When I was a kid, I was a sucker for a Happy Meal toy. Those McDonald’s commercials did a great job of brainwashing me into thinking I absolutely needed the latest trinket to come with the kids’ meal combos, to the point where I’d beg my parents to take me to our local franchise every week just for the opportunity to score the toy I happened to be eyeing that day.
I thought I had long since grown out of the desire for Happy Meals and the toys that lay inside them, but as it turns out, I haven’t. My desire is being reignited by Toyota and McDonald’s Japan, which have partnered up with Japanese toy car maker Tomica to offer Happy Meals with a handful of different model cars.
The campaign is led by the GR GT3, Toyota’s new race car, but it’s just one of seven different cars you’ll be able to score in a Happy Meal from April 10 to May 7. There’s also a fire truck, a Nissan Skyline police car, a double-decker bus, a Toyota Dyna tow truck, and Hino flatbed truck hauling a shark. There’s also an ambulance, but for some reason it’s based on the Nissan NV350, the competitor to Toyota’s own HiAce.
My favorite of the group is a Toyota TownAce flatbed that is hauling a gigantic hamburger. Not only does it come painted in McDonald’s red and yellow, but it also has a green bed, which makes me happy, for some reason. I guess that’s why they call it a Happy Meal.
Here’s the full selection of cars, in case you’re curious:
Going by the outline, that “secret toy” is likely just a differently colored GR GT3. If you watch the promotional video associated with the campaign’s launch, you’ll see a gold-painted version shown towards the end that’s not shown in the selection above:
Tomica is basically the Japanese equivalent of Matchbox or Hot Wheels, so this is probably a pretty big deal for people who are really into collecting model cars. A handful of the cars, including the GR GT3 and the hamburger hauler, are specific McDonald’s-branded items, which means they might end up being a lot more rare than their standard Tomica production counterparts.
I wouldn’t put it past diehard collectors to plan a trip around this, hitting McDonald’s after McDonald’s in Tokyo just for the chance to score a golden GR GT3. Like most Happy Meals, the toys are packed along with the food in a “blind-box” style purchase, which means you don’t know which car you’re going to get until you actually have the Happy Meal box in your hand. Toyota doesn’t say whether some of these toys are rarer than others, but either way, scoring the car you want might be down to dumb luck (or buying dozens of Happy Meals until you finally get it).
While I’d love to take a last-minute trip to Japan to eat some McDonald’s and possibly score some sweet model cars, it looks like the cheapest round-trip flight from New York, where I live, to Tokyo is around $1,500. While I’m not sure I’d spend that type of cash just to get my hands on an exclusive toy car, I’m sure there are several people out there who actually might. Model car collectors are a dedicated type of enthusiast.
On April 10, when the Toyota/Tomica Happy Meals go on sale, Toyota is also launching a design contest where anyone can design a wrap for a GR GT3. The website has yet to go live, but the announcement claims the contest is open to anyone, child or adult. Whether that means anyone in Japan or anyone in the world is unclear. More info is coming at the end of the week, if you’re interested. Winners will be chosen by judges, with special prizes awarded to those whose designs are selected. If the contest is open to anyone, it could be a fun way to participate in all of this without having to hop on a plane.
Top graphic images: Toyota; DepositPhotos.com
Holy crap…these are awesome.
Any excuse to travel to Japan is legit. Do it.
The Toyota TownAce Hamburger Car would make SUCH a great competitor to the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile. I wonder if it would be subject to the Chicken Tax.
If that commercial aired in the U.S. some hand-wringer would go ballistic about children driving cars. Remember the infamous Corvette commercial?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/127789338557?
Cheaper than plane tickets. Even with shipping!
4 interest-free payments of $14.75? Sold!
Don’t forget the Tomica lottery going on at 7-Eleven in Japan! I just got back from Japan a week ago and bought way too many Tomica cars.
While I was over there, a buddy of mine who has a side gig selling Japanese diecast toys in the US informed me that 7-Eleven has a “lottery” going on. Buy a peel off ticket at the register, and you win the prize corresponding to the number on the ticket. Sure enough on my last day there I walked into a 7-Eleven and stumbled into the Tomica display at the counter. I bought 4 tickets at 100Y a pop and ended up winning an S13 Silvia diecast, a Tomica tumbler, and large and small Tomica towels.
I’m glad I bought the tickets that I did, because I visited probably 10 other stores after this and not one of them was participating.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DF1HR3mSmmw
Oh and these Happy Meal toys seem to be de-contented compared to normal Tomicas. I have a normal version of the hamburger truck sitting right next to me as I type this and it has clear windows, clear headlights, and a detailed interior.
100y x 0.0065 (y to $) = $0.65 /ticket
i d say you made off like a thief
My bad, it was 1000Y per pull. Still, as a total nerd for Tomica I feel I got $26 worth of stuff that I couldn’t get elsewhere.
As a GR Corolla owner, I’d love to have that GT. I know someone that visits Japan but I don’t think she’ll be there anytime soon.
(I just ordered the HKS toy GR Corolla from eBay over the weekend.)
If you do go, you’ll find that McDonalds in Japan is an entire cultural education in and of itself.
I say go do it.
I’m so old that I remember when Happy Meals were for ‘a limited time’ (late 70s). Guess we lived in one of the test markets.
Around 1973, my sister & I were in a tv commercial for what I was later given to understand was the first McDonald’s in Japan.
I never got to see it—nor could I find it online a few years back. We didn’t get any toys-just coaching on smiling while biting into cold hamburgers
Somewhere out in the aether there’s footage of a couple little gaijins with almost white hair eating with I’m sure plastic smiles 😉
You know eBay exists right?
Where’s the fun in that?
I remember in the late 80’s or early 90’s, McDonalds in the USA had Hot Wheels and Barbie as the toys (I assume the barbies were some mini version, but the cars were full hot wheels.) The boxes even had cut outs so you could drive your car through them. I wish they’d do it again.
The hamburger truck and happy meal bus are amazing. I wonder if Ronald McDonald is still around for the Japanese market considering that he’s all but vanished from the US market
You mean “Donarudo Makudonarudo”?
https://www.mashed.com/656224/the-reason-ronald-mcdonald-has-a-different-name-in-japan/
…time to pay way too much and wait way too long for one on eBay.
Edit: just checked and there’s already postings for more than $50. And I’m suddenly reminded of the bare shelves at Walmart and it makes me sad.
Scalpers really are killing these brands. Little Timmy might never be interested in Hot Wheels, Godzilla, or Batman if he never sees it on the shelf
Not just *a* shark, the largest shark species that ever lived and one that Jason Statham could barely defeat (x2)!
if that’s a Megalodon, then you are going to need a bigger truck
First a bigger boat and now a bigger truck? I think these sharks are just excuses to buy more vehicles!
God, was that sequel terrible. They should make a toy of the dump truck full of money they backed up to his house.
I’m in Tokyo right now, and had a McDonalds two hours ago.
But not a happy meal, so no free car.
I have bought a handful of Tomica cars while here though, and they are mostly great. I finally found a mk1 CRX with the right bonnet bulge for the 1.6 16 valve engine. I’m such a dork.
See my post above about the 7-Eleven Tomica lottery going on now.
If you pick up a Mazda MX-5 ND dealership model, I would buy it from you. I’m serious. I can’t convince a shop in Japan to sell me one because of the tariff stuff.
Mercedes I’m so sorry, it’s my last day tomorrow and it’s packed with coach trips, boat rides and a couple of formal meals. If I could get out of any of it I would.