Aluminum Model Toys - Promotionals Came First

Promotionals Came First

AMT then, through the early 1960s, ruled supreme in the promotional (and kit) market rivaled only by Jo-Han. Newcomer MPC (Model Products Corporation) entered the arena in 1964 with their Corvette kit, followed by 1965 promotionals of the Dodge car line. Plastic model makers like Pyro Plastics Corporation and Premier Products came and went, while other kit makers focused on different vehicles. Lindberg rarely touched the promo market. Monogram focused on custom, hot rod, TV, movie, racing cars, aircraft, and ships. Revell did U.S. vehicles, but focused on European Sports and racing cars. Aurora Plastics Corporation specialized in aircraft, TV, classic Universal Monsters, figure kits and 1/32 car kits. Palmer Plastics sold a number of American car models in 1/32 scale for 98 cents each throughout the 1960s, but these models were poorly detailed and lacked basic features such as clear windows and correct wheel covers.

It is important that in the United States after World War II, plastic gradually became the primary material for the modeling and collecting hobby. The thinner labor and business environment supported only the simpler casting of cheaper materials for toys (though in great detail). In Europe, by contrast, complex die-cast metal zamac toys in smaller sizes with many opening features became the norm. These were more complex products for a labor structure driven by a densely populated craft guild environment. These characteristics were not as prevalent in the United States.