Tupolev SB-2«Katyushka»Bomber|FROG F176|FROG model kits|Hasegawa scale kits| Hasegawa F-102A JS-047-300 No.38

Tupolev SB-2"Katyushka"Bomber

FROG 1964

FROG F176, Tupolev SB-2«Katyushka»Bomber, Rovex industries ltd, 1969


FROG 326P Gloster Meteor F.8, IMA, 1956 full telescopic type box
Tupolev SB-2M-100/100A (B-71)
F176 1969-1974 F2(G) 135000 1xSoviet AF & 1xCzech AAF & 1xSpanRep AF & 1xLW

Optional wheel or ski undercarriage and also two different styles of propellers. As is evident from the box style and non-framed runners, the kit had been seriously delayed. It was in fact first intended for release in 1965, but the mould caused continuous problems which took a long time to trouble.

FROG model aircraft 1932-1976, R. Lines, L. Hellstrom


FROG

Due for release about now should be the 1/72 scale kit of the SB.2 Russian light bomber. We saw an early sample of this kit just before going to print and were disappointed to see that it is a somewhat crudely-moulded model. However, it should be appreciated that no other manufacturer will produce a similar kit of this aircraft type and the Frog offering will therefore havie to be worked up if a model of this aircraft is required for a collection, though it appears to be a formidable challenge! Decals are varied, including German, Czech, Chinese and Spanish Civil War markings and these are well worth having.

Detailed reviews will follow of these kits when they become available.

The IPMS magazine, NOVEMBER 1969 VOL.6 No. 11


NEW AND IN VIEW
New Aircraft Kits
FROG Tupolev SB-2. 1/72 Scale. Price 6/-

Kits of Soviet aircraft of WW II are by no means as common as many modellers would like, and are therefore very welcome, especially when, as with this model, they have been awaited for a long time.

This is a good kit of an aircraft that should be far better known than it is, though the appearance of the parts when the box is first opened may well prompt many purchasers to describe your reviewer as a liar and worse. The reason is flash, to a well-nigh unbelievable degree - many of the parts are literally embedded in it, and in the case of some of the smaller parts it is difficult to see where the flash ends and the component begins.

Once all this mess has been cleaned off, the kit's virtues begin to emerge. It is accurate and neatly detailed, and assembles into a convincing model of its full-scale prototype. In order to achieve this result, however, a good deal of filing and fitting has to be carried out, as the fit of a number of the parts, notably the wing root fairings, nose transparency ailerons and*rudder, could be a great deal better than it is. Alternative two-blade and three-blade propellers are provided, the former being appropriate to the initial production version with M-100 engines, and the latter to the succeeding variant with M-100A engines of higher power. Conversion to the SB-2 - this involves entirely new engines, and is quite a major job.

As usual with Frog kits, the decal sheet is excellent. Soviet, German, Czech, and Spanish markings are provided (incidentally, two-blade propellers should only be used with the Spanish markings, and three-bladers with all the others, a point not mentioned in the instruction sheet) and the positions of all these are illustrated in excellent three-view drawings on the box.

The instruction sheet is in Frog's usual ail-drawing style, and is reasonably easy to follow.

The transparencies are not good. They are thick and none too clear, and disfigured by appallingly heavy ribbing, If the latter is removed, and a good deal of effort expended on polishing, they become acceptable. There is not much cockpit detail, but as what there is is difficult to see, this is not a great drawback.

To sum up, this is a poor kit which, with care, can be assembled into a good model. Frog have obviously been let down badly by their toolmakers and we only hope that they will be able in due course, to improve the standards to which the kit is made. Despite its infuriating faults, Frog's SB-2 is worth buying, as it represents accurately one of the most important aircraft of its period.

The IPMS magazine, NOVEMBER 1969 VOL.6 No. 11


Scale Models 1970 FEBRUARY
NEW to YOU?
MONTHLY REVIEW OF NEW PRODUCTS CONDUCTED BY BOB JONES OF I.P.M.S

A completely new kit from FROG is to 1/72 scale for the Tupolev SB-2 Katyuska light-bomber, in their green kit series.

The SB-2 was a rather remarkable aeroplane as it served with many of the World's smaller Air Forces - besides of course the Soviet Air Force-and on several occasions was being flown by opposing air forces in the same war. The kit by Frog is somewhat of a disappointment in that the quality of moulding is not comparable with other contemporary kits and the surface detail borders on the extreme, considerable work being necessary to improve the fit of the component parts, and on many of these the detailing is either far too heavy or not sufficiently sharply defined.

It is a kit well worth having, as it is very unlikely that any other kit manufacturer will add this particular aeroplane to their range of models and the Red Air Force has been rather poorly represented in this scale. The box art is as usual excellent, and there are no less than four completely different colour schemes shown on the profile artwork. Decals are very good indeed and cover German, Czech and Soviet Air Force insignia, together with those of the Spanish Republican Air Forces. Optional parts include a choice of wheeled or ski undercarriage and both the two and three bladed propellors are provided, as is an external bomb-load. A pity then, that the basic mouldings are so very poor; considerable flash adds to the overall impression of a hurried kit and it is to be hoped that the recently improved standard of Frog kits will not be reduced back to this level.

Scale Models No.5 1970 FEBRUARY Vol.1 No.5


FROM FROG

THREE new kits from Frog, all to 1:72 scale, feature the Tupolev SB-2 bomber, the Douglas Boston (a re-issue), and the RA-5C Vigilante. Of these, perhaps the SB-2 holds most interest as kits of Russian aircraft arc few and far between. The SB-2 will obviously be snapped up by many enthusiasts, so it's unfortunate then that the SB-2 falls well below Frog's recent high standards. The clue to this may lie in the transfer sheet which shows evidence of the Frog style of two or three years ago and has a supplementary sheet included, with additional markings missing from the main sheet. The kit itself has more flash than we've seen in a kit for some time, and some of the parts (in our sample at least) were poorly moulded with the two halves of parts like propcllors not matching up at all. In many cases, too, the fit of the parts is not good and it needs considerable work with file and craft knife to get an acceptable model. However, the SB-2 is an unusual and attractive model, and the kit includes optional ski undercarriage and optional propellors—though no indication of which version has which. Transfers and colour art arc provided for Soviet, German, Spanish Nationalist, and Czech aircraft. Priced at 6s, the kit is still a 'good buy' despite its faults.

