The Hess Corp. revealed its 2020 Hess Mini Collection, which includes three highly detailed, small-scale vehicles inspired by fan favorites from the historic fleet of holiday Hess Toy Trucks. This year’s Mini Collection is a limited-production set that includes recreations of the 1987 Hess 18-Wheeler, the 2009 Hess Race Car, and the 2015 Hess Fire Truck and Ladder Rescue.
The 2020 Hess Mini Collection includes pre-installed Energizer batteries and is available exclusively through the Hess Toy Truck website while supplies last. Visit our sister publication, the Toy Insider for a detailed first-look review of the new set.
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 line was relaunched as the Hess Mini Collection in 2017.
Each year, Hess releases a limited-edition collection of three scaled-down replicas fan-favorite vehicles from years gone by. Hess Toy Trucks are meant to be played with and passed down through generations, and were a 2014 nominee for induction into the National Toy Hall of Fame. While actual production numbers are never revealed, Hess Toy Trucks tend to sell out quickly.