A NOSTALGIC TRIBUTE TO FROG MODEL KITS

[adey m]

On 17/02/2018 at 12:04, 224 Peter said:

Ive just picked up this thread and read through.. talk about a trip back in time. 

 

I must have bought most of this kits in the 1960s, interestingly the two main sources for me were "Hook Cycles and Radio" on the roundabout junction of the A3 and A243, quite a cycle ride from Claygate, and another Cycle shop in Esher, at the other end of the high street from Woolies...

 

In the stash I have an unboxed 1/72 Whitley, without transfers or Instructions: it could be the Frog one, or Airfix: how can I tell the difference? 

 

 

Thank you Peter for your FROG memories, reading other modellers reminiscences of FROG kits has been one of my favourite bits of this topic.

Back in the 1960s and early 1970s if you wanted an AIRFIX kit you just went to the nearest Woolworths store or the toy shop in the High Street.

FROG kits on the other hand appeared in the most obscure places in small quantities. Post Offices, newsagents, hardware shops, cycle shops and gift shops are some examples I know of.

The village Post Office in Alderton, Suffolk was where I was first introduced to FROG kits, the window always had a display of Black, Red, Green and later Yellow series kits.

But the first time I saw a FROG Shackleton was in the toy shop in Woodbridge Main Street.

In Whitby in the early 1970s there was the West Parade Post Office, Stakesby Grocery Stores and Andersons Newsagents who all sold FROG kits.

Many an early Sunday morning I would cycle to the Parade Post Office to buy a bagged FROG kit which I would have built, painted and decalled that same day. Models I remember building from here include the Sea Fury, MS406, Fokker D21, Mustang II, Gloster Whittle, Fiat G55, Hurricane and others.

Stakesby Stores was where I first saw the giant FROGs, a Renzan and a B-47. A cycle ride down into Whitby town just across the river bridge would find me at Andersons newsagents where models such as the Shark, Gannet, P38, and Humbrol paints came from.

For my 13th birthday my dad drove me the twenty miles to Scarborough where he took me to a small model shop hidden away on Bar Street and where I came away from with the FROG Emily flying boat in its massive box. I could not wait to get home and open that box...........

Seeing a bagged FROG HP Herald in Malaysian Air Force colours hanging up in a Whitby gift shop and a FROG Whitley just sat up on a high shelf in a Scarborough gift shop looking quite out of place are some other childhood memories I have of the unexpected places that FROG kits appeared in.

 

Adey

[JOCKNEY]

Another FROG mystery, look at the instructions below and see if you can spot the conundrum ?

 

cheers Pat

 

 

[JosephLalor]

Heinkel night fighter title, North American B-25 assembly instructions. Both twin engined, twin finned, mind, but what happened there?

Edited February 23, 2018 by JosephLalor

[Colin1967]

Hi Adey,

This thread is just wonderful and I have enjoyed very much reading your and other posts on this subject, it's a trip back thru time and pleasant childhood memories.

I once owned a FROG Herald with Malaysian decals mentioned above and it was a bagged item, I bought it at the Maidstone toy fair many years ago for about £18.00 if I remember correctly, later on I sold it on with a number of other kits from my stash, which grows and shrinks from time to time.  I love the hobby very much and wish I still had that FROG Herald kit.

 

Very best wishes to you all,

Regards Colin.

[Aardvark]

44 minutes ago, JosephLalor said:

Both twin engined, twin finned, mind, but what happened there?

It consequences of excessive reading by designers FROG of comics Marvel!
B-25 as "the plane - x" changes skin and turns in He-219 is similar the Mystic!

(image from Wikipedia)

B.R.

Serge

 

 

[adey m]

On 20/02/2018 at 09:47, stevej60 said:

Many thank's Adey, it's an OOB build and I tried to save as many of the original decal's as possible,I'll pop a photo of the  other build's as completed.

I've never made Sword and lance to date even though I'm only twenty minutes up the road  I'll check the date for this year.

Ahh, so that is what OOB means................senior moment strikes again

 

Did you mean like this Steve    ...........

