BOX: 345x240x60 mm
That's Miniart 1:35 scale Soviet artillery tractor Ya-12, early production.
Box in the traditional style of Miniart, bright and colorful, patterned. The box includes 458 parts. The kit is cleanly molded in good quality plastic. Highly detailed model with fully-detailed engine compartment and chassis. Workable tracks and chassis. The plastic model kit includes hull, small parts, photoetching and decal. Full-color instruction is laid out like most other Miniart kits.
Historical information:
YA-12 – light artillery tractor, which were developed by NATI designers and launched at the Yaroslavskiy Avtomobilniy Zavod YaAZ – Yaroslav Automobile Plant.
Firstly was developed YA-11 tractor but Gorkovskiy Avtomobilniy Zavod GAZ – Gorky Automobile Plant could not produced the required quantity of engines for the YA-11 and production had to be stopped.
In 1943 Soviet Union had received large quantities of the U.S. made GMC-4-71 4-cylinder 2-stroke 110hp engine under Lend Lease Contract. The availability of these engines allowed for a renewed production of YA-11 design under the new designation YA-12.
The serial production of YA-12 started in August of 1943 and till the end of 1943 were produced 285 tractors, till the end of war - 1666. In 1945 Red Army had in the inventory 1270 YA-12 tractors.
YA-12 tractors were used for tugging of such guns as 100-mm field guns BS-3, 122-mm corps guns A-19, 122-mm howitzers M-30, 152-mm howitzers ML-20 and 203-mm heavy howitzers B-4.
YA-12 artillery tractors were in service of Soviet Army and Czechoslovak Army till the middle of 50’s years.
