Han Xin - Happy Meal Transformer

Happy Meal Transformer

McDonald’s Happy Meal toys are promotional toys included with Happy Meals, usually aimed at children but often enjoyed by collectors as well. These toys have become a cultural phenomenon over the years. While most are made from plastic, recent efforts have introduced more sustainable materials to align with environmental goals.

TMS has proposed a sustainable solution aligned with growing environmental awareness: a new line of 100% recyclable tin metal toys. While tin is widely used today for packaging food, beverages, and cosmetics, tin toys have long fallen out of production. This initiative aims to revive tin toys, blending nostalgia with sustainability.

Client

The Marketing Store Worldwide

Service

Industrial design

The Transformers, an iconic franchise spanning toys, TV shows, and movies, boasts a global following of cult fans and collectors. Tin metal’s metallic finish is a perfect fit for toy robots, offering advanced printing and forming capabilities. My task was to design a solution that is attractive while staying within the limits of modern tin metal production.

The initial design concept features a transformable Optimus Prime, presented in vehicle mode as a semi-truck. It can be disassembled and reassembled into its robot form with the aid of magnets, enhancing both playability and ease of transformation.

Action Hero

Given that Happy Meal toys are for children aged 2+, safety became a key concern, as small parts pose potential hazards. I adjusted the design to an action-figure style, creating a stout, heroic version of Optimus Prime. The head and arms are rotatable, allowing for simple yet engaging poses.

Autobot, Roll Out!

To further reduce shipping costs, I designed a variation where the body fits into the head, adopting a half-life ratio. This stylized and cartoonish option is not only fun and playable but also makes for a potentially excellent dashboard ornament. A flexible plastic component connects the two halves of the tin shapes, allowing for smooth assembly and disassembly while maintaining durability.