Throwback Thursday - Ronald McDonald
Posted by FlagsNZ,
This week's Throwback Thursday article showcases one of the BLOCKS Collections's store display models: a LEGO Ronald McDonald.
The McDonald's Corporation has had an enduring relationship with The LEGO Group. Small LEGO models have often featured in some McDonald's Happy Meals.
Read on as I showcase a larger LEGO Ronald McDonald model that was used as a store display model.
Ronald McDonald
As many of you will know, Ronald McDonald is the mascot clown character of the McDonald's fast-food restaurant chain.
In the image below, you can see that Ronald is wearing a bright yellow coverall over a red and white striped collared shirt. He has big red clown shoes and red and white socks. Ronald is wearing a pair of yellow gloves.
Image source: mcdonalds.fandom.com/wiki/Ronald_McDonald
Large LEGO Ronald McDonald
You can see that the LEGO Ronald model captures all the attributes of a real Ronald McDonald right down to the scruffy red hair to the red highlights on his yellow coverall suit.
Ronald himself is based not on the human mascot, but rather the cartoon version of the character from The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald.
The Large LEGO Ronald McDonald models were distributed to McDonald's stores in the United States during the summer of 1998 in conjunction with the LEGO polybags Happy Meal promotion the following year. Like most other LEGO store models, the bricks have been glued together.
Over 13,000 of the models were produced at the Enfield LEGO Model Shop and shipped to each McDonald's restaurant in the United States. An internet search suggests there were about 12,700 restaurants in the United States in the late 1990s.
Storage box
The LEGO Ronald McDonald came in a customised storage cardboard box. There are cutouts in the box to accommodate Ronald's raised collar and nose as well as the toe of his left foot.
Here is a close up of the label on the end of the box.
Your feedback
Please add your comments below if this McDonald's restaurant display model built out of LEGO brings back any memories. The BLOCKS Collection has a comprehensive range of other large and vintage store display models that are built out of LEGO. These models will feature in a future Throwback Thursday article.
The BLOCKS Collection also has an extensive range of LEGO sets that were included in McDonald's Happy Meals. These LEGO sets will also be the topic of a future Throwback Thursday article.
The team at the BLOCKS Collection really enjoyed reading all your comments from the previous articles I have written.
If you are in Auckland, come and visit The BLOCKS Collection
The BLOCKS Collection is located in central Auckland, New Zealand.
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46 comments on this article
I'm lovin' it...!
@8lackmagic said:
"I'm lovin' it...!"
I'm not lovin' it.
Strong memories of getting sets like 1914 in Happy Meals back in the day. Really like this Ronald figure. Should be easy enough to rebuild although the exact pieces for the hair might be tricky.
I don't recall ever seeing these in Europe, but there were way less Lego/McDonalds promos here anyways I guess.
I've seen this somewhere else before though, was a bit surprised the model used actually slopes and not just basic bricks.
I have recently doing a little research on the topic of McDonalds promo sets, this line of sets specifically: https://brickset.com/sets/2757-1/Bad-Monkey
Could it be this was EU exclusive? No sellers pf these in NA on Bricklink either.
Wanted to know the name for this line English, no luck... In German these were known as "Mini Fabis" (which actually doesn't have a particular meaning I can think of...)
EDIT:
Kind of right in time for the Krusty Burger set :D
I still find it a bit incredible that we still haven't seen a Ronald Mcdonald minifigure yet (official one of course, not counting bootlegs!). Apart from the aforementioned Happy Meal toys and the infamous 3438 set, i think many collection are yearning for our favourite hamburger clown as a minifigure. With this year's fast-food funtastic burger-related sets of 10352 and 77076 setting the taste of things to come, I'm hoping a Mcdonaldland Lego minifigure collection will soon see the day (as they've recently been made into Funko Pop! figures).
Speaking of Happy Meal sets, I miss those. For a good while now, they've done Lego promos that aren't sets, but are still connected to Lego in some way, such as the infamous 4040 (which, granted, is still buildable, but only has three pieces), or the cups that they did for TLM, of which I made sure to get a complete set. Apparently, they did this because kids were losing pieces when building the sets in the restaurant. They did a small puzzle as one of the TLBM promos; I guess they figured that no one would be putting that together until they got it home. It also came in a small tin, not a plastic bag, which made it easier to keep the pieces together.
