The Gaz 12 was the first new state limousine produced in Russia since the immediate post-war Zis 110.
Russian records maintain the Zis 110 had been produced using plans of the pre-war Packard - negotiated with Roosevelt as part of the reconstruction package and at the time superceded by newer Packard technology. Russia had previously bought production rights to Ford's model A, along with blue prints of the exact plant lay-out of Ford's then new Rouge plant built to produce the 'A'.
The Gaz Zim - Zavod Imeni Molotov (factory named for Molotov) - was a second-tier state limousine aimed for use by a wider base of state dignitaries as well as being available for public purchase and was manufactured between 1950 and 1960. Designwork began in 1948 and was based on a legthened Pobeda (Gaz M-20) chassis with a number of variations available: taxi, ambulance, convertible (Gaz 12 V) and at least one railway borne example.
Reference: Russian Motor Vehicles: Soviet Limousines 1930 - 2003 by Maurice Kelly.
GAZ - Gorky am zavod / factory at Gorky ZIM - Zavod Imeni Molotov / factory named for Molotov
1:43 GAZ 12 by Hong-Kong POP Car Model Company 1:43 GAZ 12 V unmarked resin handbuilt - likely Russian or Ukrainian
@rich-sufficool I love these huge Soviet limo's with their dead-straight lines and vast expanses of sheet metal. Yours is an elegant model in sedate black - thank-you for posting.
Here is a white one, alongside a later Zil 115 and a grey Gaz 114 V and petrol-blue Zil 117 V convertibles.
Chaika means Seagull, as suggested by the gull-wing motif on the grille of the GAZ 13 - the first of the Chaikas - and amusingly the name, as emblazoned across the bonnet is written in high-case cyrillic as ЧАЙКА - further suggesting its copy of America's Packard line.
And here's another one that looks like a Packard but isn't.
Who has info on this one?
Hi John, this is the taxi version of the ZIS 110 (Zavod Imeni Stalina / factory named for Stalin) as mentioned above and over which there is some debate. Western sources have - apart from Ford - always down played their involvement in Soviet industry. However Russian sources have always been clear that as part of America's contribution to Russia's war effort Stalin asked for industrial aid in reconstruction, which include rights - paid for or otherwise - to produce the pre-war Packard, which had been superseded by that time. The same controversy covers the connection between the 1931 Buick and the Soviet Union's first limousine the Leningrad L1. Russian records site three occasions when Harley Earl was in the USSR on business - yet no such visits are documented by his passport records!
Here is an IST Models standard limo' version; the convertible ZIS 110 V from Kremlin Garage Museum collection, and also a GAZ M-20 Pobeda by IST.
@john-quilter John, your ZIS 110 taxi is a very nice model. Could you tell us who it is made by?
I think this is an IST item but not sure. It was a gift to me from a friend who traveled to Russia about 13 years ago
Now here is another one that is Russian and it has escaped listing in my inventory spread sheet so I have no info other than it says DeAugustini on the base plate and 3HC-101A. Using Google for "Russian 3H101A car" I found it is an Nash Avtoprom P105 ZiS-101A. So it does appear to be related to the US Nash of 1938, but they all had trunks and no side mounts. Who can provide more info, who made the model, etc, so I can enter it in the inventory.
@john-quilter Hello John, on closer inspection I note your Zil Taxi is by VMM which is a highly prized manufacturer. Models from Russia and the Ukraine vary in price dramatically but the Zil 117 V above is also a VMM and I had to search carefully for one at an affordable price. (The convertible roof I fashioned myself as this car looks straight and sprightly with the roof up and given the price I paid, I wanted to retain its original quality, so I also had to find a donor to paint the upholstery as the original VMM was correctly rendered in a vivid parade car orange/tan!) VMM also did a nice Katyusha rocket launcher.
Regarding Nash Avtoprom (Наш Автопром - no connection to Nash), this is an inexpensive marque but they produce very nice models indeed, as we see in the Zil 114s pictured above as well as in your own ZIS 101A (1939 -'41) - the immediate precursor to your taxi model. Some come in card boxes and others in blister bubbles with 5 or 6 page magazine on the model.
@mg-harv Hello Harv' it's good to see such a comprehensive collection of genuine Russian made, '50s / '60s & '70s limousine models - and all in such fine condition, with mint boxes. The graphics on the boxes really impart a sense of their time. Thank-you for sharing these.
I have a few of the 1/43s pictured in Harv's post. I bought them L O N G ago, before I knew they were Russian copies of Packards. Being a Packard fan, I wrongly assumed they were exported or foreign Packards.
I don't own this large-scale Russian limo model but have always admired it. I believe it's an early 1/8 "subscription kit."
