FROG models: a quick look
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- čas přidán 12. 05. 2020
- Just a quick overview of the first plastic scale kit model company ever.
My humblest apologies for saying Puss Moth wrong. It it Puss as in 'Puss in boots'.
Music from Toad and Frog musical play. - Zábava
As a kid I built two FROG kits - P-40B and P-40E - both in British North African markings. I always wanted that little P-40E again, as it was RAAF with a fighting kangaroo nose art. And, last month I found it on Amazon! Whoohoo! I bought and built it. I hadn't remembered how basic it was! NO cockpit at all, just a gaping hole under the canopy. No main wheel wells at all, no tailwheel doors. The decals were so old they were brittle. I sprayed them with Testors decal setting spray and managed to salvage them. I finished it, and it does bring back fond memories. Being first certainly isn't being best, but as a kid we didn't care.
I remember that kit too! What I valued about FROG was that they produced a lot of kits of lesser known aircraft like the Hotspur glider and the French Morane 406 fighter as well as providing interesting marking choices. Good video I recommend a 1989 book on the history of the firm written by Richard Lines and copiously illustrated.
Dear old Frog. Their choice of subjects was often quirky but I always enjoyed them. Boxes that opened to make work trays and the reverse of the instruction sheet with it's handy tips on making a better model. Their last flurry of releases were very well received, especially in Britain, because they were of subjects that we all wanted: Sea Vixen, Lynx helicopter, Hunter FGA9, for example. Good kits too by the standards of the day although a little lacking by today's. I have a few original kits in my stash. They'll get built one day (retirement beckons ). Of all the manufacturers to have gone, they are my personally most missed.
to give an example of how advanced they were ( FOR the 1970's ) the FROG 1/500 HMS Exeter Model has Aircraft Cranes that have gaps in the frames - yet the 1986 Mould Tamiya HMS Prince of Wales has SOLID Aircraft Cranes - and its in 1/350 Scale !!! - the Company were good , no doubt about it .
I liked that Frog made kits of aircraft no one else did, like the Vultee Vengeance, Avro Shackelton, etc. And I’m pretty sure it’s pronounced “Puss” Moth as in Puss in Boots, not “infected goo.”
czcams.com/video/Xklg5VUqaP4/video.html
They did to some interesting types. But at that age you would be drooling over the Spitfire rather then the Vengeance.
As for names how about the Mew Gull. It was flown by Alex Henshaw who was test pilot for Supermarine. He actually tried to join the RAF but was turned down because the recruiting officer said it would take to long to teach him to fly the Spitfire. Henshaw had more hours in the Spitfire then some entire squadrons.
Frog kits were magic like.They always offered unusual subjects in aircraft.Great box art as well.They were trailblazers!
I remember building models in the 70s as a kid from airfix and matchbox, while living in the middle east, but ever remember building a frog kit, my loss it seems
Frog 1/72 WW2 fighters were distributed here in Brazil in the mid-seventies. It was the series sold in plastic blisters. The kits were a bit cheaper than Revell's ones, also distributed here. I still have some of them. Although simpler than the Revell's kits (no interior details, pre-molded closed landing gear), they offer a choice of two versions and generally had a better accuracy in terms of shape. Also they had no surface rivets, but the lines were raised. They were so cheap that I used to buy two to do both versions offered in the package. It was a lot of fun for a young boy.
Frog, Veron and KeilKraft - that was my childhood!
It was also with my self and a number of my friends, happy days.
I remember being ill, and home in bed around 1965-66. My dad brought me home a model of a Sopworth Camel bi-plane. It wasn't my usual Airfix, that may have been a frog model. It was at my parents house on display well into the 1980s.
Revell maybe. Frog didn't make one.
Lived in Germany as an Army brat, 1970-74. Built a few of the plastic kits from the American PX. The Bleriot for sure. Inexpensive. I think they came in a bag, but I was very young, so...
I made a few Frog kits when I was a kid in the UK and really liked them but their market presence and marketing were terrible. Many of us kids in the late 1960s and 1970s were not aware of them at all until stumbled on behind the counter of some obscure newsagent or such and buying was a punt into the unknown. Even Revell were better known here in the UK, a poor show for a UK brand who needed some lessons in marketing I think.
As a side note: the first Frog I bought was their very interesting Dewoitine and I am a little embarrassed to admit that the combination of brand name and subject matter led me to believe (for a short while) that they were a French model company.
