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Another quick lockdown build, the old (mid 1970s) FROG Maryland, in this case (I believe) its Novoexport guise. Actually it came in a dirty unmarked plastic bag from a vendor at Telford for the grand sum of £2, with no decals and moulded in what looks like brown chocolate. With the exception of the plastic, which was very brittle, but turned to melted chocolate if you even waved glue at it, this was a reasonable build. The split canopy, which I thought would be difficult to complete, only needed a little sanding to complete, although I did use quite a lot of Tippex as filler elsewhere. As is my want, I scratched up a set of inkjet and spares box markings for the Orkney-based RN aircraft that set out in a storm and confirmed the Bismark had sailed from its Norwegian lair, after the RAF cried off their flight because of the weather. I added a minimal amount of detail inside the nose as I thought it might be visible (it isn't). FredT

Hi all Really enjoyed making the Airfix Tomahawk. Recently descovered my Frog decals for a Flying tigers P 40B Only I have one side painting instruction and no decscription of colours. I thought of Humbrol 30 dark green and humbrol 29 dark earth for above and Revell 59 duck egg green for below. Can I improve on this in enamel paints? For those of you bewilded or need of revision: Gen. Clair Lee Chennault's American Volunteer Group took delivery of just 90 P 40Bs to fight the Japanese invasion of China. Thanks in anticipation for any links/paint suggestions. M.M.

Hi folks, Our esteemed GB fuhrer, aka @Rabbit Leader, has persuaded me to add a build here. I am going to try to update the FROG DH Hornet F3 and correct a few of the things that bug me about the kit. Masochism? Yes, but I'll consider it a small price to pay if, by annoying the modelling gods, they nudge Airfix to do an accurate new tool Hornet, with @David A Collins as technical consultant. So, what might I do? Well, reduce the thickness of the wings, improve the outline of the fin and rudder, gash up some cockpit gizmology, improve the canopy shape, and make the nose a little less blunt. We'll see how this goes; it's not a full-on accurising job, but if I do it right, it should look more like a Hornet. Of course the existing kit also looks like a Hornet oob, so I may be onto a hiding for nothing! More when I've gathered some bits n bobs and worked out how to post pics after the PB debacle. Regards Martin

Hi all, FROG reboxed some of Hasegawa's output including a number of 1/32nd scale models.... https://www.scalemates.com/kits/frog-f289-messerschmitt-me262a--953399 So I'll be building this Hasegawa boxing of the ME262. So what's in the box? I'll be building it OOB and on a stand as the wheel wells have nothing in the way of detail at all and I don't really want to spend money on aftermarket or time on scratch details. Plus I'm not sure where it's going once it's built! Work has started. KR's IanJ

When all is up in the air, concentrate on something familiar and re-assuring - like a quick build of a FROG Fairey Gannet model! The markings on this one come from Modeldecal (and were possibly the first after market set I ever bought - for a Sea Hawk IIRC, so at least 35 years old). The kit has seen some minor mods - the radar dustbin was removed and filled, some underwing tanks (or are they baggage carriers - not sure) were added along with the wire aerial arrangement. This is another kit that defies its age. OK so the pilots are moulded onto a flat panel, heads only, the exhausts ar enot the right shape and the undercarriage bays are not cut out (I didn't change any of these by the way), but it still looks like a Gannet, and the sharpness of the wing trailing edges would put many modern kits to shame And finally, with a "vanilla" FROG Gannet: Stay safe everyone..... FredT

