1:18 Scale Vincenzo

At the April 30 Great Lakes Congress show, I purchased two of the new 1:18 scale Vincenzos. Sculpted by Bridget Eberl, they are sold in Germany through Modelpferdeversande. (Triple Mountain Model Horses carries them here in the USA.)

They are produced by a company called WIA and are made from a plastic/rubber mix although they feel hard and more like a resin or even a china.

Unfortunately, my experience with this new plastic/rubber mix has not been a positive one.

To protect my new models, I left them in their original boxes for several weeks after the show.

And when I pulled them out for display, I was dismayed to see that the models were bending.

The foreleg on the grey one was lifted up and curling in.

The perlino was in even worse shape. 

Not only was his front leg curling in and lifting, his hind legs were bending forward and the back hooves were lifting off the shelf.

I'd examined them before buying them, and they were not in this shape in April.

They'd been kept inside my home and not left in a hot car or storage area. (Photo from eBay.) And like I'd said, I'd repacked them back into their original boxes to protect them. 

A check of multiple photos of the Vincenzo in 1:9 scale resin showed the pointing foreleg on the ground and the hind legs back and supporting the body. (Photo from Resins by Randy.)

My thinking is that the rubber in the composite material used to make these two models bends under the weight of the model. But that does not explain why the perlino's foreleg curled inward while in its box. If it's not heat or weight, then what caused this?

I am disappointed, but unlike the 1:9 scale resin Vincenzo, these are relatively inexpensive pieces and I can easily replace them or simply enjoy them as they are. At this time, I am choosing the latter.

More on bendy models tomorrow.

Stay 'tooned!