this. Tonka, Matchbox & Corgi were a BIG part of my childhood in the early 60's. All I have now is a Tonka cement mixer minus the plastic mixer.

@coloradostrong 3 жыл бұрын

Corgi FTW!

@magistrumartium 3 жыл бұрын

Yes!!! That's the one I got for my 4th birthday, in 1964! 3:28

@jamieshields9521 3 жыл бұрын

Very interesting history of Tonka👍I still have my Tonka truck from 80’s

@nigellamaccini6091 3 жыл бұрын

I seem to remember in the Uk in the early 70s the advert was “Tonka real tough Toys for real tough boys”

@Caje-zf8md Жыл бұрын

Years ago my brother dumbfounded his young boys when describing the "Baby boomer" toys that we had during our childhood. He described to them how we actually had to go "hands on" and physically move our toys and make our own sounds for them: all done without wireless remotes, batteries, electronic noise makers, etc.

@davidparker8221 3 жыл бұрын

This is so well researched and written. If anyone bothers to read what I've commented about it, why waste time with me. Just watch everything else from this channel. You're welcome.

@davegoldspink5354 3 жыл бұрын

Growing up here in Australia in the 60s and 70s I had Tonka Trucks including the Mighty Dump them along with Matchbox cars were my favourite toys. Thanks for taking me back it’s a real shame toys aren’t made like that anymore.

@Bearkiller72 3 жыл бұрын

The end of your video is classic! The Tonka tipper is as, or even sturdier as the VW! 😍✌️

@dave8599 3 жыл бұрын

I still have some of my tonka trucks, and I still drive my first car, which Dad bought new before I was born, yes it is a Bug.

@nathankosanke2093 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much for this! YOU'RE AWESOME!!!

@RestorationAustralia 3 жыл бұрын

Good to know stuff since I also restoring them. Very cool thanks for sharing.

@WeazelJaguar 3 жыл бұрын

I took a rusted dump truck, sandblasted it and painted it John Deere Green, to give to the little boy next door! It looked amazing and he still has it! These toys wil last for EVER!

@TheOtherBill 3 жыл бұрын

Deere green? What an insult to that Tonka!

@PozerAdultRacingTeam 3 жыл бұрын

Love those Tonka Toys even though they were usually 3rd hand and rusty by the time they got to me.

@kenchristie9214 3 жыл бұрын

My 43 year old son still has the Tonka tow truck I bought for his 4th birthday. He told me that when he was 7 years old he would try to use it as a skate board down our driveway. It's still in working order with only a crack in the glass that is a skylight in the roof and the string for the tow rope missing.

@redram5150 3 жыл бұрын

I loved my Tonka trucks, and I beat the crap out of them too. They happily took it and came back for more.

@Gumball19586 2 жыл бұрын

Man, I remember play with Tonka since when I was a kid in 2000.

@eolha 2 жыл бұрын

real og yeat fan💯💯

@nathanjoseph4284 3 жыл бұрын

Can I make a shameless request?: A video on Tomica cars would be a really cool addition to your sort of "Toy Car" history series you have going on :)

@LittleCar 3 жыл бұрын

I've had a few requests for Tomica. Maybe!

@valicourt 3 жыл бұрын

Oh yes and SIKU cars please. Super good quality all made to the same scale. Great video!

@steverobsondiecast 3 жыл бұрын

Yes please do one if one has not been done already. I like this line on diecast.

@opayem 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for the Tonka story. I could only dream to have one when I was a kid. :)

@rinusvandenberg3041 3 жыл бұрын

Great video again. My grandson plays with mt Tonka's. What quality? 👍 I'm enjoying your great and little stories. Thanks. 🚒

@rancon265 Жыл бұрын

I can remember getting in the back of my Mighty ,butt down or knees down. My street had a grade to ride down. My favorite was the front-end loader. The hand lever to run the bucket worked good. The clam loader crane had a tricky mechanism to open the clam, and was more annoying than fun.

@jocelynhurtubise2420 3 жыл бұрын

Great video as always! my folks didn't bought me Tonka toys when I was young it was too expensive! I didn't know they built Hotwheel and matchbox size vehicle. Merci

@ingvarhallstrom2306 3 жыл бұрын

I can attest to the quality, they were virtually indestructible. For some reason, my mother bought me a lot of quality toys in the seventies, att least half of it was Tonka, Fischer Price, and Lego.

@markfryer9880 3 жыл бұрын

Your Mum invested wisely in your toys all quality and timeless things there.

@majormojo 3 жыл бұрын

Wonderful! Thank for this story.

@papabits5721 3 жыл бұрын

Loved my Tonka toys.

@johnaston3983 3 жыл бұрын

I love this series, Tonka should go into car or tractor production. They would last forever!

