How to choose soft plasticine?

Children can explore their creativity and learn vital skills like hand-eye coordination and fine motor control by using soft plasticine. Soft plasticine provides an endless amount of play possibilities, whether it is used to create animals, shapes, or creative figures.

However, it can be challenging to determine which kind of soft plasticine is best for your child given the abundance of options. While some varieties offer a wider range of colors or maintain their shape better, others are more difficult to mold.

We’ll walk you through the important things to think about when selecting soft plasticine in this post so you can pick the one that strikes the ideal mix between enjoyment, security, and usability.

It’s important to take safety, usability, and flexibility into account when selecting soft plasticine for kids. Choose non-toxic, easily moldable plasticine that lets kids sculpt and form without requiring a lot of work. Verify that the plasticine is safe to handle repeated use and devoid of any hazardous substances. Your child will have an enjoyable, imaginative, and secure experience if you choose the correct plasticine.

General properties

Similar to most other products, soft plasticine comes in two varieties: inexpensive, semi-artisanal fakes and worthy samples with all the best attributes. Considering that inferior products don’t always live up to their names, perhaps there’s no use discussing them. Instead, let’s focus on the qualities that the greatest choices have to offer.

Increased suppleness is a sign in and of itself that this kind of material is meant for small children. While traditional plasticine is typically meant for kids as young as three, soft plasticine boxes specify that it is even appropriate for one year and six months of age. However, it is evident that adult supervision is not necessary because attempts to swallow the material will be extremely difficult due to its remarkable softness, which is reminiscent of soft chewing gum. It also does not tear easily and stretches a great deal.

Its chemical makeup is not the safest; it is more akin to plasticine than plastic; children who are prone to allergies should not use it, and you should always wash your hands after using it.

Due to the material’s high level of stickiness, filth that gets on carpets or fabrics can be challenging to remove. The manufacturers themselves strongly advise against using water or detergents to remove such dirt; instead, they suggest waiting for the residue to dry before brushing the surface and using a vacuum cleaner to remove the remaining dust. As an aside, they usually do not recommend diluting soft plasticine with water in any form because the material is already too soft and will become an unintelligible liquid that cannot be sculpted.

Water can be used to restore elasticity, but only very little—just one drop will do.

As it becomes evident, soft plasticine is negatively impacted by both moisture and dryness, so exposure to open air causes it to lose its properties. To be more exact, if the figurine has already been molded and fully fulfills its creator, then open air is not an issue for it. Such a mass, when first used for modeling, retains a complex shape extremely well. When it hardens, it eventually becomes less elastic and resembles rubber.

The finished figurine first breaks when you try to bend it, eventually giving up on trying to re-mold it and only being able to twist before independently returning to its original form. Owing to its extreme sensitivity to environmental factors, this material can only be purchased in sealed jars or bags.

Since you can use plasticine more than once, the first option is better.

Since plasticine is practically weightless, there should be a significant amount of it in the package even though the weight is typically indicated as being very small. Working with multicolored parts requires caution because the pieces adhere to one another at the slightest touch and can only be separated by cutting along the line of connection with a sharp object afterwards. Over time, a comprehensive blending of colors to a consistent tone can be accomplished by carefully combining pieces of different colors.

The material is extremely malleable; you can mold the thinnest pancakes, roll it into traditional balls and sausages, and stamp any design using unique forms that essentially prevent soft plasticine from sticking to them. Cutting is done successfully with regular scissors as well as with a basic plastic knife for plasticine. The situation is a little more complicated with molds meant for "cutting out"; despite the clear outline, the material’s strong ductility makes it nearly impossible to separate the cut-out fragment from the workpiece, which causes the product to deform.

In the open air, soft plasticine starts to harden and eventually becomes similar to rubber; the initial effects of this are noticeable after a few hours. The finished product still perfectly bends and springs after just one day, but it cannot be fixed. After a few more days, the figurine still has some elasticity but loses most of it and is susceptible to breaking from a strong mechanical impact.

Sets

• Several bags or jars with plasticine of different shades. High-quality types of mass are often sold in a small set of up to 3 primary colors, which are simply mixed to obtain all the other colors and shades; in this case, the set often includes special instructions suggesting the proportions to obtain the desired result. There are also sets of 10-12 colors, but such a variety often means that mixing colors from this set will not give such a high-quality result, so you will have to limit yourself strictly to what is available.

• Plastic knife. Considering the ductility of the material, it is an excellent addition that allows you to somehow divide the plasticine into pieces. Can be with a smooth blade or with serrations.

• Picture for appliques. Since soft plasticine rolls out perfectly into thin pancakes, it is often used to create appliques based on ready-made contours. Theoretically, any coloring book intended for ordinary pencils can be used for these purposes, but often one or more pictures are immediately included in the set. Those in the set will be more useful, because they deliberately do not contain complex small details that are problematic to mold from plasticine.

• Instructions for molding a specific figure. Since soft plasticine quickly loses its original elasticity, it is assumed that a masterpiece will be molded from it right away. Nevertheless, not every child is able to independently invent and make a decent figurine with their own hands, so the sets are often supplemented with a detailed description of how to make something cute without any special specific skills, without straining yourself. A child who has mastered modeling perfectly will not need such instructions, but for beginners it will be a real salvation.

Manufacturers

These days, a wide range of manufacturers—each with unique characteristics—are involved in the production of soft plasticine.

When it comes to the highest level of quality, foreign producers are typically the most lauded—naturally, not all of them—just well-known labels of children’s products like Bondibon and Artberry. Their products stand out for having more pronounced initial softness and elasticity. When partially hardened, they bend quite easily and bear a striking resemblance to rubber. Of course, superior quality inevitably raises costs, so novices cannot afford to purchase the same Bondibon. It matters more when the child is able to construct a quality toy on his own.

In every other scenario, it would be more sensible to focus on the offerings of different, less expensive brands.

When discussing homegrown producers, it is important to mention the "Kroha" brand. All domestic products are substantially less expensive than products from well-known international brands, but this manufacturer nonetheless creates a decent product with features that are evocative of the best available examples of the material. This material is good enough for training, at least, though it might be wiser for a true beginner to choose something more costly.

Little-known Chinese or domestic businesses typically entice Russian customers with low prices, but regrettably, this severely degrades the quality. In actuality, the product might not be as soft as anticipated and might not differ all that much from traditional plasticine.

The mass frequently dries too quickly, loses a lot of its elasticity, and crumbles easily at the slightest touch. It also frequently does not retain moisture well. Additionally, cheap samples frequently have poor shape retention; in this indicator, they strongly resemble modeling dough of inferior quality.

To put it briefly, you shouldn’t skimp on soft plasticine because it might end up being a pointless investment.

For your child, selecting the ideal soft plasticine can have a significant impact on their crafting endeavors. To ensure both safety and ease of use, look for options that are easy to mold and non-toxic. For small hands, too-hard plasticine can be frustrating, while too-soft plasticine may not hold shapes well.

Take into account the variety of hues and materials accessible, as these can stimulate imagination and maintain your child’s interest. Make sure the plasticine is durable as well; long-lasting plasticine will provide more enjoyment and value. Choosing a high-quality item will support your child’s development of their fine motor skills and imagination.

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