JJ Skippy
Well-known member
In recent weeks, I’ve grown a strong fascination with Frontier Airlines and their unique animal tails. After flying a handful of flights with the airline a couple months ago, I’m now on a mission to buy the tails I flew, plus get the ones that haven’t been made in 400 scale produced.
Frontier’s History
The current Frontier Airlines had its beginnings in 1994, created by Fredrick Brown and his wife plus Bob Schulman. They started with a fleet of Boeing 737s before making the switch to Airbus with an order for the A318 and A319 in the late 90s. They retired all 737s by 2006. The A319 joined the fleet in 2001, followed by the A318 two years later of which they were the launch customer. These left the fleet in 2013, followed by the A319 in 2021. Older livery A320s were retired around this time also. Frontier introduced its current livery in 2014, paying homage to the original Frontier Airlines with a stylized F the Saul Bass livery from the 70s had. Currently, Frontier has over 150 aircraft (all from the A320 family) with plans to phase out the ceo-engined A320 and A321s over the next several years.
Below are some pics of Frontier’s livery over the years:
Original livery (1994-2001) on the Boeing 737s. These featured two animal tails so these aircraft never had names.
“A Whole Different Animal” livery (2001-2014) on an Airbus A319. Early A319s still carried “The Spirit Of The West” titles before Frontier changed their slogan.
“FLYFRONTIER.COM” livery (ca. early 2010s) on an Airbus A320. This was a short-lived livery, having only been applied to a handful of A320s.
A personal photo of mine of an Airbus A321neo in the current livery. This livery finally added the names to the aircraft. This one is named Domingo & Andrea the Hispaniolan Parakeets.
The Models
As of August 2025, 39 releases in 1:400 scale are of Frontier aircraft.
The first one was a leased 737-300, produced in 2000 by Dragon Wings (EI-CHH). They wound up making the first six Frontier models in 1:400, with three 737-300s and three A319s, before Gemini Jets released an A319 in 2006 (N940FR, Jack the Snowshoe Hare) and another in 2007 (N946FR, Perry the Horned Puffin), marking the last A319 to date. GJ also released a Q400 operated by Lynx Aviation in 2010 (N501LX, Lynx the Lynx Cub).
After that was a five-year absence for Frontier until now-defunct Velocity Models released the first two A320s to wear the current livery, named Grizwald the Bear (N227FR) and Orville the Cardinal (N228FR). Gemini Jets also produced Grizwald in 2016.
In the same year, Aeroclassics released four A321s, those being:
- N701FR, Otto the Owl
- N706FR, Max the Lynx
- N702FR, Courtney the Cougar
- N704FR, Virginia the Wolf
The next year saw AC release three A320neos, those being:
- N303FR, Poppy the Prairie Dog
- N301FR, Wilbur the Whitetail
- N302FR, Flo the Flamingo
Then in 2018, they produced six more, enabling the option to fleet build Frontier without the use of duplicate models.
- N309FR, Weston the Woodpecker
- N318FR, Flower the Hummingbird
- N323FR, Colorado the Bighorn Sheep
- N317FR, Georgia the Painted Bunting
- N311FR, Mia the Dolphin
- N310FR, Sunny the Collared Lizard
Another three years passed before the next Frontier release came from Gemini Jets in an A321 (N709FR, Steve the Eagle). Aeroclassics produced another four models in 2021 and 2022, a pair of A320neos and A321s. These tails joined the lineup:
- N714FR, Cubby the Bear
- N342FR, Baja the Whale Shark
- N711FR, Powder the Polar Bear
- N344FR, Ed Edwin & Eddie the Penguins
Gemini Jets produced Poppy the Prairie Dog in 2022, followed by NG’s first foray into this airline with three A318s in 2023 and 2024; those being Charlie the Cougar (N807FR), Grizwald the Grizzly Bear (N801FR), and Montana the Elk (N802FR). So far NG has yet to make any current livery birds. Aeroclassics beat everybody to the punch with the A321neo, having made three in 2024. Ozzy the Orca (N610FR), Chopper the Great White Shark (N607FR), and Edward the Bald Eagle (N605FR) were the newest tails. The latest release, as of August 2025, is the CRJ-200 operated by Mesa (N37342) that 3D Design Deck announced earlier this year.