I remember that quirk with Frog kits. The only retailer in my town that stocked them was the local builders merchant, despite there being several toy retailers within a 30 minute bike ride!
We must be of a similar age. And yes we thought the were French as well.
I agere - they were not AT ALL easy to find in the 1970's - i actually can't remember them as Matchbox and Airfix was far easier to find - I also never realised but I had made a FROG kit when i made the 1/500 HMS Exeter in my youth - it was a grand kit , fairly accurate and not bad fit - impressive for a 1970's ship kit and it was very good ( and of her Java Sea 1942 refit appearance )
I saw a few in post offices and Martin's newsagents. That was it. I resorted to mail order from ads in scale models magazine in the middle 70's
A really interesting video that took me back to my childhood. Thank you for the hard work you put into getting the photos and commentary.
Another great video! Complete with great music.
Thank you, Mr. Max.
I must say, I truly do love FROG kits, I am a new generation modeler, and absolutely love jumping at the chance of buying and building any old kits I can get my hands on, as I find they are generally even better quality than the newer stuff. I just bought a FROG B-17e Bomber which is the first edition, released in 1976 and Thunderbolt P-47d, and can't wait to build them. Happy modeling all!
Puss Moth as in pussy cat . " You say potatoe we say potatoe " Joking aside , that was very informative . I was an Airfix fan and then realised Monogram were leaps ahead. My late brother did have a panache for Frog . Frog certainly made the more unusual models. I particularly enjoyed discovering their pioneering years. Many thanks. Every days a school day!
Max, thanks for compiling and presenting all these Model Makers' Stories. I'm 73 and lived through all this but never knew the back-stories and they answer so many questions I had as a kid. As an architect, I grew up to design my own 1:1 SCALE KITS!.
Frog also had their own diesel and glow model plane engines. I have some. They run ok.
I can remember building Frog kits and Novo kits back in day, I liked Novo kits they were cheap and I was a school boy. I live in Lowestoft (England, UK) and Hannants was my local Hobby store I was very lucky you could get anything. I blew all my pocket money in there!
Yep remember Hannants, would go in there with my grandmother as it was also a wool shop Nan would leave with 24 balls of wool me with at least two kits one payed for by nan one out of my pocket money and Hannants own brand model glue would melt the matchbox kits and leave you high as a kit afterwards..
maxbodymass I forgot about that stuff! There own brand paints were good. And the wool section that bit was boring! Nothing worse than being dragged round there!
I remember when FROG went out of business, one of our local stores that stocked their kits were selling them at as much as 75% off just to clear them off their shelves, I ended up buying half a dozen 1/72 aircraft kits including the Spitfire XIV/ V-1 kit.
Great video! Thanks for all of your hard work! Keep 'em coming!
thanks
Frog, “Flies Right Off The Ground”, thank you for that interesting bit of model trivia! I really enjoy your kit maker series, well done.
Those early kits that walk the line between being flying toys and builder kits look great. Love the box art too.
Yet still another company I had never heard of. Way to go Max
How many parachute jumps have you made?
From what I recall back when I build FROGs, (mostly 60-70's) I liked that I did not have to scrape off raised rivets that were on comparable kits of the time from other brands.
Have a look at the FROG Shackleton MR3. It has so many rivets you could use it as a rasp.
I distinctly remember an Hellcat, a Vultee Vengeance, that wonderful Tempest of which you showed the boxart here and a P-40 Flying Tigers, all in 72. There may have been several others but i can't remember all of them. I must say i was impressed with the overall better quality they showed compared to the Airfix and Revell kits of that time, mid to late seventies.
I haven't heard of anyone gigging frogs for years. And of all your vids this was surely the most whimsical.
If memory serves, a Beaufort, D XXI, Typhoon, and maybe some others, it was a long time ago. They did stuff that was unheard of in the sixties outside of the British war books that I used to read.
Glad to see them still in Poland!
Another Awesome episode. One small thing, that ME262 you featured is a Matchbox original, not FROG's kit. Great coverage of the brand. I did a some work for Corgi in the old Rovex factory where FROG kits were produced. I have about 40(ish) frog/Novo kits in the stash. And some other FROG re-pops from other manufacturers like the Eastern Express Britania and AVRO Shackleton. Some of the old FROG kits still stand up alongside much more modern kits and can be made into superb models.
oops! I thought it showed being an old FROG mold but I probably missed where it said new tool.