Second kit is the old Frog Boston III, now re-boxed and given new transfers and presentation. From memory of the original issue, there also appears to have been an attempt to iron out an inaccurate bump from the belly of the fuselage. New and attractive transfers are provided for a RAAF Boston III of 22 Sqn with an optional set for a Havoc Intruder of 418 Sqn RCAF. Particularly with the new transfers, this kit is definitely worthwhile as far as available Boston kits go. Price is 6s.

Finally a magnificent kit, ex-Hasegawa, of the RA-5C Vigilante. In the best Hase-gawa tradition this is a nicely moulded kit with all the parts fitting together very neatly. Priced at 15s, it is quite a monster compared with the other two models, and comes complete with a choice of two sets of markings and appropriate colour art on the box. The standard is comparable to that of the recent Frog B-47 kit. All our samples were supplied by Jones Bros of Chiswick, who hold stocks of these and all other Frog kits.
C.O.E.

Airfix Magazine, 1970-03, Vol.11 No.07


Modelling worl
by James Goulding
Recent Frog releases
Convair F-102A Delta Dagger

The ubiquitous Tupolev SB-2 (ANT-40) all-metal twin-engined bomber is one of a number of Russian aircraft which, through Russian secrecy and reticence, and Western anti-Soviet bias, have never been accorded their rightful place in aviation history. This is a tragedy, for true history cannot be accurately recorded when facts are withheld, or ignored. If they are, it is possible for some aircraft to be heralded as pioneers in a particular field of aeronautics, when in fact others are more deserving of that honour. One aircraft in the latter category was the SB-2.

Before the second world war and up to about 1942, it was customary for Western observers to label every design produced by the Soviet aircraft industry as a copy of a Western design. Thus the I-16 was recorded as being a copy of the Gee Bee racer or the Boeing P-26A, the I-15 was said to be a copy of the Boeing F4B-4, and the SB-2 was allegedly copied from the Martin 139. The same attitude existed towards the Japanese aircraft industry, whose products were similarly discredited—until Pearl Harbour.

Work started on the SB-2 at the Tupolev Design Collective in 1933, and in conception it was more advanced than the majority of bombers then under active development throughout the world. Although Martin's XB-907 twin-engined bomber, the forerunner of the 139, was undergoing flight trials at this time, the SB-2, or ANT 40, bore little resemblance to the American machine. The whole conception of the two aircraft differed. Whereas the Martin was a logical four-seat successor to the Keystone twin-engined bomber and was envisaged as a formation pattern-bombing aircraft, the SB-2 was the precursor of the long line of very fast two or three-seat twin-engined bombers to be used for army support, or rapid strikes on selected targets. To get its time scale in proper perspective, it is necessary to record the state of development of similar types of bomber in other parts of the world. Probably the nearest equivalent types under development in Europe were the Bristol Blenheim, the Dornier Do 17, and the Heinkel He 111. The ANT-40 made its first flight on October 7, 1 934, but the Bristol 142, the forerunner of the Blenheim bomber, did not fly until April 12, 1935. The first production Blenheim—there was no true prototype—flew on July 25, 1936, by which time the ANT-40 or SB-2 had reached the operational squadrons of the Russian Air Force. The Dornier Do 17V1, a purely commercial aircraft, made its initial flight in the autumn of 1934, but the bomber development prototype did not fly until later in 1935, and initial production aircraft did not appear until the end of 1 936. The first Heinkel He 111, the 'V1, was a bomber prototype, and it first flew early in 1935, and the first pre-production He 111A-0 bombers reached Luftwaffe test establishments late in 1936. But these early He 111 s were hardly suitable for operational use, being much underpowered and attaining a top speed of only 190mph or so. For comparison, at this time the SB-2, powered by two M-100 engines (Soviet licence-built Hispano-Suiza 12Y brs engines), was being used in Spain as a fully operational high-speed bomber. Even these early versions were credited with a top speed of 236mph fully-loaded— somewhat faster than the Royal Air Force's fastest standard fighter of that period, the Gloster Gauntlet. The M-100-engined SB-2 was eventually capable of 255mph fully-loaded.

Tupolev's team achieved an excellent compromise in the design of the SB-2, this always being the aim of aircraft designers. It had a slim, streamlined fuselage and a fairly high-aspect ratio wing of generous area which meant that some of the bomber's speed was sacrificed for good low-speed and high-altitude qualities. The design was capable of much development and adaptation, and it was not long before a new version was produced with two M-103 engines of 990hp each, mounted in nacelles of better streamlined shape, which raised the top speed to 280mph and generally improved its all-round performance. This version, known as the SB-2bis, became the major operational type during the war years. Some idea of the inherent qualities of the design can be judged by the little-known world record achieved in 1937 by a SB-2bis, which lifted a 2 200lb payload to a height of 40 177ft. The height attained, alone, was remarkable for this period—even without a payload.

The SB-2 remained in service for many years and was adapted to perform a number of roles, including those of bomber, reconnaissance, dive-bomber, crew trainer, transport and glider tug. It was used by many air forces, and fought in the Spanish Civil War, the Russo-Finnish war, the Continuation Finnish war, and on many fronts in the years following the German invasion of the Soviet Union. A licence-built version, designated the Avia В 71 (powered by two Avia/Hispano Suiza 12 Ydrs engines with slightly more elliptical radiator fronts) was produced in Czechoslovakia. A number of these were subsequently used by the German Luftwaffe as crew trainers. After the end of the Spanish Civil War captured SB-2s were used by the Nationalist Air Force, and remained in service until about 1952.

