Aluminum Model Toys (AMT) is a toy manufacturing brand founded in Troy, Michigan, in 1948 by West Gallogly Sr. AMT became known for manufacturing 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 aluminum 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 aluminum promotional model was offered, aluminum 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.