WTH is Plasticene?

herb · Dec 10, 2007

Was just reading a good book written in UK about Master Class in B/W printing, and they talk about putting "plasticene" on a wire to use as a doging tool.

Being in redneck country, we do not have a clue as to what that is, or what could be a substitute.

Brits of the world, arise to the occasion!

Give us poor colonials the answer!

herb · Dec 10, 2007

Plasticene

oops, dodging, not doging

SuzanneR · Dec 10, 2007

it's oil based clay... you can shape a wad of it, and stick onto the end of your dodging tool, and change the shape. It has the benefit of mot drying out very easily, so you can change its shape easily.

rorye · Dec 10, 2007

Fun tack!

canuhead · Dec 10, 2007

Kinda like Silly Putty but firmer. Or like plumber putty but less messy, play doh like shapeability. Good idea for odd shapes. Must try next time I'm in the dark.

mabman · Dec 10, 2007

As someone from The Colonies (aka Canada), growing up we used the brand name "Play Doh" as a synonym for the more generic "plasticene". Not sure if that's available in your area, either, though.

Basically if kept covered it's a non-toxic re-shapable clay-like substance that kids play with, and make various structures and basically whatever you want to do. It will dry out eventually, but if you cover it when not in use it lasts indefinitely. It does come in a variety of colours, for b&w dodging that probably doesn't matter too much

I have no idea if there's a more generic analog - modeling clay, maybe? Never used it, so I'm not sure.

EDIT: Darn, beaten to the punch

Chuck_P · Dec 10, 2007

Go to the hardware store and buy some rope caulking; it works very well for that very purpose and it's cheap.

Chuck

epatsellis · Dec 10, 2007

And I always thought it was something porter's were made from, with looking glass eyes....must be a generational thing.

erie

Kirk Keyes · Dec 11, 2007

epatsellis said:
....must be a generational thing.

Or perhaps it's all the LSD used by that generation?

By the way, it's "looking glass ties".

Tony Egan · Dec 11, 2007

You had a seriously deprived childhood! Plasticene of many colours was a favourite in kindergartens across Australia. My parents were teachers so there was always buckets of the stuff lying around in my youth. (I'm sure there is a US equivalent with a different name.) Think of a less sticky version of Blu-Tack which by the way is also a good alternative for shaping a small dodging tool.

John Tonai · Dec 11, 2007

I remember awhile ago when a student kept having faint, white fingerprints on her prints. I told him to wash her hands because she may have had some lotion or other oil on them. But no matter how many times she did this, she still got fingerprints.

Then I saw her using her dodging tool with plasticene on it. (Her father told her about that handy hint.) She was reshaping the tool or just touching it every time and that was depositing oil on them.

Once I figured it out, the fingerprints disappeared.

Mick Fagan · Dec 11, 2007

Yes, I remember quite fondly playing with plasticine, in fact I purchased a box of plasticine for all of my sisters children as they were growing up.

This is the correct spelling, I looked at a box of it in the darkroom.

Mick.

Philippe-Georges · Dec 11, 2007

Plasticine is a wonderful tool in the studio too, I use it to hold the props when table top shooting or temporarily fixing any kind things...

gordrob · Dec 11, 2007

Check this link for a little history on plasticine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasticine

Seems to be more common in Commonwealth countries. We used it a lot when we were kids before play-doh arrived on the scene.

Gord

CRhymer · Dec 11, 2007

Gromit and Gumby

Surely someone watches Wallace and Gromit.

Cheers,
Clarence

I once had an employee who appeared at her job interview wearing a Gumby University T-shirt. She got the job.

Steve Smith · Dec 11, 2007

Tony Egan said:
You had a seriously deprived childhood! Plasticene of many colours was a favourite in kindergartens across Australia.

We used to get it in a flat packet with 1" strips of various colours. The first thing my brother and myself would do though is mix it all together until it was a uniform brown colour then make model snakes out of it.