I have told something of the SB-2's history because Frog has now produced a 1/72nd scale kit of this aircraft, and there may be some modellers who do not know of it or its importance in aviation history. They might easily dismiss it as an obscure type instead of as an aircraft worthy of a place in any collection of World War II types.

Now to the SB-2 kit, and my first comments must be about the production standard. From the point of view of moulding, flash and thickness of wing and tail unit trailing edges, this is one of the worst kits I have seen for some time. There is also something odd about the design of the component parts, which give the impression of having been changed at some stage. There are, for instance, separate engine doors, which now have no purpose, and mounting spigots in the nacelle, presumably for simulated engines which have now been discarded. There are also grooves in the wing halves for aileron spigots which do not now exist, as the ailerons are fixed—although still separate items. The undercarriage was presumably once intended to retract, but is now fixed. All of which suggest that much re-working of this kit has taken place.

Although one must question the wisdom of a very well-known manufacturer releasing a kit of this moulding quality, let me say that in spite of its standard this model pleases me far more than several other recent Frog releases. It has a good, accurate, outline, and has all the character of the subject. If time is taken to clean up the components, fill bad joints with body putty, and thin down the trailing edges—albeit with some loss of surface detail—the result is a delightful and convincing model of the SB-2.

The original version of the SB-2 with M-100 engines has been selected by Frog as the kit subject instead of the later SB-2bis which was probably the major production variant. This is a wise and pleasing decision because it permits a wider selection of colour schemes to be used. Indeed, transfers are included for Spanish Republican Air Force, Russian Air Force, Czechoslovakian Air Force, and Luftwaffe versions. Other versions which could be produced include Finnish and Spanish Nationalist Air Force aircraft.

For operations during the severe winter weather of the Eastern Front, an alternative ski undercarriage was used, and this is included in the kit. Both two and three-bladed propellers were used, and again both types are included in the kit. Armament comprises twin guns in the nose position, with vertical movement, and a rear gun mounted on a rotating ring in the rear gunner's position. On the full-size aircraft two guns could be installed in the rear position, one firing upwards and the second firing downward through a hatch. In the kit, racks are provided for two light bombs, mounted under the wings between the fuselage and nacelles.

Although this is a disappointing kit from the moulding aspect, this deficiency is more than made up by it being an accurate model and an interesting subject.

Price is 6s.

AIRCRAFT Illustrated, April 1970


FROG 1974 Green series logo

FROG F176, Tupolev SB-2«Katyushka»Bomber, Rovex Models&Hobbies ltd, 1975


Tupolev SB-2M-100/100A (B-71)
F176 1974 only H(G) 10000 1xSoviet AF & 1xCzech AAF & 1xSpanRep AF & lxLW

FROG model aircraft 1932-1976, R. Lines, L. Hellstrom


MODEL ENTHUSIAST
This month's colour subject

Among epoch-marking warplanes that have been awarded less than fair treatment in the annals of military aviation is the SB (Skorostnoi Bombardirovshchik, or fast bomber) created by one of the most talented of the late Andrei N Tupolev's design bureau leaders, A A Arkhangelsky. Flown in prototype form in 1934 as the ANT-40, the SB was one of the first twin-engined all-metal cantilever bomber monoplanes embellished with enclosed cockpit and retractable undercarriage. Arhangelsky's creation made its operational debut in Spanish skies in support of the Republican cause within a few months of first entering V-VS service, achieving some notoriety under the appellation of Katiuska and, to a lesser extent, that of Sofia, and also testing its mettle against the Japanese over China and the Manchukuoan-Mongolian border before spearheading the Soviet assault on Finland in November 1939. Manufactured under licence in Czechoslovakia prior to the dissolution of the Czechoslovak Republic in March 1939, it was supplied to the Royal Bulgarian Air Force and was utilised by the Luftwaffe to a limited extent in the crew training role and extensively as a target-tug with the Flieger-zielstaffeln.

Against the Luftwaffe the SB faired badly in V-VS service owing to its lack of armour and inadequate defensive armament which rendered it relatively easy prey for German fighters, while its vulnerability to groundfire resulted in an excessively high rate of attrition when, as was usually the case on the Eastern Front, it employed low-level tactics. But although its snowing in WW II was inauspicious, Arkhangelsky's SB was particularly noteworthy in having signified a major advance in Soviet combat aircraft design capability, and it certainly affords the addict of the esoteric and the exotic aircraft finish and marking a field-day, provided, of course, that he can track down an example of the one and only kit of this type so far produced. This kit, issued to 1/72nd scale some years ago by Frog, may still be obtained, although some diligence may have to be exercised in tracking down stockists still carrying it. The effort is worthwhile in order to add a relatively important warplane to any representative collection of bomber models - after all, no fewer than 6,656 examples of the SB were produced.

The Frog kit is quite accurate, representing the SB/M-100 and SB/M-100A versions with frontal radiators, both two- and three-bladed airscrew being provided to ring the changes, the kit also providing alternative wheel and ski undercarriages. The moulding of the kit in general could certainly be better, this being reflected by the fit of some of the component parts, such as the wing/fuselage joint which demands some filling. Surface detail is of the fine raised line variety and reasonably neat, and while lacking finesse, the kit is generally of an acceptable standard if one makes allowances for its age. The decal sheet is a good feature, offering the markings of four different aircraft, one each of Finland, Czechoslovakia, Republican Spain and the Luftwaffe, but, surprisingly, excluding the V-VS itself. Perhaps the worst feature of this kit is that the trailing edges of all the flying surfaces are much too thick and call for a lot of patient rubbing down.

