My first impression of the material I was hesitant on how well it would stick to other objects, and how sculpt-able the material was; however, sitting down and playing with Polly Plastics, I found myself creating a bunch of little toys and projects and found that I didn't have much to worry about.
Colors: In the packet, you are given 7 different colors: Blue, Yellow, Red, White, Black, Silver, and Gold. With the primary colors you can actually blend the bead colors together to get secondary and tertiary colors. As you can see in my pictures, that is exactly what I did. I also started playing with saturating all of the colors to create more pastel looking colors. Seriously, the colors are endless with this product, I even noticed some new colors when i started creating marbled toys and structures. About the Silver and Gold! You would think they wouldn't be very metallic because they are plastic beads or whatever, BUT I was very shocked on how metallic and shiny they were!!! I made a couple different samples of the Gold and Silver colors, and caught myself sitting there mesmerized by the wonderful colors they produce.
Stickiness: Polly Plastics works just like any other thermoplastic out there. Plastics stick easily to other plastics and many other things with enough force. The only things that don't too well are metals, rubber, and foam. But that is what you get when dealing with thermoplastics. HOWEVER! If you overheat Polly Plastics, I noticed that it likes to stick better to more materials, and it was working really well with Craft Foam and EVA Foam, you just need to heat it ALOT.
Work-ability: I have actually worked with plastic beads before, and I find it to be a PAIN in the butt to heat the beads in hot water. With Polly Plastics, you actually DON'T have to!!! I just heated the beads up in the LID! YES THE LID! I used the Lid of the Polly Plastics as a mini tray to heat the beads up in for 10 SECONDS (with a heat gun, but longer with a hair dryer) and then i was able to pick them up with my hands and start sculpting. When sculpting objects and toys with this material, I like to make the main shape of the object first, then once it dries, re-heat it slightly to smooth out surfaces. I am planning on making some Harry Potter creatures in the near future, I am so excited!
Overall: I gave this item a 5/5 star review just because I think there are endless possibilities. But one thing I think there is to mention, is the temperature at which things are to melt and become mold-able. To me, it is a rather low temperate for Armor or Cosplay. However, with that being said, I think it is great for details on the outside of the armor. I am just worried about having the Polly Plastic against your skin while you sweat in the heat of a convention, it may start to de-mold. If you use it for things that don't touch your body, then this product is the one for you! Especially if you are sculpting organic shapes!
If you would like to get this product yourself, visit www.pollyplastics.com