SOFT PLASTIC or HARD PLASTIC

I see many, many sellers confused by the general terms, "soft plastic" and "hard plastic"

HARD PLASTIC - The term usually refers to polystyrene (or similiar) brittle plastic. Hard plastic would be like the plastic of a model kit. It breaks if bent.  A BIC pen case is hard plastic. Your HP printer body/case is hard plastic. If dropped on a hard surface, it makes a 'click' or 'tink' sound. (Bakelite is an early hard plastic. It usually relates to 1930's-40's, collectibles and jewelry and is often considered more desirable.)

SOFT PLASTIC - The term refers to polyethylene (or similar) soft plastic. Most toy soldiers in the 60's through today are made from 'soft plastic'. The plastic can bend or is somewhat flexible*. If you drop soft plastic on a hard surface, it will make a muted thump-like sound. Soft plastic usually floats in water. Also, soft plastic usually smells like plastic. *(The newer soft plastics tend to be more brittle than the 50's and 60's. The plastic stiffness can quickly identify a toy as post 60's. Some older 'soft' plastics of the 50's and 60's become brittle over the years and easily break; i.e. "The MPC curse". )

The term 'plastic' is a general term.

There are many 'forms' of hard plastic such as acetates, celluloids, resins etc.

There are also many 'forms' of soft plastic such as rubber, all types of "poly's", acetates etc.

There is a big difference. Many sellers use the description, HARD PLASTIC to influence sales. (Hard plastics tend to be more valuable.) And DON'T get me started on rubber soldiers vs vinyl vs soft plastic!......This subject clearly has many people stumped!

I offer the following as a guide: 1930's Auburn Rubber soldiers were made of rubber. (In the 50's Auburn soldiers were produced in vinyl and later, as most toy soldiers from the late 50's, were finally produced in polyethylene/soft plastic.). To make it more confusing; Auburn vinyl toys (of the 50's) are often generically described as rubber. Rubber smells like rubber. Vinyl smells like your old beach ball or air matress. Early 50's Marx 45mm and 60mm soldiers were produced in vinyl; then in soft plastic in the later 50's through the early 70's. Somewhere around the mid 70's through the mid 80's most soft plastic/polyethelyne became more stiff and brittle as the plastic composition changed. Although still a soft plastic these later issued soldiers can easily be identified as late 20th century. The 90's Marx playset reissues all have the stiffer soft plastic soldiers. In the Marx Battleground reissue from the 90's the (ex MPC!) German soldiers are very brittle and can easily break. These are still considered soft plastic.

Many old toy's wheels were made of rubber from the 30's into the 60's. Model car kits like the old AMT kits had poly-vinyl wheels. Many times you will see melt-marks on the car parts where the polyvinyl/soft plastic tires have reacted to the polystyrene/hard plastic parts. On many remote control toys you may find small melt-marks where the remote line has been stored against the plastic body. That is where those little marks come from on so many toys if you haven't figured it out yet.

I appreciate your comments and offer my best regards to all!

SecretMonkey 

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