Ran ran ruu
Anyway, interesting article!
The large model is surprisingly detailed for the time. I don't remember seeing them in McD's but then I wasn't really a regular in there so don't know if we ever had these in the UK.
Easily the creepiest mascot clown in existence, often seen as a fiberglass sculpture mounted on a park bench outside a McDonald's outlet, ready to wrap his arm around you.
If you were fresh into your adult years and stumbling home from town after a night out, the temptation to approach and sit next to the creepy clown was often too much to resist.
wHaT yA eAtIn ThErE bIlLy?/? iS ThAt A hUnGrY jAcKs BuRgEr?/?
- The definitive Ronald McDonald from Racka Racka
There seem to be 3 versions, McDAM1, McDAM2 and very scary face McDAM4.
Somehow the brick version seems less creepy than the real deal.
Regarding the McD's Happy Meal products, I'm pretty sure that 1643 was my first Lego set, which my dad brought home when he was working as a manager there. Far better than the things they made in 2009 that were barely Lego at all.
An article on the previous Lego and McDonalds crossovers would be great
I don't remember ever seeing the Ronald McDonald model, but I did have 1645 Gyro Bird, 1647 Turbo Force, and 1649 Sea Skimmer. About 10 years ago I found them when I visited my parents, and gave them to one of my nephews.
@Euroseb11 said:
"I still find it a bit incredible that we still haven't seen a Ronald Mcdonald minifigure yet (official one of course, not counting bootlegs!). Apart from the aforementioned Happy Meal toys and the infamous 3438 set, i think many collection are yearning for our favourite hamburger clown as a minifigure. With this year's fast-food funtastic burger-related sets of 10352 and 77076 setting the taste of things to come, I'm hoping a Mcdonaldland Lego minifigure collection will soon see the day (as they've recently been made into Funko Pop! figures). "
I kind of like that idea...
Unlikely though, if the rumors are true that TLG doesn't want to do any more Fast Food chain tie-ins because of parents might perceive this as "unhealthy influence" or something the like.
While there was no minifig of any of those characters, there were slopes of them :D
https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=3298pb087&name=Slope%2033%203%20x%202%20with%20McDonald%27s%20Ronald%20McDonald%20Pattern&category=%5BSlope,%20Decorated%5DT=C
Regarding an article about those promo lines:
I'm especially curious about all the Duplo polybags which actually were Mcdonalds promos and are commonly not recognized as such...
For the most part, whenever there was a Lego promotion there seemed to be an alternative for kids under 3.
For the previously mentioned "Mini Fabis" the alternative were these two:
1641-1 (which oddly enough was repackaged and re-release several times since 1991 it seems)
1739-1 (also with a rather suspicious date stamp)
@ricecake said:
"I don't remember ever seeing the Ronald McDonald model, but I did have 1645 Gyro Bird, 1647 Turbo Force, and 1649 Sea Skimmer. About 10 years ago I found them when I visited my parents, and gave them to one of my nephews."
Those builds remind me a lot of the much later released LEGO Creator/Create-it board game.
I actually have this guy. I have an aunt who had a long career at McDonald's and she recently gave one to me.
@Atuin said:
"I have recently doing a little research on the topic of McDonalds promo sets, this line of sets specifically: https://brickset.com/sets/2757-1/Bad-Monkey
Could it be this was EU exclusive? No sellers pf these in NA on Bricklink either.
Wanted to know the name for this line English, no luck... In German these were known as "Mini Fabis" (which actually doesn't have a particular meaning I can think of...)"
Here in the UK they were just “Monsters”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR12TJvaR3w
I used to work for McDonald's and I remember seeing one of these in the franchise offices
@StyleCounselor said:
" @8lackmagic said:
"I'm lovin' it...!"
I'm not lovin' it."
So many negative commenters on this sight lmao
@Ottozone said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
" @8lackmagic said:
"I'm lovin' it...!"
