Then Came Kits
It is important to remember that, in the 1950s, promotional models came first, followed by kit development. Jim Donnelly, of Hemmings Classic Car wrote, "...once companies realized that built up promos were already licensed, they could be reintroduced as assembly kits" (Donnelly 2009).
In typical AMT kits, parts were molded onto "trees" and could be easily separated and then assembled. Product lines of stock model cars were soon augmented with parts to complete custom cars and hot rod variants from stock production vehicles. So the 'annual kit' was an extra sales benefit coming from the annual promotional model. As mentioned above, this configuration was soon named the '3 in 1' kit where the modeler could build a car in 'stock', 'custom', or 'hot rod' form by selecting different parts offered in the box. Some of AMT's first successful kits were of 1932 and other early Fords, and these were reissued several times over the years (Doty 2009b,87).
Unlike promotional models, which did not have opening hoods and suspension detail molded into chassis, kits usually had opening hoods, along with many parts to construct engines, interiors, and suspensions. Earlier kits had less chassis detail, and featured promo-like interiors, metal axles, whitewall tires, and metal screws to attach body to chassis. Later kits sometimes had more detail, but metal parts such as axles, chassis screws, and hood clips, were deleted or made in plastic. Often these later kits did not even feature rotating wheels. Whitewall tires, once a regular feature of kits, fell out of style and were eschewed for plain blackwalls.
AMT's 3 in 1 'Trophy' kit instructions in the early 1960s usually came with mini-biographies of popular customizers of the day such as Bill Cushenberry, Dean Jeffries, Alex Kraus, Gene Winfield, the Alexander Brothers, and, of course, George Barris, most of whom were employed by AMT. Gene Winfield even closed his California shop to work with AMT (Cawthon 2002). Further, on the sheets there was often a separate section on 'customizing hints' by George Barris exclusively. An extreme example was the 1957 Ford Thunderbird kit. Instructions gave 5 whole pages to 'stylizing', a practice of adding parts using body putty and sanding which went beyond mere 'customizing'. These were all tips besides the normal assembly instructions. Included in the '57 'Bird kit were additional 'street rod', 'drag bird', and 'Bonneville' styles all suggested by George Barris.
Thus AMT and other kit makers had made serious changes in their product approach by, say, 1965. Whereas the dealer oriented promotionals were previously the lead business – by the mid-1960s a whole new market was tapped involving customizing and customizers. These were often linked to TV and Movie themes which now drove AMT, and other model companies.
AMT offered some foreign car kits, but usually only if they were associated with U.S. car companies or a film favorite. A prime example was the 1971 Opel GT – a General Motors product. Foreign car kits were left to the likes of Monogram or Revell. Custom TV and movie custom cars, often by George Barris, like the ZZR (from the 1966 beach movie Out Of Sight), or the Monkeemobile, were also popular.
By the early to mid-1960s, modeling had exploded in popularity and the business of kit sales easily overcame that of promotionals. Model Products Corporation, known as MPC, entered the promotional and kit scene in 1965, and by 1970 was just as popular as AMT. To fight back, AMT started offering kits for an even wider variety of machines and themes.
Read more about this topic: Aluminum Model Toys