Homo sapiens has been a very resourceful creature since its beginnings. Adaptation, learning of new territories and the use of primitive tools were the main task of the existence not only of one tribe, but also of the species itself. This is how some of the neighbors saw the right mineral for making fire, others – the right method of chipping stone for spear and arrowheads, and others, looking from a secret hill, sniffed the outline of a plow in the sand with a spike. Even later, the Romans packed their superarmy in a similar way, because their Lego constructor included three figures – Etruscan shields, Celtic armor and Spanish short swords.
However, this time we will talk more about the innovations of the scientific and technical revolution of the 20th century and the thieves of their ideas and final products. It seems that the Soviet Union is firmly in the first place, many decades before the enterprising Chinese copycats.
Protect your cars!
Naturally, after the civil war, the new Bolshevik state had neither the means, nor the brains, nor the machine tools to, apart from Hessians, heavy metallurgy and all kinds of tractor factories (which mostly also used the technology and specialists of Western Europe and the USA bought for gold) to rack their brains with something for some ordinary proletariat for household and light industrial goods production facilities. Another thing was the elite of the Communist Party – commissars, Chekists and all other ideological red brigadiers who were supposed to provide some kind of existential comfort zone. And above all, they needed a comfortable vehicle, because you won’t get far on a tractor or rumak.
Then began the saga of one of the biggest (the only ones who could beat it are the Chinese) reproduction of car copies in the history of the world.
The first is half honest
Original: Ford Model A (ASV, 1927)
Foto: Shutterstock
Copy: GAS AA (1932)
This model was produced by the Ford factory until 1931. It was mostly painted in dark colors, but the steamer itself was equipped with a six-cylinder three-liter engine with 40 horsepower, which was quite a lot at the time. The Soviet version, on the other hand, was painted in much happier tones, and unlike subsequent plagiarisms, all technical documentation for this model was officially purchased from the Ford company.
Trophy dowry
Original: Opel Kadett (Germany, 1937)
Copy: Moskvich 400 (1946)
Foto: Shutterstock
This can truly be called a trophy factory, because after the end of the Second World War, many German factories and technologies confiscated from the enemy were transferred to the USSR. The local marketers did not bother much with the name – they simply called the car Moskvich and, as already mentioned, copied Opel down to the last screw.
Same imprint
Original: Opel Olympia Rekord (VFR, 1947)
Foto: Shutterstock
Copy: Moskvich 402 (1956)
Drawings and technical documentation also traveled with the previously expropriated factories, but free improvisation followed. The Soviet engineers simply took it apart and looked at what was inside the opel’s stomach and whipped out what they could. They turned out like brothers – the wings are the same, as well as the decorative overlays, only the front grill was slightly different for both parts.
And our Volga flows
Original: Ford Mainline (ASV, 1952)
Foto: Shutterstock
Copy: Volga GAZ – 21 (1956)
The original car was produced at the Ford factory for six years and had several modifications: sedan, hatchback, and coupe. In general, the Americans had planned to offer this diaper to a not very handy public and in 1957 this model was completely replaced by the Ford Custom. On the other hand, in the Soviet Union, the Volga of the 21st model was produced until 1970. These cars have an obscene amount of common elements – the front grille, the figure on the hood and the like.
It also steals from the thick
Original: Packard Patrician (ASV, 1956)
Foto: Shutterstock
Copy: Chaika (1957)
Over time, the Soviet civil engineers became even more angry and from small diapers to limousines as well – with something prestigious, the cream of the party and even the main boss had to move! In general, very few Chaikas were built – around 3100 copies. As you can imagine, the engineers’ guts were so big that they shamelessly duplicated almost everything – even the exclusive Packard headlights, enclosed in the arch frame.
He also thought about the proletariat
Original: NSU Prinz 4L (VFR, 1961)
Copy: ZAZ 966 (1966)
Unbelievably, even such a modest looking and comfortable vehicle as Zaporozhec, which was laughed at – shame for ten minutes, but you’re in the garden -, the Soviet car engineers could not help but steal! The prototype for the plagiarism was a car of the most economical class, made five years ago in West Germany.
Even you beetle…
Original: Fiat 600 (Italy, 1955)
Foto: Shutterstock
Copy: ZAZ 965 (1963)
Foto: Shutterstock
We already have tired hands and eyes to look for all this, but in order for you to understand the impotent car-building complex of the powerful union to the point of catharsis – even this mini-dam, called a humpback or a beetle, was simply kicked by the country that launched the first man into space!
Household Appliances
But don’t think that only the originals of foreign automakers were stolen, copied and borrowed in the great red empire. Irons, electric razors, calculators, the most primitive electronics, refrigerators and sewing machines were not used here.
We use foreign eyes
Original: Camera Leica 2 (Germany, 1932)
Copy: FED (1934)
Foto: Shutterstock
Everything is actually quite simple here. These devices are complete twins – only the first one has inscriptions in Latin letters, and the other one – in Cyrillic. The Soviet people also called the FED that way – a German liek.
We listen to foreign sounds
Original: Tape recorder Grundig TK820 (Germany, 1955)
Copy: Melody MG – 56 (1956)
This music player was stolen very cynically – they didn’t even try to change the design of the buttons and switches. The Germans, of course, were good masters, and here the recording on the tapes could only be played at 19 speed, which was not up to many war winners.
A symbol of the video era
Original: Panasonic NV-2000 (Japan, 1975)
Copy: Electronics VM-12 (1984)
When in the early 1980s, sailors brought the first Japanese VCRs to the Soviet Union for insane amounts of money (more precisely, the price of a gigolo), the USSR industry was soon ready to strike back. It became the Elektronika VM-12 VCR, which was precisely copied from a ten-year-old Panasonic model. However, this did not prevent Soviet vidak from becoming a scarce product, which was mostly sold only “under the counter”.
They also thought about the pioneers
Original: The game Nintendo Egg (Japan, 1981)
Copy: The Game Well, Goodbye (1984)
As you may have already noticed, the Soviets stole the most products and factories directly from countries that capitulated in the last war. This toy was no exception. The Nintendo Egg electronic handheld game was the first to appear, followed by versions of Mickey Mouse, Octopus and Popeye. Soviet students were offered alternative stolen versions – Nu, pogodi and Taini okena.
Cool design
Original: Radio receiver Excelsior 52 (France, 1952)
Copy: Star 54 (1954)
There is already a story about some capriciousness. A high-ranking Soviet diplomat was once given an Excelsior radio receiver abroad. He turned to the Soviet radio engineers through the relevant channels – we do not know whether he handed over the gift to himself to copy, but the result was one to one. Only with a small accent – the Soviet copy had a real Bolshevik star instead of the original logo.
2023-09-02 02:02:00
#Cars #household #appliances #famous #plagiarism #Soviet #Union