I'm not lovin' it."
So many negative commenters on this sight lmao "
So many ungrammatical comments and poor word usage on this site. nlmao
Well, pardon me! That clown is frightening and forces freaky 80s flashbacks for me.
@TotalMaddness said:
" @Atuin said:
"I have recently doing a little research on the topic of McDonalds promo sets, this line of sets specifically: https://brickset.com/sets/2757-1/Bad-Monkey
Could it be this was EU exclusive? No sellers pf these in NA on Bricklink either.
Wanted to know the name for this line English, no luck... In German these were known as "Mini Fabis" (which actually doesn't have a particular meaning I can think of...)"
Here in the UK they were just “Monsters”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR12TJvaR3w
"
Oh, thanks!
A little disappointing though, had hoped for something more interesting :D
I never realised how terrifying Ronald McD's face is on a real person. The cartoon images and various toys I remember from when I was a kid kinda toned down how scary it looks... as does the Lego version honestly, in bricks he looks almost normal...!
The only Lego set I ever got from McDonald's was 2729; and by the time they were released in 1999 I didn't find them particularly interesting because I had just got into Lego's themes and minifigures, so random basic creatures just didn't catch my interest anymore. As a result, he kinda just chilled in pieces in the depths of my loose Lego boxes.
The Lego McD's promo I've always liked best was the Bionicle Matoran, 1388 - 1393; not only cool and story-relevant characters, but also unique* recolours of some of the theme's mask pieces, making them an all-around win! Regrettably, though, they never made it to the UK; so while I'm glad to have a couple who I got shipped from America, they're not a common sight over here... if they had been, I expect I would have made at least an attempt to do some army-building with them and a bunch of mask packs by now!
*(unique at the time, anyway. By 2003 Kongu was the only one whose mask recolour was still exclusive to the McDonald's set.)
They weren't the only Bionicle promotion that McDonald's would run, but were the only one with actual sets; I believe there was one in 2002 that had cards for one of the Bionicle card game packs, and in 2006 - 2008 they took a leaf out of the book of Burger King's Mask of Light promotion to make one-piece plastic figures that represented then-current sets. Personally I still think those are kinda interesting in their own right, but they're definitely not "actual Lego" even by Bionicle's standards...!
@Ottozone said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
" @8lackmagic said:
"I'm lovin' it...!"
I'm not lovin' it."
So many negative commenters on this sight lmao "
Ironically yours is the negative comment, not about the article at all but about just a comment where humour was used to reference for many, a shared creep-out of Ronald McDonald and the company’s silly catchphrase. Sorry if I over-explained it bringing pedantry to the site.
What do you think of the model? It’s not for me personally but at least its better than the actual clown who I can’t stand the sight of.
I'm now craving food from McDonald's after reading this article. I don't know why.
I had just been browsing random vintage Lego on ebay a few weeks ago and came across a couple of these and was intrigued--and now here he is with his own article, nice!
@Murdoch17 stay strong, it's not worth it! (It's funny how expensive Micky D's is now...)
We didn't have a McDonald's near us until I was about 14 years old. So my exposure to them prior to that was only when we went on trips to visit other places and usually didn't eat at McDonald's. That's rural farmland USA for ya...
I prefer McDowells.
With their Golden Arcs and the big Mick!…two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles and onions, on a NONE sesame seed bun.
I might have to pay Blocks museum a visit. These articles are awesome.
I acquired hand drawn instructions for this from someone years and years ago and built one from my collection.
@StyleCounselor said:
" @Ottozone said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
" @8lackmagic said:
"I'm lovin' it...!"
I'm not lovin' it."
So many negative commenters on this sight lmao "
So many ungrammatical comments and poor word usage on this site. nlmao
Well, pardon me! That clown is frightening and forces freaky 80s flashbacks for me.
"
basically proving my point lmao. the statue is kind of endearing to more basic lego
@Ottozone said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
" @Ottozone said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
" @8lackmagic said:
"I'm lovin' it...!"
I'm not lovin' it."
So many negative commenters on this sight lmao "
So many ungrammatical comments and poor word usage on this site. nlmao
Well, pardon me! That clown is frightening and forces freaky 80s flashbacks for me.