Hello everybody! My second attempt to beat VIMY VICKERS. It has no relation to any particular prototype, nor does it have a historical link to the original. The fairing is not shortened, accordingly, the rear part of the fuselage was never touched. Just wanted a neat Assembly and painting with small additions in the form of glazing, cockpit, simulation of the power set, and other small things. Imitation of the ribs first made using strips of foil, it turned out rough, removed the foil and tried chiaroscuro. The set was old, the plastic was hard and brittle, but it was polished well. Cockades were applied through stencils. Braces-elastomeric thread for beading. I fixed them in the traditional way for me, otherwise I can't do it, my eyes are probably not the same or my hands. In General, I liked the construction site, I like "sewing machines". I found a lot of errors later, when it was too late to correct them. We will consider this construction a rehearsal, I have another FROG that is not assembled . Valejio paints, Mr.Hobby, self-made flushing from oil paints. Sincerely, Mikhail

A recent gift from my LMS while getting some paint yesterday, a P-51A Mustang II by Frog in 1/72 and according to Scalemates, a vintage of 1970. Kit in a bag, haven't had one of these since... Two sprues. Another two sprues. Decals and glazing. Says it all. So, let's see what happens with this. Stuart

Hot off the press is my latest from the P-51 Mustang STGB. The 40+ year old Frog kit was given to me by the owner of LMS to see what I could do with it. I used the kit to try out some heavy duty correction and scratch building. Improvements made: The kit cockpit was virtually non-existent, so a scratch one was built with the addition of a pilot. The main intake was made deeper. The leading edge extensions were corrected. Chin corrected. Also added some 'tube' guns. Added a landing light. Posed with 'wheels up' and being not a fan of the blurry disc propeller, the blades were discarded. Painted with a mixture of Tamiya and AK with the main scheme using Colourcoats Enamel paints. kit decals were pants, Xtradecal roundels and codes were used and represents an a/c from 2 squadron, RAF, 1944. Build log here: Stuart

I've just finished a long running (10 months) build of a FROG Beaufort. Well, the fuselage halves were from the kit and everything else was stolen from the new Airfix and Frog Beaufighters or scratchbuild. Long story, WIP here. Pictures, you say: It's about time somebody released a state of the art Beaufort. I take comfort in the fact that my three previous most complex fixings of kits resulted in new releases of high standards: old Airfix Swordfish (Airfix), Airfix IL-2 (Tamiya, Academy) and old Airfix He-111 (Airfix). So, fingers crossed! [EDIT the IL-2 isn't really that bright a green!] Thanks for looking, Adrian

Recently I got the old Frog 1/72 Vultee Vengeance set from my local hobby store. I brought it to our second house in Palm Desert (We live in Los Angeles but go there every time my school has a 3-day weekend) to build there and paint at home. Somehow on the ride there one of the propeller blades fell off and I have not been able to find it. Do you guys know where I can find a replacement Vultee Vengeance propeller? From searching it up I found some people that have replacements like Ozmods and Pete's hangar, but Ozmods has a 1/48 version of it (looking for 1/72) and Pete's hangar doesn't have it. Does anyone else know where I can find a 1/72 Vultee Vengeance propeller? Comments would be nice/

Another finisher from the FROG Squad GB, this was my attempt at improving what FROG provided. Off the top of my head, I did the following: - removed the moulded in interior detail and scratched a 'pit - removed the fin and dorsal fillet; replaced with a cut down Airfix Mossie fin and scratch-built strake - reshaped nose and tail cone with milliput - removed raised lip at rear of cockpit opening - opened up and enlarged radiator inlets; added scratchbuilt rad detail - thinned down wing leading edges drastically, moving point of max thickness rearward - cleaned up landing gear legs and added support stays from brass tube - replaced tailwheel with Vampire nose gear - replaced main wheels with resin examples - reshaped and rescribed engine nacelles - added spar caps, and fuse main spar cover from Tamiya tape - added nav lights from clear styrene - drilled out cannon troughs - windscreen cut from clear sheet to dimensions supplied by @David A Collins - smash moulded canopy - added bomb racks from Airfix Typhoon and bombs from Tamiya Mosquito - substituted rocket tail fins from the Hobbyboss Typhoon Phew! Not surprising it took me over 3 months. The decals are from the kit and Xtradecal RAF roundels. Paint was xtracrylics PRU blue and dark sea grey plus Tamiya dark green rattle can (not the RAF dark green, I later realised!). The observant will spot the howler I made when painting the camouflage. Enjoy! Martin

