 For rather silly-looking little immobile pieces of plastic, hollowed-out in the back, cheaply made, and poorly detailed, these two-and-a-half-inch figures are some of the most coveted collectibles out there. The reason being, these Happy Meal Toys were only given out by McDonald's in the St. Louis area and its immediate surroundings, and thus we TF collectors are competing with the McDonald's collectors for the few that exist. They also come in an aggravating number of color combinations and variants, virtually guaranteeing the impossibility of completing a set. Four characters were made: Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, Brawn, and Gears. Ostensibly there are 24 figures in all - 6 colors for each of the 4 - but sources contradict each other as to how many color combinations there really were. McDonald's Happy Meal Toys in the USA, by Schiffer Publishing (1985), says one thing, while fellow collectors and my own experiences tell me something different. Below is a list of the color combinations that I've seen or heard of. Note that not all of these colors are shown in the above group shot. The ones I have personally, and can absolutely vouch for, are marked with an asterisk. Not all of those are represented in the picture. (Webmaster's Note: The asterisk now notes the ones that I have and can confirm exist. Ones with two asterisks are confirmed to exist by www.plumed-serpent.com. I have also updated the list based on conversatons with other collectors and added links to all versions possible.)
It's been my experience that Brawn is the easiest figure to find, in any color, and Gears the most difficult. The fact that Bumblebee and Cliffjumper, and Brawn and Gears, look almost identical at first glance, doesn't help the search any. I also suspect some of the confusion on the colors comes from accidental variants. I think the violet is in fact an unintended shade of the red, and the cyan is an unintended shade of the blue. None the less, on the resulting figures, those colors are very distinct.
The Happy Meal box featured the TF artwork shown above. I imagine the box is even more difficult to get than the figures themselves. Within the box, each figure came in a bag, along with a flier for a mail-away premium. For 3 Proofs of Purchase, $5.99, plus $1 shipping, an Overdrive toy could be ordered. Today, the bagged figures and even the loose figures fetch outrageous prices. It's a little bit daunting to someone trying to complete their set, but compare that with the McDonald's Beast Wars figures that are being thrown away at garage sales for five cents, and consider the relative value of each. There is some justice in the world... |