What Tails Have I Flown?
I talk about this subject more on this thread, but I have taken four flights with Frontier to date. All were solid minus some delays, I thought. My first flight was on Wiley the Bison (N313FR) between Sioux Falls and Denver. This one I asked Andrew Klein to make when I met him at Airliners International in Atlanta the next week.
My next flight was on Georgia the Painted Bunting (N317FR) between Baltimore and Charlotte. This one was produced by Aeroclassics in 2018. I was able to buy this model thanks to a friend who was willing to sell his copy to me after hearing about my flight with this bird. The two friends I flew with on this flight had previously acquired this model.
My journey home after the Airliners show took me through Denver where I once again caught a pair of Frontier flights. I first flew Hugh the Manatee (N238FR) between Atlanta and Denver. Coincidentally, I was parked right next to the A321neo of the same tail (N642FR), and with plans to retire the A320 as early as this year, I was happy to catch a flight on one of these ceo engines. I was surprised to learn this one hadn’t gotten a release, since I was confident there was one; only Grizwald (N227FR) and Orville the Cardinal (N228FR) have been made for the A320s in the current livery.
My last flight home was on Cubby the Bear (N714FR). Originally, I was unaware of its existence in 1:400 scale; I was supposed to fly Courtney the Cougar (N702FR), which was made by Aeroclassics. The tail swap occurred right as I landed in Denver and made it to my next gate. Late one night whilst going through old pictures and videos to find out which Frontier tails I had spotted over the years (fun fact: I’ve spotted Hugh the Manatee four times!), I found out that Cubby the Bear had been produced by Aeroclassics a few years ago. Waffle Collectibles just so happened to have one listed, and their only Frontier model at that, so I immediately bought it to have that sentimental piece.
And there you have it, a look back at Frontier Airlines in real life and 1:400 scale. It’s an airline that has decent representation, but there’s always room for more.
Frontier’s History
The current Frontier Airlines had its beginnings in 1994, created by Fredrick Brown and his wife plus Bob Schulman. They started with a fleet of Boeing 737s before making the switch to Airbus with an order for the A318 and A319 in the late 90s. They retired all 737s by 2006. The A319 joined the fleet in 2001, followed by the A318 two years later of which they were the launch customer. These left the fleet in 2013, followed by the A319 in 2021. Older livery A320s were retired around this time also. Frontier introduced its current livery in 2014, paying homage to the original Frontier Airlines with a stylized F the Saul Bass livery from the 70s had. Currently, Frontier has over 150 aircraft (all from the A320 family) with plans to phase out the ceo-engined A320 and A321s over the next several years.
Below are some pics of Frontier’s livery over the years:
Original livery (1994-2001) on the Boeing 737s. These featured two animal tails so these aircraft never had names.
“A Whole Different Animal” livery (2001-2014) on an Airbus A319. Early A319s still carried “The Spirit Of The West” titles before Frontier changed their slogan.
“FLYFRONTIER.COM” livery (ca. early 2010s) on an Airbus A320. This was a short-lived livery, having only been applied to a handful of A320s.
A personal photo of mine of an Airbus A321neo in the current livery. This livery finally added the names to the aircraft. This one is named Domingo & Andrea the Hispaniolan Parakeets.
The Models
As of August 2025, 39 releases in 1:400 scale are of Frontier aircraft.
The first one was a leased 737-300, produced in 2000 by Dragon Wings (EI-CHH). They wound up making the first six Frontier models in 1:400, with three 737-300s and three A319s, before Gemini Jets released an A319 in 2006 (N940FR, Jack the Snowshoe Hare) and another in 2007 (N946FR, Perry the Horned Puffin), marking the last A319 to date. GJ also released a Q400 operated by Lynx Aviation in 2010 (N501LX, Lynx the Lynx Cub).