The Fairey Gannet is an aircraft of the Cold War era developed for the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy. The Gannet was originally developed to meet the FAA's dual-role anti-submarine warfare and strike requirement. The prototype first flew on 19 September 1949 and made the first deck landing by a turboprop aircraft, on HMS Illustrious on 19 June 1950, by pilot Lieutenant Commander G. Callingham. It was a mid-wing monoplane with a tricycle undercarriage, and a double turboprop engine, the Armstrong-Siddeley Double Mamba 100, driving two contra-rotating propellers. After a further change in operational requirements, with the addition of a radar and extra crew member, the type entered production in 1953 and initial deliveries were made of the variant designated AS.1 at RNAS Ford in April 1954 entering service in January 1955. A trainer variant (T.2) WN365 first flew in August 1954. The RN's first operational Gannet squadron (826 NAS) was embarked on HMS Eagle. The initial order was for 100 AS.1 aircraft. The Mamba created 2,950 h.p. It could fly at 310 m.p.h. Service ceiling 25,000 ft. Range 943 miles with a crew of three. Armaments were 16 x 60 lbs. rocket projectiles and two homing torpedoes, depth charges or mines and a crew of three. It was later adapted for operations as an electronic countermeasures and carrier onboard delivery aircraft. A total of 348 Gannets were built, of which 44 were the heavily modified AEW.3. Production was shared between Fairey's factories at Hayes, Middlesex and Heaton Chapel, Stockport / Manchester (Ringway) Airport. By the mid-1960s, the AS.1s and AS.4s had been replaced by the Westland Whirlwind HAS.7 helicopters. This is the 1970 boxing of the Frog kit originally issued in 1956 © Rovex-Triang.

Following the recent hugely popular posting elsewhere on BM, see link below. I thought it only right and proper that we channel all that enthusiasm for Frog kits into a Group Build. I had a look to see if this has been done already but couldn't find one. Participants 1. @JOCKNEY 2. @vppelt68 3. @Bonhoff 4. @Corsairfoxfouruncle 5. @theplasticsurgeon 6. @stevej60 7. @stevehnz 8. @Ray S 9. @bristol boy 10. @06/24 11. @CliffB 12. @Dermo245 13. @zebra 14. @Rabbit Leader 15. @TonyW 16. @Grandboof 17. @PhoenixII 18. @adey m 19. @Mjwomack 20. @MarkSH 21. @Romeo Alpha Yankee 22. @malpaso 23. @GREG DESTEC 24. @Mr T 25. @Paul J 26. @Redstaff 27. @wallyinoz 28. @gengriz 29. @John D.C. Masters 30. @rafalbert 31. @Black Knight 32. @AdrianMF 33. @Mancunian airman 34. @English Electric 35. @Crossiant Oliver 36. @djos 37. @Smudge 38. @Jinxman 39. @bigbadbadge 40. @Doccur 41. @Enzo Matrix 42. @jean 43. @shatters 44. @Sabre_days 45. @Peter B 46. @Atom.uk 47. @LDSModeller 48. Therefore if like many of us you grew up enjoying Frog kits or all the re-releases that came afterwards Novo, Revell etc this is for you. Given the recent amazing Matchbox II, and Classic Airfix Group Builds it will be great to see as many of the range as possible getting built. Cheers Pat

