AMT MODEL KITS HISTORY, 1 to 1 Star Trek Movie Prop Galileo & Model Kits, & AMT Plastic Kits TODAY!
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Captain's log star date 2821.5.
Boom! What's going on everyone?
I am Logan “the 64th Gear Jammer” Skeele, and this is Toy Talk.
Today I've got a great video on the famous model kit brand a AMT. Next Thursday, I've got another video coming on Monogram. So, go on and hit that red subscribe button and ring the bell next to it in order to get notified of all of my future videos.
AMT designed to compete with Frog “Penguin” Varney Trains, and Revell. In 1948, a new model kit maker comes on the scene. Michigan attorney West Gallogly founded AMT or Aluminum Model Toys.
His newly formed company followed the pattern of marketing that was set by Revell. AMT started diecasting aluminum promotional models for the Ford Motor Company.
Like Revell colored plastic was used to avoid the painting process. One or two or more colors of plastic were okay, but the consumers wanted more. So, the solution to this was plastic model paint. This became a product that AMT would market for years.
By 1957, AMT was searching for new products and new ways to market their products. In 1958, AMT added customizing parts to some of their lines of model car kits. This was in response to the older kids customizing their promotional models and the flywheel powered AMT toy cars. Also, in 1958 AMT began producing models in styrene plastic instead of the old cellulose acetate.
In 1958 AMT introduced the 3-in-1 Customizing Kit Series. This would be a wildly popular series for them that is even produced today. By 1961, AMT needed their own production facility, so a building was constructed in Troy, Michigan to house all their operations from design to production.
Marketing is the key to successful manufacturing. AMT had just that. From 1959 to 1964, AMT had a marketing guy, Budd The Kat Anderson. He traveled the country, attending car shows and model contest, where he created excitement over AMT’s products. Budd was known as The Kat from AMT and became the first true celebrity of car modeling.
Based in Phoenix, Arizona, AMT established its “Speed & Custom Division” in 1965. The division’s goal was to produce one-to-one custom vehicles for the film and TV industry. In other words, full-size props.
AMT with the Marbon Chemicals Company developed the idea of turning the Marbon plastic bodied CRV (Cycolac Research Vehicle) into a real full-size one-to-one model kit known as the Piranha, that consumers could buy and assemble. What a cool concept of full-size kit. A custom Piranha spy car was created for the TV show, “The Man from UNCLE”
By 1966, the companies were constructing on-camera models for the new TV series “Star Trek.” This led to an agreement with AMT to produce Star Trek model kits.
Besides “Star Trek” they produced models of cars, trucks, military equipment, aircraft, and even 1:1 models for the film and TV series. They built the shuttle craft Galileo for the original “Star Trek” TV series for use in the show. It was used with the starship Enterprise. And it was the full size 1:1 scale prop that you see in the TV series.
As a side note, the shuttle craft Galileo still exists today and it can be seen at NASA’s Johnson Space Center official visitor's center in Houston, Texas. It is located inside Space Center Houston's Zero-G Diner.
Big changes were ahead for AMT. In 1979, AMT was sold to Lesney's Matchbox Toys. Lesney moved production from Troy, Michigan to Baltimore, Maryland where it would remain until 1996.
The next big change came when the Ertl Company of Dyersville, Iowa bought the AMT company in 1982.
1999 saw Ertl bought up by Racing Champions corporation and it then became RC2.
In 2008, Tom Lowe's new company, Round 2, LLC, acquired AMT and MPC. At first, the brands were only obtained via a licensing agreement where they got the brands and the tooling. Then shortly thereafter, they were able to acquire the tools outright.
The Japanese company Tomy, who bought Ertl in 2011, sold the AMT and MPC product lines in 2012 to Round 2, LLC.
Round 2 is currently remaking and marketing many of the iconic plastic model kits, as well as making new model kit toolings.
Tom Lowe's Round 2, LLC is taking good care of the historic AMT brand. Round 2 maintains AMT plastic kits level of accuracy and has implemented upgrades to the existing molds where needed.
Round 2 is leading model kits boldly into the future with AMT.
AMT model kits built all of their model kits based on a scale.
I'm Logan, the 64th Gear Jammer Skeele, and this is Toy Talk.
Toy Talk is hosted by Logan Skeele Founder of Advantage Diecast, LLC
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