@Riftwing, Yes, that was me, I used to be Q24heaven, but I've lost my password, and no longer could get into my old account.
I bought quite a few from Big W, well the ones I bought anyway were purchased from Miranda. I ended up buying some smaller ones for digging my thongs into, and I can also confirm that the blue and yellows also now used the thinner gummier plastic.
I recently also bought a heap of beach balls from D&L Toys, but as much as the people running it offer a great service, as in the sense of a looner perspective, their products are not consistant.
About three years ago, I bought a sample lot of balls off them to check what type of PVC was used and the softness. The White/Red/Blue ones were pure bliss. The best way I can explain it is in some sense like viscosity. Think of high viscosity as thick liquid and low viscosity being thinner.
The plastic "I swear" was 100% phthlate based, one could see that nice translucency through the red panels. The thin soft feel of the plastic felt akin to a very low viscosity. A moderate push in with the side of ones thumb would make the plastic squeek like a balloon, and they'd be a visible thinning of the plastic where I poked my thumb, this absolutely got me burning white hot.
But that's the thing, the balls colours are all opaque, and the translucency wasn't a result from them using a transparent PVC, it was the kind of plastic used had a very smooth plastersizer, which gave it that look, and that very nice feel.
Now on a winner here, I decided to buy those guys out of their remaining white red and blue balls, which arrived last week. Unfortunately the phthalate / plastersizer formulation was different. These newer balls didn't have that nice translucency, nor the squeeky stretchy soft plastic as the previous ones. The balls are okay, here I come with that word again.. viscosity. With these balls the PVC felt thicker, with a much higher viscosity.
So in a way, I'm back to square one again. I have noted in another thread that I have found some Chinese manufacturers that still use this kind of plastic.
I would really love to check them out, but money wise I'm somewhat tight; getting one sample made from one of these chinese factories costs about $80 to $150. If the sample is wrong, then the sample cost has to be paid again for a new sample. One has to be seriously coined up big time to get something happening here.
Ultimately I would love to get several hundred 40" balls made, and a good number of 78" inflatable flipflops, but something like this would come to about US$25,000.
If I definitely know the base plastic / phthalate / plastersizer mix is right, then I would love to get a good amount made; it seems to be the consistancy of the PVC plastic mixes that's a headache.
Leads on phthalate based PVC inflatables or ones that feel like they do