@@maxsmodels No worries Friend. Look up Matchbox PK21. That's their ME262. Which reminds me, I want one for a nostalgia build.
All the best and stay safe.
One of the team from Monty Python did a parody show called "Across The Andes by Frog" Very funny
my first frog model was the south goodwin lightship in 1962. it was white in coleur. and at 6 years old it was hard to assemble.i recently bought it 2 years ago,under the eastern express label. a great model
For me, Frog's model were the kit you have seen in childhood, but you don't remember if in a dream or reality, and only 20 or 30 years later, you find from other firm.
When I was a little kid in the late 50’s I got a FROG kit for Christmas. It was a semi-scale flying model of a biplane called the Firefly. A few interesting points, it had a fuselage made of two pressed pieces of balsa sheet as in monocoque construction and plastic wheels and spinner. Years later I asked my Dad (Santa) where he bought it...Macy’s Herald Square, back when they had a full line hobby shop in most department stores. He also mentioned that it was a British (FROG) kit.
I have an unbuilt FROG 1/96 scale Douglas DC-7C "Seven Seas" four engine propeller airliner kit with BOAC livery decals (bought it way back in 1973). According to the hard covered book, "FROG Model Aircraft 1932 - 1976," the model was first issued in 1957. On the box cover it reads, " The Fastest Airliner across the Atlantic." Wish someone could re-release it like previous FROG 1/96 airliner kits such as the Bristol Britannia and De Havilland Comet. Then I could build it!
Same, just discovered this excellent series of informative videos. Max, I couldn’t find it amongst your many history lessons, but would really like to know about Matchbox’s history and what happened to it. Great stuff and thanks.
I liked the Frog range, everyone else just made Spitfires, ME 109s etc, Frog filled in all the gaps. The Shell Welder tanker kit is still sought after by N Scale railway modellers and as with the original it is easily converted to a small bulk carrier. I was pleased to see Novo take up the kits, got a couple I missed in the 70s.
I bought FROG kits back in the early 70's until they no longer existed in our local hobby shops. In the 60's I built Lindberg, Comet, Hawk, Aurora, Revell and the Monogram kits. Then in the 70's I started to buy FROG, Airfix, Matchbox and then the Japanese kits like Fujimi, Hasegawa and so on. FROG and Matchbox were my favorite. Nice decals and nice range of kits to build, too bad FROG folded. In the 80's and 90's they were pretty dam hard to find...the internet and eBay kind of solved that problem.
Good one Max ! I liked FROG because they seemed to offer aircraft that no one else did. Always loved their Martin Maryland and Westland Wessex helicopter were a couple of my favorites.
I'm Dutch and they did a Fokker D.XXI....forever grateful! :)
That was what I liked about the company they produced kits of aircraft types which just weren’t available from any other firm. The D. XXI was a interesting fighter and I think Dutch and Finnish markings were provided.
I'll echo the earlier comment that Frog had a very poor market presence in their own country, the UK. Whereas Airfix kits were in every hardware store and even in newsagents, in a decade of building models spanning the mid-60s to mid-70s, I never saw a Frog model on sale anywhere. I knew they were there because I saw the reviews in Meccano magazine and Aircraft Illustrated magazine but I never had the opportunity to buy one. Then, paradoxically, when Novo kits started to be imported into the UK they got quite a good market penetration for a few years, particularly in toy-shops. I've built many since I started making models again and can get them secondhand online. I find them generally okay, if basic. They did drop a few clangers on some of their early models - the really undersized wings of the Blackburn Skua kit and the grossly oversized ailerons on their DH88 Comet kits being two cases in point. But I forgive them for having covered such diverse subjects as the Blackburn Shark and Bristol 138.
I also never realised but I had made a FROG kit when i made the 1/500 HMS Exeter a few years ago in my youth - it was a grand kit , fairly accurate and not bad fit
Yes, I do remember a big stack of Novo kits in WH Smith but had never seen Frog anywhere. Kits on sale tended to be Airfix, Matchbox, Tamiya and Revell.
@SUTHRINGA They had a series called "Trailblazers" which covered pioneering aircraft. It included Amy Johnson's DH60 Moth, Alcock and Browns Vickers Vimy, the Ryan NYP, the Bristol 138, the Gloster Whittle E28/39 and the Bleriot XI.
oh gosh that transition of songsXDDDDDD
Well played sir!
danke
Ah, frog giggin’. Now that takes me back.
