Frog (models)

Frog was a British brand of flying model aircraft and scale model construction kits, operating from the 1930s into the 1970s. The company, International Model Aircraft Ltd. (IMA), was founded in 1931 by Charles Wilmot and Joe Mansour.

The Frog brand name, registered as an acronym in 1932, was first used on the Interceptor Mk. 4, a semi-scale rubber-band powered flying model launched that same year. Contrary to later belief, F.R.O.G. did not originally stand for "Flies Right Off the Ground"; this idea arose because the first Frog Penguin models were metal gliders that took off from the ground rather than being thrown. In 1932, IMA formed a marketing partnership with the toy company Lines Bros Ltd., and further Frog flying models followed.

In 1936, the company launched the Frog Penguin range of 1:72 scale aircraft models, available as kits or pre-built, moulded in cellulose acetate. These were the world's first plastic model construction kits. One early release was the No.21P Empire Flying Boat, issued in 1938. During the Second World War, the company produced flying models for target practice and 1:72 scale aircraft recognition models.

The Penguin range ended in 1949, but a new line of Frog polystyrene kits was introduced in 1955. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Frog issued a wide variety of aircraft, ship, and car subjects in various scales, standardising on 1:72 scale for aircraft from 1963. Production of scale and non-scale flying models continued into the early 1960s.