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Discussion: The True Story Behind the Mattel M16 Rifle

Belt Fed said:
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I am in no way disputing this article.

I remember during the Obama years that several companies were making AR pattern rifles and I remember hearing news reports that they were all back ordered because their suppliers of the individual parts couldn't keep up with demand.

When I worked for Micro Metals in Colorado Springs we made parts for the Trane AC plant in Pueblo. I've never been to the Trane plant. I have no idea what they made on their own but I know that a lot of the parts for their air conditioners came from the other factories.

So it's quite possible that when Colt made the original AR-15/M16 that they were farming some of their parts out.

The rumor that I heard and I've heard it on this forum too, is that Mattel made the plastic parts for the M16. The hand grip the buttstock the guards.


I still don't believe that Mattel ever made parts for M16s.
 
Grayfox said:
I do know that many were made by General Motors as I carried a couple of them.
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GM made approximately 490,000 M16s during the Vietnam war. If I remember right they made M3 grease guns during World War II.

Grayfox said:
Frankly, guns made by a toy company and a car company didn't instill a lot of confidence in them.
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IBM made 1911s Rockola (Juke Box) made some M1 Carbines.

I don't recall having an M16a1 ever fail to fire on me BUT I never fired one any place but a qualification range
 
Just picked up a cherry condition one
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I'm am 78 years of age. In '69 with US Army assigned to an artillery unit in the Central Highlands
of South Vietnam.
To this day, I visually remember and recall seeing Mattel stamped on the inside of one of the halves of
my issued M16's handguard. That was the ONLY part of that weapon with 'Mattel' stamped on it.
Every other piece of that weapon was produced by Colt. I swear on a stack of Bibles this is true.
 
This story has been kicked around for years. I never saw one either in training or Viet Nam, but too many Veterans have told of seeing them that I don’t doubt them. I had an original M-16 in training and no malfunctions. I was issued a new M16A1 in Viet Nam and it failed either. A lot of guys neglected theirs and then blamed the rifle for malfunctions.
 
Tangof1! said:
This story has been kicked around for years. I never saw one either in training or Viet Nam, but too many Veterans have told of seeing them that I don’t doubt them. I had an original M-16 in training and no malfunctions. I was issued a new M16A1 in Viet Nam and it failed either. A lot of guys neglected theirs and then blamed the rifle for malfunctions.
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Gentlemen:
The old "M16 made by Mattel" canard/myth came from a Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In sketch. A few of the Laugh-In Players portrayed men in US Infantry uniforms acted like their rifles were jamming. One actor blurted out "My M16 was made by... Mattel?"

I remember watching it on KVAL-TV Channel 13, Eugene OR (NBC for the Southern Willamette valley.) Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In (1968-1973). I believe it was Season 2.
 
The Night Rider said:
GM made approximately 490,000 M16s during the Vietnam war. If I remember right they made M3 grease guns during World War II.



IBM made 1911s Rockola (Juke Box) made some M1 Carbines.

I don't recall having an M16a1 ever fail to fire on me BUT I never fired one any place but a qualification range
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The original M3/M3A1 was made by the Guide Lamp Division of General Motors I don't know who made the later submachineguns.
 
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