Warning about 'Chinasaurs'

[Tyto_Theropod]

Lately I've been repainting cheap plastic chinasaurs with acrylic paints to improve their appearance. It's great fun and I'm pleased with the results. However, yesterday evening I had an experience that might just put me off ever trying this again...

I'd got out one of the last of my childhood dinosaurs, a cheap, off-brand Parasaurolophus, and started giving it a much-needed repaint. After a while I began to feel lightheaded, but I put that down to tiredness. Then I started to notice a funny taste in my mouth, rather nasty and acid, and a little bit later an odd smell.

It took me a few minutes to remember someone saying something about cheap plastics giving off poisonous fumes. I immediately recognised the smell as I've also worked with Sculpy and Acetone - but neither of those produce anything like the potency I was experiencing. I straightaway put my nose close to all the projects then on my craft table, and sure enough I pinpointed on the model I was repainting, so I grabbed it and, by this time feeling decidedly ill, shut it in a margarine tub, before rushing out the (very confused!) other person and the dog who'd been in the room with me and getting everyone outside for a few gulps of fresh air. Thankfully, I seemed to have got the worst of it and everyone was okay.

After I'd recovered a bit I decided I needed to evaluated what had gone so wrong. I use cheap paints from my craft shop, but they can be ruled out as I've used exactly the same paints in exactly the same colours on other custom toys and never had this with them. So that left the toy itself. It had seemed perfectly innocuous throughout my childhood, even (as my then favourite dinosaur) standing on top of a cake Mum made for my dinosaur-themed eighth birthday party, with no ill effects on any of the large number of guests. All I can think is that it was a 'wrong place at the wrong time' thing, with just the right paint to react the with cheap plastic and/or the original paintwork. Also, the model was pretty old (although I've repainted older models with, again, no ill effects), what with me not exactly being eight anymore!

Despite this, I think it's worth warning people on this forum. I know that some cheap Chinese toys are made of plastic or painted with paint that is pretty nasty stuff before it dries. Of course many are perfectly safe most of the time, but it's perfectly possible that this could have happened to a child.

So I just wanted to warn everyone working with chinasaurs. Maybe someone could even suggest just what went so wrong.

Cheer - TT.

[CityRaptor]

That's nasty. Thanks for the Warning.
Also, could you show us a pic of the figure in question?

[Pachyrhinosaurus]

Thanks for letting us know. Are chinasaurs even safety tested?   
Do you know what you did that led to the smell? Was it the stripping of the paint?

[tyrantqueen]

Interesting story, but not really surprising considering most of these toys have not been checked for safety. It wouldn't surprise me if they'd been painted with lead paint or some other toxic substance.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/8944028/One-third-of-Chinese-toys-contain-heavy-metals.html

Scary stuff.

[SBell]

Cheap figures can have paints that react quite badly to even jhigh-quality paints (that may actually be more common). I had a friend that primed a customized AAA rhino for me (into a Trigonias) and the primer took several weeks to dry, because it kept reacting to the rubber and to the paint on the model.

[Tyto_Theropod]

Pachyrhinosaurus, I think it was when I applied the paint. Interesting from the point of view of chemistry, but quite scary too o_0

CityRaptor, here is a picture:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/loonyowl/13325736935/

[Pachyrhinosaurus]

Pachyrhinosaurus, I think it was when I applied the paint. Interesting from the point of view of chemistry, but quite scary too o_0

CityRaptor, here is a picture:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/loonyowl/13325736935/

Wow, I never would have thought something as simple as adding a layer of paint would do anything like that. BTW, I like the title of your photo.

[Libraraptor]

It´s not just us collectors who are concerned with this poisonous stuff, it´s also children.

[tyrantqueen]

I don't like or want kids, but if I had a child I wouldn't be comfortable letting them play with cheap chinasaur toys. I'd probably buy them something from Safari because they've gone through safety checks.

[CityRaptor]

Same here.

CityRaptor, here is a picture:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/loonyowl/13325736935/

Thanks.

[Crackington]

I had some UKRD figures a few years back and they always felt a little funny to the touch, like there was some kind of residue off them. My children were quite a bit younger then so I got rid of them, I didn't want them putting them in their mouths etc. Makes you wonder how safe a lot of the toys are doesn't it?

[Libraraptor]

I remember we had a topic like this somewhere earlier, maybe even in V.1 Back then some of us were really angry at cheap rubber dinosaurs.
How can manufacturers be urged  to produce their figures with a better safety focus? Why has safety not become a sign of quality yet among rubber figures?
In terms of safety, nothing beats Bullyland, their figures are phthalate - free.
Yet we must not think our precious figures were being produced in bright factories by shiny happy people earning enough money. Neither were our sneakers, sweaters or cars. They mostly were being produced by underpaid Chinese or Indian people not working 9-5, but 14 or so hours a day. It´s a shame, and it´s still a big taboo.

[Crackington]

Very good point Libraraptor.

I just hope that the big toy dino producers, now that they are mostly outsourcing to the Far East, have got some kind of deals going where the workers there are treated decently, with proper health and safety and pay and conditions. Suspect that this may be a naive wish though...

[Tyto_Theropod]

Sad but true.

[Paleogene Pals]

Or Chinese political prisoners. I read about this happening to some of the dissidents.

[SpittersForEver]

Thanks for the warning

[Everything_Dinosaur]

You make a very valid point, we are aware of some very lax rules and regulations in the Far East with regards to the manufacture of plastic items.  It is not just a case of checking to ensure models are phthalate free and so forth, we have had two cases this year in which we advised other companies with regards to safety/quality issues on dinosaur themed items.  There is a lot "knock off" models being made, Safari Ltd and Collecta seem to be suffering the most at the moment and you can never be sure of the materials used in their manufacture.  We work closely with manufacturers and have advised them on what we have found in the market place and so on. 
There is a move to use "medically safe" plastic materials and additives, driven in part by EU directives with regards to toy safety.  In essence, this means that models are being made using plasticisers such as Hexamol.  Hexamol comes from BASF in Germany, this substance is used to help make the plastics which store blood, so these substances are very safe. Schleich to their credit have been one of the leading campaigners over model safety.

There are so many good models out there and we are fans of customisation, it is just a question of taking precautions especially with older models, and it is always sensible where possible to ensure adequate ventilation.