"
basically proving my point lmao. the statue is kind of endearing to more basic lego"
Little newbie tween, please don't come here and be a troll. We have a community.
I may seem quirky and full of witty humor. But, I have no time, and plenty of venom, for vacuous trolls.
See, @CamberbrickGreen comment above.
P.S. Punctuation, capitalization, and spelling are your friends.
@Maxbricks14 said:
"I might have to pay Blocks museum a visit. These articles are awesome."
Yes. It is well worth a visit.
Thanks, everyone for your helpful comments.
Some insightful comments have been sent through via a Brickset contact form. I have added some more details and amended the release date based on this new information.
Super Retro xD
@legoDad42 said:
"I prefer McDowells.
With their Golden Arcs and the big Mick!…two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles and onions, on a NONE sesame seed bun."
As an anime fan, I'm loyal to WcDonald's. (I loved it when they did that promo recently.)
@StyleCounselor said:
" @Ottozone said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
" @Ottozone said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
" @8lackmagic said:
"I'm lovin' it...!"
I'm not lovin' it."
So many negative commenters on this sight lmao "
So many ungrammatical comments and poor word usage on this site. nlmao
Well, pardon me! That clown is frightening and forces freaky 80s flashbacks for me.
"
basically proving my point lmao. the statue is kind of endearing to more basic lego"
Little newbie tween, please don't come here and be a troll. We have a community.
I may seem quirky and full of witty humor. But, I have no time, and plenty of venom, for vacuous trolls.
See, @CamberbrickGreen comment above.
P.S. Punctuation, capitalization, and spelling are your friends. "
These continued insults futher prove my point lmao
Let's stop spreading negativity here
@StyleCounselor said:
" @Ottozone said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
" @8lackmagic said:
"I'm lovin' it...!"
I'm not lovin' it."
So many negative commenters on this sight lmao "
So many ungrammatical comments and poor word usage on this site. nlmao
Well, pardon me! That clown is frightening and forces freaky 80s flashbacks for me.
"
That's not nearly as scary as my great grandmother's collection of early 1900's ceramic dolls she kept in her spare bedroom when I was a kid. My brother and I never went in that room after seeing them.
I'm Lovin' these Lego history articles!
@oldtodd33 said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
" @Ottozone said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
" @8lackmagic said:
"I'm lovin' it...!"
I'm not lovin' it."
So many negative commenters on this sight lmao "
So many ungrammatical comments and poor word usage on this site. nlmao
Well, pardon me! That clown is frightening and forces freaky 80s flashbacks for me.
"
That's not nearly as scary as my great grandmother's collection of early 1900's ceramic dolls she kept in her spare bedroom when I was a kid. My brother and I never went in that room after seeing them."
That got Jonathan Coulton running through my head: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pfojf0KkTrQ
Love an obscure Lego story. Great write up, looking forward to more throwbacks
@TheOtherMike said:
" @oldtodd33 said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
" @Ottozone said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
" @8lackmagic said:
"I'm lovin' it...!"
I'm not lovin' it."
So many negative commenters on this sight lmao "
So many ungrammatical comments and poor word usage on this site. nlmao
Well, pardon me! That clown is frightening and forces freaky 80s flashbacks for me.
"
That's not nearly as scary as my great grandmother's collection of early 1900's ceramic dolls she kept in her spare bedroom when I was a kid. My brother and I never went in that room after seeing them."
That got Jonathan Coulton running through my head: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pfojf0KkTrQ"
Creepy. (shivers)
@Russell844 has sent me a link to some instructions to build this model.
https://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.php?f=224
I had a friend in elementary school who got this given to him by a family friend or something, that was a marvel at the time. Not sure what happened with it for him, we drifted apart in fourth grade sadly.
Last I saw one of these I think was a McDs in a rest stop area had it in a display case around the mid 2010s. Probably got cycled out when they started standardizing restaurant interiors to the McCafe aesthetic.
I’ve got one. Got it at a yard sale for ten dollars. I took it to Brickfair one time and people said their children have never been to McDonald’s and no idea who he is.