Introduction

The American Bullfrog (Lithobates Castbeianus} are the largest frogs found in North America. The bullfrogs title is derived from the low frequency mating call of the males. These frogs can weight as much as a pound and a half and measure up to eight inches long! They are found just about anywhere in the U.S. although they are latecomers to the western U.S. having been exported there in the early 1900s. They are nocturnal hunters who can eat just about anything that fits in their mouths. The females are actually slightly larger then the males. Anyone who’s been on a camping trip by a lake or stream knows the racket these things can make!

The Kit

You really get a lot of frog for the money. The kit includes the organs molded in a flesh colored plastic, the body, feet, egg sac and a juvenile frog in greenish clear plastic and a skeleton and life cycle display molded in a cream plastic. There is a single sheet instruction sheet which has construction steps on one side and bullfrog facts and an anatomy diagram for the skeleton on the back. The box is a single piece with a flip lid. Other kit makers need to take a cue from Lindberg as it makes it much easier not to lose parts.

The Build

My nine-year-old daughter Kira built this kit. She insisted on painting the internal organs. Using the color guide in the instructions we painted the bladder, lungs, spleen, pancreas and all the other organs with brushes from a bottle or Tamiya rattle cans. Once those parts had dried, it was time put some frog guts together. It took some time to figure it all out. You don’t assemble a frogs internals everyday so the parts don’t make much sense without some careful forethought. We got through it but note that the small intestines (part 15} are not numbered in the instructions. The internal parts all fit into a clear oval shaped cavity that then goes into the frog’s body. Once that’s in its time to build the bullfrog around the organs. The main body is in two halves. The hind legs also build up from halves. Don’t forget to put in the eyes and the tongue. Neither is called out in the instructions. The feet are attached last and a removable cap covers the organs from underneath. Next up is the skeleton that consists of four parts and allows the rear legs to pivot. Kira decided to paint the life cycle display, which shows eggs, tadpoles and pollywogs. She also painted the juvenile frog some exotic colors claiming it to be highly poisonous!

Conclusion

We built this kit in a few hours on a rainy day. Building the organs prompted a lot of questions about what they were for and how our bodies have those things too. Kira really enjoyed painting everything and we have a very colorful bullfrog, at least on the inside. This is a good opportunity to peer inside a bullfrog without scalpels and the smell of formaldehyde. The organs are pretty close as we looked up some photos of the real thing on the Internet and it made some sense after this build. All that said I would rate this a ten out of ten. The skill level two rating is about right.

This is supposed to be an educational kit and even though it’s been around for while it does accomplish that task. Kira and I thank Round 2 and Lindberg for this very interesting and fun kit. We also want thank IPMS for helping us fill a rainy day with a new family pet.