Sunday 31 May 2020

Hey Mr Soft

The above title,as well as being a well known song, was also used in an advert for soft mints. In the advert everything from the person to the environment by way of a bendy parking meter is soft. Reader, yesterday I entered that world ...
It began as an ordinary day. In the afternoon I however was struck by a whim to build a Sumerian battle car. Luckily a box of 1/72 HaT figures was about-
I had previously done a little work on some skirmishers and a few trial pikemen and found the plastic softish but manageable. I was not prepared for the opening of the Chariot box! The above spruce was duly prepared by washing in detergent and then the elements cut off it. They were so soft, so bendy, so rubbery, I couldn’t believe it. A dry run with the battle car was already causing a lack of calm but when super glue was added to the equation it was just ridiculous culminating in me being stuck together finger wise as never before. A pity as Sumerians are my favourite ancient army ( apart from Early Imperial Romans, but everyone loves them, apart from hellenophiles ) and my favourite go to area of the British Museum. I closed the lid on the painting desk and walked away.

11 comments:

  1. Hi Alan- I've only ever put together one Hat product- it was a Prussian Wagon - from memory the plastic was 'bendy- rubbery' ( not impressed by it at all) should have been made of Styrene instead for better quality. However, I persevered and did get the Wagon out of it. I'd never recommend this product and I'm very wary of Hat since. Regards. KEV.

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    1. Interesting to here about your similar experience.

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  2. I've come across the soft HAT figures, they're not great. Oddly they also seem to make figures that are less bendy! I've no idea why, but "I have one word for you, Plastics".

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    1. Really odd it depends which one you get re state of plastic, naively I thought it would be uniform.

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  3. Coo coo ca choo

    This was a shame. I wonder if a different glue would help, something flexible and less instant. Goo? or rubber cement? Perhaps a question on a hat forum?

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  4. Yes I had problems with this box of Sumerians as well . They are a much softer plastic , I ended up gluing the asses down to a base in the right position then drilling through the cart base and pinned it down the yoke was also pinned through into the asses shoulders . Not an easy process and very fiddly , it's a shame as it is a very nice model .

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    1. It is a lovely model but I can’t be doing with the Hassle!

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  5. hmmm.. apply a coat of some sort of stiffening agent? PVA perhaps? I am no expert, however! Don Featherstone used to extol 'Banana Oil', didn't he? But I never knew if that was really a thing!

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    1. Darkest corner of deepest drawer I fear is where they are off to. I believe banana oil is real but never seen it.

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