Hello all, here is today's article posted on TheArmoryLife.com. It is titled “The True Story Behind the Mattel M16 Rifle” and can be found at https://www.thearmorylife.com/mattel-m16-rifle/.
The True Story Behind the Mattel M16 Rifle
- Thread starter Mike H.
- Start date
The Night Rider
Professional
I think I had a Mattel Marauder when I was a kid.
By the time I joined the Army in 1988 the rumor was that Mattel made the plastic parts for the M16.
I don't think it's completely ridiculous but I don't know why they'd go to Mattel. When I got out of the army I worked in a factory in security Colorado making bore brushes for 155 mm howitzers and the plastic housing for the fuel filter for the C-17s. No M16 parts though.
By the time I joined the Army in 1988 the rumor was that Mattel made the plastic parts for the M16.
I don't think it's completely ridiculous but I don't know why they'd go to Mattel. When I got out of the army I worked in a factory in security Colorado making bore brushes for 155 mm howitzers and the plastic housing for the fuel filter for the C-17s. No M16 parts though.
Hoosier Marine
Alpha
YOU can have your own Marauder!
Mattel Marauder on Ebay
Mattel Marauder on Ebay
Snake45
Professional
Great article; I could find nothing to dispute or add.
I heard the stories that Mattel actually made M16 "furniture" many, many years ago. Always assumed they were true. When I shot M16s in USAF Basic Training and Small Arms Marksmanship Training Unit (753X0 tech school) in 1970, some of our rifles were so old that they had 5-digit serial numbers and green "furniture" with the paint worn off, exposing bare laid-up fiberglass underneath. But all the M16s I later handled in service (basically identical to M16A1s but with NO FA assemblies) had solid black furniture, and it was easy to believe that they'd been subcontracted by Mattel.
OTOH, I spotted the Mattel toy in The Green Berets years before that. In addition to the scene mentioned in the article, one can clearly be seen in John Wayne's hands in at least one other scene. The speaker magazine can't be missed, if you know what you're looking at and you're looking for it.
I heard the stories that Mattel actually made M16 "furniture" many, many years ago. Always assumed they were true. When I shot M16s in USAF Basic Training and Small Arms Marksmanship Training Unit (753X0 tech school) in 1970, some of our rifles were so old that they had 5-digit serial numbers and green "furniture" with the paint worn off, exposing bare laid-up fiberglass underneath. But all the M16s I later handled in service (basically identical to M16A1s but with NO FA assemblies) had solid black furniture, and it was easy to believe that they'd been subcontracted by Mattel.
OTOH, I spotted the Mattel toy in The Green Berets years before that. In addition to the scene mentioned in the article, one can clearly be seen in John Wayne's hands in at least one other scene. The speaker magazine can't be missed, if you know what you're looking at and you're looking for it.
Snake45
Professional
FIVE PIGS!
Would love to have one, but not that much. I have REAL ARs I have less than that in.
Peter_Suciu
Alpha
IBM, Smith Corona and other firms produced the M1 Carbine during World War II, while Ford made helmets during the First World War. So I can see how the rumor started.
Good article.Based on the size of the magazine of the Mattel Marauder it must have been chambered with the .338 Norma Magnum.
Mattel was a nick name giving to the rifle when it first was issued. I am sure we have all heard the stories that the rifle was self cleaning. We have heard the stories that the army changed the ammo powder which resulted in malfunctions and very dirty rifles. As well deaths to US personnel. Some of the first issued rifles went to indigenous personnel. The M1 Garand was too heavy and long for the smaller framed individuals. The M1 carbine and other similar were issued to them.
The XM16 and later models results in additional features to enhance operations. I.E. forward assist. The cleaning kit and comic book on how to.
It was called the gun made by mattel because in comparison to the M1 Garand, M1 Carbine, The 1903 and other rifles it was space age black plastic, lighter and suspect just by looking at it. Mattel only made toys.