@vinniemoreno704 3 жыл бұрын

Hell yes! The Mighty Dump was the greatest toy truck I ever owned.My Father really hit it out of the park

@gillespie6587 3 жыл бұрын

I feel like Tonka has had a part in everything ones childhood

@gillespie6587 3 жыл бұрын

I meant every not everything

@johnbockelie3899 3 жыл бұрын

Sand pit with a mighty dump is where all the cats hang out.

@dreadfulspiller8766 3 жыл бұрын

I lived in Minneapolis from 68 to 89 and when I was in 3rd grade the school took us on a tour of the factory and we got a little dune buggy for free.

@ramblingrob4693 3 жыл бұрын

Me an my brother had the Bulldozer and the dumptruck 4 wheel and the smaller 6 wheel one, my mate had the loader one and we had hours of fun in the mud. (70's/early 80's)

@Iriamu-Guillermo 3 жыл бұрын

Man. The HOURS I spent in the sandbox playing with Tonka construction vehicles when I was 4.

@jarc02 3 жыл бұрын

I have fond memories of my Tonka toy trucks from the early 70's.

@thebikehippie6562 3 жыл бұрын

I remember riding my Tonka dump truck down Burde hill in Port Alberni back in the 80s

@bradbrown8759 3 жыл бұрын

I still have an original Indian Winnebago with the people. Loved rideing it around outside.

@superfanb5742 3 жыл бұрын

Tonka has come around with soooo much awsome toys including the the mini mighty trucks and the tonka chuck and friends

@floydblandston108 3 жыл бұрын

I was born in 1966, after the post WWII baby boom was over, but Tonka was in their prime! Not only did I have many of the 'Mighty Tonka' construction vehicles, but Uncles had bequeathed me their older Tonkas, Gilberts, and Sterlings, so I had a small municipalities worth of rolling stock. All of it primarily heavy stamped steel, with only minor amounts of injected plastic or rubber. As they were so indestructible, new ones became strictly birthday and Christmas purchases, leaving the 'MommyIWantit!' market to cheaper products like Matchbox or Hotwheels. As I got older, they were also passed on- the last one I saw was at a nephews in the 1990's.

@kalvinlabuik3366 3 жыл бұрын

I had a few Tonka dozers, Kaiser Gladiator camper,tow truck, pick up truck and the dual ton dump truck so yeah I guess I few Tonkas I was born in 1962 so I had those later ones from 66-70’s

@thomasfrancis5747 Жыл бұрын

FWIW also check out the Mogul range made by Meccano briefly in the 1970's - a range of tough pressed steel vehicles inspired by Tonka.

@stevenbanaan 3 жыл бұрын

Around 2007 (i think) i was at my nan's, and i was playing with a Tonka lorry and frontloader, i knew they were old, but not that old! That's absolute quality.

@strat0871 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for reminding my childhood.

@briancook5838 3 жыл бұрын

Love the VW commercial at the end . . . Yeah , they WERE that STRONG !

@martindooley4439 3 жыл бұрын

I had the Tonka Grader. Loved it

@195511SM 3 жыл бұрын

Can't remember if it was passed down from my older brother.....or mine originally, but back in the early 1960s, I had a Tonka. An big orange road-grader that I used to run around in the back yard. Indestructible.

@JS-1983 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for very interesting video. 😀 How about video of Ertl-toy company?

@1963mathetes 3 жыл бұрын

I absolutely LOVED my Tonka toys! They were worth every cut finger I ever got from them!

@pdsnpsnldlqnop3330 3 жыл бұрын

Clicks like button before watching... After overlooking every other notification.

@marksolarz3756 3 жыл бұрын

Here in Minnesota there still very collectible. From thousands to hundreds to about $5. A classic working crane and bucket is still $60-100. Dump Trucks and Road Grader And Bucket front end loader all about $15-$25. Tiny Tonka are about $10-$15. Classic metal! Heavy Metal Fun!

@marksolarz3756 3 жыл бұрын

The original stickers...or reproduction are as expensive as the toy itself. Parts and pieces same. Hi-way series of several orange vehicles in the original cardboard box..display. Can go for $2500+

@Geeraffe 3 жыл бұрын

I have a Mighty Dump on my shelf next to the Mighty Scraper but I been browsing ebay for the Bottom Dump to add to the collection.

@aaronleverton4221 3 жыл бұрын

I knew I hadn't simply imagined the Machine Men into being inside my head! Transformers really owned that market segment. Still have my Tonka Jeep, trailer and catamaran from circa 1981 and forklift from c. 1983.

@TimeLapseRich 3 жыл бұрын

I wore the plastic tires off my dump as a kid. I loved that thing...

@abduazizmpb 4 ай бұрын

Racks came in and I was still in this Tonka

@jakedoesstuff2688 3 жыл бұрын

1:09 what a sad looking fire truck

@waelalabri7219 3 жыл бұрын

Well, this was an interesting story about the origin of the famous company. I'm aware that Hasbro bought it and adopted the toys. I still remember that we had some toys like a jeep car, a fire engine with an action figure, and a huge cement mixer truck. Those were days!