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       In the beginning, most model car kits were derived from the same tooling used to produce 1/25th-scale new car dealer promotionals. These were factory-assembled and molded in colors, but omitted the engines, detailed chassis, and building options found in model car kits. Promotionals shown here, clockwise from the upper left, are the 1960 Dodge Dart and 1965 Plymouth Fury (produced by JoHan), 1969 Ford Galaxie XL (produced by AMT), 1966 Charger, and 1970 GTO (produced by MPC).

      The model car kit phenomenon developed quickly in just a few years, starting in the late 1950s. As is so often the case, this growth and progress occurred in several major steps. Promotionals, sliding molds, 3-in-1 kits … they all played a role in the rapid development of the model car hobby. Let’s take a look at these developments as I lay the groundwork for the coverage of muscle car model kits later in this book.

       They Came First: 1/25th-Scale Promotionals

      The popularity of promotional dealer-giveaway toys grew following World War II and continued through the 1950s. One of the earliest recognized promos was a very basic aluminum-based 1948 Ford miniature from a company not surprisingly named Aluminum Model Toys. Yes, this was the start for a company that later led the development of model car kits, later using the new name AMT.

      Promos became available for many of the 1950s cars, usually rendered in 1/25th scale. Each year, the car companies would contract with a manufacturer of promotionals for replicas of their best-selling cars. Eventually two companies, AMT and JoHan (joined later by MPC), became the primary sources for these promotionals. The material used for these “toys” was typically an acetate that allowed a reasonable level of detail, but was unfortunately prone to moderate to severe warping over time.

       One-Piece Bodies and Sliding Molds

      A huge step ahead in scale authenticity occurred with the invention of three-piece sliding molds, an accomplishment credited to then-AMT engineer George Toteff. These sliding molds produced three-dimensional, one-piece bodies for promotional models. A further achievement was when AMT began molding its promotionals in a more rigid material that did not distort. This material was called Cycolac, and AMT made the switch during the 1961 promotionals run (while JoHan stuck with acetate bodies through the 1963 model run).

       1/25th-Scale Assembly Kits with One-Piece Bodies

      Model car kits of varying detail, quality, materials, and scale size had been produced for several years, but these kits were compromised in many ways. Unlike the acetate or Cycolac promos, these car kits were usually made from styrene pellets that, when heated, could be injected into a mold and rapidly cycled, allowing mass production. Styrene parts could also be assembled together by the modeler using, well … styrene glue.

      By the mid-1950s, styrene hobby kits were becoming more common, but these kits all suffered from the need to glue the body together from separate pieces forming the sides, front, rear, hood, trunk, and top. The finished product clearly showed the joints of these multi-piece bodies, along with the attendant glue smears and misshapen assemblies that could result. Typical of these kits were a series of 1/32nd-scale car replica kits from a Revell-AMT joint branding project starting in 1955.

      Starting with the 1958 model run, AMT decided to use its sliding mold tooling to produce unassembled versions of its 1/25th-scale promotionals, using styrene as the molding medium. These “kits” were then packaged for sale directly to the public via department stores, hardware stores, drug stores, and hobby shops. With the new one-piece bodies and easily glued parts, these AMT model car kits, which later became known as annual kits, were perfectly timed for the automotive-centric climate of the late 1950 United States.

      AMT’s 1958 annual kit debut included the Buick Roadmaster, Edsel Pacer, Fairlane 500, and Pontiac Bonneville. Another company by the name of SMP, very closely related to AMT, offered a Chevy Impala and Chrysler Imperial. The above kits were manufactured in convertible and (except for the Imperial) two-door hardtop form. Needless to say, these kits were a huge hit with boys, teens, and young adults back then.

      For 1959, the AMT/SMP lineup grew with replicas of the Corvette, Thunderbird, Lincoln Continental, and Mercury Park Lane joining the latest Buick Invicta, Impala, Imperial, Edsel, Galaxie, and Bonneville kits. Another promotionals manufacturer joined the unassembled kit fray when JoHan introduced kits of the 1959 Dodge Custom Royal, Cadillac Fleetwood, Oldsmobile 98, and Plymouth Fury. A year later, JoHan’s offerings added a 1960 Chrysler New Yorker and DeSoto Adventurer to its kit catalog. Revell, an early pioneer of assembly model kits who had previously offered a few 1/25th-scale kits with multi-piece bodies in the late 1950s, joined the 1/25th-scale annual kit competition in 1962. Its kit lineup replicated nearly the entire Chrysler Corporation lineup, including the Plymouth Fury and Valiant, Dodge Dart and Lancer, and Chrysler Newport and Imperial; this time these kits included the now-expected one-piece bodies.

      The breadth of 1/25th-scale kit coverage of the American Automotive Marketplace grew each year through the mid-1960s, with AMT and JoHan leading the charge. A new company, MPC, founded by George Toteff, the same engineer who created AMT’s three-piece sliding kit molds, introduced its first kit in 1964. By 1968, MPC was producing kits of many of the auto industry’s most desirable nameplates, including the new GTO and Charger. Meanwhile, Revell’s 1962 kit lineup was not a success, so it did not return to annual kits until 1969 with a new kit of that year’s Mustang hardtop and convertible.