This stuff rocks! I have a Magic Model right here!
Written: Oct 11 '01
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Pros: Squishy fun, intriguingly weird-feeling
Cons: Not reusable, not available in glow-in-the-dark metallic colors or with glitter
The Bottom Line: Nifty squishy feeling, dries permanently to a light, fairly soft figure. Fun to mess around with. Doesn't last, though, so for long-term play try modeling clay instead.
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| Roov's Full Review: Model Magic |
I am a mature adult. I have mature adult interests, like filing status for taxes and whether I'm eating enough vegetables. I do not spend all my time watching old movies and making little animals out of modeling clay.
Nevertheless, that was how I happened to spend last weekend, since my spouse and friend and I, having not yet worked up the energy to go bowling, spent some of Saturday afternoon playing with this Model Magic stuff. I happened to have some around the house because, well, never mind that now, and since we were all childishly whining "I'm bored!" a child's toy seemed just the thing.
None of us had ever used it before, but we all had a grand old time.
Here's the basic rundown on Model Magic, presented in a handy question and answer format because I've never written a review that way before.
-What is Model Magic?
-It's an artificial modeling substance designed to function along the lines of, say, Play-Do, or Silly Putty, or the various types of modeling clay, or what we used to use when I was a child: plain old garden mud (we were hardy children, back in the day--mud was all we had and we were glad to get it, and it wasn't as if we had any time to play anyway in between chopping wood and hauling water and walking 5 miles to school through snowdrifts so deep we couldn't see over the top, with the snow coming through our homemade boots that we had to sew ourselves by the light of a feeble oil lamp, etc. etc.).
-What do you do with Model Magic?
-You take a hunk of it it out of its little airtight, watertight foil package (several colors, including white, orange, yellow and green, all come in their own little packages), and you knead it around in your hands, and you make it into shapes.
That's pretty much it.
-What are the special qualities of Model Magic that differentiate it, in the mind and shopping cart of the discerning consumer, from such products as Play-Do, Silly Putty, various types of modeling clay, and garden mud?
-Model Magic boasts the following nifty feature: it dries permanently, all by itself, and stays forever in the clever shapes you've formed it into (or at least until you step on it). In this it is different from, say, Silly Putty (which never stays in any shape permanently unless you encase it in glass), or Play-Do and other modeling clays, which dry hard but tend to break and crumble, and/or need to be baked at high temperatures to achieve permanence.
-And what is the aesthetic experience of Model Magic?
-It feels like squishy packing foam, as if someone had semi-liquified a bunch of those packing peanuts and dumped paint into the mix. It's a weird, intriguing feeling, that will have you kneading the stuff repeatedly just to feel it squish, like those stress balls you can buy.
It smells a little funny, but not really unpleasantly so: to me, it had a scent not unlike that of Elmer's white glue, slightly chemical but also familiar.
It's very malleable, taking on shapes with ease, but also holds shape quite well.
It's not sticky to touch, but does stick to itself with great vigor, so if you put two bits together you'd better be prepared to have them stay together. We didn't really combine colors, although I imagine you could get some nice swirly effects by doing so, but did trade bits of colors to add accents to each others' creations. Tiny little pieces of orange made nice eyeballs for my bright yellow cat-thing, and little white tendrils made great whiskers. As I said, the stuff sticks to itself really well, which was great for things like putting tiny colorful details on a sculpture.
It stays pliable for quite a while--we found it losing its flexible nature after several hours--and is completely dry in a couple of days. Once dry it's still packing foam-ish, very light and still a little squishy (it gives if you squeeze it, but expands again when you let go). It never dries to a totally hard surface like clay, but maintains a firm solidity that lets it keep its shape if you drop it.
You can cut or break pieces off your figures with a little effort and it probably wouldn't stand up to really hard use, but it seems to hold together quite well sitting on the shelf, with no signs that's it's going to get crumbly or flakey.
-Can you get Model Magic wet again and make something else with it?
-No. Once it's dry, it's done. If you wind up with something you don't want, all you can do is toss it out.
-Would you recommend eating Model Magic?
-Hmmm...I'm going to have to say no. It is non-toxic, but I can't imagine there's much nutritional value to be had.
-Would you recommend playing with Model Magic as a way to stave off boredom?
-Yes, I would. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it so much for children, who are going to be wanting to model repeatedly; one of the reusable products like various modeling clays, or common garden mud, might be a better bet there. They can play with it, put it away, play with it again later, etc.
I would recommend Model Magic if you really want to make something permanent and/or if you don't tend to want to model much. Being mature adults, I and my fellow modelers of last weekend wouldn't really get much use out of a reusable substance. It would just sit around for years. Messing around with this stuff for an afternoon and having some funny little figurines to show for it was just about what we wanted, so Model Magic precisely met our modeling needs at that time.
-What advice would you give someone trying to decide whether or not to buy Model Magic?
-Think about what you want from a modeling substance. Do you want to have it around to use again, or is this a one-shot deal? Do you want something that will be hard and brittle and weighty when dry, or something that will be soft and light?
-Are there any other cool things to know about Model Magic?
-Well...you can draw on it after it's dry. Also it's sort of squishy, which means it's sort of bouncy. You could throw it around if you wanted. Otherwise, I dunno...I mean, it's just a modeling substance. Make stuff with it!
-Are there any warnings to be aware of regarding Model Magic?
-They caution you not to overheat it or put it near open flames. So no making decorative marshmallow-toasting sticks with it.
-What is your final statement regarding Model Magic?
-This stuff rocks! I would definitely play with it again.
-We'd like to thank Roov for being with us today to answer all our questions about Model Magic. It was a really, really, really nice thing to do. But then, that's just how Roov is.
Have fun modeling, folks!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): gift
Type of Toy: Arts and Crafts
Age Range of Child: Whole Family
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Epinions.com ID:
Roov
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Location: Metro Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Reviews written: 118
Trusted by: 54 members
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