Mattel M-16 Urban Myth Won't Die

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Here is the reply I got from Armalite.




Dear Sir,

Not by Armalite.

Thank you!

---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
From: "Joseph Demko" <JA_Demko@hotmail.com>
Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2001 12:13:26 -0400

>To Whom it May Concern,
>
>Sorry if this is something you've answered before, but were any AR-15 rifles, parts, stocks, or training rifles manufactured under contract or otherwise by the Mattel toy company in the 1960's? There is a persistent story to this effect that I consider to be nothng more than a myth, and I am engaged in an effort to disprove it.
>
>Thanks,
>
>J. Demko
>
>

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ArmaLite Internet Division
ArmaLite Inc.

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H&R made some good ones...

My basic training rifle was an H&R, and it consistently shot where it was supposed to...
 
Hey Grumpy!!!

I was at Parris Island the same time you were. Went in August. I was in Platoon 1074, I think. Senior Drill Instructor Staff Sgt. Fiallo. After graduation I went to Marine Security Detachment, NAS Sigonnela, Sicily. Finally ended up in Camp Pendelton Ca. 1st Bn 9th Marines, at Camp Horno. Did a WestPac and a couple of other things, like Panama. The rifle I was issued in Boot Camp was made by General Motors, it was a really beat up A1. I also saw some Maytag made A1s.

Sempre Fidelis, Oooh Raah!!
 
All I remember about it is seeing the word. I think it was raised. (Of course I am a Certified Old Fart and that was more than thirty years ago.)
 
The patent for synthetic plastic was issued in 1909. Plastic predates the Model 1911 pistol. The earliest handgun I've seen with a plastic frame was made in 1942. It is displayed in the UDT-Seal Museum, Ft. Pierce, Florida. Additionally, the US Army Air Force used plastic machine gun bullets during World War II.

Plastic has been around for over 90 years.
 
Hey Arrell !!
You must have gotten to P.I. before me.
Plt. 1103, A company. After that two years of Sea Duty!!
Airborne school, Anti terrorist and hostage rescue school.
and then right off to a line unit so I could use my training. LOL
Got to love it!!!
Semper Fi !!
 
1. Where was the mark?
2. What was the mark?
3. Was the mark raised or stamped?

Inside the grip and stock. Only visible on stock when stripped.

MATTEL No logo or trademarking.

Raised block letters.

Like I said, are we sure this was even the Mattel we all know? There are occasionally overlaps in names. Especially in the 60's and especially if the government was involved. :)
 
Mattel M16A1

You can call me crazy all you want, but when I was stationed at Coleman Barracks, Mannheim, Germany from 1982-1985, I was issued an M16A1 that was clearly stamped "Mattel" on the lower receiver. Mattel did in fact produce M16A1s for the US Army.
 
Mattel never produced M16s. The only similar item they produced was the toy called the Maurader and you were not issued one of those in the 80s as they had been out of production for more than a decade.
 
I wouldn't consider it a huge stretch of the imagination to think Mattel made some PARTS for M16s. I mean they were one of the largest plastics manufacturers in the country, and the M16 used a fair amount of the stuff.

Plus what's so bad about Mattel making m16 stocks and grips? Those parts are plastic, and Mattel specializes in plastics. Who else would make them?

Now suggesting that Mattel made entire rifles (lower and everything) That's a load of fertilizer.
 
Right, so you won't have an M16 wtih "Mattel" stamped on the receiver. However, even with the plastics, Mattel was not contracted to make the plastic furniture for which was stamped or had raised lettering of their name. If they did, those parts would be well known and part of people's collections and undoubtedly command a fairly high price...especially since nobdy has ever seen outside of the purported military experiences.

It is amazing how many folks have seen Mattel marked plastic furniture for M16s, in different locations and styles, and yet nobody has a photograph. Nobody has seen the public domain government contract.
http://www.snopes.com/military/m16.asp
 
Well, at least an eleven year-old resurrected thread is good for seeing some Hall of Fame TFL members. Better days to be, as Ed would say.
 
Its actually quite possible that some of you have seen or had M16s with "Mattel" stamped on the lower reciever.

One thing the military had (and I'm sure still has) is an abundance of those stamps for marking metal, and an abundance of practical jokers....

I personally had a Zippo lighter with the initials F.T.A. stamped in the casing...(and no, its wasn't because it belonged to Frank T. Adams...:D)

Often heard the M16 called "the mighty Mattel", because of the plastic. Bored GI, set of stamps....voila!

quite possible, I think.

could have even happened more than once.....
 
I never recall seeing a Mattel name on any m16 part, however if I did, it wouldn't have struck me as unusual. Not enough to become part of my memory.

It was always interesting to me the different companies that made army stuff but I didn't jot stuff down. My basic training unit name I'd have to dig through papers to remember, much less drill sergeants names or fellow privates.

I don't recall anything on pistol grips and stocks, just whatever system of butt numbering was used within the unit. I handled many m16s through the years and don't recall any names except colt and one with the xm16 designation, which I thought was cool.

Like I said, I thought it was neat to see all of the mfgrs of different but nothing sticks out as noteworthy and Mattel wouldn't have seemed odd or out of place.
 
Here is the reply I got from Armalite.
Click to expand...
The Armalite of today is not the same Armalite that was in business in the 1960s.

Armalite was sold to a Philippine manufacturing concern named Elisco Tool in 1983 which subsequently went belly up. The Armalite division of Elisco Tool closed in 1987 as a result of the parent company's bankruptcy.

In 1995, a company named Eagle Arms bought the rights to use the Armalite name from John Ugarte, a president of the former Armalite company. Eagle Arms became Armalite and then "reorganized" Eagle Arms as a division of the new company.

http://www.armalite.com/images/Library\History.pdf
 
I had a friend of a friend who owned a M-16 made by Ronco. It was great in the field because it could slice, dice, mince, and puree like a mother!

But could it julienne potatoes? :D
 
Went through BCT at Ft. Lewis Wa. Jul -Oct 1971. We had a couple M16 assigned to guys in my platoon with Mattel pistol grips. don't remember if they M16 or M16A1 we had a mix of both. It seems that the were on a General Motors guns but again I'm not sure because we had Colt, H&R, and GM, and maybe some others, but I'm am damn sure about the grips. Every guy in the platoon wanted those weapons, we all fondled them and made jokes about them and at the time thought Mattel made them. But on the left side of the grip behind the trigger was the round embossed Mattel emblem that was on most of my favorite toys growing up. Somewhere there has to be a picture.
 
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