Model kits have been around as long as I can remember. Have you ever wondered what were the first ones made and what was the intention of the builders? Who made the first kits and are they still building model kits today?
Plastic modeling began in 1936 in the United Kingdom by a company named Frog. Frog only built airplane model kits called Penguin. Other plastic model kit companies that started in the 1940’s included Renewal, Empire, Hawk, Varney And Linberg. These companies also produced airplane kits.
Frog: The First Model Kit Production Company
Frog’s first model kit was built in 1932 and was called the Interceptor MK4. It was made with an aluminum fuselage, paper wings and a tail in plain silver. In 1936 they began to produce a range of 1/72 plastic model kit airplanes built with cellulose acetate.
In 1936 Frog built and sold a 1/72 aircraft model kit in plastic called the Penguin. The name is derived from the non-flying nature of these models.
The original founders of the company were Charles Wilmot and Joe Mansour. The company called IMA “International Model Aircraft Ltd” used the Frog brand name as it stood for “flies right off the ground”. The Interceptor Mk4 model kit is a rubber band powered airplane.
The company introduced polystyrene model kits in the mid 1950’s which included cars, ships and airplanes in various scale sizes. They produced a lot of lesser known aircraft and model ships that were only for sale by Frog.
The company ended production of model kits in 1976 and many of the Frog model kit molds were sold to a Soviet Union company called Novo.
Model Kits Of The 1940’s