A word here on SB designations would perhaps not be out of place as some confusion would seem to exist. Most Soviet sources refer to all versions of Arkhangelsky's bomber simply as the SB, sometimes adding the engine type (eg, SB/M-100) but the most widely accepted designation for the M-100- and M-100A-powered models (the latter being referred to in Spain as the Super-Katiuska) is SB-2, developed versions with uprated M-103 and M-103A engines (enclosed by redesigned cowlings) being the SB-2bis and SB-3 respectively.
F J HENDERSON

Air Enthusiast 1974-01 vol.06 no.01

NOVO logo

NOVO Cat.No.76073, Tupolev SB-2«Katyushka»Bomber, NOVO Toys ltd, 1978


Novo Toys Ltd., Maxey, Peterborough, England PE69HQ
Period: 1976-1981

Few, if any other kit companies have been subjected to as much rumour spreading, speculation and ill-informed guesswork as NOVO. Neither has any other company name been so misused, and perhaps it is best to start by putting this straight.

As can be seen above, NOVO was a British company, and it always was. Although the company name itself was derived from NOVOexport, their Soviet trade partner, NOVO was never owned by the Russians. In recent years, NOVO has been used as a collective name for any ex-Frog kits coming out of the USSR, but nothing could be more wrong or misleading. Only kits actually packed in NOVO packaging should be called NOVO kits. Anything else can only be described as kits by the Soviet factory in question (BFI, Krugozor, Tashigrushka etc.). If a collective name is really necessary, then one might perhaps use MLI (for the Soviet Ministry of Light Industry, who supervise most of these factories).

The events leading up to the creation of NOVO have been covered in the Frog history section of this book and will not be repeated here. Suffice to say that a General Agreement was reached between Dunbee-Combex-Marx (the owner of both NOVO and Rovex) and V/O NOVOexport in August 1975. This agreement stipulated that DCM was to deliver moulds, tools and materials to NOVOexport, who would pay for them by sending back finished goods from the same moulds. It must be pointed out that apart from model kits the agreement also covered a wide range of other toys. NOVO Toys Ltd. was set up by DCM in 1975 to handle this business.

The finer details of the arrangement were set out in twelve contracts, three of which concerned the ex-Frog kits. A theoretical value (based on remaining production life and other factors) was set for each mould. These were totalled for each contract and a suitable mix of kits to the same amount was worked out, meaning that payment for a particular mould did not necessarily consist of kits from that very same mould only.

Once the agreed quantity of kits had been delivered by NOVOexport, the moulds were considered their property and all future purchases by NOVO had to be paid for in cash. In the event, no such follow-up orders were ever placed by NOVO.

The first moulds were sent out to the USSR in early 1976 (i.e. almost a year before Frog production by Rovex finally ceased) and these were distributed among the several Soviet factories undertaking the actual production. With the exception of the Dennis Ambulance, Firefly Dinghy and the Axis aircraft sold to Revell, all Frog moulds still with Rovex in 1976 were shipped to the Soviet Union over the next year or so. Of these, the Britannia, R-100 and the car kits were considered to be of little interest to the Western market, and consequently no NOVO numbers were ever assigned. Although not specifically mentioned in any contract, it is believed that the Soviets also took delivery of the old Drifter and Tug Boat moulds.

The NOVO kit number incorporated the original projected year of release (e.g. 76001). Some kits were in fact delivered to NOVO in 1976, but not until 1977 was a marketable range available and released. Due to this, no additional kits were planned for 1977, but instead delayed until 1978 and given numbers starting with 78. The many gaps in the sequence were partly filled by other NOVO products.

Getting the Russians to keep up with the delivery schedule was the main NOVO headache. From the very start and until the very end, NOVOexport were constantly behind in their deliveries. The reasons were of course many, but a few of these warrant some comments.

Problems with production facilities and moulds were common. Although certain Soviet factories were fairly well-equipped, others had obsolete and unsuitable machinery. Staff competence and maintenance levels also sometimes left something to be desired. This not only slowed down production, but also led to some moulds being damaged. The Mirage mould, for example, was left out-doors one winter and was of course thoroughly rusty by spring! (It was later restored to usable condition.)

The mould for the old Typhoon, when returned to the UK for repairs, was found to be missing all six original locking bolts holding the two halves together. These had been replaced by four new ones of inferior material. Had these broken during operation (remembering that plastic was being injected with a pressure of over 500 p.s.i., or 35 kp/cm2), the mould would probably have been completely destroyed along with the injection machine and its unfortunate operator. The same mould had also been repaired by the Russians, using brass instead of toughened steel.

All in all, NOVOexport complained about problems with some two dozen moulds. Of the eight subsequently repaired in the U.K., five had damage caused by the Russians.

But the main problem was the inferior plastic used in the USSR. All Frog moulds were tuned to use Shell SI73 polystyrene (or equivalent), having a Melt Flow Index of 35. Soviet polystyrene, on the other hand, was found to have an index of around 4! This meant that, in order to make the plastic fill the mould, the temperature had to be increased by some 50°C and the injection pressure up to 100%. Not only was this very damaging to the moulds (several subsequently had to be repaired), but also often led to sub-standard mouldings. This since the extreme pressure forced the mould halves apart, letting plastic overflow into the gaps and form flash.

Neither was the low MFI the only problem with the plastic. An independent evaluation carried out in 1978 reads like a catalogue of faults: "Izod (= impact strength) very low .. . abnormally low I.V. (= inherent viscosity) . .. colour is poor and contamination excessive ... poor surface finish and gloss ... extremely brittle and not very rigid .. . must make good colouring difficult and appearance of finished article to be doubtful quality."

The third major problem was politics. Soviet laws take a pretty grim view of anything "fascist", which was why all German, Italian and Japanese aircraft were sold to Revell instead of being sent to the USSR. But other problems were to come up.

