Review – McDonald’s Happy Meal Stomper Mini 4×4 Dodge Rampage (Blue)
You may remember the McDonald’s Happy Meal ad featuring Stompers that I posted last week. The ad was from 1986 and promised kids Stomper Mini 4×4 toy trucks, and I was lucky enough to locate this Dodge Rampage toy on eBay for a low price. It was almost too easy to find this toy . . . even if it turns out that this specific Stomper Mini 4×4 pre-dates the newspaper advertisement.
Test Market Toy
It turns out that this Stomper Mini 4×4 Dodge Rampage is from a limited test market. The website route21.com has info on the Happy Meal Stomper promotion, and with a little research I managed to determine that the toy shown here is from the test because the promotional flyer packed with the toy has a 1985 copyright date and the mail-away offer is priced lower than the 1986 offer. Hurray for oddities and toy promotional flyers!
Awesome Flyer!
Just in case I didn’t make it clear in Each Sold Separately* and Action Figures Not Included*, I find toy marketing and promotional flyers fascinating. There’s something satisfying about flipping through marketing materials, and the small double-sided flyer included with this Stomper Mini 4×4 was far too fun not to share here. And according to the route21.com page the special toy was actually sold normally once this promotion ended. Now to chase down one of the McDonald’s-branded trucks because I’ve gotta see this work up close!
Kid-Powered
The first thing that jumps out is that this Stomper Mini 4×4 toy truck isn’t motorized. Unlike the Stomper trucks sold at retail, this 2.5-inch long truck is push activated and cannot drive itself around. That’s pretty damn weird since the whole gimmick of Stomper toys was the battery-operated motor, but I guess Schaper and McDonald’s decided that low price was important than keeping true to the version of the trucks sold in toy stores. At least the wheels are on springy axles; the truck bounces nicely when dropped and it’s fun to roll around the table. I’d take it outside but then it would get dirty. We can’t have this three decade old truck covered in dirt!
Simple Fun
Pushing this small Stomper Mini 4×4 around the table has me thinking again about chasing down one of the battery-powered Stomper trucks from the eighties. This little blue truck is fun, but the more I shove it over obstacles the more I find myself remembering the sound of the powered trucks and how awesome it was to see them tackle terrain. I suppose that was part of the idea behind the promotion; give kids an inexpensive toy truck and then lead some of them into the powered models sold in stores.
Closing Thoughts
This Stomper Mini 4×4 is fun on its own, but for me the real joy comes in seeing the entire package from advertisement to the packaged toy complete with marketing flyer. The “special offer” McDonald’s Stomper truck shown in the flyer looks like the next step in tracking down info on this line, but I suspect the truck is far too pricey for someone with only a casual interest in the series.
Maybe I can find one of the Happy Meal boxes. After all, the newspaper ad says that the boxes convert into different Action Track designs for the trucks. Wouldn’t it be cool to see one of those boxes in action?
Geeze, this really does bring back memories! I’d been on eBay checking out some Stomper listings myself. Have yet to pull the trigger on one yet….
@Jaus – It is those Stomper playsets I’m having a tough time resisting. Playset and truck in one box? How can any of us say no?
I remember having a few of these when I was a kid! My favorite one was this exact one in the review! I may have to track one down for my small nostalgia shelf…
@rosewaster – Check eBay. I’ve noticed that several Stomper 4×4 toys are listed at fairly reasonable prices. I’m glad I could help spark some good memories for you!