ROVEX-TRIANG LIMITED. Westland Wyvern. Scale 1/72. Price (U.K.) 26p.

This latest kit from FROG is one of the most attractive of post-war British Naval aircraft. Moulded in grey plastic the component parts are finely detailed with such features as dive-brake slots, ailerons and flaps all sharply defined. The exterior surface of the model is very clean with no unsightly rivet heads or other overscale details to mar the attractive lines of the prototype.

Assembly is similar to that on other FROG kits. Cockpit detail includes a floor with instrument console stands and the seat and armoured backplate fits neatly into this; the very prominent headrest for the pilot being well moulded. The fit of some parts is rather poor, particularly the wing assembly into the fuselage between the wing root fairing and the upper wing panels. However, the remainder of the parts fit well and the complex undercarriage struts/oleo of the Wyvern are faithfully reproduced. Optional parts are included enabling the model to be finished with the undercarriage in the "up" or "down" position and the external warload includes underwing rockets and rails.

The box art is very striking with the usual profile views on the back of the box. It should be noted that machines of 830 Squadron had the spinner and finlets painted Plum Red, a deep almost Maroon Red rather than the bright standard Red as on the spinners of the aircraft of 827 Squadron.

Decals of the usual high standard include alternative markings for an 830 Squadron machine during the Suez operations and an aircraft of 827 Squadron. Carrier identification letters are also supplied as are all serials and national insignia.

This is basically a good kit which with careful assembly can be made into a delightful model. One word of warning, however; when selecting the aircraft you propose to model check the profile artwork to ascertain the style of canopy framework applicable to the relevant machine so that the single canopy provided in the kit can have its framework painted to represent one of two possible types.

The colouring of Wyverns was Extra Dark Sea Grey upper surfaces with Sky under and fuselage sides, the entire aircraft having a gloss surface finish. The cockpit interior was "Night" Black as was the seat and armour plate, etc. Wheel hubs and the undercarriage oleos were dull metal. Wheel wells and inside of the undercarriage doors were natural metal. Reference should be made to last year's JULY Magazine containing a short article on finishing together with a photopage, and a detailed drawing page of the Wyvern. Back issues may be available from John Salmon, 35 Clares Green Road, Spencers Wood, Reading RG71 DY, Berkshire, England, price 3/-d. post free to U.K. members—overseas members write to your Branch Directors.

The IPMS magazine, FEBRUARY 1971 Vol. 8 No. 2

NEW TO YOU?
Bob Jones surveys new releases
New from Frog

One of the most advanced piston-engined fighters of the Second World War was the Kurt Tank designed FOCKE WULF ТА 152 - unfortunately, it entered production too late to have appeared in any large numbers but on occasions when allied fighter pilots met the Та 152 they were hard put to match the performance of this machine, despite the comparative rarity of the type we were delighted to receive a review sample from Messrs ROVEX TRI-ANG LIMITED of their new kit, to 1/72 scale, of the Та 152Н, thus providing the Luftwaffe enthusiast with another 'rare type' for his collection. Moulded in medium grey plastic the surface detailing is extremely fine and we welcome this type of raised surface detail which is far superior to the earlier heavy rivet and panel line detail.

The assembly is quite simple and fit of parts is excellent, extra detailing includes pilot's seat and armoured headrest complete with the armoured seat-support which is so noticeable on these aircraft. The cockpit canopy must rate as one of their best ever, being a superb fit and correctly 'bulged' as on the original aircraft, the clarity is slightly distorted along the top of the canopy due to the thickness of the clear plastic but this is unavoidable and does not. in fact, detract from the appearance of the model unless light catches the cockpit from odd angles.

The outline of the model is basically accurate although the wing taper along the trailing edges is slightly too excessive and the cowling detail is rather oversimplified as is the exhaust stub layout.

The decals are for machines of 2 Staffel/I Gruppe/JG.300 flying in defence of the Reich operations and the alternative markings are for a machine of 1 Staffel/I Gruppe/JG.3 the national insignia and unit identification markings are included as are the correct Werke Number where applicable, the decals are flat matt finish and adhere well, lying smoothly over the various panel line details.

The packet artwork is NOT up to the usual ROVEX standard but the Profile type artwork offered as a painting guide on the reverse side of the packet is as usual excellent. We will be featuring an article in an early issue on correcting one or two basic inaccuracies of this kit together with photographs of our completed model plus details as to how to add extra refinements to the kit parts, with the lengthy slim wings and the slim fuselage this is a most attractive looking aeroplane and the kit will undoubtedly prove to be very popular indeed.

Another release from ROVEX TRI-ANG LIMITED will delight Fleet Air Arm enthusiasts as this is a boxed kit for the WESTLAND WYVERN strike-fighter, one of the Navy's post-war carrier borne types which saw combat during the six days Suez 'war'.

Again moulded in medium grey plastic this kit must be one of the finest yet produced by this company, very full co-operation and assistance was provided by Westland Aircraft (as was) and the design of the kit is itself a fine example of careful planning which results in a kit that really does provide the modeller with a magnificent basis for a 'straight from the box' or 'extra detailed' replica of the original machine. Assembly follows the usual practice and is simplified without detracting from any detailing applicable to the type. Of particular note is the finely detailed undercarriage oleo legs and wheel/hubs and surface detailing includes the huge underwing flaps and flying surfaces.

The cockpit interior consists of a complete seat pan which has instrument consoles (with the faces of the instruments engraved therein) plus a fine replica of the pilot's seat and armour plate and head rest, a pilot figure is also included albeit not a very satisfactory one and a separate control column is also supplied.

Underwing stores includes two tier rocket armament and optional parts are the fitting enabling the modeller to have the tail wheel/ undercarriage of the machine either in the retracted or extended positions.