The original boxes for the Tupolev SB-2 showed one Luftwaffe marking alternative. NOVOexport refused point-blank to touch these and NOVO eventually had to print a replacement batch of some 105,000 box bottoms. The Luftwaffe portion of the decals were also cut away.

Later on, the Soviet Ministry of Culture classed the Fokker D.XXI as a "fascist aircraft" since it had been used by the Finnish AF in WWII. The fact that the Finns also used e.g. M.S.406, P-40, Lysander, SB-2, Hurricane, Gladiator and Blenheim - all of which were also included in the NOVO range - did not seem to bother them, however. Subsequent NOVO attempts to get this decision changed were all in vain. It should be noted that NOVO had replaced the original Finish AF marking alternative with a Danish one, to avoid this very problem.

The next casualty was the Sea Fury. Due to a slip-up, the 1980 NOVO catalogue described it as having shot down some MiG-15s during the Korean War. NOVOexport were much upset by this and refused to deliver any more Sea Fury kits! Only a few kits from an earlier trial consignment ever reached the market. The same fate probably befell the Sea Venom, only this time the catalogue mentioned Egyptian MiGs destroyed in 1956. Only a small number of Sea Venoms were delivered, anyway.

Despite all difficulties, business was good for NOVO and their kits sold well - mainly due to very competitive prices made possible by the unique set-up of the production. The downfall of NOVO was thus not caused by economical problems as has often been suggested, at least not directly. However, Dunbee-Combex-Marx Ltd. fell into severe financial difficulties in 1979 and eventually had to go into receivership. Since DCM owned NOVO, legal requirements forced NOVO to do the same and the company passed into the hands of the receivers in February 1980. No buyer could be found in time and NOVO Toys Ltd. was wound up later in the same year, although formal liquidation only took place five years later.

The last Soviet deliveries were made in mid-1980 and all kits had been sold out by early 1981. Remaining stocks of boxes, decals and instruction sheets (all printed in the UK) were handed over to NOVOexport together with some original box artwork and other bits and pieces.

Box styles, artwork, decals and instructions were in general very similar to the late Frog issues. Indeed, early box mock-ups were almost identical to the Frog boxes except for the removal of the Frog logotype. Apart from the mock-ups, a small batch of similar test boxes were also printed before the style eventually used was finally agreed upon.

Although most NOVO kits were boxed, it should be pointed out that kits 76001-76031 were packed in plastic bags with header cards.

Apart from box style, there were also some changes in artwork and decal sheets. Sixteen of the kits used completely new box top art and a few others had slightly changed versions of the Frog originals. In addition, five kits used art previously only utilised on Air Lines boxes.

The only all-new decals were those for the Dart Herald, F-82, Baltimore, VC10 and Boeing 707, although the first three probably had the new designs completed while still with Rovex. Either way, the design work was carried out by Dick Ward of Modeldecal. Apart from the previously mentioned Tupolev and Fokker, the only other known change was that the P-38 had its Chinese markings alternative replaced by a second USAAF one. Although the HMS Trafalgar box art showed the ship with the "RO9" pendant number of HMS Cadiz, the actual decals gave "D77" which was the post-war number of Trafalgar.

A great deal of speculation has taken place over the last few years as regards which kits NOVO actually released. And this with some right, since it is indeed a very complex subject.

To begin with, a large number of kits were undeniably released. The kit listing which follows gives production quantities for these.

Secondly, certain kits belonging to the third phase of the third contract were definitely never released. They arc all marked "t" in the list, and for these kits no boxes, decals or instruction sheets were ever printed.

This leaves us with some twenty-three kits which were never officially released but nevertheless had all boxes etc. printed. In the list they all have the official production quantity zero. Regrettably, this does not represent the whole truth, and that for two reasons.

The first one is that trial consignments were often received by NOVO and, although not included in the official production quantity, these kits were eventually sold by them. It is also possible that a few batches of slightly faulty and previously rejected kits were also sold out at a discount when NOVO closed down. These consignments might number anything from a few dozen to several hundred kits, in some case perhaps more than a thousand.

In connection with this, the Boeing 707 is a special case worth mention. A batch of some 3,000 707s were received by NOVO and quickly distributed. However, it was soon found that most kits suffered moulding defects and in the end all but a very few were recalled by NOVO or returned to them by irate buyers.

The second reason is that when NOVO closed down, NOVOexport held enough "paper work" to produce another 2,750,000 NOVO kits. It is a fact that some of this has since been used by the Russians. In many cases only the box has been used, omitting the decals and substituting the instruction sheet with a Russian one (or a photo-copy of the NOVO original). But sometimes all three original items have been used and the only clue that these are "fake" NOVO kits might be the somewhat odd plastic colour (NOVO usually managed to avoid the more disgusting ones of the strange shades apparently beloved by Soviet plastic producers). However, in a few cases even this gives nothing away. Since these kits are produced in the same factories as before, using original NOVO boxes, decals and instruction sheets, they are - for all practical purposes - NOVO kits.

To give some (admittedly subjective) indication of the quantity known to exist of the "zero production" kits, one or two pluses have been added. Thus "0+ + " indicates that a reasonable quantity - perhaps a few hundred - has found its way on to the Western market. "0+" indicates that very-few, or none, have yet been seen. But this may of course change at any time; who knows when the Soviets decide to make use of their 46,000 sets of Twin Mustang packaging...

Finally, the four Russian aircraft - Anatra, MiG-3, LaGG-3 and Yak-3 - must also be mentioned. Produced by Rovcx in accordance with the 1975 DCM-NOVOexport agreement, the moulds were kept with NOVO in England for many years. But for various reasons they were never included in any of the actual contracts with NOVOexport, nor were kit numbers assigned. When NOVO closed down, the Russians were most interested in buying the moulds but lacked the hard currency needed. Later attempts by the receivers to sell them to other kit manufacturers - including Lindberg, Monogram, Revell and Starfix - all failed. Not until 1983 were they finally disposed of, to Red Star (which see).

