Maker record
Frog
FROG was the model aircraft brand of International Model Aircraft (IMA), a British maker of flying model aircraft and plastic construction kits. Its early models were designed to fly, and the name came from ‘Flies Right Off Ground’. IMA introduced the non-flying FROG Penguin range of 1:72-scale plastic aircraft kits before the Second World War. After the war, FROG became associated chiefly with polystyrene kits, and the range also included model boats.
- Founded
- 1931
- Final year
- 1976
- Countries
- United Kingdom
- Locations
- Merton, London, United Kingdom
- Founders
- Charles J. Lines · Joe Mansour
The story of Frog
International Model Aircraft (IMA) began in 1931 as a joint enterprise involving Charles Mandeville (‘Bill’) Wilmot, his brother John Wilmot, Joseph Mansour and Lines Brothers. Lines Brothers provided finance and premises within its Merton factory complex, where IMA tested flying models. FROG began as the name for IMA’s flying model aircraft; it referred to ‘Flies Right Off Ground’. A FROG model was on sale by 1932, and a 1933 notice for a FROG flying club gave IMA’s address as Morden Road, Merton.
IMA expanded from flying models into plastic construction kits. It acquired an injection-moulding machine to produce replacement propellers, then used it to make non-flying aircraft models. The prewar FROG Penguin range comprised 1:72-scale plastic aircraft kits, with the Penguin name distinguishing models that did not fly. IMA also applied FROG Penguin branding to its model boats. After the Second World War, FROG became chiefly associated with polystyrene kits. The business had operational ties to Lines Brothers from its beginning and later became its wholly owned subsidiary.
