UAZ, Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant UAZ 452 (diecast 1:43, Agat)

The model is made by Agat in scale 1:43. Nothing opens.

Removing the victims from the zone of radioactive contamination - now it seems nothing more than a terrible fiction, but in the 50s of the last century, when the Cold War was in full swing, the famous "Loaf" UAZ-452 was given just such a task. It was later that the UAZ-452 became an indispensable assistant in almost all sectors of the national economy, and the truth about the true purpose of the car was preserved only in historical chronicles.

The "Loaf" owes its appearance to the Ministry of Defense. The military, who had no doubt that a nuclear war between the Soviet Union and America would begin in the near future, set clear tasks for the factory workers. The car had to be adapted to carry five stretchers and have excellent maneuverability.

It was only by the second half of the 50s that it became clear that a terrible war could most likely be avoided, but the development of the car by this time was already in full swing. As it turned out, the Americans also worked on a car of a similar design. And they even managed to release it two years earlier, which subsequently gave food for criticism of the domestic car. It turned out that the overseas Ford FC and our "Loaf" had a strikingly similar design. But, reasoning sensibly, there is no need to talk about plagiarism in this case.

Both cars were developed in parallel, and the somewhat belated appearance of the "Loaf" is explained, rather, by the specifics of the country of the Soviets, and not by an attempt to spy on something from the Americans.
The first prototypes, called UAZ-450, were based on the platform from the GAZ-69. This made it possible to load up to 800 kilograms of cargo into a car with a wagon layout and, if necessary, develop a speed of 90 km / h on rough terrain. After a series of tests in 1958, the car was put on the assembly line. For almost seven years, the "Loaf" was produced with a 52-horsepower 2.1-liter engine and a 3-speed gearbox. Only in 1965 the car was modernized.

The curved welded frame was replaced by an original straight design, and the suspension underwent a major revision. "Loaf" received more modern telescopic shock absorbers. It was also decided to abandon the weak engine. The updated car received a 2.5-liter power unit from the GAZ-21, which developed 70 horsepower. There is one more gear shift in the gearbox.

Along with technical changes, a small "facelift" was carried out. The car received the design of the front part familiar to most of us. And at the same time the new name is UAZ-452. Depending on the purpose of the car, this or that letter was added to it. So, for example, ambulance "Loafs" were indexed 452A, a minibus with ten seats - 452B, a truck - 452D.
The variety of modifications of the Ulyanovsk minibus is generally a topic for a separate conversation. The car, designed specifically for the army, turned out to be so successful that during its conveyor life it was repeatedly altered to meet the needs of a particular buyer, not only within the factory walls, but also by the buyers themselves. Numerous auto repair factories have easily cut windows and fitted seats, transforming cargo vans into passenger vans.

The UAZ specialists did not sit idly by either. Thanks to them, a tracked all-terrain vehicle, an ambulance with a hydropneumatic suspension, and a 16-seater bus were born on the basis of "Bukhanka". But, unfortunately, there was no talk of mass production of the equipment so demanded in the USSR. Moreover, even the usual versions of the UAZ-452 were not modernized in the 70s. Only during perestroika did the Ulyanovsk all-terrain vehicle receive a 90-horsepower engine, modernized bridges and a vacuum brake booster. The name of the car has also been changed to a new one. From now on, a minibus based on the "Loaf" was named UAZ-3962, a van - UAZ-3741, a flatbed truck - UAZ-3303.

Technical characteristics of UAZ-452
The car survived the collapse of the Soviet Union quite confidently. Despite the fact that the opened borders allowed numerous commercial vehicles to pour into the country, the demand for the “Loaf” remained stable. Such an affordable car with such off-road capabilities was simply not produced in Europe. The plant workers, in turn, tried with little blood to modernize the "Loaf".
In 1997, the car began to be equipped with a 2.9-liter UMZ engine with a capacity of 98 horsepower, and 11 years later, the same engine received a modern electronic fuel injection system. This made it possible to fit into the Euro-3 environmental standards. By 2011, the UMP-4213 began to comply with Euro-4 standards, and the car itself finally received an ABS system, power steering and seat belts.

Safety and crash test UAZ-452
Although the "Loaf" has hardly become safer from this. A car designed in the 50s of the last century, by definition, cannot provide the driver and passengers with the level of protection that modern standards require. What can I say, if the "Loaf" simply does not have crumpled zones in front, capable of absorbing the energy of an impact in a frontal collision. Any more or less serious accident for the driver and passenger of a domestic all-terrain vehicle is truly dangerous. And even now we are not talking about a comfortable trip. Stuffiness, shaking, high fuel consumption - these are the realities that everyone who dares to hit the road in a domestic car will face.

So why is the "Loaf" still in service? There is simply no adequate replacement for this car. Only the Ulyanovsk all-terrain vehicle is able to easily move along a 30-centimeter snowy virgin land or ride along the track rolled out by the Urals. At the same time, which is extremely important, the "Loaf" is capable of taking on board 5-6 people and several hundred kilograms of cargo.

Add to this the excellent maintainability and design that has been studied over several decades. In most post-Soviet countries, where there are still more directions than roads, many cannot do without an old "Loaf". At least until the "New Loaf" appears on the conveyor. Drawings of a promising all-terrain vehicle-minibus have flashed on the network for a long time, but so far this is nothing more than a dream.
P.S. So why was the UAZ-452 nicknamed the "Loaf"? They say that for the first time a car was named so during factory tests. Then, when it began to be mass-produced, the memorable name was replicated. However, on the "Loaf" the light did not converge like a wedge. The UAZ-462D truck was popularly called a "tadpole", and the sanitary version of the UAZ-452A was jokingly called a "pill".