Bruder Trucks - the new Tonka?

[Sho'Nuff]

So my wife and I are expecting our second child in the next month or so. To help our 3 year old son adjust, we decided to get him a "gift" from the baby. After much deliberation, we decided to get him a couple of Bruder trucks. If you have kids and haven't heard of Bruder, they are a German toy manufacturer. Although their trucks are made of plastic, they are extremely authentic reproductions and very well built. Not to mention they are HUGE. The two trucks we bought for my son (pictured below with some random kid for scale) are each
~ 3 feet long.

I'm not sure who will be more excited. My son when he gets the trucks, or me when I give them to him.

 

[Red Storm]

Can't go wrong with cars/trucks (and Legos), they are the best toys around. :thumbsup:

 

[lxskllr]

Are they made in Germany or China?

 

[EagleKeeper]

Good thing you posted this after Xmass. Couple of grandsons would have pestered me to death

Last year it almost was a child size electric John Deere Gator for a bday

 

[LegendKiller]

Are they made in Germany or China?

The ones I have seen are made in Germany/EU. My nephew loves the things. They are relatively expensive and I wouldn't equate them to Tonka trucks as they aren't build in the same way. I think, overall, they are far more nice than Tonka but they aren't the ruggedly built metal Tonka trucks I am used to.

 

[lxskllr]

The ones I have seen are made in Germany/EU. My nephew loves the things. They are relatively expensive and I wouldn't equate them to Tonka trucks as they aren't build in the same way. I think, overall, they are far more nice than Tonka but they aren't the ruggedly built metal Tonka trucks I am used to.

Very cool. I get tired of seeing the Hecho en Chine labels on the bottom of everything :^/

 

[ch33zw1z]

Very cool trucks.

My M-I-L would ruin the crane with a: "that string is a strangulation hazard for the new baby!"

 

[Jeeebus]

They're great. We got my son a fire truck and some construction vehicle, and they are his favorite toys to play with.

 

[LegendKiller]

Very cool. I get tired of seeing the Hecho en Chine labels on the bottom of everything :^/

Yeah, it's one of the appeals to getting them. We've bought my nephew 2, an ice/snow plow and a truck/jeep. He has 2-3 other ones that my brother bought him.

Also, there are 2 lines to the trucks. The nicer ones are the "mack" trucks, I forgot the other line's name, but they aren't as detailed or nice.

 

[lxskllr]

Also, there are 2 lines to the trucks. The nicer ones are the "mack" trucks, I forgot the other line's name, but they aren't as detailed or nice.

OT, but I was on a job once where a guy was using a fully restored 58 Mack for active duty hauling dirt. It was both cool and at the same time painful to see :^)

 

[Sho'Nuff]

Are they made in Germany or China?

Made in Germany.

 

[OutHouse]

those are sweet. if my son was about 7 years younger i would so buy a few for him.

 

[OutHouse]

I still have my metal tonka dumptruck and bulldozer from when i was a kid. those thins were practically indestructible.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

Yeah, it's one of the appeals to getting them. We've bought my nephew 2, an ice/snow plow and a truck/jeep. He has 2-3 other ones that my brother bought him.

Also, there are 2 lines to the trucks. The nicer ones are the "mack" trucks, I forgot the other line's name, but they aren't as detailed or nice.

Yeah, they have the pro line (MACK) and the non-pro line, which I think is called Bruder MAN.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

I still have my metal tonka dumptruck and bulldozer from when i was a kid. those thins were practically indestructible.

Yeah. unfortunately it is (nearly) impossible to find full die cast metal trucks anymore. Even Tonka's are manufactured using (mostly) plastic these days.

The Bruder's I have seen appear to be quite durable, despite being made of plastic. But they wouldn't survive the myriad fireworks explosions I subjected my Tonka to when I was growing up.

 

[manimal]

Cant wait to give these to my triplets. I got them a dump, tow, and mixer for christmas and they played with them more than ANY other toy and they had just turned two at that time.

I seriously cant wait till they turn three so I can start giving them these!

 

[waggy]

awesome!

those look great.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Yeah. unfortunately it is (nearly) impossible to find full die cast metal trucks anymore. Even Tonka's are manufactured using (mostly) plastic these days.

The Bruder's I have seen appear to be quite durable, despite being made of plastic. But they wouldn't survive the myriad fireworks explosions I subjected my Tonka to when I was growing up.

You were never taught to keep the dynamite separate from the blasting caps when hauling equipment in the truck. Saves having to put the truck into the repair shop to fix the rear axles

 

[Renob]

those are great toys, but not cheap.

Find us a HOT deal...

 

[darkewaffle]

Yeah. unfortunately it is (nearly) impossible to find full die cast metal trucks anymore. Even Tonka's are manufactured using (mostly) plastic these days.

The Bruder's I have seen appear to be quite durable, despite being made of plastic. But they wouldn't survive the myriad fireworks explosions I subjected my Tonka to when I was growing up.

Don't worry, those fireworks are probably illegal now anyway

 

[Sho'Nuff]

You were never taught to keep the dynamite separate from the blasting caps when hauling equipment in the truck. Saves having to put the truck into the repair shop to fix the rear axles

Thinking back I was brutal to my Tonka and Voltron* toys. My older brother and I would routinely tape 5-10 black cats to them and set them all off at once. The Tonka survived (damaged, but still ok), whereas the Voltron melted together so badly that it could never be separated into the individual pieces.

*Before someone cries foul, the Voltron in question was the second generation one, which included ~20 different plastic spacecraft that merged into a giant robot. I would never treat the lion based Voltron so poorly.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

those are great toys, but not cheap.

Find us a HOT deal...

Buy.com and Amazon have relatively good prices for these trucks. Still expensive, but you get what you pay for. And I would rather support ze Germans then the Chinese.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

Don't worry, those fireworks are probably illegal now anyway

In Virginia where I grew up, they are now illegal. But in New Hampshire (where I live now), they are still perfectly legal. God I love the "Live Free or Die" state.

 

[ch33zw1z]

In Virginia where I grew up, they are now illegal. But in New Hampshire (where I live now), they are still perfectly legal. God I love the "Live Free or Die" state.

So do the massholes

 

[vshah]

damn, i want one.