I don't have any original FROG kits, but I do have a 1/72 Black Widow from 1978 branded under NOVO, made in the USSR. NOVO got some of their moulds, I guess.
As mentioned, Frog kits were sold under a variety of labels. This concept of "Rebranding" does NOT involve mold swapping. Basically a manufacturer does a run of kits, bags them and ships them to the respective purchaser, where they are finished in their packaging. This has the added advantage of avoiding substantial taxes and tariffs on imported finished products. You can find many examples of Hasegawa kits in Frog packaging and vice versa. Currently you can find Italeri products in Tamiya packaging, Hasegawa products in Revell Gmbh packages and vice versa. "Trading partners" are a great way to expand your product line with minimal investment.
It can get tricky trying to find when a company gets molds (like Novo getting FROG's mold) or it is just a co-boxing agreement.
I concur. Reading the side panels of most boxings may give the date and location of manufacture and then you find the "packaged in..." line but UK production was rather lax in even providing a copyright date in past decades.
Tracking all that down must not always be easy. I bought two Italeri 1/48ths kits, the P51D is a Hasegawa mould and the F86 Sabre is Esci. Lol.
I got a Frog Beaufighter in 1978. What I remember about it was that part of the fuselage was incomplete with about 3/4 inch section missing behind the canopy. A replacement could not be fabricated. Had to write to company in Britain. Took a while to get a replacement but was able to get together.
currently building a FROG Miles Magister .its boxed so may be 1970's .nice little kit
I did own one or two Frog kits but most of the one I had were Airfix.
I also remember Tri-ang Very popular at one time. Noted for quality childrens toys. At Christmas their advertisements were constantly on the television. Then suddenly they were sold off. Never really came back from that.
As a young lad in the early 60s, one of my cousins had built the Frog BOAC Bristol Britannia as well as some others of unknown manufacturer: DH Comet and VC10, and possibly a Viscount. They were all very large but I don't think 1/72 and lived at my grandparents out of the way of my grubby little hands. I soooo coveted those models. Never did get my hands on them though.
I built the Bristol Britannia and as far as I remember it was 1/144 scale.
@SUTHRINGA FROG airliners were usually to 1/96 scale. Their Herald was 1/72.
@@EricIrl The FROG Bristol Britannia was indeed 1/96 scale. They made a Boeing 707 and Vickers VC-10 in 1/144 scale.
puss
/po͝os/
nounINFORMAL•BRITISH
noun: puss; plural noun: pusses
a cat (especially as a form of address).
pus
/pəs/
noun
noun: pus
a thick yellowish or greenish opaque liquid produced in infected tissue, consisting of dead white blood cells and bacteria with tissue debris and serum.
watch for my correction video
Nope, not even pees, nor peas, please, pwease, nor Pease AFB, which isn’t very far from here...
czcams.com/video/Xklg5VUqaP4/video.html
Miaow!!!
I made quite a few Frog kits, the two that stand out in my ,i d were the HE-219 Uhu night fighter and the FW-200C Condor. Both great models.
Never seen a Frog model. All I ever built was Revell, Monogram, MPC, AMT, Tamiya, Matchbox, Airfix, Guillows, Aurora, Hasegawa and ....that's about it. I started building in the 70s as a young lad. Now , I'm an old lad.
Started building Frog in the 1960's and found then very much the same quality as Airfix. Frog were very much more imaginative in their choice of kits, especially Fleet Air Arm. Sea Venom, Skua, Barracuda, and Sea Vixen come to mind. Novo kits dropped the quality and the decals were very poor, however for years after Frog went under, you could buy bags of assorted decal sheets
For a long time their DH Hornet was the only 1:72 one available. What a beautiful aircraft, and although limited in parts, and slightly odd scaling, the FROG Hornet made a fine, prize winning model in my collection. At some point back in the late 60's early 70's I was given a vac formed flying Spitfire made by FROG. It was a garish Blue fuselage and Yellow winged affair, which suffered badly in head on impacts. It didn't last long. Another FROG 1:72 kit favorite of mine was the DH Vampire FB5; a real tail sitter, but a sweet little kit!
Greetings from Australia. Had a few Frog kits many moons ago. Sometimes they came in plastic bags instead of boxes. Mostly planes I think. Used to get em at Target stores I think. So long ago but fond memories of glueing
The Frog Tupolev SB2 was one of my earliest kits, sometime about 1969 I guess. Thanks for an interesting video.
