Aluminum Model Toys (AMT) is an American brand of scale model vehicles. The former manufacturing company was founded in Troy, Michigan, in 1948 by West Gallogly Sr. AMT became known for producing 1:25 scale plastic automobile dealer promotional model cars and friction motor models, and pioneered the annual 3-in-1 model kit buildable in stock, custom, or hot-rod versions. The company made a two-way deal in 1966 with Desilu Productions to produce a line of Star Trek models and to produce a 3/4 scale exterior and interior filming set of the Galileo shuttlecraft. It was also known for producing model trucks and movie and TV vehicles.
The AMT brand was bought in 1978 by the Lesney company of UK, then by competitor Ertl in 1983, then by the Round 2 company in 2012.
History
Beginning Because Gallogly had solid connections with Ford Motor Company, he was able to place his first models exclusively in Ford dealerships, starting a long promotional relationship. Gallogly's first model was a 1947–1948 Ford Fordor sedan made of cast aluminium and painted with official Ford paint. After issuing successful Ford sedan models, the company set up shop on Eight Mile Road outside Detroit.
By 1948, injection plastic molding was already being used by Product Miniature Corporation (PMC). After the first Ford aluminium promotional model was offered, aluminium was abandoned. Different colors of plastic could now be used, so the company name was quietly changed to AMT, which deemphasized the word "aluminum". For example, AMT's 1949 and 1950 Ford and Plymouth sedans were its first plastic models, along with the 1950 Studebaker coupe. These promos often had wind-up motors which could not be seen through the shiny silver-tinted windows. They had metal chassis and diecast metal chrome-plated bumpers, which were later replaced with chrome-plated plastic. Often, official factory paint colors were applied to the models. The company's first commercial products were pre-assembled plastic promotional models, which were only available through automobile dealerships.
In the early 1950s day-to-day operations of the company were turned over to George Toteff so that Gallogly could better attend to his law firm. Model design was kept in-house, but molding was outsourced. Continental Plastics in Fraser, Michigan, was one of the companies contracted to mold AMT's models.
Early competition
AMT was the most successful company in the mid-1950s to mold accurate plastic models in 1:25 scale and sell them to auto manufacturer dealerships, but it was not the first promotional automobile model maker. National Products of Chicago, Illinois, started manufacturing pot metal promotional models in the 1930s. Among their earliest models were the 1934 Studebaker, Chrysler Airflow, Graham and Hupmobile four-door sedans and a variety of other cars and trucks. National Products was purchased by Banthrico in 1949. Banthrico started making promotional banks of animals and buildings in the 1930s. After World War II, Banthrico continued with a focus on precision metal replica banks of cars, accurately painted, and mostly in 1:25 scale. According to promo aficionado Clarence Young, these car models were used to display factory car colors to prospective buyers. Through 1956, Banthrico was the leader in metal promotional models.
Nevertheless, the use of plastic was on the rise and would become dominant once Banthrico quit manufacturing promos. These other companies were Scale Model Products (SMP), Product Miniature Company (PMC), and Ideal Models, which later became Jo-Han in 1955 because of the name conflict with the Ideal Toy Company. PMC may have been the first to actually produce a model in plastic, but Banthrico, PMC, and others faded while AMT and Jo-Han gained momentum on the promo scene.
Among these companies, SMP of Birmingham, Michigan, is the most significant to AMT. About 1958, SMP started what was to become the plastic modeling craze by introducing the “annual” kit, often with a 3-in-1 theme where the model could be built in stock, custom, or racing versions. Aluminum Model Toys bought SMP in 1961, adopting SMP's 3-in-1 kit idea and the SMP logo, which at the time was a diamond shape. AMT also adopted some of the SMP kit features when making promotional models. For example, the 1959 Imperial came with a detailed chassis and glued-in axle mounts. Also, the universally recognizable red rectangle with rounded corners shifted from SMP to AMT with a simple change of the diagonally-formed white letters. Thus, SMP seems to have created the 3-in-1 annual kit and logo, not AMT. AMT then marketed both the SMP and AMT names simultaneously for a couple of years. On promo boxes, the diagonal SMP logo was copied by AMT but that style did not last.
Promotional models AMT then, through the early 1960s, ruled supreme in the promotional (and kit) market, rivaled only by Jo-Han. It is important to compare AMT marketing with that of other plastic model makers. Newcomer MPC (Model Products Corporation) entered the arena in 1964 with their Chevrolet Corvette kit, followed by 1965 promos 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 diversified, specializing in aircraft, TV, classic Universal Monsters, and figure kits. Aurora also made a large range of 1:32 scale and several 1:25 scale car kits. Palmer Plastics sold a number of American 1:32 scale car models 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.
