Update Plastic Platoon Viet Cong Also Interview with the Owner as we working on the last post Erwin and I were also contact the owner to get more information about their new figures. Erwin also got an interview with Mikhail.
Update Plastic Platoon Viet Cong Also Interview with the Owner The Interview
Erwin: Hi Mikhail,are the new VC set ready !?
Mikhail: Hello Erwin! Soon I will give more pictures. now we will make a copy masterAll photos of course place on the forums
Erwin: Are the figures done?
Mikhail: Almost everything is ready. There will be 2 sets One is North Vietnam Army, the other is Viet Cong. We are now completing the terrain.
Erwin: Have gotten any U.S. sellers
Mikhail: My figures will be sold by sellers in the U.S. They are Hobby Bunker and Michigan Toy Soldiers.
Erwin: Why is the price of your figures so high?
Mikhail: The price is really high, but I already wrote: 1. expensive sculptors, 3D weapons and various trifles and short-lived forms, which we use only 30 times, then we make new ones. Soon we will introduce a new material-rubber (almost like the old Conte)
Erwin: .So would new material give you more production or any lower price or not !?
Mikhail: We will leave the same price, but the figure will become less brittle in weapons that are done of different material.
That’s some of the best toy soldier sculpting that I’ve ever seen in my life!
The sculpting on these figures is incredible!$5-6.00/figure..sure.
Now if we can inspire these companies to do WW2 Pacific &
1918 AEF vs.the vile Bosche………(OK with only My vested,selfish
interests at heart here.)
Conte plastic G.I.s are going for the same price..NVA& VC pieces here are
spot on.
thees are not 5-6 dollars a piece try 10 dollars
These are some of the best 1/32 soldiers I have ever seen!!!My guess is that some of the talented sculpters working on Plastic Platoon also worked on the Pvblius WW2 Russians which are amazing. I will be getting these sets. My hope is that there will be some models with conical hats-as there are very few of models with them. Also that there are plenty of women soldiers/guerillas. Very excited about these upcoming sets!
Is one sculptor only and he also work x publius as I mentioned before in other post .Publius had used three sculptors.Yes there will be dome with those hats and else as well.
Bedt
They are beautiful, excellent sculpts.
I paid about $10.00 each for those Publius montainmen, a one time deal it’s okay, I’m not going to bu 10 sets of them though or try and make an army. I bought them as a collectible to look at and display. I’ve paid way than $10.00 for other collectible figures too.
Good point.I agree;if u have the money .These figures are unique and x one set.not to make armies of them definetely .They are limited run made sculptures very well done.
The price high.But if like and can do ,go for.
Best
Ed,
What type of plastic material was used on the Publius mountain men? They look like beautiful figures, but all of that hanging buckskin makes me nervous that the fringe could break off now or later.
feels like some type of rubber or silicon to me i don’t believe it to be plastic at all
No they are made of soft tupe plastic .the ones before were made of harder brittle plastic.
They change plastic w new indian sets after many complain.Include me who carry then x resold here.
They had never use any resin or rubber silicone material.
It was explained here after i post diret maker responses nom long ago on those set s.
Best
Feels like a soft plastic to me, they are somewhat flexible, not rubbery or too stiff.
They are actually kind of hard to describe, they are not a smooth PVP type plastic, they have a sort of rough feel to them like a Barzso, but they are not a resin like the Barzso figures. They are flexible , not brittle , nor do they feel particulary fragile. I wouldn’t recommend stepping on them , but if you drop them on a hard floor they shouldn’t shatter either , I would expect them to bounce without any damage. I don’t think the feathers or buckskin will break off easily.
btw on my last comment tim mee was auto corrected to time sorry for the confusion
so do we know the exact plastic then? i want to know what most of my figures are made of but i have no clue how to find out
No.exact plastic is very hard to know in every figure unless u ask to maker direct.
Is one of the many variation of soft plastic x sure and not PVC or rubber or resin.
Best
Henry ,to be more exact in this specific brand response to you according to maker and bu information supplied to me via Alex(my main supplier of Russian figures ) with whom i had done plenty business and carry before x sale the Publius and EB sets here they are using since Indian new sets a type of polyurethane rubber material .You can read more here in this post at this forum link not long ago.
http://www.stadsstuff.com/?p=6943
About plastics is a lot talk and in my case i had work for makers of plastic since early 2000 till 2014 so i had a lot experience dealing with about the process and types .
Yet every company made their own type in figures since early use in plastic figures .Till 1970s most were just mixing their own.From late 50s and early 70s with introduction of newly discovered elaborated and patented Polypropylene PP most toymaker start to be more standar(that is when Marx and others start to make their figures in the 54 mm in more common type soft plastic.Also introduction of better Polyethylene (PE),Bioplastics and PVC in 60s-80s bring a new market and mixing era along new restrictions and contamination laws that increase the price cost forcing many Toy producer go along by making off developed countries their toys .Here till 2000s the mixing got very bad and many toxic (spaically in colorantes were used ) .
