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Novo kits relaunched?


sorleygoldie

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Well our mega Classic kit Frog Squad GB ended last month, however this type of news may send some BM folk a bit giddy and possibly even suggest we go around again for a second time! Whats with the Pan Am 727-50(?) on the front page and let's hope they've finally sorted out how to make decals that don't explode when dipped in water! 

Cheers.. Dave 

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I don't want to be a kill joy, but really? Aside from rose tinted nostalgia, what's the point in (presumably) releasing ancient model kits that have probably all been replaced by newer more accurate kits? I know Airfix still get a kick out of doing that but at least their name has a bit of world renown.

 

Pan An Yak-40...

 

 

Jeff

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2 hours ago, pinky coffeeboat said:

I don't want to be a kill joy, but really? Aside from rose tinted nostalgia, what's the point in (presumably) releasing ancient model kits that have probably all been replaced by newer more accurate kits? I know Airfix still get a kick out of doing that but at least their name has a bit of world renown.

 

Pan An Yak-40...

 

 

Jeff

Well, it's not for our benefit. They must think they'll flog enough of them to make it worth their while. Apparently there are still people who buy these kits; MisterCraft has been at it for some time.

 

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It's quite evident that all the moulds have not been destroyed as Revelll has released many old Frog kits over the years, and of course of the Frogspawn releases out of Eastern Europe since the demise of Novo. Ark models now have a lot of the mould and are re-releasing them using the original Frog artwork/Novo packaging: 

 

 

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41 minutes ago, Graham Boak said:

The Revell releases were largely  those moulds of Axis types which the Russians didn't buy and were never in Novo. 

I'm pretty sure they released the Shackleton and Vultee Vengeance.

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7 hours ago, bentwaters81tfw said:

When the Donetsk factory closed, all the moulds went for scrap, so you will only ever see old stock. I have the FROG book on the history from beginning to end.

Sorry, you are wrong.

The FROG book ends the story in 1990.

 

The former kits from Donetsk are now all are in hand of ARK models.

 

There you can have som of them until now.

 

Other factories scrapped there tools , like former Frunse, Tashkent, Moscow and Jaroslawl f.e.

 

modelldoc

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12 hours ago, pinky coffeeboat said:

I don't want to be a kill joy, but really? Aside from rose tinted nostalgia, what's the point in (presumably) releasing ancient model kits that have probably all been replaced by newer more accurate kits? I know Airfix still get a kick out of doing that but at least their name has a bit of world renown.

 

Pan An Yak-40...

 

 

Jeff

Well, with all due respect, Atlantis Models don't seem to have any issues with reissuing ancient model kits, a lot of which seem to have been generally welcomed!

 

Pk, maybe it is nostalgia but, there is nowt wrong with that. There is clearly a market for these kits and, ultimately, nobody is forced to buy them

 

Allan (eagerly awaiting the reissued Cheyenne helicopter) 😉😊

Edited by Albeback52
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I'll add the Trinity Lightship to the ex Frog kits re-issued by Revell.

 

This reminds me of an acquaintance I had about 20 + years ago. He had good contacts in Russia with the owners of some of the ex Frog moulds. To cut a long story short he tried to repatriate the ex Frog/Novo VC-10 mould. He even paid for an independant engineer to inspect the mould. If memory serves the main mould (the mould for the glazed parts had been lost) had been stored outside and was showing signs of rust degradation and had been dropped at least once, the mould was salvageable in the opinion of the engineer, so he forged ahead with the purchase, the said acquaintance striking a price for the mould, but the deal floundered because he couldn't afford the shipping/export costs.

 

I think its fair to say that's a re-issue you won't be seeing again.

 

Tommo 

Edited by The Tomohawk Kid
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11 hours ago, modelldoc said:

Sorry, you are wrong.

The FROG book ends the story in 1990.

 

The former kits from Donetsk are now all are in hand of ARK models.

 

There you can have som of them until now.

 

Other factories scrapped there tools , like former Frunse, Tashkent, Moscow and Jaroslawl f.e.

 

modelldoc

...and that is why I am very wary of believing anything I might read in books claiming to be the histories  of kit companies.

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33 minutes ago, matti64 said:

...and that is why I am very wary of believing anything I might read in books claiming to be the histories  of kit companies.

The Lines/Hellstrom Frog book was published in 1989, so it’s a bit harsh to expect a lot of detail on what happened post-1990... It does a pretty good job of unpacking the “Frogspawn” era between 76 and 89, but let’s face it, access to information about industry in the USSR in the Reagan years was a bit limited....

 

It’s still the standout work on any aspect of plastic kit history on my bookshelf, and I have more than a few (J C Carbonel’s Heller book is the only one that runs it close...)

best,

M.

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Many former Frog kits have been and are today available from a number of brands, so really it's hard to see what more could be added to the modelling community by a relaunch of the Novo brand. Not that original Frog kits are hard to find either, apart from those few that have become extremely rare for one reason or another. Of course it can make sense from whoever is relaunching the brand to sell kits from moulds that they have available, so good luck to them. Guess they'll sell them for cheap, at least they'll be of interest to kids.

Personally I can only see very few subjects that may be interesting, mainly those for which alternatives are non existant or harder to find. I hope that at least they will retool the clear parts, as these were of very poor quality in Novo kits and are often not much better in the many reboxes that appeared over the years

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16 minutes ago, cmatthewbacon said:

The Lines/Hellstrom Frog book was published in 1989, so it’s a bit harsh to expect a lot of detail on what happened post-1990... It does a pretty good job of unpacking the “Frogspawn” era between 76 and 89, but let’s face it, access to information about industry in the USSR in the Reagan years was a bit limited....

 

It’s still the standout work on any aspect of plastic kit history on my bookshelf, and I have more than a few (J C Carbonel’s Heller book is the only one that runs it close...)

best,

M.

Not picking on it specifically, it's just I've owned and read a few   histories of kit companies and they all tend to keep  things quite light and entertaining and  don't seem to  do an awful lot of digging or questioning. I  Must get Jean Christophs book, he certainly seems to get  to the bottom of things.

 

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I'd be interested in the Airspeed Oxford if the mould still exists.  It is one Frog/Novo kit which doesn't seem to have been re-released or is readily available except on auction sites at quite a hefty price.  I built it as a nipper and seem to remember it being quite nice,

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