@Andrew-Porter posted:Not so. I have plastic models from the 1950s and 60s that I can only look at, not handle.
The glue that you used is probably more the reason why you can't handle them than the plastic. I have seen that happen. Car fell apart, BUT, the parts were still intact and the car was rebuilt!
So, I am going to disagree with you naysayers!
In my 60+ years of building plastic kits of all types, I have never had a problem with the plastic...NEVER! I have never seen a plastic model railroad car, in any scale with a problem nor the Delrin trucks.
As I have said many times before, I would welcome a plastic model of a steam loco (or diesel) along the lines of the old AMT 3 in 1 kits. A kit that comes with extra parts to make different versions of the same loco. But, I'm not holding my breath for that to happen as there are too many people these days that don't want to or know how to model!
As for JimR's link above, it is nothing more than comparing apples to oranges. A traction tire is not a car body! Same thing for a rubber band! Boy, do those things rot, even stored away in the dark! So, along those lines, I have seen vinyl-like model tires melt plastic. But, it wasn't the hard plastic's fault, it was whatever the soft, flexible tire was made from. BTW, the "hard plastic" slicks that AMT made for their car models never hatched or caused a defect!
