Fisher Price, we need to talk!
2/7/2025
Translation: machine translated
Pictures: Ann-Kathrin Schäfer
The best toys in our sandbox have not been made for almost 40 years. Why not? Time for a search for clues, which leads me to a different conclusion than I thought.
My two boys regularly turn our sandpit into a building site with lorries and diggers. I myself only share this fascination to a limited extent. Nevertheless, after years of playing along or sitting next to them, I feel like half an expert. In any case, the vehicles in our sandpit usually have the following problems: they get stuck, they don't grip well - and they break down after a few years. Sand in the gears, brittle from sunlight, worn by the weather.
However, two vehicles in the sandpit have always held their own and are also easy to operate. It is noticeable with both that their levers are really made for children's hands and their gripping mechanisms run like clockwork. These include an excavator (Lena Robust Product), which has survived since the eldest nephew (12). And a vintage lorry from Fisher-Price, which my partner brought into parenthood, actually straight from his own childhood. It almost doesn't get any more durable than that.
Since a few construction site vehicles have passed away and a birthday is coming up, I enter the following into the search field of a well-known search engine: «Fisher-Price sandpit toys». I dive into the world of «Husky Helpers Construction Vehicles» - this seems to be the name under which the line is still known today. It was produced in the distant 1970s and 1980s, the last time in 1986. These include excavators, lorries, cranes, concrete mixers, or in collector's jargon: «#300 Scoop Loader», «#301 Shovel Digger», «#302 Dump Truck», «#311 Bulldozer», «#313 Roller Grader».
What happened to this robust sandbox line and where are its successors? I go in search of clues.
Track 1: second-hand market
I'm amazed at how big the second-hand market is for the Fisher Price line. «Used condition with age-related signs of wear without figures, see the pictures, that's why it's so cheap», for example, says a «Shovel Digger #301». Cheap means: 34 francs. For models in particularly good condition, some are asking 80 and even over 100 francs.
A look at the Galaxus sandpit department shows that you don't have to pay more than 15 francs for a new digger these days. But will it stand up to contact with sand? Where are the durable, well-designed sand toys that will withstand any construction site use - for generations to come?
Track 2: Interview with manufacturer Fisher-Price / Mattel
«How nice to hear when toys are appreciated across generations», says Anne Polsak. She is head of communications in German-speaking countries for Mattel - the Barbie group to which Fisher-Price has belonged since 1993. She admits that she had never heard of the Husky-Helpers construction site vehicles before my enquiry. The line doesn't seem to be as present at the manufacturer as it is in some sandboxes. «Popular lines are also being dropped from the range to make room for new ones», says Polsak. With a few exceptions such as the chattering telephone and the colourful colour ring pyramid.
Pure construction site vehicles are no longer really in demand, she adds. «Today's parents want their children to learn something while playing.» This is shown by the market research that the company conducts in its Playlab in the USA. Fisher-Price's focus is therefore on pre-school products with learning aspects. Do I know their «counting and stacking crane»? It has a face and can talk. He doesn't look like he'll last long in our sandpit.
It looks bad for a new edition of our unbreakable construction site vehicles. After all: «We always take recommendations from customers, including yours», comforts Anne Polsak. In the same sentence, she doubts that the line is really a global «Need». And anyway: «We have long development times. I don't know if your children would still play with it.» She does not know what materials the Husky Helpers line was made from. But she also realises that the toys from the past stand out due to their durability and better quality.
Track 3: Conversation with the Swiss Toy Association
Sandro Küng from the Swiss Toy Association is not surprised that Fisher-Price itself cannot tell me how its toys were produced back then: «Back then, manufacturers did not document production processes and materials used as precisely as they do today.» The guidelines on toy safety have become much stricter since the 1970s, explains Küng. It is reasonable to assume that the Fisher-Price line is made of ABS plastic, just like Lego bricks. «This plastic is particularly robust and durable.»
The fact that the ingredients of toys remain a trade secret is soon to change. A new EU regulation aims to introduce digital product passports, with information on ingredients, safety regulations, supply chains and a contact option for repairs and spare parts. Switzerland generally adopts such regulations.
«These digital product passports will significantly increase toy safety», assumes Küng - but says that basically everything from certified manufacturers is already safe. «Unfortunately, this is not the case with online marketplaces such as Temu. So far, the Federal Council has equated online purchases there with private imports, which is why the products do not have to fulfil any safety requirements. This is questionable. Recently, a projector exploded in Switzerland!»
Sandro Küng doesn't think my question about what exactly happened to this vintage Fisher-Price digger line is really that important. He emphasises once again: «The main thing is that parents buy safe toys from certified brand manufacturers and not from third-party suppliers.» When a product is no longer manufactured, there are always economic reasons behind it, he replies. The demand was probably not high enough. «We live in a consumer world in which price is the deciding factor. I myself am amazed at how price-driven even Switzerland, which is otherwise so brand-loyal, has become.»
Küng asks for your understanding that even conscientiously manufactured sandpit vehicles can quickly hit a snag. «Difficult conditions apply in the sandpit», he says. «Sand acts like sandpaper. If you have ever sandblasted something, you can imagine the stresses and strains these toys have to withstand!» This is also the reason why the toy industry has not yet found a real alternative to the not exactly sustainable plastic that has been used since the 1950s. «Plastic is still the most durable material.»
Track 4: Lena Robust Product / Simm Spielwaren
Who doesn't get stuck despite the sand is the aforementioned favourite excavator «Simm 0825 Lena Robust Product». «On sale», it says on the website. Will production of this Lena series be resumed? And whether the impression that it is modelled on the Fisher Price Husky Helpers line is correct? Twice «No», answers Carola Söhn, Managing Director of Simm Spielwaren.
A pity. Because this excavator also had some pretty good selling points: it is the only excavator in our sandpit that is still whole even after more than ten years in contact with sand and sun. The material is «very high quality and produced with thick walls», explains Söhn. The two galvanised steel axles ensure stability. The excavator attachment can be rotated 360 degrees and the bucket shovels as it should with the two handles. It is TÜV-certified, «spiel gut»-awarded, produced in the EU in compliance with safety standards - and actually: made of «indestructible ABS plastic». Carola Söhn explains the discontinuation of production - advertised on the website as the «best quality from the Lena range» - as follows: «The increased material requirement inevitably results in a higher price for the item, which is no longer accepted by the majority of customers.» Sobering, in my opinion.
Second hand is better than new anyway
While I was writing these lines, my partner decided to stock up our Fisher Price range with second-hand goods. «They're simply the best», he says with a bit of nostalgia in his voice. Somehow, that's also the most sustainable form of consumption. Good side effect: I can now present a few worthy photos in this article.
Which vehicle I would like to mention as a positive example for the sake of completeness:
BIG excavators and lorries
Not quite as sophisticated as the two examples above, but still quite good and popular:
And here are two negative examples:
Polesie excavator
A bad buy: the gripping mechanism is a waste of time. Basically impossible to dig up anything with it.
Lena concrete mixer
Looks super stylish, is sustainable, but unfortunately gets stuck after the first contact with sand.
In your experience, what are the most durable sandpit vehicles that run smoothly? Write it in the comments.
Header image: Ann-Kathrin Schäfer
Ann-Kathrin Schäfer
Editor freelance
simon.balissat@digitecgalaxus.chI'm really a journalist, but in recent years I've also been working more and more as a pound cake baker, family dog trainer and expert on diggers. My heart melts when I see my children laugh with tears of joy as they fall asleep blissfully next to each other in the evening. They give me inspiration to write every day - they've also shown me the difference between a wheel loader, an asphalt paver and a bulldozer.
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