CAPMARINE276
Master Class
My little plastic thingGreat article; I could find nothing to dispute or add.
I heard the stories that Mattel actually made M16 "furniture" many, many years ago. Always assumed they were true. When I shot M16s in USAF Basic Training and Small Arms Marksmanship Training Unit (753X0 tech school) in 1970, some of our rifles were so old that they had 5-digit serial numbers and green "furniture" with the paint worn off, exposing bare laid-up fiberglass underneath. But all the M16s I later handled in service (basically identical to M16A1s but with NO FA assemblies) had solid black furniture, and it was easy to believe that they'd been subcontracted by Mattel.
OTOH, I spotted the Mattel toy in The Green Berets years before that. In addition to the scene mentioned in the article, one can clearly be seen in John Wayne's hands in at least one other scene. The speaker magazine can't be missed, if you know what you're looking at and you're looking for it.
Great article; I could find nothing to dispute or add.
I heard the stories that Mattel actually made M16 "furniture" many, many years ago. Always assumed they were true. When I shot M16s in USAF Basic Training and Small Arms Marksmanship Training Unit (753X0 tech school) in 1970, some of our rifles were so old that they had 5-digit serial numbers and green "furniture" with the paint worn off, exposing bare laid-up fiberglass underneath. But all the M16s I later handled in service (basically identical to M16A1s but with NO FA assemblies) had solid black furniture, and it was easy to believe that they'd been subcontracted by Mattel.
OTOH, I spotted the Mattel toy in The Green Berets years before that. In addition to the scene mentioned in the article, one can clearly be seen in John Wayne's hands in at least one other scene. The speaker magazine can't be missed, if you know what you're looking at and you're looking for it.
Attachments
Collector58
Alpha
Great story,but “who “were the three companies that produced the M 16 you only mentioned Hydra-Matic???
I don’t get all the emphasis on myths and the Mattel toy rifles. In 1973, I was Army issued an M16 made from the armorers collection of recycled Viet Nam issued weapons. It had a later chrome bore barrel. Upon complete disassembly for deep cleaning, all the black furniture parts displayed the legitimate Mattel name in original font on the INTERIOR of the stock and other parts that was part of the molding process. The cheapness of the worn plastic with the puny 22 cal size ammo led to everyone calling them Mattel toys because they were actually stamped Mattel internally. If you can’t believe old people who told the truth before culture went soft, that’s your frustration.Hello all, here is today's article posted on TheArmoryLife.com. It is titled “The True Story Behind the Mattel M16 Rifle” and can be found at https://www.thearmorylife.com/mattel-m16-rifle/.
captbigdog
Alpha
I took basic in 1976 at Ft.Dix and I a Mattel m16 the logo was stamped on the mag well. Mattel Toy Company. I Wish I could have kept that rifle what a collectable! It is not a myth.
shotgunwillie
Alpha
"It's swell, it's by Mattel" goes back to the 60's and did make you wonder if you would find the big "M" trademark if you broke or took off any of the furniture.
But let me side-track things. The other month while watching an old 1960's Beverly Hillbilly's episode, Jethro Bodine enrolls in a military school for boys. WTH, those kids were equipped with M-14 toy cap rifles. You pulled down the trigger group/magazine and loaded up a roll of caps, sweet. I have no idea who made the 3/4 sized M-14s and for how long.
But let me side-track things. The other month while watching an old 1960's Beverly Hillbilly's episode, Jethro Bodine enrolls in a military school for boys. WTH, those kids were equipped with M-14 toy cap rifles. You pulled down the trigger group/magazine and loaded up a roll of caps, sweet. I have no idea who made the 3/4 sized M-14s and for how long.
Snake45
Professional
Absent further evidence, I'm calling clever Photoshop on that (or, perhaps, a custom-built lower). Very cool, either way, but I don't believe it's legit.
