Pyro Plastics Corporation

Lore & Background

Founded in 1939 by William M. 'Bill' Lester and his first wife Betty L (Lubarsky), Pyro Plastics Corporation quickly became a leading contractor of custom-made plastic parts, employing injection molding—a method Lester had perfected in the early 1930s. During World War II, the company manufactured aircraft components for military use. After the war, Pyro turned to toys and promotional items, producing toy 'clicker pistols' in the late 1940s and becoming a leading manufacturer of military toys during the Korean War period. The public's interest in space led to space-themed toys, including the highly popular 'Pyrotomic disintegrator' ray gun in 1953.

From the mid-1950s, Pyro manufactured scale model kits covering cars, motorcycles, aircraft, military vehicles, replica historic firearms, and animal and human figures such as dinosaurs and anatomical models. These kits featured a distinctive two-part mirror-molded sectional design—hulls, fuselages, or gun-barrels assembled horizontally—which allowed mold-makers to produce multiple variations with minor mold modifications. However, by the mid-to-late 1960s, this tooling was rendered obsolete by the side slide molding process innovated by George Toteff at AMT and later MPC.

Pyro developed license agreements with other companies, loaning out molds and reboxing kits from firms such as Life-Like, Lionel Trains, Eagle, Inpact, Otaki, and Palmer Plastics (which Pyro acquired in 1970). Lester sold the company in 1972 to Life-Like, partly to pursue tamper-proof packaging development. The Pyro toolings were later acquired by Lindberg Products, Inc., and re-issued into the early 2000s; Lindberg eventually became part of Round2 LLC in 2013.

Reader's Guide

Pyro Plastics Corporation's significance lies in its broad and innovative product lines that captured mid-20th-century American interests—from military toys and space-themed novelties to educational kits and detailed ship models. The company's two-part mirror-molded sectional assembly method was an early innovation that allowed economical production of multiple kit variants, though it was eventually superseded by more advanced molding techniques. Pyro's licensing and mold-sharing practices with companies like Life-Like, Lionel Trains, and Palmer Plastics helped extend the reach of its kits, and many of its toolings continued to be re-issued by Lindberg Products well into the early 2000s. The company's legacy includes a diverse catalog of subjects—such as the historic sailing ships series, the Table Top Navy wargaming ships, and the unusual large-scale historic firearm replicas—that remain of interest to collectors and modelers. Pyro's educational 'Design-a' kits, featuring a slide-rule-like 'Design-a-matic' computer validated by Remington Rand, also reflect the era's fascination with technology and learning.

Did You Know?

• Pyro's 'Pyrotomic disintegrator' ray gun, introduced in 1953, became one of the company's most successful toys, available in both pistol and rifle versions.
• The company's first assembly kits were a series of warships in 'box scale'—the USS Missouri, USS Chicago, USS Shangri-La, and USS Sumner—with molds cut in either 1952 or 1953.
• Pyro produced a series of large-scale-to-full-size replica historic firearms, including a 1:1 scale Colt 45 Peacekeeper and a Kentucky Long Rifle.
• The company's educational 'Design-a-Car' and 'Design-a-Plane' kits included a slide-rule-like 'Design-a-matic' computer that company literature claimed was validated by Remington Rand Univac.