The cockpit canopy is truly superb and we would add that careful attention should be paid to the Profile style artwork painting guide on the rear of the box to ensure that one paints the canopy framework correctly. The Wyvern canopy was made up of separate sections which were simply joined together without any metal framework, thus it is very easy to inadvertently paint the simulated join lines thinking that these are metal frames. The decals are excellent, being for a Suez strike aircraft 830 Squadron, HMS Eagle, 1956 and alternative markings are given for a machine of 287 Squadron, HMS Eagle 1955. The decal sheet includes national markings, squadron badge and crests plus the usual serials and codes.

The finish of the Wyvern was gloss Extra Dark Sea Grey upper surfaces with Sky undersides, fin and rudder and fuselage sides-note that the colour of the spinner and finlets on the machines of 830 Squadron was Plum Red and not red or maroon as they appear on the box art, on the 827 Squadron machine just the spinner is standard gloss Red colour.

The cockpit interior was Night finish, matt Black and the undercarriage oleo legs etc. were polished metal, the interior of the wheel wells was also natural metal although on some machines this was Sky colour.

As in the case of the Та 152 reviewed earlier we will be featuring a detailed article on modelling the Wyvern in an early issue BUT if you cannot wait for this then one can build the kit 'straight from the box' and have a delightfully accurate and most striking looking model. It is particularly welcome to see the kit manufacturers releasing kits of the machines of the 'fifties, as many interesting types spring to mind which would have been contemporary to the Wyvern.

Old favourites in new markings

OVER THE past twelve months or so kits released by ROVEX TRI-ANG LIMITED have been notable for the very fine quality transfers that they contained and it is not surprising that the company recently reissued three of their older kits with new decals and box art.

These are for the FAIREY BARRACUDA, WESTLAND WESSEX and FAIREY GANNET - each kit is in its own right of a very good quality and the BARRACUDA has always proved to be a popular choice for the modeller - the original mouldings have remained unchanged but the boxes now have completely new artwork and the decals in each kit are far more comprehensive and truly representative than were those of the original offerings. The markings in the BARRACUDA kit are now for one machine of 829 Squadron H.M.S. Victorious as operated during the raids on the German battleship TIRPITZ 1944, while alternative markings are given for a machine of the BRITISH PACIFIC FLEET 1944/5 from 812 Squadron, of particular note is the provision on the decals sheet for the lanyard which was attached at the lower rear fuselage, which, when pulled by the gunner or observer, lifted the dinghy stowage hatch into the airstream, thus ensuring that the dinghy did not become trapped in a crashed and sinking aircraft.

The WESSEX Mk. 31 is in markings and camouflage of a machine from 817 Squadron Royal Australian Navy aboard H.M.A.S. MELBOURNE or alternatively from 845 Squadron Fleet Air Arm aboard H.M.S. Albion in Commando forces decor. Bearing in mind the original quality and accuracy of these kits we feel sure that all will enjoy a new lease of life in their new finishes.

Trio of re-releases from Frog are the Barracuda,Wessex and the Gannet, each at 4/9d. and now with a change of markings. These Naval aircraft have a wide range of possible decor and we shall publish photographs of other variations next month.

Scale Models No.17 1971 FEBRUARY Vo2. No.2

Hasegawa/Frog
Hasegawa Seisakushu Ltd. Co., 600-6, Higashi Nitta. Shizuoka-Shi, Japan
Period: 1967-1974?

The co-operation between Frog and Hasegawa is one of the most successful between two independent companies and also one of the most extensive. But it is not unique. Airfix had a similar arrangement with Eidai during the same period, to mention one example, although this was limited to Eidai selling Airfix kits and not vice versa.

The first contacts were made by Rovex in early 1967, on the suggestion of UPC - themselves large buyers of Japanese kits and also a customer of Frog mouldings. Initially both LS and Hasegavva were considered as potential suppliers, but the latter was soon found to be the better of the two.

Under the agreement reached, all kits were moulded by the originating company who sold the bagged mouldings to the other company. Hasegawa thus added boxes, instructions and decals at their own factory. The decals used were often based on the original Frog ones, although in some cases changes were made by adding or deleting options. E.g., the Vimy had RAF decals, the Ju 87 Hungarian markings only and the P-38 an additional two USAAF options apart from the two in the Frog issue. All box artwork was new and of good quality.

Hasegawa was one of the few companies to issue former Frog kits in more than one box style. The first kits came with the old Hasegawa logotype, but around 1969 this was changed to the new one still in use today. Many kits can therefore be found with two different box styles. Unfortunately, no detailed information is available on the subject and the details given below should be considered as provisional only.

It should be noted that the Ju 88 and Beaufighter were first sold in their original form and later on with Spin-a-Prop modifications added (although never sold as Spin-a-Prop kits by Hasegawa).

The reason for discontinuing the co-operation between the two companies is not quite clear, since both sides were apparently satisfied with the arrangement. The probable reason is that the receivership imposed on Rovex in the early 1970s caused a desire to withdraw from any long-term commitment. Be this as it may, Rovex delivered the last batch of mouldings in early 1973, and these were probably sold out by Hasegawa within the year.

The Hasegawa kit numbers were allocated roughly in order of issue, the last new Frog kits being released in 1971. While most kits did have the JS-prefix to their numbers, it is worth noting that at least some of the new style boxes (e.g. that for the Shark) lacked this.

The production quantities given below are based on incomplete information and should therefore be treated as strictly provisional.

Repeated inquiries to Hasegawa regarding some of the above have, unfortunately, remained unanswered. Of all the companies contacted, they are one of the few not to respond in any way.

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

Novo 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.

+ Project only, never released

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

Hawker-Siddeley Harrier - 1/72 drawing by A.A.P. Lloyd, 600dpi, Аэромоделлер 1969 август