Pus Moth! Did bring a smile. A Puss (Pron. Pooss) is a colloquial expresson for a Cat , (Genus Felidae) pus on the other hand is the crap that erupts from an infected wound. Confuse at your peril. Otherwise good docco!..
All de Havilland civil aircraft in the 20s and 30s were named after types of Moth - hence Tiger Moth, Leapord Moth etc etc... The Puss Moth was named after a Moth with the Latin name "Cerura vinula " - It is called that because its hairy body does indeed look like the hair of a cat . butterfly-conservation.org/moths/puss-moth
@@johndell3642 "types of Moth": DH54 Highclere? DH81 Albatross? DH86 Express? DH90 Dragonfly? DH92 Dolphin? DH95 Flamingo?
@@richardplinston9488 Well spotted sir! I should have said "Civil aircraft aimed at the private and club flyer" . Captain de Havilland was a renowned lepidopterist, hence the use of the "moth" names.. Starting with the famous DH60 Moth, DH60G Gipsy Moth, DH 60 GIII Moth Major, The DH71 Tiger Moth racer a name used again for the immortal DH 82A Tiger Moth. DH 80 Puss Moth, DH82 Swallow Moth, DH85 Leopard Moth, DH 87 Hornet Moth, DH94 Moth Minor. The DH 83 Fox Moth was designed for small airline use, but it used so many Tiger Moth components it would not have made sense to use anything other than another "Moth" name. Of course after their success as club aircraft both the original Moth and Tiger moth were both used as Trainers by the RAF.
Stephen Vince puss is correct not pooss where did you get pooss from?
@Tony IN SOUTHWARK He said "All ... civil ...". After my comment he qualified it further. My list was of civil types, though some aircraft may have been impressed into military service.
As this video came to it's conclusion, I turned to my wife and said, "This guy is more out of his mind
than I am" to which she replied, "Oh, that's dangerous." Bravo, Excelsior!!
So tell me, which of the two are optional, the wife or the hobby ?
You flatter me...BTW, my wife would concur with yours.
mybluebelly Fortunately, this time around, it’s all good!
@@mybluebelly Sssshhh. She;s right over there
Thanks for another fine video you have done. One of my first kits at the age of 8 was an Air Lines Bristol Beaufort. Actually, it was probably my older friend who bought it at a greasy spoon luncheonette that also sold caps, sparklers, balsa airplanes, and lindberg kits. I liked it anyway. At the age of 11 I bought an AMT (Frog) triple plane kit: Macchi 202, Dewoitine D520, and Hurricane IIc. They were fine. No rivets, but the flaps were separate pieces from the wings. The same year I bought the 1/500 UPC (Frog) HMS Revenge. Kind of poor, but I built it again a year ago, and got many kudos on face book. I think the 1/450 ships are ex-Hasegawa. I built the Hasegawa HMS Vanguard c1972. Not very good fit. Underwater hull was factory painted red. Overall, Frog was comparable with Revell and Airfix in 1/72 scale. Again, thanks much.
Ah for the days when you could get a kit model with lunch.
I remember building their 1:16 scale Dennis Ambulance. Bought from the toy department at the Selfridges store in Oxford Street in London. Amazing what triggers obscure memories after 55 years.
Great documentary about an admirable company. Much of the content is new to me and I don't think it is available anywhere else. I always liked Frog kits especially in the late sixties when they produced models of aircraft types which were ignored by other companies e.g. Dewontine D520, Morane MS406, Macchi MC202 etc. Their decals were also good
Unfortunately the part between the origins of FROG and 1950 in max' story is riddled with mistakes - there are better sources elswhere.
Their range of little known and unusual types was great. Especially if, like me, you were into WW1 aircraft. Airfix did the well know stuff (Sopwith Camel, Fokker Triplane etc) but Frog did (among others) the Vickers Vimy and the Fokker Eindecker - which was the best WW1 aircraft kit I ever saw.
I have the Spitfire Mk 14 & V-1 combo kit ready to paint. Fun build, and it comes with a neat stand that has the Spit making a 6 oclock high gunnery pass on the doodlebug.
Frog kits were great. Some even came with little capsules of enamel paint. The deHaviland Dominie was one I remember. Evil stuff that paint, it never dried and I do mean never. It was still tacky after over a year.
The Frog ship kits were by far their best, in particular the Shell Welder coastal oil tanker was outstanding. It is still made in Russia now under the Ark branding.
