A NOSTALGIC TRIBUTE TO FROG MODEL KITS

[adey m]

21 minutes ago, Pete in Lincs said:

I don't know, Adey, my time at the model desk is not far off that.

BTW, I was in Scarborough on Tuesday. Had chips and tea at the Oasis cafe on North bay. (Had to be done).

Delivered to North Riding hotel, Indigo Alley bar (just up the road) and the Stumble Inn (near the railway station).

I met my wife in the North Riding Hotel, we have just celebrated twenty five years of marriage so that place has a special meaning for us both. The Oasis has been a favourite of ours for years too.

 

we must meet up one day

 

regards,  adey

Edited July 6, 2018 by adey m

[general melchett]

Quote

 

I was in Scarborough on Tuesday. Had chips and tea at the Oasis cafe on North bay. (Had to be done).

Delivered to North Riding hotel, Indigo Alley bar (just up the road) and the Stumble Inn (near the railway station).

 

Know it well Pete...I lived and worked in the Pickering area for ten years, we often ended up in a Scarborough club/bar (or house of ill repute if things really got out of hand) with no recollection of how we got there or more importantly how we were going to get home!  

[adey m]

2 hours ago, general melchett said:

Thanks Adey, glad you like them. I know there are two lines of thought about hoarding/collecting or building these classic kits. Must admit I like to do both if possible and am always on the lookout for part-assembled ones to swing the hammer at. Every time I think I'll have a go at one of the nice shiny boxed kits I always end up carefully wrapping it up again and putting it back in the display cabinet, but not before pawing all over it and muttering 'my precious' in a worrying way!

 

 

 

Now that's interesting Adey, any chance you could scan them and pm to me. I have an ever-increasing archive of Victor stuff that I've accumulated over the past 40 odd years...anything like that is fascinating.

 

 

Pete,

Sadly it's the most inaccurate part of the kit!...wonder what happened to the rest of it?..or is that too horrible to contemplate...

Now that's interesting Adey, any chance you could scan them and pm to me. I have an ever-increasing archive of Victor stuff that I've accumulated over the past 40 odd years...anything like that is fascinating.

 

Yes I will do that General. My long time friend and aircraft and model enthusiast Stuart had taken the photographs of this brown lump of corroded metal on the harbour side and neither he or anybody else could make out what it was so he gave the challenge to me.

It did not take me long to recognise it as coming from a Victor, the airbrake opening, the tail bumper wheel and the structure of the tail fin confirming what it was.

The only Victor crash in the North Sea that I can find any mention of is Victor K1A tanker XH618 of 57 Squadron which collided with a Buccaneer that it was refuelling on 24 March 1975.

 

In August 1975 our Air Training Corps Squadron had a week at RAF Marham and I have great memories of the Victor Mk1s and Mk2s tankers that were based there, but we did not know of their recent tragedy. One morning we were shown around and inside a K2 undergoing a major overhaul in one of the hangars and I remember reaching up at the rubber tyre under the tail and spinning it round.

 

I nearly had my little Kodak Instamatic camera confiscated after I took a photo of a K2 out on the airfield one evening, I still have that photo.

 

regards,  adey

Edited July 6, 2018 by adey m

[Pete in Lincs]

I delivered beer to the Sun Inn in Pickering too!

[general melchett]

Thanks Adey, yes sounds very much like XH618, in fact, it can't be anything else, very sad incident. Here's a link to the events of that night,

 

Mid-air collision of Victor K1A XH618

 

Ha, our squadron visited Marham four times between 1972 and 1974, great time...I even have a photo of the last visit standing in front of K1 XA937, 28th Feb 1974. I'm not going to identify myself as I think the base commander is still looking for me after a few odds and ends vital to tanker ops went missing!

 

 

Quote

I nearly had my little Kodak Instamatic camera confiscated after I took a photo of a K2 out on the airfield one evening

I had something similar happen to me on the first trip in 1972 when there were only four of us from our aircraft recognition team visiting the station, guests of 214 squadron. I took my fathers Eumig cine camera just in case and duly filmed a lot of footage of the Mk 1 Victors undergoing maintenance, in cockpit footage, takeoffs/landings and views from the control tower when the aircraft taxied by, all approved by the duty pilot, (a squadron leader) who was looking after us........just to have the reel confiscated by the rozzers as we left the tower!

 

Quote

I delivered beer to a pub in Pickering too!

Blimey...which one?

 

 

Edited July 6, 2018 by general melchett

[Pete in Lincs]

The Sun Inn

[general melchett]

Yes, dipped in quite a few times, nice atmos, especially around Guy Fawkes night...don't think we were banned from that one, I'll have to consult the oracle for confirmation, it was a few years ago!

[adey m]

Blimey we were a scruffy lot too in our Squadron photo which was taken in front of the Valiant. I was the one with my tie tucked into my shirt, the long hair, crooked berret and not looking at the camera as I was more interested in the Victors taxiing past.

Edited July 6, 2018 by adey m

[Aardvark]

B.R.

Serge

[Greg Law]

I have two old frog kits. The Beaufort and the Blenheim. Do you build them or keep them as a piece of modelling history? That is the question...

[FAAMAN]

Beautiful build

[Eric Mc]

6 hours ago, Greg Law said:

I have two old frog kits. The Beaufort and the Blenheim. Do you build them or keep them as a piece of modelling history? That is the question...

 

I'd say build 'em.

 

Original FROG mouldings tend to go together better than the later Russian (or even Revell) re-moulds.

 

What era boxes are the kits in?

[Greg Law]

17 minutes ago, Eric Mc said:

 

I'd say build 'em.