As time had pass and with regulation many producer had experimenting mixing Synthetic with resin and PVC and again with bad and good results.
Typical issues and ways you will notes in figures with more rubber and resin-
They tend to sink in water if drop.
They tend to smell stronger and have pores surface .
Resin have the big buble issue and colorants or colors often stain off .
The more plastic and toy figure has the less all above will has .
If a figure is new ,(not all pre 1956 era) and smell strong is because the mix of colorant and plastic used had not quite cured in process and will be toxic if played a lot ,especially in children’s or if used in food containers else.
So every company ,specially vintage had used many types of plastic and is up to maker and factory to disclose it,unfortunately today no one would know it .
But most soft plastic figures are considered as that simple (sOFT PLASTIC) if bens and sink in water or the previews bending become fragile and with cracks withing time it was a rubber type material(Example -early Marx 60mm pioneers and indians from some playsets and early Spainrard Reamsa ,PH nad bruber figures from 50s ).
Before 50s what is call Bakelite(specially Catalin) and /or hard plastic types were used in most early plastic figures such AJAX,BETON and others .
Granulated early plastic types were used before and early 60s not knowing it would become fragile and corrupted after 20 years in some makers of toys .
Is a lot more to say …Best.
thanks for your long explanation i have a huge fascination with plastics because i happen to also love chemistry I’ve done float tests before I’ve come to the conclusion that most if not all of my figures are either hdpe or polypropylene i’m fairly curious does anyone know what the glossy marx figures are made from exactly my guess is hdpe but it could be polypropylene i haven;t burned anything i like as of recent but as a kid i did burn some of my broken figures from time to time and that waxy green i like in the marx are fairly similar to time i bet there the same type of plastic they feel identical and are almost the same color i bet they have allot of the same suppliers since they were both located on the east coast and midwest
Good luck with that, I think the best answer you will get is a generic answer, like they are PVP or plastic resin. I don’t think the type of plastic can be determined or all the ingredients exactly without an analysis under some tool or microscope that can analyze and identify substances. Then there is always the chance that each batch can be slightly different as they used too much of one ingredient or too little of another.
Erwin, I have a question. You mention above that if plastic smells a lot the plastic and colorant did not cure properly and the stuff can be toxic. Last year I bought a couple tubs of the Caipo-like made in China clones of FOV US WWII paratroopers and Iraq War soldiers at TJ Maxx. Opening the tubs I was struck by a strong smell that reminded me of the stink of an electrical fire. Even in a new container, the smell has not gone away. I have some similar plastic soldiers like these purchased elsewhere, and they don’t have that smell. Do you think this is what is going on? I have never encountered such a smell before with a batch of plastic soldiers and I am curious about it.
Yes .very strong smell as that is very bad plastic w bad mix at factory.Not doubt.
Best
Mega Kudos to the Sculptor !
do these figures come in metal like publius aswell?
No .These are original designed by this maker on plastic only.
Erwin, thanks for the information on the soldiers that smelled like they had been in an electrical fire. These were in two tubs of “100 Special Soldiers” that I bought at TJ Maxx. I am curious, would these figures with a bad mix of plastic and colorant pose a threat to kids playing with them? TJ Maxx must have sold a fair amount of them, and I don’t know where else they might have showed up. (Aside from the smell, they look and feel fine.)
I will not recommend any children play with toys with such smell if that strong,That means they are very bad done in mixing .For us as collectors that barely play would not do that harm of course.
I can not tell you how bad may be x kids .But the main responsible toxins plasticid that cause more issues in plastic are the many types phthalates wish had been used in plastic production to increase flexibility as well soft then.
used in food bags/containers as well together with plastic microwave sealers packs.
T J maxx do not have to use Toy safety regulation inspection in its buying as they are not under specific toy retail dept stores such as Big TRU,walmart ,Target,Kmart and others .They buy third party left over stock at lower price ,often from very low markets areas and storage at ports that bring not regulated commissioned imported products.Yet you may find these toys as well in other retailers .No more than 70% toys products imported here pass inspection ,so many will come with defects and made of bad plastic.
In general is very rare a children that play with plastic come extremely intoxicated unless digest a part of toy or use it too often and .But to let you know and to everyone please …
EVERY single plastic release small micro parti.. when handling in our hand Most these ( call toxin) as foreign to our body are not lethal or dangerous and out body will dispose then easy or once we watch hand,yet in huge amount could contribute to skin or else reaction.
But when used in PVC -BAGS such (zip bags in food is not fun) .I do recommend and use all time glass container for food at all time storage.
Not bags or aluminum.It is in the food administration where the plastic toxics are the main issue .
i will not continue off thematic as not toy of course …
I hope it answer your question as best i can .
best
Thanks, this was really informative! Fortunately, I doubt that many kids will be sucking on their “Special Soldiers.” It is interesting that some uninspected toys can make it to retail outlets here.