I bought this kit at Telford because I had vague memories of building one with my dad when I was a kid. I want to build it as I would have done, but hopefully with a better finish, so a nostalgia build. The Fairey Gannet is an aircraft of the Cold War era developed for the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy. The Gannet was originally developed to meet the FAA's dual-role anti-submarine warfare and strike requirement. The prototype first flew on 19 September 1949 and made the first deck landing by a turboprop aircraft, on HMS Illustrious on 19 June 1950, by pilot Lieutenant Commander G. Callingham. It was a mid-wing monoplane with a tricycle undercarriage, and a double turboprop engine, the Armstrong-Siddeley Double Mamba 100, driving two contra-rotating propellers. After a further change in operational requirements, with the addition of a radar and extra crew member, the type entered production in 1953 and initial deliveries were made of the variant designated AS.1 at RNAS Ford in April 1954 entering service in January 1955. A trainer variant (T.2) WN365 first flew in August 1954. The RN's first operational Gannet squadron (826 NAS) was embarked on HMS Eagle. The initial order was for 100 AS.1 aircraft. The Mamba created 2,950 h.p. It could fly at 310 m.p.h. Service ceiling 25,000 ft. Range 943 miles with a crew of three. Armaments were 16 x 60 lbs. rocket projectiles and two homing torpedoes, depth charges or mines and a crew of three. It was later adapted for operations as an electronic countermeasures and carrier onboard delivery aircraft. A total of 348 Gannets were built, of which 44 were the heavily modified AEW.3. Production was shared between Fairey's factories at Hayes, Middlesex and Heaton Chapel, Stockport / Manchester (Ringway) Airport. By the mid-1960s, the AS.1s and AS.4s had been replaced by the Westland Whirlwind HAS.7 helicopters. This is the 1970 boxing of the Frog kit originally issued in 1956 © Rovex-Triang.

This is a carry-over from the FROG Squad Group Build, which I didn't have time to do much with. However I still want a Lysander, so I'll move it to here. I'm going to build this aircraft: https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205126682 2 reasons for this. Firstly, I've always liked Lysanders. Secondly, when I turn up at work of a morning It's on the site of the old Grangemouth airfield and I'm slowly building up a collection of aircraft associated with it. 614 Squadron were also based here with Lysanders in 1940, but they were MkIIs and they were fitted for spraying mustard gas. I'll get round to one of those eventually. I think the only Lizzies I've built are the Airfix 1/72 scale second incarnation and the wonderful big Matchbox kit. I do have a bagged original issue Airfix MkII somewhere, but I doubt I'll be building that any time soon 😀 John

FROG SPARE PARTS   As you know we currently have a "Spare Frog Decals" thread running, which has proved hugely successful in allowing many kits with missing or unusable decals to be included in this Group Build @Rob S suggested we could have an additional thread for Frog Spare Parts. Therefore if you have a Frog kit that is missing any parts or a "Spawn" kit that has brittle, warped, or malformed parts or conversely you have a kit that has extra parts or you have already relegated a kit to a "Spares" kit then here is the Thread to list what you want or what is available to complete those Frog kits out there and maybe take part in this Group Build.  So that it fits within the "No Trading in the Group Build Threads" Rule/s the Mods for this GB have obtained approval from @Enzo Matrix GB Mod Supremo, so long as Parts are not sold but Postage costs can be covered so that no Part Donor is out of pocket. We hope this proves just as popular with the participants of this GB as the decals thread and leads to many additional builds joining this every popular GB. Cheers Pat, Dave, V-P & Rob aka @JOCKNEY @Rabbit Leader @vppelt68 & @Rob S

I'm at the stage on my builds now that I am fairly confident that I can add another 'Trailblazer' kit to this GB - the Bleriot XI. I picked this one because it is fairly small and uncomplicated and should mostly be painted before assembly and it's also a really fascinating subject as well. There does look like there will be rigging though! Also, what other kit comes with a piece of the Dover Cliffs turf as a diorama? The kit colour is 'linen' anyway so I can leave those parts 'bare' Educational list of parts included. There's the extra piece of history text that comes with the Trailblazer kits - lovely! Oversized figure also present as well as the scaled pilot - hope I get the colour of Louis' moustache right!