 

 

Out of the box as FROG intended    .............  on the dining room table while Crossroads was on the telly.  Hope the glue doesn't leak.

 

 

Just what is that plane on the side of the box   .............    it never appeared in the Post Office window

 

Adey

Edited February 25, 2018 by adey m

[adey m]

2 hours ago, JOCKNEY said:

Another FROG mystery, look at the instructions below and see if you can spot the conundrum ?

 

cheers Pat

 

 

 

So which one are you going to build Pat  ............  or which one did you think you were building  ...........  were you wondering where the aerials go   ..................... ?

 

I would send off your Complaint Slip to Margate if I were you

 

he, he

 

a very amused Adey

Edited February 23, 2018 by adey m

[adey m]

 

Here is what you might need Pat  ............  and  don't forget to paint the seats Service Brown

 

cheers, Adey

Edited February 23, 2018 by adey m

[JOCKNEY]

34 minutes ago, adey m said:

 

So which one are you going to build Pat  ............  or which one did you think you were building  ...........  were you wondering where the aerials go   ..................... ?

 

I would send off your Complaint Slip to Margate if I were you

 

he, he

 

a very amused Adey

 

2 hours ago, JosephLalor said:

Heinkel night fighter title, North American B-25 assembly instructions. Both twin engined, twin finned, mind, but what happened there?

 

Well done, the kit and box are for the Heinkel, strange how the instructions ended up a hybrid.

 

Must list it on EvilBay, "ultra rare kit etc etc" £1500 opening bid, don't laugh !

 

I just need someone suitably merry after a night out to think it's a bargain 

 

cheers Pat

[adey m]

 

So what will you write in the Comments bit Pat,  you only have two lines  ...............

 

cheers,  Adey

[Rabbit Leader]

8 minutes ago, adey m said:

 

So what will you write in the Comments bit Pat,  you only have two lines  ...............

 

cheers,  Adey

Wot!!! no mention of an email address or twitter #taggy thingy?? 

You expect Pat to neatly use a ball point pen here Adey?

I'm just outraged! 

 

Cheers.. Dave 

[JOCKNEY]

5 minutes ago, Rabbit Leader said:

Wot!!! no mention of an email address or twitter #taggy thingy?? 

You expect Pat to neatly use a ball point pen here Adey?

I'm just outraged! 

 

Cheers.. Dave 

This is the Scottish Highlands, we are still using granite and chisels, which is tough on the carrier pigeons I can assure you 

[adey m]

 

Blimey, I didn't know that FROG did a 1/24 Beaufighter       ................

 

adey

[adey m]

 

Aaaagh  I can't see         ..................

[adey m]

 

Looks like someone has gone and loosed one off      ..................

Edited February 24, 2018 by adey m

[stevej60]

A quick question folk's,Loved building  the Beaufighter,and well into the Boston and Blenhiem builds as far as similar aircraft are concerned what will I 

find if  I order the Marauder and Mitchel?l,I believe these are very old molds.

[adey m]

On 23/02/2018 at 23:13, stevej60 said:

A quick question folk's,Loved building  the Beaufighter,and well into the Boston and Blenhiem builds as far as similar aircraft are concerned what will I 

find if  I order the Marauder and Mitchel?l,I believe these are very old molds.

Hi Steve, both models build up looking like what they are supposed too but have a couple of pilots and seats inside and that is all. The glazed noses are empty of any detail so a little bit of scratchbuilding in this area might be good.

 

I built the FROG  Miitchell back in 1976 straight from the box ( OOB ) and was happy with it. It is an earlier version to the old AIRFIX one which appealed to me.

 

Here are some pictures from the web to help you decide

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

don't buy the one on the right Steve as it's probably bashed up  .................

 

have fun

 

adey

 

 

Edited June 18, 2020 by adey m

[Rabbit Leader]

Steve, 

adey’s done a tremendous job with these two Frog kits and no doubt you will achieve similar results. If it’s the ‘Frog’ nostalgia that your after than go for it, however it you want two ‘old tool’ kits that will be much less work I’d go for the Airfix B-26 (to be re-released this March) and find yourself an Italeri B-25G box which was re-released a few years ago and comes with both glass nose and gunship nose options. The interior of both kits is far superior, the B-26 also has a neat Bomb Bay as well. 

