Be careful of the lies that say that Mattell NEVER made the M-16. I personally saw the stamp of Mattell on at least two rifles while serving as a small arms repairman.
The purpose of propagandizing this fact is simple.........the governemnt didin't want the toy-makers to be exposed as the war-hawks that they are, and that they are in the hip-pocket of the politicians.
Mattel was already helping in making war seem "glamorous" to the kids who watched the TV back then (with their commercials advertising their "toy guns." during an episode of COMBAT, or Garrison's Guerilla's) Not just that, but, get this: to go from making a plastic weapon to making a REAL weapon STILL requires the same molds.
Mattell was molding than just weapons. They were molding minds that would create a need for those weapons.