Well, since we got 2 more weeks on this great Classic GB, I feel safe to commit to another build to really keep pushing the stats through the roof. Another of the Trailblazers series not already covered - the D.H.88 Comet Racer. Note the colour chart only has one colour specified - Red! Since the plastic is already this colour, I will have little to do. I'll retain the kit colour as far as possible and just do a bit of detail painting as required. I've never built this kit or aircraft before so it will be interesting. First off, I can see that the seated pilots are missing but two 'larger than life' standing figures have been provided. ??

Hi everybody, I am throwing my beret in the ring with this MS 406. This kit was very kindly sent to me, in the middle of nowhere in Zimbabwe by Pat @JOCKNEY who himself resides in the middle of nowhere in Scotland! Thanks again Pat! In all honesty I haven't finished a kit in a long time and I have a goodly number of models that are very close to completion... A shrink would love me! So this 406 will be built as a supreme mojo restorer to break the spell of non completion haunting me, when it comes to plastic models. To that effect it will be built 200% OOB: I shall be ruthless with my other self. What Frog did not include will not be added. And I will even use the pilot and the stand (very nice one they made in those days!). This kit is from 1963, so accuracy is not its forte, and in those days the 406 was still a state secret in France, so... The decals will be changed though, using only AM roundels as I do not have specific MS 406 decals. But it is OK. This kit will be built as a memento of what Frog used to produce in its early-ish days. Then I did not even know Frog existed, but Heller was there to keep me happy! Cheers. JR

It's more efficient to have two kits on the go, isn't it?? This is another of the Frog Trail Blazers range which caught my eye as a unique subject, the Bristol 138/A. From Wiki, the Bristol Type 138 High Altitude Monoplane was a British high-altitude research aircraft developed and produced by the Bristol Aeroplane Company during the 1930s. It holds the distinction of setting nine separate altitude world records, the ultimate of these occurring on 30 June 1937, during a 2¼-hour flight flown by Flight Lieutenant M.J. Adam, in which he achieved a record altitude, which was later homologated by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale as having attained a maximum altitude of 53,937 ft (16,440 m). The Type 138 was designed as a dedicated research aircraft capable of reaching high altitudes; aeronautical engineer Frank Barnwell (connection with Stirling, my current home, here), had first proposed the design to the British Air Ministry during November 1933. The revised design was produced in response to the issuing of Specification 2/34 by the Air Ministry during June 1934, which sought an aircraft that would be capable of achieving the unheard-of altitude of 50,000 feet. In addition to Bristol's own work on the Type 138, the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) and National Physical Laboratory also made valuable contributions to the development effort on designing the type. On 11 May 1936, the Type 138A performed its maiden flight, piloted by Cyril Uwins. On 28 September 1936, Squadron Leader F.R.D. Swain set a new world record altitude record, having climbed to an indicated altitude of 51,000 ft (15,440 m), which was homologated as 49,967 ft (15,230 m). After this milestone, research flights continued, along with further attempts to break the altitude record. Further development of the aircraft after the first record-breaking flight led to a series of small modifications being implemented. The last record-breaking flight was flown on 30 June 1937. Very individual colour scheme. I hope the 'crewman' (do they mean pilot?) is to scale. When you unfold the Instructions, it's like opening up a treasure map! Transfers look OK and a different type of 'Replacements' slip. Here's the history on the reverse of the Instructions and 9 Gold Tokens this time. Two kit listings to compare. Clear stand and canopy look like they need a wash and polish up. There is a very small 'hinge' type piece which is off the sprue and I have the feeling that there may be more required - must look in the corners of the box, which will double as a work tray, of course! With this kit's high altitude pedigree, it won't be happy until it's suspended from the ceiling!

