September 27 - Celetex Red

They say, "Freak"
When you're singled out
The red ... It filters through

~ Chevelle - The Red

After a first experience with Celetex balloons, I really wasn't looking forward to cracking these open.   

I tried not to go into the experiment with a negative perspective ... but it was quickly reinforced.

In 4 words (5 if you count the contraction) - I don't like them.

There is something off about the latex feel of every Celetex balloon I've twisted, there again is a lack of friction to hold my pinch twists -- and many of these balloons reverse inflated.  

I was happy be done with them - and feel like I want a bit more of a break before I try the last color I bought from them.

Overall assessment, no.  Just .. no.

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Recent "color day" balloons:

September 26 - Tuftex Hot Pink

Hot pink volcano in the heart of the tornado
Is shaking the lemonade tree
Hot pink forest is backed by a furnace
That boils the lemonade free

~ Meat Puppets - Hot Pink

Hot Pink.  Fssssssssss!   Ow!

What can I say really that I haven't already about having multiple pinks?  It's a color group I don't dip into much ... though this is a much richer color than what I would consider basic pink.

I guess if I ever were to want multiple pinks in my kit, this would be a pretty good alternate/accent for anything that needed them.  (Poppy the Troll? Pink hair on a pink pony?)  

Overall impression - they're not making into any sort of final round here.

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Other color day balloons:

September 25 - Sempertex Pastel Dusk Green

Still, the water runs clear through my mind
On the field, I can see a fiddler
The fiddler on the green and the sad boy

~ Demons & Wizards - Fiddler On The Green

Sempertex Pastel Dusk Green is a fairly recent color in the Sempertex line as a very light minty green.  

Sempertex is the standard really these days, the balloon texture and feel are great, reliable and don't show a retwisting mark too severely.

This though is another one of those colors that I feel just don't need to be in a kit unless you're intentionally building something this color.   With 4 (?) other greens in the Sempertex line alone, it's more of a range than the average kit can handle.

Overall impression, I like them - but I won't use them.

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Other color day balloons:

September 24 - Tuftex Blossom

Blossom, smile some sunshine down my way
Lately I've been lonesome
Blossom, it's been much too long a day
Seems my dreams have frozen
Melt my cares away

~ James Taylor - Blossom

Blossom as a word feels like it could be any bright color and when I do a quick search .... it's a pink.

According to Tuftex though, it's a light purple that is fairly close to the Qualatex lilac in terms of color.  Texture was good, consistency was good, easily inflated, durable - going to have to come up with some more rigorous tests perhaps!

The color is nice on it's own, but compared to the Sempertex lilac looks ... worn out?

What I do want to point out though is how important a full spectrum of color is when taking pictures, I retook photos of these images after I realized my lighting was messed up - but left one of the original for the visual comparison.

Other color day balloons:

September 23 - Decomex Pastel Misty Rose

You look to me like misty roses
Too soft to touch
But too lovely to leave alone

~ Tim Hardin - Misty Roses

Decomex Pastel Misty Rose is ... another wormy/gummy color very similar to Clay Pink, maybe with like .01 bit less red - barely noticeable unless compared side by side (image on blog).   Here's another bid for color naming standardization - I didn't realize they would be so similar based on website images.   

My point, I suppose, is that I will probably never use this color again as it is a bit of a challenge to figure out what to build ... out of worms.   ... hmm, now that I speak it, that does sound perfectly horrible.

... I went "wyrm" feeling oh so clever, but now I'm lamenting the lost chance adding another creature to our dark menagerie.   (maybe I will get another bag ... October is just around the corner...)

As to the balloons themselves, the texture and feel and consistency are all great.  They are chemically precise, yet a gross dull bleh of a color.

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Other color day balloons:

September 22 - Decomex Pastel Clay Pink

My memory jumps on rocks
Every work like dark blocks
I'm suddenly at a bay
I'm playing with pink clay.

~ Suedes - Mindless

Pastel Clay Pink is another one of those balloons that had me asking that burning question ...what was I thinking?

Earthworm.  Perhaps.  Why was I thinking earthworm though?

The texture and pliability of them is good as all Decomex seem to be, no notes there - keep cooking as the kids might say.   

One ... complaint?  They do really show a "whoops" accidental twist line like a bad crease, but I'm betting you could use that advantageously to give yourself some stripey bit intentionally ... not a problem, a feature.

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Other recent color day posts:

September 21 - Tuftex Lime Green

"You put the lime in the coconut,
 You drink 'em both up
 You put the lime in the coconut,
 And call me in the morning"

~ Harry Nilsson - Coconut

There is a nice softness to Tuftex balloons in general, so as long as you get a good batch, they're one of my favorites.  In many ways they feel closest to Qualatex in terms of texture.

This one was pleasantly plump.

As for the color, it's just a tiny bit darker (richer?) than the Sempertex lime green.

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Other color day balloons: