Racing Champions
Discuss0this wiki
(written from a Production point of view)
Racing Champions (aka Racing Champions/ERTL, RCERTL or RC2 Corporation as it is currently called) was/is the parent company of model makers AMT (until 2007), Ertl and toy/model company Playing Mantis (encompassing Johnny Lightning, Polar Lights (until 2007) and Memory Lane as well). The original company is best known for making scale die-cast car models, and continues to do so to this day.
Racing Champions was founded in 1989 and has pursued a vigorous acquisition strategy in the subsequent 15 years, going public with stock issues in 1997. The company's name was changed to "Racing Champions/Ertl" in 1999 when it bought AMT/Ertl (in the process splitting up the company in its original components). By 2003, the boundless expansion of the company had resulted in a cumbersome collection of companies with subsidiaries with widely varying product lines and a re-organization of the company was initiated. Renamed RC2 Corporation from 2004 onward, the focus of the company was to be its original product lines of die cast toys and models, and after it bought "Learning Curve International, Inc." (2003) and "The First Years Inc." (2004) toys and learning material for the very young. Ertl was dropped from the company name and relegated to a subsidiary brand only. Product lines that did not fit the new company profile were liquidated or sold, which included model kits as carried by AMT and Polar Lights.
Contents |
Star Trek associations
Edit
Star Trek ChampionsEdit
Prior to their merger, Racing Champions created a five-piece pewter set of collectible Star Trek figures called Star Trek Champions. Each piece was supposed to be part of a collector's series of 9,998 pieces (complete with Certificate of Authenticity, optimistically listing this as STAR TREK SERIES ONE), and came on its own stand with an appropriate scene from each movie as the backdrop and a quote on the base under the figure.
| Star Trek Champions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Item | Release | Notes |
| Spock | 1998 | In Kolinahr robes from Star Trek: The Motion Picture |
| James T. Kirk | In Rear Admiral's uniform from Star Trek: The Motion Picture | |
| Khan Noonien Singh | From Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan | |
| USS Enterprise-A | This figure was supposed to be the refit USS Enterprise NCC-1701 from Star Trek: The Motion Picture, as the figure's base states, but the figure itself has the "NCC-1701-A" registry on the saucer. | |
| Kruge's Klingon Bird-of-Prey | From Star Trek III: The Search for Spock | |
     
| ||
Note: Image 6 is a typical back of the figure package
Star Trek model kitsEdit
- For the individual Star Trek model kits listing see: AMT/Ertl and Polar Lights
Through the acquisition of AMT/Ertl and Playing Mantis or rather its subsidiary Polar Lights, RC2 obtained the licenses for producing the Star Trek model kits. However, due to its reformulated profile, the company showed very little interest to exploit or develop the product line. A half hearted attempt to revive the line occurred when re-releases were announced, of which only four were marketed in 2005 under its original brand "AMT/Ertl", though the company by that time was already split up in its two original components. Those four kits were the only releases of the AMT brand that were marketed in eight years. Polar Lights did not release any kits and was even eliminated as brand in 2006. Yet, both were revived by Round 2 LLC as that company bought both product lines in 2007.
Legends of Star Trek seriesEdit
- For release details see: Legends of Star Trek
Johnny Lightning, traditionally a producer of die cast car models, fitted the redefined profile of RC2 and was kept as a separate brand within the company. Despite the reluctance shown with the model kits to delve deeper into the Star Trek franchise, Johnny Lighting started in 2004 with a die cast-plastic toy line centered around Star Trek star ships and expanded upon the line, called "Legends of Star Trek", up until 2008.