I've already finished three and two are already in the gallery so with the GB extension, in an ambitious leap I've decided to do another from the stash. I was tempted by the Revell rebox of the Vengeance as another target tug but as I'm away for two weeks from the middle of next week that's definitely over ambitious. So I've decided to have a go at this one. It must be quite old as I think this packaging goes back at least to the 70's. Card has instructions on inside and colour schemes for two versions, an FAA and a RNZAF kite, on the other side. Four small grey grey sprues with nice raised detail and not much in the way of flash or unsightly seams. And a single canopy of a clear plastic sprue. A little thick but something that can be worked with. There is a mystery piece of tape on one wing which will need removed but otherwise all looks pretty good to go. The transfers don't look too bad and if they're the same as on the Shark, they should go on fine. And there's no sign of yellowing. I've a few for Corsairs in the stash but for simplicity I'd like to stick to the FAA overall Gloss Sea Blue version

Quite possibly the worst pun since they finished making "Carry On" films ! I will be building the F274 Nakajima G8N1 Renzan "Rita" bomber. Mine in an AMT boxing of the Frog Kit, which I got from the good ol USA, when I had more money than sense. The kit is still sealed in the bag, so here is the box picture as a place holder. This is what the Frog kit box looked like Good luck everyone, this is going to be great ! cheers Pat

If / when I finish the Renzan, this will be the next build And here is why As RAF Macrihanish, is local to me, that Campbeltown in case you were wondering. How could I possibly not build this one. All the parts seem to be there, along with a very robust looking stand. I couldn't help but notice that the pictures for the painting guide show multi antennas on the above and below wing ariels whereas the kit parts don't have them. Is there any aftermarket kits available for this kit that might include them and or other bits ? cheers Pat

Good evening fellow Froggers Seeing as everyone is getting excited and posting their intended builds, I thought I'd follow suit and put my name in with a Frog Grumman A6A Intruder, F272 from 1970 to start with Seeing how time goes I may do a Vampire FB5 and Meteor IV as well as I don't think they are going to be long drawn out builds Pics now uploaded, now Flikr has got it's act together Ian

Hi all I hope this is not too cheeky as it was built as part of the Fabulous Frog Group Build. There have been may beautiful kits built in that group build. I am very pleased and proud of this build. I hope the GB mods and participants don't mind. The Cockpit is pretty much scratch built as there is not much in the kit and there are the radio sets in the rear although they can't be seen when assembled . The seat is part of an Airwaves Photo etch set for Spitfire and hurricanes and therefore is not correct but it was all I could find at the time. IP is scratch built as is the floors, side frames, rear seats etc. The raised panel lines were scraped off and rescribed leaving the lovely rivet details . The engine was replaced by an Aeroclub AW Tiger engine in white metal and the moulded pushrod tubes were scraped off and replaced with brass rod. The Aeroclub engine comes with a lovely exhaust collector ring and propeller and so the kit exhausts were cut and bent to connect to it. The kit was missing a couple of struts, one of which was scratched and the other was built from one of the Float struts was used with some modification. Various parts such as hinge covers for the ailerons were made along with their actuators and the elevator actuators were also made. Rigging is from Invisible thread along with the aerial wires. the Vickers K gun is a lovely bit of kit from Miniworld . Navigation lights were made from Lazer bond UV glue and plastrut and the bomb rack mounts were made from the an Airwaves PE fret inserted into holes drilled in the wing and then CA'd into place. There are other bits I have forgotten to mention I'm sure. The initial decals failed me and a new set was kindly sent by @PeterB and they went down effortlessly again a real testament to Frog, thanks Pete. Also a big thank you the Moderators on the forum @Rabbit Leader and @JOCKNEY and to all who have offered encouragement along the way. I hope they don't mind me posting this here, but I am very proud of this kit. There are many kits built in the GB and they are all wonderful and there are loads of kits that I had not realized Frog had made, check them out you will be amazed at the beautiful results. I have really enjoyed making this and the Kit actually fitted together beautifully and is a testament to the wonderful world of Frog Kits. Thanks for looking in All the best Chris