Scale model UAZ-469 1:43 A34, though not made in Saratov (Tantalum-Agat-Radon), but in Ulyanovsk in the 1980s. One of the best large-scale copies of the Soviet era.

The Soviet numbered (A34) model UAZ-469, perhaps, ranked second in terms of development and attractiveness for Soviet schoolchildren and hardened collectors of the times of the decline of the USSR, after a large-scale copy of the Niva. Everything opens, a well-designed chassis and engine, a reclining spare wheel bracket, an awning and a windshield frame are removed - everything would be fine, but for some reason the Soviet developers of the model decided to abandon the side window inserts - the holes instead of windows deprived the model of its usual outlines.

Perhaps one of the readers in childhood was the happy owner of large-scale models of domestic cars. Then they were toys, and now they are collectible rarities, for which they pay thousands and even tens of thousands of rubles.

Large-scale copies of cars, which appeared as souvenirs or toys, gradually became objects for collecting. Naturally, keen collectors want to take possession of the most valuable pieces, that is, those that are either released in a limited edition, or have long been discontinued. Better both at the same time.

In our country, many have special feelings for cars produced in the Soviet era, and for their smaller copies. Nostalgia, the traditional “it used to be better”, and the status of a rarity, to which many large and small cars have already managed to survive, are mixed here.


1969 can be considered the beginning of the era of Soviet scale models, when the Tantalum Production Association, located in the Saratov Region, manufactured the first cars. And already in 1971 the first reduced copy in the most popular 1:43 scale - "Moskvich-412" was released. Now it is known as "one-piece": the body, radiator grill, headlights and bumper are a single piece, and the details are given by imitation of body gaps and front end painting "silver". There is also a salon, which can be seen through the glass. Only the hood opens, under which the engine layout is located. The price of 3 rubles 50 kopecks, knocked out, as was customary at that time, at the bottom of the model, has grown many times over the years, and today for such a "Moskvich", depending on the state, they can ask for 20 and 200 thousand rubles. For that kind of money, it is quite possible to buy a "live" full-size analogue. Perhaps not even one.



Later, the production technology of "four hundred and twelfth" changed slightly: the radiator grill and bumper became a separate part attached to the body. Also, the model became "numbered", having acquired the factory designation A1 - it is numbered models with original packaging that are now especially appreciated by collectors. The rest of the design of this "Moskvich" is similar to the previous model.


The next collector's favorite model is the "Moskvich-403" released in 1975 under the number A7. The design of the car has changed: the hood is molded together with the body, but it became possible to open the front doors and the trunk lid, in which the spare wheel was located. The model is not extremely rare, but it is considered very valuable (the cost is up to 20 thousand rubles), and for the first samples with a silver emblem on the hood, they ask for exorbitant amounts.


The products of the Volga Automobile Plant did not go unnoticed either. In the same 1975, the production of the VAZ-2101 car model with the A9 index started. The doors were fixed, but it was possible to look into the trunk and under the hood. It became possible to disassemble the structure only when the engine layout was dismantled (in which case it would most likely break).


The number A10 was assigned to the Moskvich-412 model, but produced by the Izhevsk plant, not the Moscow plant. The car practically does not differ externally from the AZLK model under the A2 index, which cannot be said about the price. Due to the small edition produced in 1975-1979, the car is very valuable and expensive. Sellers ask for it up to 30 thousand rubles.


The next important stage was the first large-scale copy of the GAZ car, launched in 1978, namely the GAZ-24-02 "Volga" station wagon with the A13 index. After her, the GAZ-24 sedan (A14) went into production. Detailing reached a new level: all the doors, the hood and trunk were opened, and the gearbox, propeller shaft and rear axle with springs, instead of stamping on a single bottom part, took the form of separate elements.

At the end of the seventies, a model of the most prestigious Gorky car - GAZ-13 "Chaika" A15, was also published. Interestingly, the model again had a simplified one-piece stamped bottom, and the hood stopped opening. However, access to the salon and trunk was left. The prestige of the model was given by the existence of an electrified version with burning headlights and lanterns.

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