Steve.

johnnywalker · Dec 11, 2007

Tony Egan said:
You had a seriously deprived childhood! Plasticene of many colours was a favourite in kindergartens across Australia. My parents were teachers so there was always buckets of the stuff lying around in my youth. (I'm sure there is a US equivalent with a different name.) Think of a less sticky version of Blu-Tack which by the way is also a good alternative for shaping a small dodging tool.

It was "plasticene" in Canada when I was a kid, pre-"pleistocene".

Akki14 · Dec 11, 2007

Plasticene is modelling clay in the US. It also comes in 1inch square strips in various colours(red yellow blue green). The stuff of dinosaur dioramas and stuff like that. Some of the colours seem to stain quite badly too besides being oily so I'm not sure if I'd want the stuff around.

Signed,

the US expat living in the UK.

Tony Egan · Dec 11, 2007

Steve Smith said:
We used to get it in a flat packet with 1" strips of various colours. The first thing my brother and myself would do though is mix it all together until it was a uniform brown colour then make model snakes out of it.Steve.

I remember doing the same. Rolling it on a flat surface and creating a really sharp pointy end was popular. Also making handlebar moustaches and walking around with them wedged between the top lip and nose. Cutting it into slices with a wooden ruler etc. etc. I seem to recall it coming in packets shaped a bit like crayons in Australia?
Gee, if only we had been brought up with a PS2, imagine how much more creative and well-adjusted we would be today!

herb · Dec 11, 2007

WTH is Plasticene

Thanks guys-I was in the era (WWII) when playdoh was not in my childhood, however we did have something called modeling clay.

John Koehrer · Dec 11, 2007

Modeling clay(platiscene) has the advantage of not drying out like Play-doh. Most craft shops like Hobby Lobby or Michels have it.

pentaxuser · Dec 11, 2007

Ah Plasticine. I must have bought or had bought for me about 10 tons of it in the late 40s/early 50s.Probably ingested a fair bit as well and still alive. It came in several colours but by the time I had constructed the Mona Lisa or the bust of Plato it all ended up mixing into a uniform grey. Always a few sticks in a Xmas stocking. Available from any Woolworth's store and all good modelling shops. In the dark winter nights it was my main source of amusement and education. That and Dick Barton Special Agent on the wireless. Anybody old UK APUGers remember Dick Barton?

Anyway back to the subject. Good as plasticine was for modelling, I'd use what in the UK is described as Blu-tack. It's an office supplymaterial, used to stick cards and paper to walls or boards but which is easily taken off without leaving any residue. It's non oily and can easily be modelled to any shape. It's especially good for small dodging when placed on the end of a paperclip or other wire.

pentaxuser

Photo Engineer · Dec 11, 2007

This is all quite interesting but here is one thing overlooked here....

During the war, we had plasticene envelopes due to a paper shortage. Now this obviously could not be the plastic material described so far. Plasticene in one form was thin and translucent or in another form white and opaque. It gradually stiffened with time and would eventually disintegrate when flexed. It would shatter into little flakes. I can rememeber that they resembled snowflakes.

Anyone remember plasticene envelopes?

PE

copake_ham · Dec 11, 2007

Photo Engineer said:
This is all quite interesting but here is one thing overlooked here....

During the war, we had plasticene envelopes due to a paper shortage. Now this obviously could not be the plastic material described so far. Plasticene in one form was thin and translucent or in another form white and opaque. It gradually stiffened with time and would eventually disintegrate when flexed. It would shatter into little flakes. I can rememeber that they resembled snowflakes.

Anyone remember plasticene envelopes?

PE

Glassine Bags or envelopes.

Basically wax paper.

My Grandfather was a stamp dealer (philatelist) and these were used to keep stamps in upon sale so they would stay dry.

Still in production: http://www.google.com/products?hl=en&resnum=0&q=glassine+bags&um=1&ie=UTF-8

BTW: they were the packaging of choice by, amongst others, heroin dealers - until the introduction of plastic "baggies" in the 1970's.

Photo Engineer · Dec 11, 2007

George;

Yes and no. Wax paper is way more stable and pliable I think than the plasticene that I remember from the 40s.

IDK for sure.

PE

WTH is Plasticene?

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