The 1987 Hess Toy Truck, the first Hess toy truck detailed in white and green, and one of the first trucks made in China instead of Hong Kong, is also a bank, which provides an opportunity to teach kids the importance of saving money. The top of the trailer has a coin slot for the bank. A red knob on the rear trailer door opens the door for the child to access their savings. This truck has three miniature oil barrels, detailed head and tail lights, clearance and full running lights, side-view mirrors, chrome doorsteps, exhaust stacks, and horns.
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The Hess Toy tradition began in the early 1960s, when founder Leon Hess wanted to design a high quality and affordable toy for families at Christmas time. His first truck was a 1964 B Model Mack tanker that children could fill with water then empty through its hose. This toy, retailing at $1.29 included the batteries, and it quickly became a hit. The B Model Mack Tanker quickly sold out at all Hess gas stations. As a result, each year since then a different vehicle with the Hess name has been designed. Until 1987, the Hess toy vehicles were made to replicate the vehicles in the Hess fleet. The 1987 Hess 18 Wheeler Bank was the first toy designed that was a non-fleet vehicle.
For over 40 years, the Hess Toy Truck maintains their original commitment to quality, detail, and value. Each carefully detailed Hess toy comes in its own box and is battery powered to bring the cars to life with their lights, horns, and sirens. Because these collectible toys have been so popular and in demand, customers were limited to buy only two toys at a time. Models include fire engines, helicopters, a police car, an airplane, and a space shuttle.
Each year, the new Hess Toy Truck is introduced in a holiday television commercial with the famous slogan, “The Hess truck is back, and it’s better than ever!” Recently, the newest model was introduced on a float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. The Hess toy trucks are cherished by children and adults of all ages and will be around for years to come. They have become highly collectible items!
