McDonalds

About McDonalds

Part of the promotional family

This theme sits under Promotional, the part of the catalogue for sets produced with partner companies rather than for the regular toy shop. With McDonald's, the usual route was the children's meal: a small pack with a quick build inside. That explains why almost every set here is tiny, with only a few dozen pieces, and why the models focus on simple vehicles that a child could finish at the table.

The 1980s: vehicles in small packs

The earliest sets are four lettered builds from 1983: Building Set A: Car (1912-1), Building Set B: Boat (1913-1), Building Set C: Helicopter (1914-1) and Building Set D: Aircraft (1915-1). The boat has 27 pieces, the others 20 each. In 1985 a Helicopter (1548-2, 32 pieces) and an Airplane (1546-1, 31 pieces) followed, both slightly larger than their predecessors. Lego Motion 1A, Gyro Bird (1645-1) from 1989 has 19 pieces and takes its name from the Motion range of the same year.

A restaurant of its own

The largest set is the McDonald's Restaurant (3438-1) from 1999. With 94 pieces it is by far the biggest model in the theme, and as a compact building rather than a vehicle it stands apart from the earlier giveaways. The timeline runs on until 2009, so later promotions are included too.

Rebuilding old giveaways

Because the sets use only a few dozen common pieces, many of them can be rebuilt from a general parts collection. The parts lists show exactly what each one contained, and “What can I build?” on Bricoria tells you whether your own parts are enough for a rebuild.

FAQ

Were these sets sold in shops?

Generally not. They were promotional items handed out through McDonald's, many of them with children's meals.

What were the first McDonald's sets?

The four lettered building sets from 1983: a car, a boat, a helicopter and an aircraft, numbered 1912-1 to 1915-1.

How many pieces does the McDonald's Restaurant have?

Set 3438-1 from 1999 has 94 pieces, which makes it the largest set in this theme.