Model Products Corporation

Lore & Background

MPC was established in 1963 by George A. Toteff Jr. and Dick Branstner in Mount Clemens, Michigan. Toteff had been an original employee at AMT, rising to vice president, where he developed the first “3-in-1” model car kits using his innovative “side-slide” injection-molding technique. MPC produced its first promotional models in 1965, and its first product under its own logo was a highly detailed 1/25-scale 1964 Corvette Sting Ray coupe kit with working front suspension and extra speed and customizing parts. Early promos included a 1965 Dodge Coronet 500, a 1965 Dodge Monaco hardtop, and a 1965 Dodge Custom 880 convertible. Many early MPC kits were developed from pre-existing promo toolings, and some were distributed in AMT packaging, such as the 1967 Plymouth Barracuda.

About 1970, General Mills bought MPC, and Toteff stayed on as president. General Mills also owned Lionel, and the MPC name appeared on early 1970s train sets. In the late 1970s, General Mills created CPG Products Corporation, and MPC kits were marketed under its Fundimensions Division. General Mills sold off its hobby companies in 1985, and MPC was purchased by The Ertl Company, which had also acquired AMT in 1981. Ertl became part of RC2 Corporation in 1999, then was absorbed into TOMY International. From 2008, MPC products were re-issued under license by Round 2 LLC, which acquired MPC's assets outright in 2011.

MPC offered original toolings of automobiles from classic luxury cars of the 1920s and 1930s to contemporary dragsters and funny cars, as well as conceptual customs and caricature models. Notable product lines included Gangbusters (1/25 scale classic cars with gangster figures), Connoisseur’s Classics (re-boxings of Gangbuster subjects), Switchers (continuing the 3-in-1 concept), TV and movie tie-ins (such as Hogan's Heroes Jeep, The Dukes of Hazzard kits, and Knight Rider's Knight 2000 Firebird), and Zingers (caricature models with distorted vehicles). MPC also released kits in 1/20 scale, slot cars, and beginner-level Chromies snap-together kits.

Reader's Guide

MPC's significance lies in its role as a major competitor in the plastic model kit market during the 1960s and 1970s, particularly in the automotive segment. The company's founder, George A. Toteff Jr., brought innovation from his time at AMT, notably the side-slide injection-molding technique that enabled one-piece car bodies. MPC's product range was broad, covering promotional models for automakers, annual kits of current-model-year cars, and a variety of themed series that appealed to different interests: classic cars (Gangbusters, Connoisseur’s Classics), customizable kits (Switchers), pop-culture tie-ins (TV and movie vehicles), and whimsical caricatures (Zingers). The Zinger line was reintroduced in 2009 by Round 2 LLC, a recognition of MPC's stature among historic kit-makers. The company's legacy is also tied to its ownership history, passing through General Mills, Ertl, RC2, and TOMY, before its assets were acquired by Round 2, which continues to re-issue MPC products. MPC's promotional models and kits remain collectible, and its brand name endures as part of the Round 2 portfolio.

Did You Know?

• The company's founder, George A. Toteff Jr., developed the first '3-in-1' model car kits while at AMT, using a side-slide injection-molding technique.
• MPC produced a series of caricature models called Zingers, which featured comically distorted vehicles without strange people or animals.
• The MPC brand name appeared on early 1970s Lionel train sets, with the tagline '...of the fun group at General Mills'.

Foundations & the Side-Slide Revolution

Model Products Corporation traces its roots to a single breakthrough in injection-molding technology. In 1958, George A. Toteff Jr., then a rising executive at AMT, devised a 'side-slide' molding method that let manufacturers produce one-piece model car bodies from a single tooling set. That innovation became the seed of the '3-in-1' kit concept, where one set of parts could be assembled into three different configurations. Five years later, in 1963, Toteff—by then AMT's vice president—partnered with Dick Branstner to found MPC in Mount Clemens, Michigan, bringing that technology into its own product line. The company's first promotional models shipped in 1965, including a 1965 Dodge Coronet 500 in both convertible and hardtop body styles, a Dodge Monaco hardtop, and a Dodge Custom 880 convertible. The first kit to carry MPC's own logo was a 1/25-scale 1964 Corvette Sting Ray coupe with functional front suspension and bonus speed parts. Toteff's warm relationship with former AMT colleagues meant several early MPC kits, such as the 1967 Plymouth Barracuda, were actually distributed inside AMT boxes before the company fully established its independent packaging identity.

Iconic Series & Pop-Culture Tie-Ins

MPC's catalog stretched from Depression-era luxury automobiles to wild dragsters and fictional vehicles, often co-developed with the very customizers and racers who built the full-size originals. Dick Branstner, a co-founder, had constructed the legendary 'Color Me Gone' Dodge Truck dragster; George Barris designed the Batmobile; and Dean Jeffries created the Monkeemobile. The Gangbusters line put 1/25-scale classics like the 1927 Lincoln Roadster and a 1932 Chrysler roadster complete with 'bullet holes' in the windshield alongside scale gangster figures and Tommy guns. The Switchers series carried forward Toteff's 3-in-1 philosophy, letting builders turn one parts set into a Ford Model T roadster, coach, or cab. Perhaps MPC's most visible cultural footprint came through television and film tie-ins: the General Lee from The Dukes of Hazzard, John Milner's yellow Deuce Coupe from American Graffiti, the Knight 2000 Firebird from Knight Rider, the Monkees' GTO Monkeemobile, and the Fonz Dreamrod from Happy Days. In the early 1980s the company even licensed Airfix 1/72-scale WWII infantry figures under its own branding.

A Long Chain of Ownership

MPC's corporate life was as turbulent as its product line. Around 1970, General Mills acquired the company from Toteff, who remained on as president. Under that umbrella, the MPC name briefly appeared alongside the Lionel logo on early-1970s train sets, with marketing copy referring to both as part of 'the fun group at General Mills.' By the late 1970s, General Mills carved out a separate toy-and-hobby identity called CPG Products Corporation, and MPC kits were sold through its Fundimensions Division. General Mills held the hobby assets until 1985, when it divested them and later floated its remaining toy business as Kenner Parker. That same year, The Ertl Company—already the owner of AMT since 1981—purchased MPC. Ertl was folded into RC2 Corporation in 1999, which was subsequently absorbed by TOMY International. From 2008, Round 2 LLC in South Bend, Indiana, re-issued MPC products under a Tomy license, and in 2011 Round 2 bought MPC's assets outright, along with those of AMT and Ertl. Round 2 itself was later acquired by Tomy for $640 million, completing a full circle back to Japanese ownership.

Competitive Landscape & Lasting Footprint

During the 1960s and 1970s, MPC competed head-to-head with AMT, Jo-Han, Revell, and Monogram for the attention of American hobbyists. What set MPC apart was its dual identity: it manufactured both pre-assembled promotional models for car dealers and detailed 1/25-scale kits for home builders. That promotional pipeline gave the company access to factory-accurate toolings that pure kit makers often lacked, and many early MPC products were essentially re-boxed dealer promos, a practice shared with AMT and Jo-Han. The company also pushed boundaries in subject matter, offering the 1932–33 Chevy Roadster and Panel Truck as among the first non-Ford 'non-classic' cars in 1/25-scale kit form. Its Airfix licensing deal brought European marques like the Aston Martin DB-5, Porsche Carrera 917, and Alfa-Romeo 8C to American shelves under the MPC logo. Though the original Michigan manufacturing operation is long gone, the MPC brand endures through Round 2, a subsidiary of Japan's Tomy, keeping those iconic kits in production more than half a century after Toteff and Branstner first cut a tooling in Mount Clemens.