History
The 1987 Hess Toy Truck Tractor with Box Trailer Special Edition is a collectors’ item that was made in, mostly Hong Kong, roughly 90 percent of them, and China. There were approximately a million of these trucks made between both countries. Because approximately ten percent of the 1987 Hess Toy Truck Tractor with Box Trailers were made in China, they were more valuable than those made in Hong Kong. The colorings of these trucks were inspired by the original Hess gas stations, which were white, green, and yellow.
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A New Change
In 1987, the Amerada Hess Company came out with toy trucks that reflected the new changes, having only white and green, which matched the current colors of today’s Hess gas stations.
What Does the Truck Look Like
The truck is boxy with three green barrels inside the body of the trailer, labeled “Hess.” There are headlights and taillights that do turn on and off as well as the running lights located in the front and back of the trailer. On the top of the truck’s cab are working marker lights.
What Does the Box Look Like
On the sides of the box that the toy truck comes in is a picture of the truck located in a winter wonderland by a frozen pond filled with people skating on it near a Christmas tree that is lit. Pictures of the front and the back of the truck can be seen on the end flaps while the bottom of the box is inscribed with the instructions of battery installment and its bank compartment.
A Fun Fact to Know
The Hess toy truck also doubles as a coin bank with a slot on the top in the back of the trailer. To get the money out of it, one would need to turn the red knobbed door on the back of the truck.
Three Versions of the 1987 Hess Toy Truck
The truck has a gas tank which often doubles as a step into the cab. The gas tank comes in three different versions; smooth, diamond-textured, and regular. The smooth-coated gas tanks that have the doorstep with a chrome feel to it, these types are rare. There are also doorstep gas tanks that are patterned with a diamond feel to them that are more popular and most often made. Diamond textured and smooth gas tanks are more valuable than the third version; regular gas tanks. All three versions of 1987 Hess Toy Truck Tractor with Box Trailer Special Editions are often desired by major Hess truck collectors.