Play-Doh, Modeling Clay

Plasticine is a putty-like modelling material made from calcium salts, petroleum jelly and aliphatic acids. The name is trademarked but tends to be used as a generic description in Britain and the Commonwealth. more...

In the United States the term modelling clay is much more widely used and, although the Plasticine brand is available, it is not well known.

Plasticine was formulated by art teacher William Harbutt of Bathampton, near Bath, England in 1897. He wanted a non-drying clay for use by his sculpture students. Although the exact composition is a secret, Plasticine is composed of calcium salts (principally calcium carbonate, i.e. chalk), petroleum jelly, and long-chain aliphatic acids (principally stearic acid). It is non-toxic, sterile, soft, malleable, and does not dry on exposure to air (unlike superficially similar products such as Play-Doh, which is based on flour, salt and water). It cannot be hardened by firing - in fact, it is flammable and attempts to harden it by heating may be dangerous.

A patent was awarded in 1899, and in 1900 commercial production started at a factory in Bathampton. The original Plasticine was grey, but the product initially sold to the public came in four colours, and it was soon available in a wide variety of bright colours. Plasticine was popular with children, widely used in schools for teaching art, and found a wide variety of other uses (moulding for plaster casts, for example). The Harbutt company promoted Plasticine as a children's toy by producing modelling kits in association with popular children's characters such as Noddy, the Mr Men and Paddington Bear.

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