Importantly, through the 1950s post World War II, plastic gradually became the primary material for the modeling and collecting hobby in the United States. The post-war labor and business environment in the U.S. supported only the simpler casting of cheaper materials for toys, although they could be made with great detail. By contrast the common trend in Europe was making more sophisticated diecast metal zamak toys in smaller sizes with many working features. These were more complex products for a labor structure driven by a densely populated European craft guild environment. Such characteristics were not as prevalent in the United States.
Development Promotional makers like AMT worked very closely with styling departments of American automobile manufacturers. An article appearing in Ford Times chronicled the manufacturing process of AMT models. Intricate drawings and styling models, just like with the real thing, were first constructed. Larger 1:10 or 1:12 scale clay models would be crafted to perfect details. Accurate dies in 1:25 scale, which was the most common, would be made from these for plastic injection. Bumpers and hood ornaments were chrome-plated and bodies were painted, often in factory colors. Painted bodies were baked in ovens, then the models were assembled and packaged.
The auto manufacturers would often pay the cost of model tooling. Such costs could range anywhere from $20,000 to $250,000.Automotive News 1948; . The model companies were often pressed to get sales, display, paint and promotional details correct in order to offer the models to the “Big Three” before the real vehicles hit the market. Detroit's annual model changes required last minute alterations in model details and showroom displays had to be finished in advance of the actual cars reaching the dealerships. One example was AMT's 1968 Chevy hardtop kit. AMT did not have access to GM's 1968 details, so the resulting model was not correct. (MPC was able to get the '68 details and produced accurate models of the Impala SS 427 in both Sport Coupe and convertible styles). Another example was the 1960 Ford Falcon promo that was offered in a hardtop, which was not available on the actual car. Limitations of models offered also sometimes had interesting results. The 1966 Mercury Comet promo came only in a hardtop and that year a convertible paced the Indianapolis 500, so the 500 promo came in any style desired as long as it was a hardtop.
Models were sometimes used in dealerships as display materials that were not generally sold. They were also used to promote sales to customers. Models would be used to show prospective customers what new models would look like. They could also be purchased at the parts counter for around one dollar. Commonly, especially in the 1950s, they were simply given away in the showroom after a test drive, usually to children.; . For example, a 1958 Edsel advertisement prompted "Road Check The Big One, Get A Little One Free".; see also .
Details
Though simply cast, promotional models were exquisitely detailed and proportioned, and by 1960, AMT became the main supplier of the pre-assembled model to American car companies. AMT worked most closely with Ford Motor Company and General Motors Corporation, but promo contracts among the model manufacturers seemed to alternate year to year.See , for a nice history of AMT's Ford Galaxie). Shapes of the vehicles were near perfect, though in the 1950s, cellulose acetate, the plastic of choice, was prone to serious warping. In 1960, AMT and some other manufacturers switched to styrene (the brand name being Cycolac, which is actually ABS – or rubbery styrene, more flexible and less brittle) and by 1964, all of the major model car manufacturers had changed over to the new plastic. This solved the problem and styrene models 50 years later still maintain their form. 1961 was a key year for the switchover. For example, some early 1961 Mercury Monterey two door promos were done in acetate while most for that year were done in the new non-warping Cycolac.
Models were molded in different colors, but often painted with actual factory paints, a practice that went back to the 1930s. Also, as with the 1964 Pontiac Grand Prix, the roof was cast in "vinyl" black. Script and emblem details were intricately molded into plastic bodies, grilles and wheels. Hoods did not open, there was no engine detail and no interiors on most models in the 1950s. Thus promos without interior or engine detail were called “coaster models” as opposed to kits with more detail. With the development of kits, however, viewing the interior became practical and as important as exterior appearance. Speedometer numbers could be read on the instrument panels. Horn rings on the steering wheels were accurately depicted brand by brand.
Early on, AMT chassis were often made of metal, but later, they were usually a single piece of plastic with lower engine, exhaust and suspension details molded in a single piece with metal axles fitted through holes in the sides of the plastic. Normally, on the chassis, there were no operating suspension parts. Wheels were one-piece plastic pressed onto the axles. With parts typically "melted" together, forming a permanent bond, promotional models were much more durable than their counterpart assembled kits. Of course, promotionals were simpler and had fewer parts than kits which were a later marketing ploy to enhance sales. Hoods did not normally open and suspension details were molded into the chassis. One exception to this was the 1962 Ford Fairlane and Chevy Impala promos, both of which had an opening hood and a detailed engine. Beyond this, extras were not often built in, but there were occasional surprises like the button on the 1959 "Wide Track" Pontiacs which pushed the wheels inward toward the body to simulate how wide the new cars were.