Throughout the list, the NOVO number has been given as kit number. But all the kits also carried the old Frog number on the box; indeed, on the 76xxx kits this was more prominently displayed than the NOVO number.

Novo Toys Ltd., Макси, Питерборо, Англия PE69HQ
Период: 1976-1981

Немногие, если вообще какие-либо другие компании, производящие наборы, становились объектом такого количества слухов, спекуляций и необоснованных домыслов, как NOVO. Название любой другой компании также не использовалось настолько неправильно, и, возможно, лучше всего начать с того, чтобы прояснить ситуацию.

Как видно из вышесказанного, NOVO была британской компанией, и всегда ею оставалась. Хотя само название компании произошло от Новоэкспорт, их советского торгового партнера, NOVO никогда не принадлежала русским. В последние годы NOVO используется как собирательное название для всех бывших наборов Frog, выходящих из СССР, но ничто не может быть более неправильным или вводящим в заблуждение. Только наборы, действительно упакованные в упаковку NOVO, должны называться наборами NOVO. Все остальное может быть описано только как наборы советского завода (БФИ, Кругозор, Ташигрушка и т.д.). Если действительно необходимо собирательное название, то можно использовать МЛП (для Министерства легкой промышленности СССР, которому подчинялось большинство этих заводов).

События, приведшие к созданию NOVO, были описаны в разделе "История Frog" этой книги и не будут повторяться здесь. Достаточно сказать, что в августе 1975 года между Dunbee-Combex-Marx (владельцем NOVO и Rovex) и В/О Новоэкспорт было заключено Генеральное соглашение. Это соглашение предусматривало, что компания DCM должна была поставить пресс-формы, инструменты и материалы компании Новоэкспорт, которая должна была расплатиться за них, отправив обратно готовую продукцию с тех же пресс-форм. Следует отметить, что помимо наборов моделей соглашение также охватывало широкий спектр других игрушек. Компания NOVO Toys Ltd. была создана DCM в 1975 году для ведения этого бизнеса.

Более тонкие детали соглашения были изложены в двенадцати контрактах, три из которых касались бывших наборов Frog. Для каждой формы была определена теоретическая стоимость (основанная на оставшемся сроке производства и других факторах). Она суммировалась по каждому контракту и подбиралась соответствующая смесь наборов на ту же сумму, то есть оплата за конкретную форму не обязательно должна была состоять только из наборов с этой самой формы.

После того как "Новоэкспорт" поставил оговоренное количество комплектов, пресс-формы считались его собственностью, и все последующие закупки " NOVO" должны были оплачиваться наличными. В итоге NOVO никогда не делало таких последующих заказов.

Первые пресс-формы были отправлены в СССР в начале 1976 года (то есть почти за год до окончательного прекращения производства Frog компанией Rovex), и они были распределены между несколькими советскими заводами, осуществлявшими фактическое производство. За исключением " Dennis Ambulance", "Firefly Dinghy" и самолета стран Оси, проданных Revell, все формы Frog, все еще находившиеся в Rovex в 1976 году, были отправлены в Советский Союз в течение следующего года или около того. Из них Britannia, R-100 и автомобильные наборы были признаны малоинтересными для западного рынка, и, соответственно, номера NOVO им не присваивались. Хотя ни в одном контракте это не упоминается, считается, что Советы также получили старые формы Drifter и Tug Boat.

Номер набора NOVO включал в себя первоначальный предполагаемый год выпуска (например, 76001). Некоторые наборы действительно были поставлены для NOVO в 1976 году, но только в 1977 году была подготовлена и выпущена серия для продажи. В связи с этим дополнительные наборы не были запланированы на 1977 год, а были отложены до 1978 года и получили номера, начинающиеся с 78. Многочисленные пробелы в последовательности частично заполнялись другими продуктами NOVO.

Заставить русских соблюдать график поставок было главной головной болью NOVO. С самого начала и до самого конца Novoexport постоянно запаздывала с поставками. Причин, конечно, было много, но некоторые из них заслуживают отдельного комментария.

Проблемы с производственными мощностями и пресс-формами были обычным явлением. Хотя некоторые советские заводы были достаточно хорошо оснащены, другие имели устаревшее и непригодное оборудование. Компетентность персонала и уровень технического обслуживания также иногда оставляли желать лучшего. Это не только замедляло производство, но и приводило к повреждению некоторых пресс-форм. Например, пресс-форма Mirage была оставлена на зиму под открытым небом и, конечно же, к весне основательно проржавела! (Позже она была восстановлена до пригодного для использования состояния).

Когда пресс-форма для старого "Тайфуна" была возвращена в Великобританию для ремонта, оказалось, что на ней отсутствуют все шесть оригинальных болтов, скрепляющих две половинки. Они были заменены четырьмя новыми из некачественного материала. Если бы они сломались во время работы (не забывайте, что пластик впрыскивался под давлением более 500 фунтов на квадратный дюйм, или 35 кПа/см2), пресс-форма, вероятно, была бы полностью разрушена вместе с инжекционной машиной и ее несчастным оператором. Эта же пресс-форма была отремонтирована русскими с использованием латуни вместо закаленной стали.

В общей сложности Novoexport жаловалось на проблемы примерно с двумя десятками пресс-форм. Из восьми, впоследствии отремонтированных в Великобритании, пять имели повреждения, нанесенные русскими.

Но главной проблемой был некачественный пластик, использовавшийся в СССР. Все пресс-формы Frog были настроены на использование полистирола Shell Sl73 (или эквивалентного), имеющего индекс текучести расплава 35. Советский же полистирол, как выяснилось, имел индекс около 4! Это означало, что для того, чтобы пластик заполнил форму, необходимо было повысить температуру на 50°C и увеличить давление впрыска до 100%. Это не только сильно повреждало формы (несколько из них впоследствии пришлось ремонтировать), но и часто приводило к некачественным изделиям. Это происходило из-за того, что экстремальное давление раздвигало половинки формы, позволяя пластику переливаться в зазоры и образовывать облой.

