Racing Champions Racing Champions ( aka Racing Champions / ERTL , RCERTL , or RC2 Corporation as it is currently called ) has been the parent company of AMT , Ertl , and Playing Mantis , the original owner of the Johnny Lightning , Polar Lights and Memory Lane brands . The original company was best known for producing scaled die - cast car models and it continues to do so to this day . Racing Champions was founded in 1989 and pursued a vigorous acquisition strategy in the subsequent fifteen 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 the company back into its original components . This rapid expansion resulted in a cumbersome collection of companies with subsidiaries creating unrelated product lines so a reorganization of Racing Champions / Ertl was initiated in 2003 . Renamed RC2 Corporation in 2004 , the company opted to refocus onto 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 ) , on toys and learning material for the very young . Ertl was dropped from the company name and was relegated for exclusive use as a subsidiary brand . Product lines that did not fit the new company profile were liquidated or sold , which included a number of model kits carried by AMT and Polar Lights . A vigorous acquirer of companies , the RC2 Corporation was itself acquired by in 2011 . " Star Trek " releases . " Star Trek " Champions . Prior to the acquisition of other licensed " Star Trek " merchandising entities , Racing Champions created a set of five collectible " Star Trek " figurines and starship miniatures under the " Star Trek Champions " brand in 1998 . It later re - released four " Star Trek " models kits and produced the " Legends of Star Trek " die - cast starship line . Each pewter model was purported to be part of a limited edition of 9 , 998 pieces , came complete with Certificate of Authenticity ( which optimistically listed it as part of " Series One " ) , and included a stand . An image of a relevant scene from a " Star Trek " film was used as a packaging backdrop and a quote was included on the base under the figure . " Note : Image 6 is a typical back of the figure package " " Star Trek " model kits . Through the acquisition of AMT / Ertl in 1999 and Playing Mantis , or rather its subsidiary Polar Lights in 2004 , RC2 obtained licensing to produce " Star Trek " model kits . However , due to its reformulated profile , the company showed very little interest in exploiting or developing the product line any further . 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 name " AMT / Ertl " , even though that company by that time had already been split up into its two original components . Those four kits were the only releases by the AMT brand to reach retail 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 after that company bought both product lines in 2007 . " Legends of Star Trek " . Johnny Lightning , originally a subsidiary of Playing Mantis ( like Polar Lights ) and traditionally a producer of die - cast car miniatures , fit the redefined profile of RC2 Corporation and was maintained as a separate brand within it . Johnny Lighting premiered a die - cast metal and plastic toy starship line called " Legends of Star Trek " in 2004 .