Hi Everyone,

here are the 3 older Russian cars from my collection.

Vadim

http://www.apason.com/kodak/0cars4.jpg

Thanks for posting the pics!

What company made the cars?

Thanks for posting the pics!

What company made the cars?

Them cars are made in USSR, I have a duplicate of one of them which is still in the box, and other then made in USSR, I can't find the name of the company, but then I don't read Russian. :)

Vadim

I don't have any diecast cars that were made in the USSR, but it's nice to see diecast cars that were made in some country other than China or Malaysia.

USSR model cars: I bought some of those too over the years. A place called Polks Hobbies in NYC carried them in the late '70s & early '80s - Volgas, Ladas & Moskvitches. They were of course poor quality compared to the good Solido stuff that was then common. I couldn't read the boxes either; all was in cyrillic - including the info on the casting baseplates. Toys For Collectors, then in Mass., later had USSR models of limousines used in USSR - GAZ & Chaika. There was one very good USSR die cast model. It was a Lada Niva - a Jeep or Toyota FJ like vehicle. It had working suspension and I think steering front wheels. That may have been the best of the old USSR models but all were of poor quality compared to western European die cast.
- ranchero -

I have some USSR models - including the Niva (with a trailer!) I will try to get and post some pics in the next few days.

Those models were made in Saratov and were usually marketed under the name "Auto USSR" in the 80s. Later the range was split between makers called Agat and Radon. The cars shown are a VAZ 2101 (Lada 1200), Izh 1500 Kombi and Moskvitch 403. I wouldn't say the quality of these is poor. They are nicely finished, and the quality of the plating on the bumpers, etc., is second to none. The ones shown are fairly simple, which I prefer to the more ambitous ones like the Volgas. Those had four opening doors, which were often a poor fit and spoilt the overall look of the model. Sadly in the 90s production quality went completely downhill, with poor finish and even metal fatigue!

The Lada Niva was a very nice model - according to a catalogue I have it contains over 60 parts!
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e7/Fred7A/100_0521.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e7/Fred7A/100_0527.jpg
(The base looks better on later models as it is black not chrome). One feature which only appears on very early versions of this model is a distributor cap in the engine bay.

Wow Fred! Thanks for showing off detailed shots of that car.
That's such a neat piece ~ looks fun to roll around.
Does the drive shaft pivot with the rear axle housing?
Is the 1:1 car 4-WD?
Looks to be at least as good of quallity as the 1:1!

Well my Moskvitch 403 is sure poor quality! This model is crap. Remember, Solidos were selling for the same price as this little car - about $3 in the late '70s. As you can see, the opening front door has severe metal fatigue. The window surround is cracked in two places; the paint is cracked on the surface and who knows how bad the fatigue is under the paint? Both headlights are misaligned. The chromed wheel covers are cloudy. The chromed plastic bumpers are cloudy. The paint is thick and bumpy. The paint is chipped. This is poor quality.
http://photos.hobbytalk.com/data/500/mock403.JPG

And this is another USSR "model" from the era - a Moskvitch 434. Maybe this is a "D" quality compared to the other one. The paint is horrible. It is thick, has orange peel and multiple bubbles on the roof. The chromed bumpers are cloudy. It is crude. But then again who cared? It was communism; there was no competition. Nobody had to do a good job. Compare the quality of a 1960s AMT promo model with this 1970s commie crap and you can see why the system of communism fails and capitalism conquers.
http://photos.hobbytalk.com/data/500/mock434.JPG

This has been a fun thread, I have learned a lot. But I noticed that every car shown is left hand drive. Is that correct for Russian autos? Do they also use left hand drive like us?

This has been a fun thread, I have learned a lot. But I noticed that every car shown is left hand drive. Is that correct for Russian autos? Do they also use left hand drive like us?

Russia is LHD, as is all of continental Europe.

We in the UK (& Ireland) maintain that right hand drive is correct - or rather driving on the left - after all, driving on the right is a French idea! :)

Steve

Steve: Was it really French? I don't know. It has something to do with horses & carriages I'm sure. I note that English and Irish pilots sit on the left side of their vehicles, but that's another matter. They drive on the right side of the road in China but on the left side in Hong Kong and Japan. And the Swedes switched overnight - back sometime in the '60s. One day they drove on the left side of the road; the next day they had to be on the right side of the road. I know Americans could never manage a change like that; transportation would be shut down for months. I've been able to drive OK on the left side when in the UK, but the hardest thing for me to do is to shift a manual transmission car with my left hand/arm. I can never get those cars into reverse; I have to reach over with my right hand to the left to operate the shifter when wanting reverse. - ranchero -

Steve: Was it really French? I don't know. It has something to do with horses & carriages I'm sure. I note that English and Irish pilots sit on the left side of their vehicles, but that's another matter. They drive on the right side of the road in China but on the left side in Hong Kong and Japan. And the Swedes switched overnight - back sometime in the '60s. One day they drove on the left side of the road; the next day they had to be on the right side of the road. I know Americans could never manage a change like that; transportation would be shut down for months. I've been able to drive OK on the left side when in the UK, but the hardest thing for me to do is to shift a manual transmission car with my left hand/arm. I can never get those cars into reverse; I have to reach over with my right hand to the left to operate the shifter when wanting reverse. - ranchero -

Hong Kong was a British colony - as were Australia, India, South Africa, & New Zealand - all still drive on the left. Why Japan does - no idea - although it makes importing cars to the UK more realistic - R32, 33. 34 anyone?

I've never had a problem with LHD - well I've owned my Murena, for more years, than I care to remember.

As for the origin of LHD - I like to think of Napolean - the British kept to the left - best for your sword arm - most people are right handed & swords or guns were mounted on the left hip. Nappy, was on for world domination - anything English was......hence his insruction to keep to the right.

At that period in time, the US, was not too fond of the UK.....I beleive, the Stature of Liberty, was a French gift?

Steve
-

Ranchero, I can see your Moskvitches are indeed poor quality. These appear to be very early ones, which did have awful paint finish and fatigue problems. However, the same models as produced from about 1979 onwards had much better paint finish and really good chromework, and they also don't seem to fatigue. After about 1991 the quality became awful again. I have the reissued Moskvitch 403 from the early 90s, which is like yours but without opening doors, and the paint has started falling off due to metal fatigue.

Steve - Well you're right that it was a French gift. Many Americans, myself included, have frequently wanted to send it back. And Fred7A - I guess they are early ones. I bought them in the spring of 1979 at Polks in New York. - ranchero -

Is the 1:1 car 4-WD?
Looks to be at least as good of quallity as the 1:1!

Yes, the Lada Niva was available as 4WD. In fact, most of the 1:1 versions you see are 4WD. I'm not sure I've ever seen a 2WD version of the 1:1.