The 1:1 RAF 2203 was made in Latvia. I have 4 - unadorned, ambulance, police, and 1980 Olympics. One of the things to look for on these is how the base is cast. First look for the "A" number on the base - if yours says A27 and cyrillic lettering with CCCP it's an early version. If you have A27 and "Made in USSR" in English, I put its date around 1983-86. Models after 1986 may not have an "A" number. These models are known under a lot of names (Tantal, Agat, Eadon, etc.) but since they were made in the Saratov region I just refer to them as that. Also, look inside the box ends - you may find a production date stamped inside.
The photos below show the main baseplate variations. My green van's box has 1980 stamped on it.
I was in Russia in 2004 and picked up a bunch of USSR built material, including this ambulance. I was told by the vender (in a flea market) that they were made in the early 1990s. After the USSR collapse, many factory workers were not paid for some time. Several munitions and tank factories started turning out toys like this to make some income. Im not sure of the truth of all this but it was repeated several times by others. In 2004, I paid about $1 US each for my few dozen purchases. Unfortunately, I sold them all. I also bought a bunch of USSR military regalia and badges, which I still have.
You have far more detail here than my here-say information. I also purchased that yellow one in 2004 also along with a bunch lof Ladas, tanks and trucks. I don't remember any of mine saying USSR but most said CCCP. I few of the military pieces had no markings on their bases.
David and Harv, these models of yours are fascinating. Thanks for your informative and interesting posts. I had never heard of a RAF 2203. Here are several of the actual vans and ambulances.
These RAF Latvija's were common in Bulgaria in my childhood. I worked as GP between 1996 and 1999 in Bulgaria, our municipal hospital in a small city had 2 ambulances VW van and Russian Volga sedan, the ER was already equipped at the time with Citroen Jumper. In the 90's the Latvija was already quite outdated vehicle.
@chav@david-green I've heard them called "War technology" also in English. I have an old 4-page article about them from Model Collector from years ago, if anyone is interested
@karl Whoever translated "War technology" was using google translator ...
1) "War" could be a noun or a verb. "Military" could be a noun or an adjective. "Военная" is an adjective that is derived from "война" that is "war" (noun) in English, but also related to "войска" that is "military" (adjective) in English. Hence "Military" is right translation of "Военная" simply because is an adjective.
2) "Technology" could be appropriate translation, but the word is universal and it has direct "translation" which is "технология". So if the manufacturer wanted to name the series "technology" they would had written "Военная технология". In Russian "техника" means lots of things and apparently could mean "technology" too (reading the dictionary), but in this case I think it refers more to "machinery" or "equipment".
Therefore I think the best translation in English would be "Military Machinery" or "Military Equipment"
never underestimate Google!