A NOSTALGIC TRIBUTE TO FROG MODEL KITS

[KevinK]

5 hours ago, adey m said:

I remade the bomb aimers window a good number of years ago out of clear acetate but unfortunately it has yellowed.

 

Adey, you can always claim it's the "GT" version with the tinted windows and therefore much rarer! It would probably work on eBay, anyway.

[viscount806x]

14 hours ago, adey m said:

 

Hi Des

 

The Hasegawa kits that FROG sold in FROG boxes with FROG instructions and FROG decals were moulded in Japan and pre packed in a sealed plastic bag presumably to keep the kits parts together ready for boxing by FROG at Margate.

 

I built a few Hasegawa kits in the 1970s but cannot remember if their parts were sealed in plastic.

 

I have never seen a cellophane wrapped Hasegawa or FROG box.

 

Adrian

 

According to 'The Oracle' (Leif Hellstrom), Frog actually made their own moulds of the F4K/M and the Lightning F6, using the Hasegawa kits heavily for 'inspiration'. You can see slight differences in the plastic parts when comparing them. This is of course in addition to 'proper' Hase parts in Frog boxes.

Nige B

[71chally]

Thought I had seen that Frog did their own Lightniing and that Hase used it, but probably wrong on that last bit.

 

Hasegawa did do a boxing of the Frog Shack, just to show it was 2 way arrangement.

 

How good is the Frog/Hase F-4K/M?  Does it reflect the British phantoms differences from well?

[polo1112]

I absolutely LOVE the Whitley !!!

Great model.

[ejboyd5]

I've done a number of Frog kits over the years and still have quite a few to go through.  The choice of topics was superb and offered just the right amount of detail to look complete OOB yet was able to provide a good base for those interested in detailing. Here are some of my favorite subjects:

[TonyTiger66]

I've just caught up again on all the posts from page three onwards, Absolutely superb thread.

 

I once had a Frog Beaufighter that was supposed to have motorised propellers. I wonder, has anyone here actually ever successfully managed to build one of these?

 

I've never seen one done.

All best regards 

TonyT

Edited March 7, 2017 by TonyTiger66
Spelling

[JWM]

First models in 1/72 which appered in our home sometime in middle sixties of past century were F4U1 Corsair by Revell and Dewoitine D 520 by FROG. We still have them. This was behind iron curtain, in Krakow, Poland. My 2 years older Brother (KRK4m on this forum) and me have got those models from our Father , who was some months on stipend at Manchester University in 1962 I think (he is astronomer). What is very bizzare - the stipend was founded by NATO (in the middle of cold war!) - what he realized already at Manchester. When he was returning home he bought some kits - among them - Vanguard, Caravell and Comet in 1/144 and those two in 1/72. The passangers he made with all paintings, but the 1/72 fighter he just glued since he gave it to us. He was doing some models earlier - I remember a paper Iliushin Il -14 and some VEB Plasticart airliners, mostly in 1:100 which were done by him in those years. Moreover, since our Grandfather who escaped from communist Poland was living these time in London we as kids later were getting from him some British toys, among them other models. That is how our hobby started... Therefore for us  always doing models  is conneted to some British flavour.

 

Something more general, what should be added is about sad end of FROG in middle seventhies. As everybody knows the moulds of all but Axes machines  were sold to Soviet Union, where new brand Novo apeared. This was a strong pulse for developing or progressing  moddeling as hobby in  eastern countries. This hobby  was of course present behind iron curtain before, but the number of available types was very limited. I think that what we have now - the  plenty of Czech companies as well as Ukrainian or Russian - this is a romote aftermath of apearence of Novo models in toy shops of eastern part of Europe in those years... So they are all of FROG family.

Cheers

Jerzy Wojtek

[JWM]

3 hours ago, TonyTiger66 said:

I once had a Frog Beaufighter that was supposed to have motorised propellers. I wonder, has anyone here actually ever successfully managed to build one of these?

Tony, I did it! It was a big fun for me as 14 years old boy in these days. However, later the undercarridge broke and it was saddly lying on one side in the end of shelf. And in 1996 I broke it into parts, wash paint in NaOH and reconstruct it as Beaufighter NF MK II using Merlin engines from Airfix Lancaster, which left me after converting the Manchester. Here it is:

Cheers

J-W 

[viscount806x]

8 hours ago, 71chally said:

Thought I had seen that Frog did their own Lightniing and that Hase used it, but probably wrong on that last bit.

 

Hasegawa did do a boxing of the Frog Shack, just to show it was 2 way arrangement.

 

How good is the Frog/Hase F-4K/M?  Does it reflect the British phantoms differences from well?

 

Not too good really, the same as the Hase kit in all respects. Many moons ago, pre Matchbox and Fujimi, the accepted method of getting a Spey Phantom was to cross kit the Hase F4K/M with the Hase F4E which gave quite good results with a bit of work. I recall having the duo put aside for just such a venture but never got round to it especially after we got the Matchbox kit  (1975 was it?) - good in it's day apart from an easily solved too shallow canopy.