 

Cheers.. Dave

[stevej60]

Thank's Adey and Dave,the two frog kit's look on par certainly with the Boston which was very buildable I seem to remember having the Mitchell

donkey's years ago with those stripes Lord knows what a hash I must have made of them as a kid,Dave I noticed the Marauder was due for re-release

which is good news as it is one of Airfix's best effort's before their latest offering's,I'll see how the Boston and Blenhiem go as they are at the paint

stage and see what's next.

[224 Peter]

Adey and everyone,

thanks for re-kindling so many memories of the Frog Kits that I built. From those listed I made more than I'd remembered!

 

This site in France seems to list most of the kits, including photos of many boxes opened. 

http://frog.cocardes.com/

 

From the deep and strange recesses of my mind and the above list the list  I recall the Westland Wallace kit, also the Vickers Vimy, Bristol 138 and Spirit of St Louis. 

In total I think I made at least 30 of them and I think that my one remaining 1/72 scale Spitfire XIV completed kit is the one that came with the Flying Bomb. 

Photo to follow! 

 

[Pete in Lincs]

I found this old advert out there and thought it might be of interest.

 

http://stiffspeed.co.uk/post/167170756369

 

[lars_opland]

On 3/2/2017 at 11:18 AM, Crossiant Oliver said:

That's a lot of kits! I just built the Academy 1/72 P-40B kit, which is just the Frog kit with updated panel lines. Expect pictures soon!

In fact, the old Frog moldings are superior. Liberties were taken in knocking off the Frog version & the prop spinner is too rounded & bulging, just to start at the front end. Academy also knocked off that PV-1, which I have in a crude Russian boxing, with similar results which render the older kit a better semblance at first & last glance. 

 

There's nothing wrong with fine raised lines, BTW; all those metal WWII types had lapped seams everywhere, with "trenches" only around control surfaces, cowl flaps & such. I'll be happy to see "finely engraved panel lines" go the way of raised decal outlines!

 

Rant Mode Off.

 

Cheers, -Lars

[lars_opland]

Hi Adey,

 

I warmed to this subject over 50 years ago, so thanks for starting this. In it's day, that Frog B-25 was the best kit available. The competition was a Revell box-scale kit that was close to 1:72 & had extreme shape & proportion issues. The Airfix kit...had less extreme shape & proportion issues.

 

Has anyone mentioned the Mossie yet? My favorite Frog kit, no longer available at any price, molds long since disappeared into Russia along with most of the rest & not among the collection displayed on page one...

 

Ah! There it is; page 12....

 

Cheers, -Lars

[Learstang]

On ‎2‎/‎23‎/‎2018 at 13:25, JOCKNEY said:

This is the Scottish Highlands, we are still using granite and chisels, which is tough on the carrier pigeons I can assure you 

 

Och, you've upgraded to chisels, noow. Mare precise than the auld rock hammers.

 

Regards,

 

Jason

[RJP]

The B-25 and B-26 reminded me that I always enjoyed Frog kits' relatively restrained surface detail as compared to Airfix rivets.  Though neither was difficult to rectify, neither was satisfactory either.  Frog's simple lines took less effort to remove with a couple of swipes with a safety razor blade or even sandpaper in a pinch. 

 

Seen from the side a lapped joint always struck me as looking like a cliff whereas a raised line resembles a ridge or maybe a line of poorly applied silicone caulking.  How thick is a sheet of aluminum anyway?  Reduced to 1/72 and the overlaps are invisible anyway unless you get your nose right up to the model.

 

I prefer to remove it all, lines, rivets and whatnot and replace it sparingly with a very sharp 4H or 6H lead pencil.  Not enough pressure to scratch the surface, just enough to suggest the faintest shadow.

Edited February 25, 2018 by RJP
clarity