Plasticine "Gamma"

Plasticine - perhaps the most common product for children's creativity. In our country, for sure, at least once any child used it. The use of modeling today is obvious to everyone, so parents are actively interested in this material. Everyone probably heard about such a brand as "Gamma", which is considered a kind of standard.

Plasticine "Gamma" has received the widest popularity, in particular, also because in fact it is several companies completely independent of each other. It is worth considering the products of each of these brands to get a clear idea of ​​what fell into our hands.

Perhaps the most popular is still the "Gamma", which is located in the Russian capital. This company has its history from the distant 1899, although it all began not with clay, which then did not exist yet, but with paints.

However, in the following decades the range of the company expanded significantly - there were other items for creativity, including children. Today, the products of this company can be found in almost any Russian office supply store.

Such plasticine is often estimated by many knowledgeable parents to be no higher than three - and the colors are not very impressive, and are too hard, and leave greasy marks on their hands, and strongly stain any surfaces they touch. Of course, all these assessments are fair when compared with the products of world famous foreign brands, but the fact that products of the Moscow "Gamma" at the price is several times more profitable.

If you look at the cost of Play-Doh, then it turns out that foreign clay is either a rare gift that needs to be cherished and cherished, or material for that child who perfectly mastered the modeling and is able to create masterpieces, if you give him the highest quality material. As for everyday sculpting, then Gamma will most often suit.

However, in fact, this company offers a fairly good assortment, and some parents, perhaps, should just choose the kits for the child more carefully. In general, “Gammu” is criticized for its high hardness - they say, it’s not to be mastered with small hands, and this is even true. But there are wax sets "Kid" and "Bee", characterized by increased softnessthat makes them accessible to very young children.

There is a special floating clay that does not sink and does not lose shape in the water. Beautiful design pearl and fluorescent plasticine are also produced. Also available are kits for creating flat panels, which initially include a field for filling clay. On average, sets consist of 12-18 colors.

In the west of Ukraine there is another factory whose products are also sold under the Gamma brand, and plasticine is also present in the assortment. The products of the Ukrainian company, despite only a twenty-year success story, have already managed to go beyond the borders of the country of origin, which only contributes to confusion. However, the quality of special differences is not observed.

Naturally, there are also advantages to this material - in particular, it can be praised for its ecological purity and safety. This manufacturer is not shy to indicate the composition on the packaging, which most of its competitors do not.

It is noted that such a mass for modeling is non-toxic, but in practice the mixture smells a bit of lube and rosin, which are normal ingredients for clay, but can provoke an allergy in a child.

A separate feature of the recipe is the high content of chalk, which is not typical for all types of masses for modeling. Colors do not differ beyond the limit of brightness, but they look natural and appropriate.

The range of plasticine produced is somewhat smaller than that of Moscow colleagues, but also designed for different age groups:

• The softest plasticine is produced in the “Kids” series, it also belongs to the budget.
• Plasticine for preschoolers and younger schoolchildren is produced in the Favorite Toys series, for junior and secondary schools - in the Hobbies series.
• The “Merry Friends” series does not have a specific age-reference - it is a fairly reliable and durable material that can hold even complex shapes for a long time, so that it can be interesting even for adult craftsmen.
• There is also a series of "Fantasy", produced in a round version, non-classical for our edges, and designed mainly for export to European countries.

A company from Ryazan resorted to a peculiar marketing trick, which called its brand "HAMMA Hobbies", which misleads many consumers, forcing them to think that this is the same, well known brand.

The company's website says that it is the largest producer of clay in the post-Soviet space, but, at a minimum, the employees of the Luch chemical plant would be very surprised by this statement.

The range of plasticine "GAMMA Hobbies" is available immediately in 10 series, but the manufacturer is more focused on the release of the material itself, rather than any sets for creativity. The most complex additions to the sets are the stack and step-by-step instructions for modeling different funny characters, that's all the tricks to increase interest in the process. In all other respects, only the child’s imagination will help him achieve success with such sets.

As for the differences between the sets, both the classic recipe and the improved one are used. Wax clay is produced for the youngest consumers, and you can sculpt from it without any effort.

There are two types of fluorescent plasticine and one pearl, which allows you to both decorate figures from other materials, and make full-fledged crafts exclusively from such material.

However, there is one interesting feature in the assortment: the company produces white sculptural clay in both hard and soft versions. Such material is produced in large pieces of half a kilogram and can be used for children's creativity in the form of an unusual mass for modeling, as well as used to train current future sculptors. It has all the properties necessary for a professional mass of this type.

More information about the clay "Gamma", see the following video.