FROG F401 Heinkel He162

Aviation News Vol 1 Num 15 8-21 December 1972

KIT COMMENT
THE PEOPLE'S FIGHTER FROM FROG

One of the recent Frog releases is a 1:72nd scale model of the Heinkel He 162 Volksjager. This minute aircraft was built in large quantities at the end of World War 2 and was intended to be flown by pilots with minimum training. Had there been sufficient fuel available, it might have been a considerable menace to Allied air operations.

The Frog model faithfully reproduces this aircraft and in general the outline is accurate and construction easy. But, in what has now become a recurring fault with this manufacturer, insufficient attention has been given to blanking off undercarriage wells, jet intakes and other orifices so that one can see right through the model when completed. In a small model like the He 162 this is very unsatisfactory.

We therefore spent a lot of time cutting plasticard to fit the centre fuselage line and round the wheel wells in order to overcome the difficulty. Attention is also given to the nose wheel well and the blanking-off process was used to advantage to make an area where a small amount of weight could be added to keep the model on its undercarriage when finished.

Although we enjoyed building the model we thought that the construction was a little heavy-handed. The canopy was rather thick and the nose probe needed thinning down before it took on scale dimensions. Similarly, the small D.F loop on top of the engine needed a touch of the file before looking right. The kit contains 28 parts and apart from the problems mentioned, was easy to put together. In fact the longest time was spent in rubbing down the joint lines after these had dried out.

On the plus side we liked the way in which the kit offered the option of having the canopy hinged upwards. A small locating hole lines up with a tab on the canopy itself making it possible to place this in the open position. This sort of attention to detail is welcome as it does provide the possibility of adding a little of the unconventional to a model so that cockpit interiors can be seen to advantage. It is a pity that Frog did not go one stage further and provide more detail in the cockpit itself.

The Heinkel He 162 model comes in a bag and costs 21 p. Similar to many other Frog kits including the Batracuda and Lysander which have recently been given revised packaging, this model suffers in that the printing of the instructions on the header is poor.

We have seen some of the artwork for the painting instructions on Frog kit boxes and although simple, is usually correct. One feels that little time or trouble has been taken on the He 162 kit building gu ide, however. Trying to follow the instructions, we were more confused than ever! In every other way Frog excel — we hope they are not going to lapse into providing bad box art.

As usual two sets of decals are included in the kit. Both aircraft illustrated are fairly well known. The first represents a He 162A-2 flown by Oberleutnant Demuth, IStaffelkapitan of 3/JG./ when stationed at Leek in the Spring of 1945. The other, for a similar machine, was with the same staffel but had a slightly different paint scheme with the figure '5' on the fuselage sides. Both aircraft have a characteristic broad red arrow on the nose.

One final point that may take the attention of the serious modeller which is the length of the undercarriage legs, which need trimming by about an eighth of an inch before glueing in position. Other than that we enjoyed making this model. The task was not difficult and was easily accomplished in a weekend.

Aviation News Vol 1 Num 15 8-21 December 1972

Revell

Ex Frog kits reissued. 1/72nd scale. Prices vary.

ALTHOUGH the Russian manufacturer Novo has re-issued many of the Frog kits, it has refused to touch models of anything connected with Germany, Italy or Japan. Happily this state of affairs has improved of late as Revell has released eleven of the old Frog kits under their banner. These include two kits that Frog never generally released to our knowledge, the Nakajima Zero RUFE floatplane and the Heinkel He115C-1 both quite good kits and to form the subject of larger reviews in a forthcoming issue.

The other kits will be more familiar to our readers and they are the Heinkel He162A-2, Focke Wulf Ta152H, Fiat G55, Messerschmitt Me Bf110G-4, Messerschmitt Me410 A-1/U-4, Arado Ar234 "Blitz", Heinkel He111 H-1 and Dornier Do17Z.

No attempt has been made at cleaning up the models as far as we can gather; decals - remain the same and the poor box art is also retained, which could have been improved upon. Gone too, lamentably, is the familiar Frog full colour painting guide but these are well laid out on the detailed instruction leaflets which are indeed an improvement on the originals.