I also had a Frog MkV flying model and my father still had his MkIV from before the war. The most intelligent part of the design is that the "push-in" wings would detach in a heavy landing reducing damage considerably over a stick and paper model.
Yes, I miss Frog. They had a great range of products no-one else made, they were just bedeviled by supply problems primarily caused by Triang trying to do too much at the old Rovex factory in Margate and the model railways and Scalextric slot-cars were the money makers.
Frog and Airfix 1/72 bagged WWII fighters . Great way to spend my allowance. Kits were 98 cents Canadian in 1970 or so till sales tax put them up to about $1.05
Hotwheels was the only competitor for my dollar
Remember building a FROG me410 and despite it being really old was quite an enjoyable build. The box art was lovely and it was just nice to build something a bit different
Another company with excellent box top art and interesting subjects.
I've got a number of FROG kits in the stash. I also have two built-ups on my display shelves. One of which is the Spin-a-prop Beaufort, complete with working motors! In my opinion. FROG kits were a little simplistic. They didn't have the 'pull' of the Airfix and Matchbox kits. However. They did make some obscure subjects. That (for me anyway) is what made me buy them!
Yes, liked frog. I had a fairly large scale e type jaguar, which has battery motor, doors, steerable wheels. What a memory...
I still have my FROG .
SB2
Dornier DO17
Hi max .back when I was 14 I was into.racing aurora ho race cars.so I never heard of. Frog models.and I still have my aurora race set .from 1966.but another good topic again.thanks max.
The beginning of my life with models began with Frog. Growing up my community had three places that sold models one sold only AMT, another mostly Aurora and the third which in reality was a stationary store sold games and FROG, Airfix and Revell a/c models out of their basement . I still have some of those built kits on my display shelves and unbuilt ones in my stash. Imagine prices tags like 39, 59 & 79 cents. And half a century later I still building.
some were better than others. FROG did have many unique subjects some of which are still unique to this day.
Very true but they were fun though.
Many years ago when the world was young about 1955 . I used make a lot of frog kits . I don't remember any plastic kits . But they were all balsawood static models 1/100 scale . The first plastic model kits that I made was in about 1962 . And Believe it or not I still have many in three draws in a box room in storage . I remember the Interceptor MK 4 . With a handle to wind up the elastic band . The body was aluminium and the wings paper . There was a gearbox on the nose for the prop. There is a story told . I do not know if it's true or no. In about 1938 or so . Frog brought out a version of this plane in camouflage. But its had to be withdrawn . Because the Ministry of Aviation said it was secret !
Brilliant!
Im afraid this is only part true - indeed FROG issued the RAF camo version of the Intercepter, but it was sold without a problem... Not in large quantities though, since the regular Interceptor can still be found at auctions, etc (in various states...) with relative ease... The RAF version is very rare and very difficult to find... Since the Interceptor was not an identical model of any existing aircraft, there was never a problem with the Ministry of Aviation ;-)...
Blerio XI? Now that is a rarity these days, both in real life and in modeling.
(And quite a few of those are based on the Frog molds... ;) )
Saw a Thulin A License model of it at the Hahnweide Air Show, flown by Mikael Carlson.........the oldest bird still flying back then, it being from 1919.
He always steals the Show with it.........you can have Griffon Spits, Mustangs, 109s, and even a 262 Display (without landing, the Hahnweide is a grass strip) but the Bleriot steals the show, every, single, time! :D
The only thing nearly as interesting was the Hungarian Lisunow Li-2 (sovied License Production DC-3).
Good night and Good luck
I remember getting the Spitfire XIV and flying bomb in the early '70s. It was a wow to me that a Spitfire could have a five-blade propeller. It was also quite gratifying to me that for the price of a few minutes work with a file I could get to blow the contra-rotating prop round on the Westland Wyvern. This type has fascinated me since I read in an old Eagle Annual about Lt McFarlane's dunking in the Med off HMS Eagle after his Wyvern flamed out on launch.
LEARNING ALL THE TIME: Frog kits predated Airfix! well I learned something there. Since they were not making model tanks I rarely got any however I always remembered the brand and much later learned what FROG stood for.
Thanks for the history lesson.
I remember my dad bringing me a Novo Jaguar when I was laid up in hospital as a kid .. Black plastic..loved it
If I am not very much mistaken, the Lines Bros were instrumental in the design/manufacturing of STEN sub machine guns during WWII.