I still have a Frog F4K in my nostalgia stash for old times sake.

Regarding the Lightning, I'm pretty certain that Hasegawa originated the kit. The fact that Novo reissued the Frog one proves that there were a second set of moulds. Oddly, I don't think I ever heard of a Novo F4K/M though. Wonder where those moulds went?

[adey m]

[adey m]

On 07/03/2017 at 19:38, viscount806x said:

 

Not too good really, the same as the Hase kit in all respects. Many moons ago, pre Matchbox and Fujimi, the accepted method of getting a Spey Phantom was to cross kit the Hase F4K/M with the Hase F4E which gave quite good results with a bit of work. I recall having the duo put aside for just such a venture but never got round to it especially after we got the Matchbox kit  (1975 was it?) - good in it's day apart from an easily solved too shallow canopy.

I still have a Frog F4K in my nostalgia stash for old times sake.

Regarding the Lightning, I'm pretty certain that Hasegawa originated the kit. The fact that Novo reissued the Frog one proves that there were a second set of moulds. Oddly, I don't think I ever heard of a Novo F4K/M though. Wonder where those moulds went?

 

Here we are viscount................

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 18, 2020 by adey m

[noelh]

All  this  reminds me. I certainly have an old 70's Frog catalogue somewhere. Must dig it out tomorrow. So I can indulge in some nostalgia.  

Naturally it's available at an outrageous price to anyone interested in possessing it. Well maybe not so outrageous. 

If I can dig it out I'll scan some pics.

Edited March 7, 2017 by noelh

[perdu]

Frog always meant style and quality when I was a youth

 

Here's the first model I made when I returned to the hobby after a thirty year hiatus a few years back

 

Frog Typhoon with some additionals

 

 

I had this Frog Wessex fuselage left in a drawer in my garage

 

Just the two halves and the cockpit floor and the odd looking seats so I dragged it out of the drawer and played with that too

 

I had to remake all the bits that hang off the Wessie and I decided to convert it to an HAR2 so I  change the front of the nose

 

In my opinion the Frog Wessex is the most accurate and  to scale version you can get in 1:72 scale

In the stash  Lightning and Phantom and Canberra and another Wessex (did I mention this before?)

 

Any way Frog were the aristos of British kits in the sixties and seventies even if Airfix gave us a lifeline to the hobby in Woolies

[Whofan]

2 hours ago, adey m said:

 

Here we are viscount................

 

 

 

Now there's somethhing I haven't seen for what must be 30 years or more - a John menzies label!

 

I don't recall the John Menzies in Cardiff selling kits, but  do remember them selling records, I used to buy quite a few there.

 

My goodness, isn't this thread fun!

[keefr22]

Hadn't even noticed it was a Menzies label (though I did notice the price!) Don't remember the Swansea branch selling models either. IIRC the records were downstairs in the basement...

 

Keith

[Troy Smith]

I haven't worked my way through the entire thread, but if you can find it, this is a great book

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Books/Frog-Model-Aircraft-Complete-History-Flying-Plastic/0904568636

 

 

I remember the glut of cheap Frog kits circa 77/78 when they went bust,   I still have a Boston and a Hornet from then unbuilt (I went  over to 1/48th ) and the first Novo's turning up in Woolworth's,  probably about the same time,  they were cheap, the Barracuda was 22p,  but  the decals shattered ... I was very upset by that

 

cheers

T

PS having gone through the thread I see Adey already posted this

 

 

 

Edited March 7, 2017 by Troy Smith
add details and links

[Max Headroom]

7 hours ago, TonyTiger66 said:

I've just caught up again on all the posts from page three onwards, Absolutely superb thread.

 

I once had a Frog Beaufighter that was supposed to have motorised propellers. I wonder, has anyone here actually ever successfully managed to build one of these?

 

I've never seen be done.

All best regards 

TonyT

Nearly. I had the Beaufort motorised kit. Can't remember after all these years if it worked but I have at least one of the engines tucked away somewhere.

 

I can vouch for the book mentioned by Troy. It's a very absorbing read.

 

Great thread btw.

 

Trevor

[71chally]

Just going back to the Frog Phantom, I take it doesn't replicate the bigger intakes and deeper aft fuselage of the British Phantoms?  I notice on Scalemates that the mold originates before we even received (but perhaps had ordered) the Phantom.

 

Seeing that John Menzies label is a real time travel piece!

 

Interesting info about Novo aswel, there was period when they offered the only way to make models of some types, and we have to be thankful for that.

It's a shame that they weren't all of the same quality (which wasn't brilliant to start with), I seem to remember for example that the Javelin plastic was far better to any of the airliner molds.

 

Have to agree, this is a brilliant thread.

[Whofan]

10 hours ago, keefr22 said:

Hadn't even noticed it was a Menzies label (though I did notice the price!) Don't remember the Swansea branch selling models either. IIRC the records were downstairs in the basement...

