Adult Toys in the USSR

The video introduces the topic of scale model aircraft in the USSR, clarifying that these are more than just toys but intricate scale models, emphasizing how the production of such models illustrated the shortcomings of Soviet manufacturing. It explains what stand-scale modeling entails—creating models to a specific scale, either from scratch or from specialized kits. The most popular scale is 1:72, followed by 1:48, 1:32, and 1:144, the latter often used for large airliners or bombers. The first plastic model kits emerged in 1936 from the British company International Model Aircraft (IMA) under the Frog Penguin brand, revolutionizing the hobby with their non-flying, 'stand' models made from cellulose acetate, eventually transitioning to polystyrene.

After WWII, American companies like Hawk, Varney, Lindberg, Revell, and Monogram adopted polystyrene technology, leading to a global boom in stand-scale modeling. The hobby gained hundreds of thousands of adult enthusiasts worldwide, involving numerous manufacturers from the US, Germany, UK, and Japan, including popular brands like Matchbox, Heller, Hasegawa, and Kovozávody Prostějov (Czech Republic). Modern kits, like those from Russian company Zvezda or Ukrainian Amodel, can contain over a hundred highly detailed parts, requiring specialized tools, glues, paints, and airbrushes, making it a sophisticated and often expensive hobby, far removed from a child's plaything.

Despite the global popularity, the USSR largely lacked a proper toy or scale modeling industry. When models were produced, like by the 'Krugozor' factory in Moscow, they were of abysmal quality. These models often had arbitrary scales, strange proportions, and lacked the accuracy and detail found in foreign kits. They also lacked proper decals for authenticity and sometimes only offered paper cutouts for markings, making the assembled models grotesque. The prevailing Soviet attitude viewed toys as unserious, focusing production on heavy industry.

The only high-quality models available in the USSR were often from Eastern Bloc countries. East German factory 'Web Plastic' (Plasticart) produced 1:144 scale airliner models, which were highly coveted. These kits featured high-quality plastic, excellent decals, and good detailing, though they were expensive. Similarly, the Czechoslovakian company Kovozávody Prostějov, founded in 1968, became a legendary producer of scale models, particularly in 1:72 scale. They offered models of Soviet and Czech aircraft with superior quality and detail, though these were almost impossible to find in the USSR itself, highlighting the distribution challenges within the Soviet system.

Interestingly, from the 1970s and 80s, some high-quality models, brandished as 'NOVA,' appeared in the USSR. These models, contrary to expectations, used molds from the defunct British company Frog. The video reveals that the USSR lacked the capability for precision mold manufacturing. In 1975, the Soviet foreign trade organization 'Novoexport' purchased nearly all of Frog's molds—around 150 sets—after Frog faced bankruptcy due to competition. The deal stipulated that the USSR would not buy molds for Axis powers' aircraft. To avoid expending hard currency, the USSR paid by supplying cast plastic parts from these molds back to Britain, which were then packaged and sold as 'NOVA' branded models in Western markets with vibrant packaging and high-quality decals. These models even bore 'Made in USSR' on the back.

For the Soviet domestic market, the models were drastically different. They came in crude, gray cardboard boxes, entirely lacked decals, and had generic, often censored names like 'Naval Fighter' instead of specific aircraft types. No Soviet aircraft models of comparable quality were produced this way. This reflects both censorship (avoiding foreign trademarks) and the inability to produce local high-quality models. These molds were distributed to various Soviet toy factories, such as Donetsk, Moscow's Ogonyok, and Tashkent. While some factories, like Donetsk, maintained decent quality, others, like Tashkent, quickly wore out the molds due to poor manufacturing practices, leading to terrible quality. After the collapse of the USSR, many of these durable Frog molds continued to be used by private Russian and Ukrainian companies well into the 2000s, outliving the original Frog company by decades. The video concludes by emphasizing the ideological motivations behind limiting model types and the overall struggle of developing such a hobby in the USSR.