Reviews of most of the reissued kits have already appeared in post issues of SM so we resist the temptation to reiterate. These modellers to whom the kits will be new may care to look up the following references. We reviewed the Ta152 in the February 1971 issue, the Do17Z in the October 1971 issue, the Me110 in the September 1971 issue, the Heinkel He111 in the September 1972 issue and the Do335 in the July 1975 issue. Current prices range from 40p for the He162, Ta152, Rufe and Fiat G55, 80p for the Me110G-4, Me410, and Do335 to £1.15 for the Ar234, He111, He115and Do17Z. Interesting to reflect that the He111 was 81p six years ago, so the enthusiast has little to grumble about.

Someday, someone will sit down and write the history of the Frog kit right from its inception, via Penguins and up to the seventies- and it will make fascinating reading ...
ED

Scale Models Vol. 9 No. 101 February 1978

Revell (Germany)
Revell Plastics GmbH. Postfach 2609, D-4980 Bunde 1, West Germany
Period: 1977 to date

Since the closure of the British and Spanish branches, this is the only Revell production plant left in Europe. It is also handling all sales to Africa and the Middle East.

Together with Revell (GB), the German branch was the first to use the former Frog moulds. It is also the only one to have issued the kits in different box styles and under different kit numbers.

The first issues - except for the Fiat and Ar234, which used retouched photos of the actual models - all had the old Frog artwork and also decals similar to the Frog ones. The He 115 was an exception since no artwork or decals had been prepared for Frog. All kit numbers had an H-prefix.

In 1982, all kit numbers became computerized and the prefix was deleted; H-80 thus becoming 0080 etc. By this time, the Fiat and Rufe had already been dropped. Also, the Me 410 never went through this stage.

Beginning in 1983, the current system was introduced. In this, all aircraft kits get a number starting with 4. The Me 410 was first, followed by the Ta 152, Bf 110 and He 111 in 1984, the Do 335 in 1985 and the Ar234 and Do 17 in 1986. Remaining kits have been dropped, and the Me410 was also discontinued by 1986. In 1987, only the Ar234, He 111 and Bf 110 remained in production. The kits reissued 1983-1985 got completely new boxes while the 1986 ones remained more-or-less unchanged. The 1984—1985 reissues also sported the new Ceji-Revell logo.

Further changes will no doubt be carried out in the future.

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

Kikoler/Revell
A. Kikoler Com. e Ind. de Plasticos S.A., Rua Francisco Portela 175. Rio de Janeiro. RJ. Brazil
Period: 1979? to date?

Kikoler is one of the major Revell branches in the world and has, at one time or another, produced a high percentage of the Revell kits released over the last thirty years. This includes the normal assortment of ex-Frog kits. Recent economical problems have caused Kikoler to reduce their kit range and it is possible that the ex-Frogs are not presently in production. However, chances are that they will be reintroduced later on.

Packaging is similar to that used by Revell (GB), except for the Bf 110, Do 335 and Me410, which have boxes similar to those used in the USA (albeit larger).

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

Lodela/Revell

Plasticos Lodela S.A., Berlin 34, Col. del Carmen, Coyoacan, Mexico 21, D.F., Mexico

Period: 1979? to date

Lodela was started in the 1950s to manufacture Revcll kits for the local market. In 1986 a number of Heller kits were added to the range, but until then the company handled only Revell kits. Like all other Revell companies, Lodela have also handled the ex-Frog kits. Even if only a few have been positively identified to date, it is probably safe to assume that the normal eleven-kit assortment has been produced at one time or another.

Packaging does seem to follow US practice for some kits, European practice for others and a unique Mexican standard for the rest. It is not impossible that certain kits have been issued with more than one style of box. Numbering follows usual Revell standard. However, in 1985 an R was added to the kit numbers on all lists and catalogues. So far, only the Ta 152H has actually appeared with this on the box, but others may follow in due course.

Incidentally, Lodela took its name from the founder and present manager, Sr. Apolo Lopez de Lara.

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

Congost/Revell
Luis Congost, S.A., Travesia Industrial 247. L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain
Period: 1980?-1983?

One of several Revell subsidiaries to use the former Frog moulds, Congost is unusual in that they are believed to have used two of the moulds not used by Revell elsewhere, namely the FW 190A and Bf 109F. The kit numbers for these two were presumably allocated locally. All other numbers were the same as used by Revell in other countries but lacked the usual H-prefix.

Artwork etc. was similar to that used in Germany but Congost in some cases provided new decal sheets; e.g. the He 115 came with a selection of Luftwaffe, RAF and Norwegian markings.

Congost is no longer involved with Revell, the Spanish market now coming under the German factory.

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