Review – McDonald’s Happy Meal Stomper Mini 4×4 Jeep Renegade 78 (Maroon)

I already reviewed the 1985 Stomper Mini 4×4 Dodge Rampage (review here) so check that review out if you haven’t seen it yet. Everything I say there applies to this Jeep Renegade 78 toy truck; the only difference between these two toys is in the design of the body shell.

Tough Trucks!

The McDonald’s Happy Meal Stomper Mini 4×4 trucks may be a bit simplistic in design — the lack of battery-powered motors in the trucks makes the Stomper name a little unusual — but it’s tough to deny just how sturdy these trucks feel. Nice plastic, hefty, and nicely rolling wheels makes these fantastic toys for kids. And as Happy Meal toys these are tough to beat? If these were packed in meals at McDonald’s today I know I’d want a few of them.

One of Two Different Colors

According to route21.com this truck was a part of the 1985 test market and the full 1986 release. In 1986 both this maroon and an orange version were released, leaving me wondering just how many McDonald’s toy promotions were offered in variant colors over the years. I bet chasing down Happy Meal toys would be an exciting obsession.

NOTE: I will not be chasing down Happy Meal toys. I’ve gotta draw the line somewhere, right?

Still Gotta Grab Those Boxes

As cool as these Stomper Mini 4×4 toys are they feel incomplete without the special boxes that were mentioned in the ad. After all, don’t these little trucks need the promised “Action Track” sets that they were packed in when the series went to full release in 1986? I’ll work on that problem, and while I do you can enjoy these pics of the toy trucks. Can you believe these are three decades old?