Did they look like this ---> http://www.skooldays.com/categories/toys/ty1325.htm
I had one of these back in the day.
Snake45
Professional
I WANT to believe you (see my original post in this thread), but need photo proof from a trusted source. Y'unnerstand, I hope.
Snake45
Professional
Hmmmm, I forgot about those. Don't remember if they had pull-down trigger guards and took caps.
I had a Marx M1903 Springfield that had IIRC a pull-down trigger deal and took caps. I also had a Marx M14 but it didn't take caps at all--it was all-electric, took one or two D batteries in the stock, and had some sort of speaker mechanism in the magazine. The muzzle went back and forth when it shot, too.
Those Topper "Johnny Eagle" guns were the Cadillacs of toy guns when I was a kid, but they came out just as I was outgrowing toy guns and I never had one (1965-'66, maybe?). There were three lines of them, each a rifle/handgun combo. The "Lieutenant" combo was that wonderful M14 and a full-size 1911. I coveted both for years, even chase them on eBay from time to time when I'm in the mood, but today's prices on them are hideous. I DID score the Johnny Eagle Lieutenant 1911 a few years ago, but a damaged one--the mag catch is broken. I "only" paid about $20 for it; good ones easily bring three times that. I'm still glad I own it, even after all these years.
Among my several hobbies is collecting full-size toy and replica 1911s. Here are some of them. In this pic, there's one REAL 1924 M1911A1, one REAL 1966 Colt LW Commander, and the Johnny Eagle Lieutenant toy 1911. Can you spot them?
Valkyrie14
Operator
I remember very well the "story" of Mattel making M16's during the Vietnam war and after. Enlisting in 1976 I heard the rumors then in Boot Camp, and "A" School. On board my first ship the Armory had all M14's, 1911's, M60's, Shotguns, but the MARDET detachment had M16A1's as their carry rifle and they took some serious ribbing from the ships company about their "toys". Good memories. Thanks for bringing it up!
Was in the USAF ‘63-‘67, then Army ‘68-‘71 (active). In AF basic we were trained on the M-1 carbine - and the Air Force had been looking to upgrade that for some time. We were introduced to the Armalite in ‘64 - it had phenomenal ballistic performance, was lightweight, accurate and easy to shoot. The Air Force went for it, so to speak. Other branches had heard about it and done some field testing, but it was some Special Forces guys in Nam who had ‘obtained’ some who gave it some practical combat testing, so to speak. Their rave reviews helped push the Army to adopt it. The short term effect was that the Air Force didn’t get the M-1 carbine replaced til the 70s. Then, the immediate and immense demand caused another problem:
Originally, the Stoner round called for a different powder (iMR 500 as I recall). This powder burned cleaner and more efficiently than others - which was needed for the tight tolerances in the AR-15. But there wasn’t enough, and there was plenty of the stuff used in the Garand and M-14s, so … the Army decided to just use the ‘old’ powder. It didn’t burn as efficiently, had a larger granular size, and thus did cause some feeding malfunctions. This could be (and was!) exacerbated by neglected or improper cleaning. So, the A1 variant was introduced (pretty quickly by typical government standards), which increased machine tolerances to allow for the ‘sloppier’ old powder. The Army never publicly admitted what had gone (been done?) wrong.
Originally, the Stoner round called for a different powder (iMR 500 as I recall). This powder burned cleaner and more efficiently than others - which was needed for the tight tolerances in the AR-15. But there wasn’t enough, and there was plenty of the stuff used in the Garand and M-14s, so … the Army decided to just use the ‘old’ powder. It didn’t burn as efficiently, had a larger granular size, and thus did cause some feeding malfunctions. This could be (and was!) exacerbated by neglected or improper cleaning. So, the A1 variant was introduced (pretty quickly by typical government standards), which increased machine tolerances to allow for the ‘sloppier’ old powder. The Army never publicly admitted what had gone (been done?) wrong.