Tis true - They were sent a sample of the proposed design and halved the parts count
Yes, they were given a brief to speed up manufacture, so instead of using expensive to make tube for the main reciever parts, they made it out of pressed flat plate electrically seam welded which gives the Sten Mk3 its distinctive look, it was much cheaper to make, around £7 when the Thompson sub machine gun cost around £50. It acquired it's nickname as the Woolworth gun.
I remember assembling a Novo Airspeed Oxford (?) together with Araldite as a 10 or 11y.o. and discovering that it was a particularly bad idea!
I had one of the Spitfire flying models ( cat no 309FM shown at 3.50) It took ages to wind the rubber band. Flew o.k. but once the rubber band had unwound and the prop stopped, ti came down pretty quickly. Certainly not a long distance glider. I also built some of their plastic kits. The 2 that stick in my mind were the 1.72 DHC2 Beaver which was molded in pale blue and the EE Canberra, which was in silver/grey. The Beaver had options for Skis, Floats or conventional undercarriage. I often wonder if the old Frog Beaver Mold was the one used by Airfix for their Beaver kit in the same scale? I also built some of their 1/96 scale airliners. The 3 BOAC models, ( Comet 4, Douglas DC7C and Bristol Britannia) The Vickers Viscount ( BEA Markings) and a short release Boeing 707 in Qantas markings. I still own an unbuilt Britannia with BOAC markings and a 1/72 Handley Page Herald. The Britannia is in the original box and includes a small glass bottle of white paint ( now all dried out) and a small tube of glue, which has gone solid. The BOAC Decal sheet ) for a Britannia with a dark blue fin) has yellowed and would probably be unusable now. The Herald is a bagged kit and was marketed as "The Troop Carrying Herald," with decals for a Royal Malaysian Airforce Herald of the early 1960's. Another point I remember was that theuir early 1970's release Hawker TempestV had an option of being displayed with a clear plastic disc in place of the bladed propeller, so as to simulate the prop turning.
Nostalgia! Frog produced some interesting kits, I remember building the Bleriot and an Arado. Their decals were more comprehensive and included some rare Axis and Allied varients. Happy days.
Thank you for your videos - they really are both entertaining and informative. I've loved plastic models all my life and whilst my current love is full size motorcycle building I like to keep an eye on things and your videos have it all ! Info, nostalgia, pictures, gentle humour and lovely presentation.
I'd love you to cover the Russian Ogonek brand and if you do (or don't) let me know how I can and I'll send you some photos of the 1/30 scale tanks I built up - to a fairly good standard I'd like to think!
I also have some unmade ones that I'll photograph for you if you'd like and if it takes your fancy I'll send you them as a thank you for your efforts - although from memory the T34 is essentially a plastic poke in the eye!
Dave
I built a couple of FROG aircraft kits way back then. They were plentiful in Canada. I do not remember anything more about them. Interesting with the Tri-ang merger in that some of the first Tamiya motorized tank kits imported into Canada were imported by Tri-ang Canada.
Thank you for another brilliant video. Never paid much attention to the Frog logo, only now do I see that there is an actual frog (or is it a toad?) perched atop that triangle! Endearing kits despite (or because of) their crudeness, of interesting types. My experience: Revell´s boxings of the He 219 and Do 335 (the more interesting trainer variant with piggy-back cockpits), and Novo´s Magister & Oxford. Hey, come to think it, I´ve never had a true Frog kit! Wait, no, I lie, I have the massive Avro Shackleton somewhere in the stash, I used to have this fancy of making it in South African markings. Rivets are so brutal you could easily use the wing halves as cheese graters! Love it, all the same. I do remember that, about the time Frog folded, modeller extraordinaire Ray Rimell extolled their Avro Lancaster in a 1976 issue of Scale Models magazine. Never seen the kit, though. In Scale Models (the Bible for modellers in the ´70´s) for May 1977, Ian Huntley, another great modeller, made a lovely article called "Achieving a good-looking Heinkel", using Frog´s He 111 as a basis. Huntley praised the Frog He 111 kit as well, that´s another one I´ve never seen. I wonder where those apparently highly competent later kits are now. Wonder, too, how much a Frog-Penguin Short Singapore in mint condition may be worth! Keep it up Max, yours is a labour of love.
I started building models in the '60s. Frog kits back then were hot and cold usually taking a back seat to airfix. Notable for being really good were their Blenhiem Mk1, Dornier 17, and Lysander. Even today if you want to build a decent Blenhiem 4 you need to start with the Frog kit for the wings and engine and the fuselage of an Airfix Blennheim 4. Notable as being truly terrible were the Airspeed Oxford and Blackburn Skua. I think I have a few Frog Vampires in my pile of shame.
