These are great for small hands and indoor play! With that in mind, we’ve provided a brief round-up of four of our favorite fun Tonka toys. But the Tonka trucks and vehicles of our childhoods are still with us and are still as much fun today as they were when we were kids. This means that at least four generations of kids have had the fun of building with these trucks! And the fun continues today.Īt Fundemonium, we recognize that we all grew up with Tonka toys, along with numerous other now forgotten ones. And the ever-popular Mighty Steel Dump Truck was introduced in 1964. That was 1947, but the company didn’t change its name to Tonka Toy Company until 1956. But those were apparently quite popular since they sold over 37,000 of them in the first year alone.

Instead, they really only made a steam shovel and a crane. Today, Tonka is probably best known for their dump truck, but at first, they didn’t make a single one.

However, the three proprietors did have the foresight to buy the rights to some big, metal toys that had been designed by the building’s previous tenant.

The company was located in an old three-story schoolhouse and began as a manufacturer of metal garden tools, such as rakes, hoes and shovels.” “Tonka Toys first began in 1946 as a partnership between three individuals who started Mound Metalcraft Incorporated. For a venerable toy company that has brought so much fun and hours of imaginative play to generations of children, Tonka didn’t start out making fun stuff.

Tonka trucks videos for kids