They had purchased molds from both Archer and Renwal. Plasticraft has the MPC ring hand GIs in their 1965 catalog and may have bought the mold. It seems the ring hand figures were phased out during this time period. They also made US & Russian toy soldiers with integral weapons. The new MPC Germans and Japanese were not “ring hands” but had their weapons integrally molded the same as Marx. Lido was sold in 1964 and their German & Japanese molds disappeared leaving MPC to duke it out with Marx. Kids went nuts and bought millions as they finally had bad guys for their US troops to whip. In 1963 Marx came out with WWII German and Japanese toy soldiers and Lido and MPC quickly followed suit. Mostly sold in header card bags, blister cards or small plastic cases (totters), but they did make play sets as well to compete with toy king Louis Marx & Co.īy the end of the 1950s competition from cheaper Asian markets caused companies to open factories in Hong Kong, Taiwan and or Japan and many started going out of business. They continued to add more “ring hand” figures to their lineup including pirates, farmers, Revolutionary War, Civil War and WWII themes. They took the idea of using clip on accessories from the line of PECOs figures made earlier in the 1950s. Like other companies they may have been selling plastic items in several markets but they were selling toys by 1955.Īmong the first figures they made were copies of Tim-Mee Toys Indians and “ring hand” Ramar of the Jungle African natives and a big game hunter. They also set up a subsidiary in Canada known a Multiple Toys. By the 1954 time frame they were located at 55 West 13th Street in New York City with Marvin Ross as their president. They displayed a puzzle game “Ten Yen” at the March1950 American Toy Fair. They came into business after WWII and were in operation by 1950. One of the producers of plastic army men in the 1950s, 60s & 70s was the Multiple Products Corporation better known as simply MPC by collectors. His site is a mix of information along with a selection of vintage and current production available for purchase. Kent is the owner and proprietor of Toy Soldier HQ, and one of the most knowledgeable folks around when it comes to plastic toy figures. I'm very pleased to welcome Kent Sprecher as a guest on the BMC Toys blog.
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