My last comment about Novo kits being sold in Toy shops stirred a memory in me that I've just confirmed by looking at the Scalemates Website. -Seven or eight of the most popular Frog models were sold under the Banner of "Remus Play Kits" with the logo of a kindly grandfather face. Remus made a range of toy and craft kits that were very popular for a time in the late 70s - 80s and they would usually have their own display stand in Toy shops. I notice the only one of their issues that is not a Frog kit is the old Airfix Helldiver. Was it just a reboxing deal for Frog? Or were the moulds actually sold to "Remus"? It was certainly towards the end of Frog's existence. Mystery?
I loved Frog kits,basic but could formt he basis of some unusual subjects.
Ex FROG kits are available under "Ark Models" or "Eastern Express".
Lot of fun to be had, using the frog kit, a bit of scratch building, modelling nous and some of the excellent after market parts. Possible to make a great replica at a really low cost. More rewarding too.
Just another little fact. Hobby Bounties of Singapore acquired the trademark from Hornby, and in 2018 released a reboxing of the Academy F-16C as FROG kit No. NF-2001
Explaining a joke is like dissecting a frog. You get a better understanding but the frog dies......
I've heard that the FROG Wellington never got released by FROG but has been sold under several names. I've only seen photos of it, but for its day it was the best Wellington out there. I don't have much new stuff (a bit). Most of my kits are very old. So I have a pretty extensive collection of FROG kits.
Frogs wearing Wellingtons? Maybe I missed something! 😁
FROG released a Wellington in the penguin series, I know the later kit (again a B1 with the long side windows) was released by at least one other manufacturer, I have one but it came as just a bagged kit with nothing else, not even instructions or so much as a header card.
J remember in the early 70 along the dock in a little bazard shop of a littoral village in France, there were many frog kits.. one of my first 1:72 plane model was a grey plastic frog tiger moth with the pilot stood up with his hand on the sling of his chute pack..
YES! Frog! I bought many of their kits in the 60's and early 70's. I really appreciated that they did many of the more exotic planes that other companies passed by. LOVE the Russian anthem at the end! It's a marvelous piece of music.
they do know how to write an anthem
FROG had a 1.72 scale Macchi. it had retractable undercarriage. great kit
Part 1 Excellent - I remember Frog kits well.
Part 2 "Spawned" from Part 1 and worthy of a Monty Python award for Bizarre Excellence!
Part 3 Must watch beginning of "Hunt For Red October"
A little factoid.....
Frog models were produced in the ramsgate road factory at Westwood, which is now the base for Airfix.
Still like making Frog kits. Good hard plastic, usually to scale and with plenty to improve on when you are skilled yet easy for the starter. Favourite kits are. Goodwin's lightship,Whitley, swordfish,HMS Torquay and Undine plus the flawed yet perfect sea vixen. Tbh can't think of a bad kit.
I also never realised but I had made a FROG kit when i made the 1/500 HMS Exeter a few years ago in my youth - it was a grand kit , fairly accurate and not bad fit - and went together well , I had it for a number of years and loved it .
@SUTHRINGA Working on one as we speak. Basic but outline is accurate. The transparancies aren't great, I have to say.
This was a beautiful video, and thank you very much for making it. I am now grateful to know what company made the very first plastic model kits. I wonder how well their flying models actually flew.
pretty good from what I understand
I'm currently making a Frog Gloster Whittle - an older kit, but as far as I know still the only model available of this important aircraft in 1/72 scale. The details are a little rudimentary and there's a bit of scratch building as well as the usual filling and sanding that goes with kits of the era, but overall it's a great little model that's coming up remarkably well for its age.
Building a FROG Gloster Javelin at this time. Just getting back into building at 72. Had the Javelin in my stash. I actually like it as it seems accurate, I display 1/72 models in flight, and sometimes even paint the inside if the canopy pale blue .
The camo and markings are correct though.
Incidentally, it is pronounced puss as in pussycat. The deHavilland Moth range of aeroplanes were named after different moths (bugs), as the designer was an amateur lepidopterist. The puss moth was so named because it had a cat-like appearance.
Thank you for a superb video, Max. I have a bunch of FROGs.
I didn't know frog kinda started it all. Thanks frog. And thanks max.