Низкий показатель MFI также не был единственной проблемой пластика. Независимая оценка, проведенная в 1978 году, выглядит как каталог недостатков: "Изод (= тест по Изоду на ударная прочность) очень низкий... аномально низкая В.В. (= внутренняя вязкость)... цвет плохой и загрязнение чрезмерное... плохая обработка поверхности и блеск... чрезвычайно хрупкий и не очень жесткий... должен затруднять хорошую окраску и внешний вид готового изделия сомнительного качества".

Третьей серьезной проблемой была политика. Советские законы довольно сурово относятся ко всему "фашистскому", поэтому все немецкие, итальянские и японские самолеты были проданы Revell, а не отправлены в СССР. Но возникли и другие проблемы.

На оригинальных коробках для туполевского СБ-2 был указан один из вариантов маркировки Люфтваффе. Компания "Новоэкспорт" наотрез отказалась их трогать, и в итоге NOVO пришлось напечатать запасную партию из 105 000 донышек для коробок. Часть декалей Люфтваффе также была вырезана.

Позже советское Министерство культуры классифицировало Fokker D.XXI как "фашистский самолет", поскольку он использовался финскими ВВС во Второй мировой войне. Однако тот факт, что финны также использовали, например, M.S.406, P-40, Lysander, SB-2, Hurricane, Gladiator и Blenheim - все они также были включены в ассортимент NOVO, - похоже, их не беспокоил. Последующие попытки NOVO добиться изменения этого решения оказались тщетными. Следует отметить, что NOVO заменила оригинальный вариант маркировки финских ВВС на датский, чтобы избежать этой проблемы.

Следующей жертвой стал Sea Fury. Из-за недосмотра в каталоге NOVO 1980 года он был описан как сбивший несколько МиГ-15 во время Корейской войны. Компания "Новоэкспорт" была очень расстроена этим и отказалась от дальнейших поставок наборов Sea Fury! До рынка дошло лишь несколько наборов из более ранней пробной партии. Та же участь, вероятно, постигла и Sea Venom, только на этот раз в каталоге упоминались египетские МиГи, уничтоженные в 1956 году. В любом случае, было поставлено лишь небольшое количество Sea Venom.

Несмотря на все трудности, дела у NOVO шли хорошо, и их наборы хорошо продавались - в основном благодаря очень конкурентоспособным ценам, что стало возможным благодаря уникальной организации производства. Таким образом, падение NOVO не было вызвано экономическими проблемами, как это часто предполагается, по крайней мере, не напрямую. Однако в 1979 году компания Dunbee-Combex-Marx Ltd. столкнулась с серьезными финансовыми трудностями и в итоге была вынуждена перейти под внешнее управление. Поскольку DCM владела NOVO, требования закона вынудили NOVO сделать то же самое, и в феврале 1980 года компания перешла в руки управляющих. Покупатель не был найден вовремя, и NOVO Toys Ltd. была ликвидирована в том же году, хотя официальная ликвидация состоялась только через пять лет.

Последние советские поставки были осуществлены в середине 1980 года, а все наборы были распроданы к началу 1981 года. Оставшиеся запасы коробок, декалей и инструкций (все они были напечатаны в Великобритании) были переданы компании "Новоэкспорт" вместе с некоторыми оригинальными рисунками на коробках и другими деталями.

Дизайн коробок, иллюстрации, декали и инструкции в целом были очень похожи на поздние выпуски Frog. Действительно, ранние макеты коробок были практически идентичны коробкам Frog, за исключением удаления логотипа Frog. Помимо макетов, была также напечатана небольшая партия подобных тестовых коробок, прежде чем был окончательно согласован стиль, который в итоге был использован.

Хотя большинство наборов NOVO были упакованы в коробки, следует отметить, что наборы 76001-76031 были упакованы в пластиковые пакеты с картонными лепестками.

Помимо стиля коробок, были также внесены некоторые изменения в художественное оформление и листы декалей. Шестнадцать наборов использовали совершенно новые рисунки на коробках, а несколько других - слегка измененные версии оригиналов от Frog. Кроме того, в пяти наборах использовался рисунок, ранее применявшийся только на коробках Air Lines.

Единственными полностью новыми декалями были декали для Dart Herald, F-82, Baltimore, VC10 и Boeing 707, хотя для первых трех, вероятно, новые эскизы были закончены еще в компании Rovex. В любом случае, работу над ними выполнил Дик Уорд из Modeldecal. Кроме упомянутых ранее "Туполева" и "Фоккера", единственным известным изменением стало то, что на P-38 китайская маркировка была альтернативно заменена на вторую маркировку USAAF. Хотя на коробке с изображением HMS Trafalgar корабль имел бортовой номер "R09" HMS Cadiz, фактические декали давали "D77", который был послевоенным номером Trafalgar.

За последние несколько лет было много спекуляций относительно того, какие наборы NOVO выпустила на самом деле. И это вполне справедливо, так как это действительно очень сложный вопрос.

Начнем с того, что, несомненно, было выпущено большое количество наборов. В приведенном ниже списке наборов указано их количество.

Во-вторых, некоторые наборы, относящиеся к третьей фазе третьего контракта, определенно никогда не были выпущены. Все они помечены в списке символом "+", и для этих наборов никогда не печатались ни коробки, ни декали, ни инструкции.

Таким образом, у нас остается около двадцати трех наборов, которые никогда не были официально выпущены, но, тем не менее, для них были напечатаны все коробки и т.д. В списке они все имеют официальное количество производства, равное нулю. К сожалению, это не совсем соответствует действительности, и на то есть две причины.

