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Private Label Mighty Tonka Trucks Page 1
Private label means that Tonka took pride in manufacturing trucks that were unique and manufactured to a specific customer's specifications, not your standard, off the pages of the Tonka (or Hasbro) dealer catalog. These trucks were often given to employees in recognition of superior performance. Some trucks were sold to the buying public. Large department stores like Sears and Penneys, just wanted something that looked different than the standard Tonka truck, even if it was only a color change. And in one example, a Mighty Dump went from mild to wild.
 1972 Mighty Mixer for Penneys |
 1972 Mighty Roller (standard) |
J.C. Penney (Penneys) featured standard Mighty Tonka trucks in their catalogs beginning in the very early 1970's. Standard would be defined as
right off the pages of the Tonka dealer catalog. Beginning in 1972 and lasting into the mid 1970's, Penneys opted for something a little different.
The very basic difference between the standard Mighty Tonka and special order Penneys Mighty Tonka was the paint color. Penneys opted for ocher
(orange) instead of yellow or Euclid green. This was not across the board but on selected models. Examples would be; The standard Mighty Mixer was
Euclid green. The special order Penneys Mighty Mixer was ocher (orange). The standard Mighty Crane was yellow. The special order Penneys Mighty Crane
was ocher (orange). Penneys also offered a Mighty set in 1972 and 1974-75.
Known Penneys stock numbers for Mighty Tonkas are 925-6587 Mighty Roller; 925-2669 Mighty Loader; 925-2677 Mighty Scraper; 925-2685 Mighty Dump;
925-2701 Mighty Car Carrier; 925-6579 Mighty Crane; 923-0244 Mighty Bulldozer; 925-6595 Mighty Mixer; 925-6546 Mighty Loadmaster; 925-6603 Mighty
Set, 925-6553 Mighty Set and 923-5276 Mighty Grader.
In addition to being sold individually in 1972, the 925-6595 Mixer (special order), 925-6587 Roller (standard Tonka), 925-6579 Crane (special order)
and a FREE orange Hard Hat, was sold as a set under Penneys catalog number 925-6603, Tonka model 7579. All 4 items were shipped in a single
carton.
 1972 Mighty Crane for Penneys |
 Box for 1972 Penneys Mighty Set |
 1976-77 Mighty Mixer for J.C. Penney |
 1976-77 Mighty Dump for J.C. Penney |
 1976-77 Mighty Crane for J.C. Penney |
Finding a J.C. Penney Mighty anything can be a challenge, even in today's ultra high tech environment. One would think that with auction websites being such a driving force in bringing what was thought to be the rare and obscure to common, everyday, more Penney's trucks would be unearthed. But that's not the case. One of these days, we'll be lucky enough to feature all of Penney's special order Mighty Tonkas. For the time being, here are three 1976-77 models. All were painted ocher (orange) while the standard 1976-77 Mighty Dump and Crane were yellow and the standard Mighty Mixer was Euclid green. |
| Tonka made 2 Mightys exclusively for Sears in 1967 and 1968 that were unlike anything in the standard Tonka series. The Mighty Dozer and Scraper, Sears stock (catalog) #79 N 5504C and the Mighty Mobile Shovel stock (catalog) #79 N 5498C. Both of these items are tough to find, especially in pristine condition. Even so, because of their scarcity, both tend to get bidders excited and prices paid generally run substantially more than standard Tonkas of the same vintage. The Dozer and Scraper sold for $11.49 in 1967 and $11.69 in 1968. The Mobile Shovel sold for $7.29 in 1967 and $7.39 in 1968. |  1967-68 Mighty Mobile Shovel for Sears |
