2019 Hess Mini Collection Review

2019 Hess Mini Collection Review

The Hess Toy Truck has been an East Coast holiday tradition since 1964, when Leon Hess first launched the annual series as an affordable, high-quality gift option for customers of his Hess gas stations. In 1998, after the holiday trucks (despite the name, not always a truck, specifically) had become sought-after toys and collectibles well beyond the East Coast, The Hess Corp. debuted the Hess Miniature Series — a collection of playable, collectible vehicles inspired by previously-released full-size counterparts. Released annually each spring (excluding 2015 and 2016 following the sale of the Hess Express gas stations to Speedway), the Hess Mini Collection is now sold exclusively through the Hess Toy Truck website.

The Toy Insider has your first-look, in-hand review of the new 2019 Hess Mini Collection, which includes three highly detailed trucks from three distinct decades of Hess Corp. history. This year’s release includes the 1975 Hess Box Trailer; 1996 Hess Emergency Truck; and the 2011 Hess Toy Truck & Race Car. 

2019 Hess Mini Collection Review

Miniature Box Trailer

When you think about classic toy trucks, it just doesn’t get much more classic than a good old-fashioned articulated tractor and box trailer. Decked-out in the original Hess color quartet: green, white, yellow, and red, this free-wheeling truck features 10, bright red wheels, with a total of six LED lights.


2019 Hess Mini Collection Review

Miniature Emergency Truck

This replica of the 1996 Emergency Truck features the modern green and white Hess color scheme. With chrome wheel hubs and accents, there’s a nice shine that’s enhanced by a whopping 24 total lights — including a Super Bright LED 360-degree rotating searchlight! There’s also a three-tier, 360-degree rotating extension ladder, perfect for kids to mount imaginary rescues in hard-to-reach locations.


2019 Hess Mini Collection Review

Miniature Toy Truck and Race Car

The Hess racing vehicles have been a big favorite over the years, and this Mini shrinks the 2011 heavy-duty flatbed truck and its stock car into a small scale for big fun. Kids can enjoy high-octane adventure with a race car that’s powered by a pull-back motor. The flatbed truck is in modern Hess white and green, with realistic chrome accents and 23 bright LED lights. 


2019 Hess Mini Collection Review

Each vehicle in the collection comes with a name plate display stand, three Energizer size A76 batteries, and the entire collection is packaged in a window display box with collectors in mind.

2019 Hess Mini Collection Review

What’s always impressed me about the Hess Toy Trucks is that they’re exceptionally well-made, durable, and packed with more details and features than you’d expect. They’re meant to be played with and passed down through generations, and were a 2014 nominee for induction into the National Toy Hall of Fame. The 2019 Mini Collection is a welcome addition to the collection, carrying on a long tradition of quality that will fuel hours of imaginative play for kids across a wide age range.

The Hess 2019 Mini Collection is sold exclusively at hesstoytruck.com while supplies last.

About the author

James Zahn

James Zahn

James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book, a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, and Editor of The Toy Report, The Toy Book‘s weekly industry newsletter. As a pop culture and toy industry expert, Zahn has appeared as a panelist and guest at events including Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) Wizard World Chicago, and the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy. Zahn has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment, retail, and publishing industries, and is frequently called upon to offer expert commentary for publications such as Forbes, Marketwatch, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, the Washington Post, and more. James has appeared on History Channel’s Modern Marvels, was interviewed by Larry King and Anderson Cooper, and has been seen on Yahoo! Finance, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, The CW, and more. Zahn joined the Adventure Media & Events family in 2016, initially serving as a member of the Parent Advisory Board after penning articles for the Netflix Stream Team, Fandango Family, PBS KIDS, Sprout Parents (now Universal Kids), PopSugar, and Chicago Parent. He eventually joined the company full time as a Senior Editor and moved up the ranks to Deputy Editor and Editor-in-Chief.

archivearrow-chevron-downarrow-chevron-left-greyarrow-chevron-leftarrow-chevron-rightarrow-fatarrow-left-blackarrow-left-whitearrow-right-blackarrow-rightarrow-roundedbookscalendarcaret-downclose-whiteclosedocumenteditorial-archiveeyefacebook-squarefacebookfilesgifthamburgerheadinghearthomeinstagram-squareinstagramlatestlinkedin-squarelinkedinmailmedia-inquiresmessagenewsopen-boxpagination-leftpagination-rightpauseplayprintproduct-archiverecent-productssearchsharesort-filterspotifysunteamtiktoktime_purpletimetrendingtvtwitter-squaretwitteryoutube