 

Keith

 

Would that prices were the same now!

 

No basement in the Cardiff store. And returning to topic, I have  a Frog 1/72 Sea Fury in  fetching blue plastic in the hope chest (hope as in hope I get time to build this one!)

[adey m]

I wholeheartedly agree with Perdu, the FROG Wessex was so accurate in external shape.

 

Your FROG Wessex Perdu is fantastic.........I bet that if you displayed it at a model show nobody would guess first that it was FROG.

 

Back in 1968 a FROG Wessex appeared in the window of the Alderton village Post Office. It was this boxing...................

 

 

Then it vanished. Next day one of my friends showed me his built up FROG Wessex, the same one that had been in the shop, it was moulded in a sort of grey blue colour and I was very impressed with it, especially its size.

 

 

Later in 1970 another FROG Wessex appeared in the Post Office window and I was determined this time to get to it first which I did. It was in a different style of FROG boxing to the one above and it had a choice of colour schemes, Royal Navy or Australian Navy..............................

 

 

 

This is the boxing that my Wessex came in. Australian Navy Wessex depicted taking off from the deck of a County Class Destroyer

 

 

These were the same colour options in the FROG one.

 

It was now moulded in a sort of very pleasing light bluish grey plastic. I built it after school and applied the excellent matt decals straight onto the plastic. I loved this model and it gave me such a lot of fun. It so captured the character of the early Wessex.

 

 

FROG Wessex built in the Australian Navy option colours. I think he must have left it on a hot plate...................

 

 

 

The last FROG issue.

 

 

In 1977 it reappeared in the NOVO bagged presentation in the strange glossy translucent dark grey plastic typical of the NOVO kits.

 

 

Another one of the modern Russian FROG reissues.

 

 

 

 

Edited June 18, 2020 by adey m

[Rodders154]

25 minutes ago, adey m said:

I wholeheartedly agree with Perdu, the FROG Wessex was so accurate in external shape.

 

Your FROG Wessex Perdu is fantastic.........I bet that if you displayed it at a model show nobody would guess first that it was FROG.

 

Back in 1968 A FROG Wessex appeared in the window of the Alderton village Post Office. It was this boxing...................

 

 

Then it vanished. Next thing was one of my friends showing me his FROG Wessex, the same one that had been in the shop, it was moulded in a sort of grey blue colour and I was very impressed with it, especially its size.

 

 

Later in 1970 another FROG Wessex appeared in the Post Office window and I was determined this time to get to it first which I did. It was in a different style of FROG boxing to the one above and it had a choice of colour schemes, Royal Navy or Australian Navy..............................

 

 

 

This is the boxing that my Wessex came in. Australian Navy Wessex depicted taking off from the deck of a County Class Destroyer

 

 

These were the same colour options in the FROG one.

 

It was now moulded in a sort of very pleasing light bluish grey plastic. I built it after school and applied the excellent matt decals straight onto the plastic. I loved this model and it gave me such a lot of fun. It so captured the character of the early Wessex.

 

 

FROG Wessex built in the Australian Navy option colours. I think he must have left it on a hot plate...................

 

 

The last FROG issue.

 

 

In 1977 it reappeared in the NOVO bagged presentation in the strange glossy translucent dark grey plastic typical of the NOVO kits.

 

 

Another one of the modern Russian FROG reissues.

 

 

 

 

 

I love this kit I have used it as a basis for an RAFHC2 and I built one just as I would have back in the 70's for the Wessex group build last year

 

Rodders

[viscount806x]

22 hours ago, adey m said:

 

Here we are viscount................

 

 

 

 

 

There you go then, I just had to ask the question...

Thanks Adey, I think they must have been in short supply though.

[adey m]

 

This is the Post Office in Alderton when I returned for a visit in 1987. And there is the window which used to be full of FROG kits back in the late 1960s and early 1970s...........it looks so small here..............but then I was small back then too.....................

 

Ah,   and not forgetting the Starfix kits in 1971...............remember those Ray ?...........................

Edited March 8, 2017 by adey m

[adey m]

 

 

Here I am back on Christmas Day in 1973 in our RAF house in Whitby studying my new FROG Shackleton.

 

My father must have had a hard search trying to find a Shackleton and had to get what he could. The box had been crushed and some of the parts were broken, but I repaired them and this is the model that I have posted on here 43 years later.

Edited March 11, 2017 by adey m

[Meatbox8]

13 minutes ago, adey m said:

 

This is the Post Office in Alderton when I returned for a visit in 1987. And there is the window which used to be full of FROG kits back in the late 1960s and early 1970s...........it looks so small here..............but then I was small back then too.....................

Wow.  Lyons Maid Ice Cream.  Long time since I've had one of their lollies.  I'm more likely to be propping up the bar in the Swan today.  Frog kits were a bit of a novelty for me in those days.  We had a model shop which had a rotunda, or whatever you call it, with bagged Frog kits - or maybe they were Novo by then.  At the time I was going through a brief sojourn in to Tamiya soldier territory.