After that was a five-year absence for Frontier until now-defunct Velocity Models released the first two A320s to wear the current livery, named Grizwald the Bear (N227FR) and Orville the Cardinal (N228FR). Gemini Jets also produced Grizwald in 2016.
In the same year, Aeroclassics released four A321s, those being:
- N701FR, Otto the Owl
- N706FR, Max the Lynx
- N702FR, Courtney the Cougar
- N704FR, Virginia the Wolf
The next year saw AC release three A320neos, those being:
- N303FR, Poppy the Prairie Dog
- N301FR, Wilbur the Whitetail
- N302FR, Flo the Flamingo
Then in 2018, they produced six more, enabling the option to fleet build Frontier without the use of duplicate models.
- N309FR, Weston the Woodpecker
- N318FR, Flower the Hummingbird
- N323FR, Colorado the Bighorn Sheep
- N317FR, Georgia the Painted Bunting
- N311FR, Mia the Dolphin
- N310FR, Sunny the Collared Lizard
Another three years passed before the next Frontier release came from Gemini Jets in an A321 (N709FR, Steve the Eagle). Aeroclassics produced another four models in 2021 and 2022, a pair of A320neos and A321s. These tails joined the lineup:
- N714FR, Cubby the Bear
- N342FR, Baja the Whale Shark
- N711FR, Powder the Polar Bear
- N344FR, Ed Edwin & Eddie the Penguins
Gemini Jets produced Poppy the Prairie Dog in 2022, followed by NG’s first foray into this airline with three A318s in 2023 and 2024; those being Charlie the Cougar (N807FR), Grizwald the Grizzly Bear (N801FR), and Montana the Elk (N802FR). So far NG has yet to make any current livery birds. Aeroclassics beat everybody to the punch with the A321neo, having made three in 2024. Ozzy the Orca (N610FR), Chopper the Great White Shark (N607FR), and Edward the Bald Eagle (N605FR) were the newest tails. The latest release, as of August 2025, is the CRJ-200 operated by Mesa (N37342) that 3D Design Deck announced earlier this year.
What Tails Have I Flown?
I talk about this subject more on this thread, but I have taken four flights with Frontier to date. All were solid minus some delays, I thought. My first flight was on Wiley the Bison (N313FR) between Sioux Falls and Denver. This one I asked Andrew Klein to make when I met him at Airliners International in Atlanta the next week.
My next flight was on Georgia the Painted Bunting (N317FR) between Baltimore and Charlotte. This one was produced by Aeroclassics in 2018. I was able to buy this model thanks to a friend who was willing to sell his copy to me after hearing about my flight with this bird. The two friends I flew with on this flight had previously acquired this model.
My journey home after the Airliners show took me through Denver where I once again caught a pair of Frontier flights. I first flew Hugh the Manatee (N238FR) between Atlanta and Denver. Coincidentally, I was parked right next to the A321neo of the same tail (N642FR), and with plans to retire the A320 as early as this year, I was happy to catch a flight on one of these ceo engines. I was surprised to learn this one hadn’t gotten a release, since I was confident there was one; only Grizwald (N227FR) and Orville the Cardinal (N228FR) have been made for the A320s in the current livery.
My last flight home was on Cubby the Bear (N714FR). Originally, I was unaware of its existence in 1:400 scale; I was supposed to fly Courtney the Cougar (N702FR), which was made by Aeroclassics. The tail swap occurred right as I landed in Denver and made it to my next gate. Late one night whilst going through old pictures and videos to find out which Frontier tails I had spotted over the years (fun fact: I’ve spotted Hugh the Manatee four times!), I found out that Cubby the Bear had been produced by Aeroclassics a few years ago. Waffle Collectibles just so happened to have one listed, and their only Frontier model at that, so I immediately bought it to have that sentimental piece.
And there you have it, a look back at Frontier Airlines in real life and 1:400 scale. It’s an airline that has decent representation, but there’s always room for more.
