New Frog Penguin book due to arrive...

[petervanlune]

Hello members!

I thought I'd let you know that a new book is underways...

If all goes well, and I assume it will, by December/January my book about the history of the FROG PENGUIN range will be published and available.

I have spent the past 10 years working on it, during the long cold Dutch winter evenings ;-). At first not even with the idea that it might turn into a book, but it has...

The book will have about 200 pages and about the same number of color/bw photos. FROG, as you may know, was started in 1932 by Charles and John Wilmot, with Joe Mansour. My book has been written with the aid and cooperation of Avril Bardoni, daughter of Charles, and Jeremy Manser, son of Joe.
I have also been very fortunate with the help of Richard Lines, co-author of the magnificant book on FROG published in 1989 - currently 89 years old but still going strong. He helped me answering many questions and providing documents, etc.

The book will contain many unpublished photos, documents, etc. and all the advertisements I could find relating to the Penguin range.

It is far from a dull list of facts, data and figures... I have tried to put the Penguin range in the historical context of the Second World War, it contains many memories of modellers now in their 80's or, alas, already passed away...  It will explain more about Charles and John Wilmot and Joe Mansour, with the aid of memories of Avril and Jeremy. I also explained more about the wartime activities of FROG/IMA and followed the lifes of Charles and Joe after leaving IMA in 1944.
Most of the photos come from my own Penguin collection but I have also been able to get the help of other collectors, so it covers about 99% of all the Penguin kits that were ever issued.

After publication of many other books on other manufacturers like Monogram, Aurora, Revell, Airfix, again Airfix, and again Airfix ( ;-) ), etc. a seperate book about the range that started it all was long overdue.
The Penguin kits have been covered in Lines/Hellstroms book from 1989, but I am sure my book will add many (unknown) details, corrections, etc.

I found professor Kenneth Brown, author of several books on the history of toys, willing to write the forword - very thankfull for that.

Since the first Penguin kits were issued in December 1936, this coming December 2016 will mark the 80th anniversary of the Penguin range (and plastic modelling therefore...) - .

Kind regards,
Peter van Lune
The Netherlands

[petervanlune]

Two sample pages:

[Kenny Horne]

This sounds fascinating!  Please keep us informed as to publication dates and possible retailers.  Thanks,

Kenny

[petervanlune]

This sounds fascinating!  Please keep us informed as to publication dates and possible retailers.  Thanks,

Kenny

Hi Kenny - thanks - as to the subject of SMM: I know the Penguin kits were not sold scale models... the wooden Penguin Series 9 models that were released in 1945 are the only Penguins that match that description. But the Penguin story - and on a wider scale, the story of Joe Mansour, Charles and John Wilmot, the initiators of FROG / IMA, is indeed a fascinating one. Because I publish it myself, I have complete freedom of the contents, what to in- or exclude. I did a seperate chapter on the war production at IMA between 1941-45 and another one describing the activities of Charles and Joe after the were forced to leave IMA in 1944. I admit - off-topic when it concerns the Penguin story - but I had some much information, that was either unpublished or not collected in one book/chapter, that I felt it would be a loss if I had to leave that information out.
I hope my book will emphasize more just how much the Wilmots and Mansour have meant to plastic kit modelling and toy/hobby modelling in general.

I aim at December / January that the book will be available, but will keep this forum (and several others) up to date about the release and how to obtain a copy ;-).