Первая заключается в том, что пробные партии часто поступали в компанию NOVO, и, хотя эти наборы не были включены в официальное количество выпущенных, в конечном итоге они были проданы ими. Также возможно, что несколько партий слегка бракованных и ранее забракованных наборов были распроданы со скидкой, когда компания NOVO закрылась. Эти партии могли насчитывать от нескольких десятков до нескольких сотен наборов, в некоторых случаях, возможно, более тысячи.

В связи с этим стоит особо упомянуть Boeing 707. Партия из примерно 3 000 самолетов 707 была получена компанией NOVO и быстро разошлась. Однако вскоре выяснилось, что большинство наборов имеют дефекты литья, и в итоге все, кроме нескольких, были отозваны NOVO или возвращены им раздраженными покупателями.

Вторая причина заключается в том, что когда компания NOVO закрылась, у "Новоэкспорт" осталось достаточно "бумажной продукции", чтобы произвести еще 2 750 000 комплектов NOVO. Факт, что некоторые из них были использованы русскими. Во многих случаях использовалась только коробка, без декалей и с инструкцией на русском языке (или с фотокопией оригинала NOVO). Но иногда использовались все три оригинальных элемента, и единственным признаком того, что это "поддельные" наборы NOVO, может быть несколько странный цвет пластика (NOVO обычно удавалось избежать более отвратительных странных оттенков, видимо, любимых советскими производителями пластика). Однако в некоторых случаях даже это ничего не дает. Поскольку эти наборы производятся на тех же заводах, что и раньше, с использованием оригинальных коробок, декалей и инструкций NOVO, они - для всех практических целей - являются наборами NOVO.

Чтобы дать некоторое (по общему признанию, субъективное) представление о количестве известных наборов "нулевого производства", были добавлены один или два плюса. Так, "0++" означает, что на западный рынок попало небольшое количество - возможно, несколько сотен. "0+" указывает на то, что их совсем мало или вообще нет. Но это, конечно, может измениться в любой момент; кто знает, когда Советы решат использовать свои 46 000 комплектов упаковки Twin Mustang...

Наконец, необходимо упомянуть и четыре российских самолета - Анатра, МиГ-3, ЛаГГ-3 и Як-3. Изготовленные компанией " Rovex" в соответствии с экспортным соглашением DCM-NOVO от 1975 года, пресс-формы хранились у NOVO в Англии в течение многих лет. Но по разным причинам они так и не были включены ни в один из реальных контрактов с "Новоэкспортом", и им не были присвоены номера наборов. Когда компания NOVO закрылась, русские были очень заинтересованы в покупке форм, но у них не было необходимой твердой валюты. Более поздние попытки получателей продать их другим производителям наборов, включая Lindberg, Monogram, Revell и Starfix, закончились неудачей. Только в 1983 году они были окончательно проданы компании Red Star (см.).

Во всем списке номер NOVO указан как номер набора. Но все наборы также имели старый номер Frog на коробке; более того, на наборах 76xxx он был более заметен, чем номер NOVO.

Qty
76073Tupolev SB-250000

FROG model aircraft 1932-1976, R. Lines, L. Hellstrom


DFI logo

DFI U-085-3629, Tupolev SB-2«Katyushka»Bomber, Donetskaya Fabrika Igrushek, 1980


DFI

Donetskaya Fabrika Igrushek (Toy Factory), Ul. Kirova 90, 340068 Donyetsk, USSR

This company handles more ex-Frog moulds than any other in the Soviet Union and is also the one making most use of them. New releases do tend to turn up fairly regularly. Since there are relatively few gaps in the numbering sequence below, it is probable that most of the unconfirmed kits have not yet been issued.

Although some kits have turned up in bags with fold-over header cards, the majority of the DFI kits come in boxes. Some also include "decals" printed on ordinary paper.

The moulds for the B-25, B-26, Lifeboat and Tanker are all thought to have been damaged and have probably never been used. The SB-2 mould is known to be unusable. DFI also probably holds the Barracuda mould, said to have been transferred from Tashigrushka in damaged condition.

Almost all DFI kits are moulded in light grey plastic, with the odd one in blue-grey or dark grey.

The kits with N-xx-U numbers appear to be the ones first released, followed by U-xxxx and, later still, xxxx-U. The two cars are also fairly recent issues.

Донецкая фабрика игрушек, ул. Кирова 90, 340068 Донецк, СССР

Эта компания выпускает больше бывших моделей " Frog", чем любая другая в Советском Союзе, а также использует их чаще всего. Новые выпуски появляются довольно регулярно. Поскольку в приведенной ниже нумерации относительно мало пробелов, вполне вероятно, что большинство неподтвержденных наборов еще не были выпущены.

Хотя некоторые наборы были обнаружены в пакетах с бумажными вкладышами, большинство наборов ДФИ поставляются в коробках. Некоторые из них также включают "декали", напечатанные на обычной бумаге.

Формы для B-25, B-26, Lifeboat и Tanker, как полагают, были повреждены и, вероятно, никогда не использовались. Известно, что форма для SB-2 непригодна для использования. На ДФИ также, вероятно, хранится форма для "Барракуды", которая, как говорят, была передана из "Ташигрушки" в поврежденном состоянии.

Почти все наборы ДФИ отлиты из светло-серого пластика, редкие наборы - из серо-голубого или темно-серого.

Первыми были выпущены наборы с номерами Н-xx-У, за ними последовали У-xxx и, позднее, xxxx-У. Два автомобиля также выпущены довольно недавно.

*** [U-3629] Tupolev SB-2

FROG model aircraft 1932-1976, R. Lines, L. Hellstrom


Восточный Экспресс

Eastern Express 72260 , Eastern Express Group


Арк Моделс

Ark Models 72002


  • 02.04.2020