 

Original FROG mouldings tend to go together better than the later Russian (or even Revell) re-moulds.

 

What era boxes are the kits in?

It is the box shown in the first post here. 

[Greg Law]

On 07/07/2018 at 09:37, general melchett said:

Yes, dipped in quite a few times, nice atmos, especially around Guy Fawkes night...don't think we were banned from that one, I'll have to consult the oracle for confirmation, it was a few years ago!

General. Now I know where you got your posting style from. All that Radiation from that plane behind you. Keep up the style it is such fun....... 

Edited August 2, 2018 by Greg Law

[Mancunian airman]

I have plenty of the Novo Lancasters in the small scale but I also have the FROG Lancaster with a TALLBOY but in two minds to save OR build it ????

 

You dont realise just how many kits Frog did produce until you gaze upon a topic like this . . . . bloody marvellous

 

Thanks you sharing.

 

PS I love the old ATC cadet photo, I have several myself.

[Eric Mc]

2 hours ago, Greg Law said:

It is the box shown in the first post here. 

What, on Page 1 of 26?

[adey m]

17 hours ago, Greg Law said:

I have two old frog kits. The Beaufort and the Blenheim. Do you build them or keep them as a piece of modelling history? That is the question...

That is a question that only the individual can answer. An unbuilt kit, complete and in its original packaging or box is like a time capsule, a moment in time captured, the moment back in 1970 that a line worker in the Margate factory packed the sprues, instructions and decal sheet into the box.

When I first opened my FROG Ta152, sealed and unopened from 1970 I must admit to taking a whiff of air from inside the poly bag to see if I could smell the Margate factory from all those years ago............

 

On the other hand I do like to see them built up as intended too, this topic would have died ages ago if it were not for the many fine built-up models posted on it.

 

The FROG Blenheim is definately worth building, it builds up into a fine replica which captures the character of the real one.

 

The Beaufort is not so good, is a bit lacking in the glazing and the engines are too narrow and tapered. But it can still make a good replica with a few modifications or improvements.

 

regards,  adey

[Greg Law]

My Frog Blenheim unlike the Beaufort I think is a Russian kit. I got it in a bag of bits with other old kits. I have started it a few years ago when the airfix 

kit came out. I was going to do a comparison of the two kits, but got distracted on to other projects. Once the other current builds are done I might see

if I can finish it. I have done one change and that is I have add the Eduard interior set to it. I'm really look forward to the 1/48 Blenheim. 

Now you are getting me all enthusiastic again. Now where that kit. Oh yes, it is sitting right behind me where I left it years ago.  

Here it is. The cockpit is all but done. There was a mass of flash all over it. I literally had to big the engines out. I will have to get some decals for it

as they weren't with it. 

 

Edited August 2, 2018 by Greg Law

[Eric Mc]

Definitely one of the Soviet era re-pops. FROG never moulded kits ion white polystyrene as far as I am aware.

[Paul J]

29 minutes ago, Eric Mc said:

Definitely one of the Soviet era re-pops. FROG never moulded kits ion white polystyrene as far as I am aware.

Th V Bombers were in white plastic and the 1/72nd Whitley they did in early 70's was too.

[general melchett]

Quote

Th V Bombers were in white plastic and the 1/72nd Whitley they did in early 70's was too.

Also the Herald and Phantom F-4K/M.

[Ventora3300]

On 02/08/2018 at 01:17, Greg Law said:

I have two old frog kits. The Beaufort and the Blenheim. Do you build them or keep them as a piece of modelling history? That is the question...

As others have said, and I agree, the answer is to build them! Enjoy the moment opening up the boxes etc. and handling the instructions and parts. Currently, I am building a few and keeping the box/packaging, sprue pieces and any left over parts together with the finished models, plus a printed off copy of the Build Thread as posted on BM, of course! That way, a picture of the model kit before building is preserved. 

I hope someone else actually enjoys picking up the models and looks at all that work and history someday- must donate to a toy museum in my Will!

[JosephLalor]

7 hours ago, general melchett said:

Also the Herald and Phantom F-4K/M.

Car-door Typhoon also.  It and the Matchbox Tempest were the first kits I remember having wheel well detail.

 

I've bought some FROG kits (Mirage, Hornet, Barracuda) over the last year and I'm building them.

Edited August 3, 2018 by JosephLalor

[adey m]

20 hours ago, Greg Law said:

My Frog Blenheim unlike the Beaufort I think is a Russian kit. I got it in a bag of bits with other old kits. I have started it a few years ago when the airfix 

kit came out. I was going to do a comparison of the two kits, but got distracted on to other projects. Once the other current builds are done I might see

if I can finish it. I have done one change and that is I have add the Eduard interior set to it. I'm really look forward to the 1/48 Blenheim. 

Now you are getting me all enthusiastic again. Now where that kit. Oh yes, it is sitting right behind me where I left it years ago.  

Here it is. The cockpit is all but done. There was a mass of flash all over it. I literally had to big the engines out. I will have to get some decals for it

as they weren't with it. 

 

Hi Greg, I think that this is a Russian moulding. Both Green Series FROG Blenheims that I built were moulded in shades of medium grey. It is possible that the mid to late 1970s FROG Blenheims would have been moulded in the dark blue plastic that the late era FROG kits appeared in before FROG closed down. But I have never seen a FROG one moulded in that shiny white plastic before, also as you describe having to dig the engines out of the excess plastic flashing that also points to it being a later worn mould Russian offering.

 

regards,  adey

[dogsbody]

I've got 3 bagged white Blenheims

 

 

 

 

Chris