New Zealand NZ Made Tonka Trucks
Page 5 of 5
 Looks like a Tonka Metro Van from this angle |
 Tonka labels look very convincing. The screw heads don't |
The Metro van above was made in China in three colors; red, white and black and began to show up on auction websites in the 1990's. I bought several myself. A couple of obvious details that help identify a Tonka Metro from the knock-off are: the floor pan is welded to the body on the Tonka Metro and screwed together on the knock-off. The grille openings are angled about 45 degrees to the vertical centerline on the Tonka Metro and run east to west on the knock-off. This metro is a very nicely done custom with a lot of detail (check out the New Zealand labels under the chassis).
 1966 #910 Bottom Dump. Image courtesy Micah James |
 Circa mid 1960's #2249 Tractor. Image courtesy Micah James |
The model #910 Bottom Dump above, is packaged in a box with graphics typical of that used on 1966 Tonka models made in the U.S.A. The tractor (cab) is the new futuristic "Gas Turbine". However, the box graphics do not accurately depict what was in the box. In 1966, New Zealand was still using the square fender, 1961 cab featuring the front bumper with the Tonka "T" and a grille without the Tonka "T". Difficult to see in the image, the oval decal on the trailer reads Mound, Minn while the oval decal on the cab doors reads New Zealand. The whitewalls are marked NZ.
 Mid 1960's Mobile Crane. |
 Mid 1960's Mobile Crane. Images courtesy John Paterson |
 Mid 1960's Mobile Crane. |
 Circa mid 1960's Mixer. Image courtesy Patrick O'Neil |
 Circa mid 1960's Car Carrier. |