KIT COMMENT
LASTWAR LATECOMERS
F8F BEARCAT AND ARADO 234 FROM FROG
GERMAN JET
Frog gets top marks for combining the Arado 234B-2 twin-engined Luftwaffe bomber with its four-engined variant, the Ar 234C-3 in the same box but to add to the interest they have produced the version that had a Fiesler Fi-103 flying bomb mounted piggy-back fashion on top of the fuselage. This uses up their mould of the famous V-1, which originally appeared with the Spitfire XIV, although this version of the Ar 234 did not see service before the war's end.
But that's as far as it goes. Those of us who have built the Lindberg model of the Ar234 have always complained that it was inaccurate and on the whole rather a poor kit. We can report that the Frog one is not a tremendous advance.
Our first problem came with the cockpit. This is well glazed and the interior can easily be seen but there's almost no detail supplied. The instrument panel is provided and so is the pilot's seat but no control column. We spent a lot of time adding our own interior which made the job more interesting but will be difficult for the newcomer after having had the,experience of some of the latest Airfix kits for example.
We accept that much of the detail is deliberately missed off to keep the model within a specific price range but unfortunately Frog's competitors have set new standards in recent times and, in the same way that these remarks apply to Matchbox kits, we feel that a greater effort should be made to provide this sort of added interest.
Construction of the model was no great problem though lead must be added to the nose to get the aircraft to stand on its undercarriage. We decided to make the twin-jet Ar234B-2 to replace our Lindberg one and found that although body putty was needed in various places this was not too much of a task to undertake.
Other unfortunate parts about the model are the thickness of the wing trailing edges which although coming to a thin edge are tapered wrongly on the rearward side. Other over scale size parts are the mass balances that fit on the tail unit. These are particularly heavy and it makes one think that the designer did not have sufficient reference material when making these in the first instance. The model as a whole is rather 'chunky' including the panel detail which is a little on the heavy side.
Having criticised the model fairly heavily let us say that it is not quite as bad as it may appear. The general accuracy of outline seems within bounds and with a little extra work and some scratch building here and there is better than the Lindberg model. One plus point, for example, was the correct addition of the underwing Walter rocket motors provided for extra power on take off. The bombs and drop tanks under the jet nacelles and fuselage are also correct and so is the undercarriage.
The model has two sets of decals though only one of these is of an operational aircraft for obvious reasons. This is the Ar 234B-2 which served with 9 Staffel, III/KG 76 Achmer in February 1945.
The painting of this version was also a difficult task as at that time the Germans hastily painted their aircraft in order to get them into service quickly. The aircraft depicted has a very rough two-tone green on the upper surfaces through which the Hellblau shows. Airbrush techniques are the only ones that can adequately deal with this type of paint work and we had to make several attempts to get the rough appearance to look satisfactory.
This is not one of the best kits that Frog has produced, but at 75p for two different versions of an aircraft one cannot really argue with price.
Aviation News Vol 4 Num 24 30 April-13 May 1976
Arado Ar 234B-2/r or C-3 & Fieseler Fi 103 (V1)
| F417 | 1976_only | H(O) | 30000 | 2xLW |
FROG model aircraft 1932-1976, R. Lines, L. Hellstrom
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Reviews
FROG ARADO Ar 234
Frog's recent kit of the Arado Ar 234, which was the world's first operational jet-bomber, has come in for some stick in certain quarters, and some of the criticisms made must have left the Frog design team feeling very frustrated and wondering just how to please the minority of 'mad' modellers!
It is perhaps unfair to be too critical of what is really a very welcome addition to WW 2 aircraft kits, as in this reviewers opinion the men from Margate have done a first-class job. It is not so very long ago that keen plastic modellers would have given their right arms for any kit that provided alternative parts and was acceptably accurate as well as being cleanly moulded. Maybe we are a fickle bunch who are always looking for something a little better than we deserve, or spend too much time thinking the grass over the hill is always greener.
Agreed the panel lines maybe a little heavy, and the span is about 15" too short, but to offset this the transparencies are excellent, the underwing rockets for assisted take-off are correct, and the decal sheet is excellent. The cockpit leaves room for improvement, but then very few kits don't have this shortcoming, the nose wheel would have been better moulded separately from the oleo, and the bombs could be better.
All parts are cleanly moulded in Frog's present offering of dark blue plastic and the instruction sheet leaves absolutely no doubt as to what parts go where for the three versions which can be produced from this kit.
To sum-up, a very welcome addition which makes up into an attractive and unusual member of any collection.
B.P.
Review sample courtesy of Frog.
The IPMS magazine, july/august 1976
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