Bought in 2007
Off topic Paul, but since you asked the question plainly i will endeavour to answer it.
Above bought in 2005. i could not get glue or super glue to stick any parts while trying to construct any of the wagons i bought... Later
After painting...
The soft Chinese rubber wheels of the HAT Wagons became fragile to the touch due to rubber fatigue.
Well it ain`t plastic.
Bought in 2005, these were and still are made in this rather soft material.
i used enamel paint on my HAT figures above and in 15 years since painting a dozen boxes i've incurred at least a loss of 80% of my toy soldiers shown above due to rubber fatigue. These were all stored in plastic storage boxes completely in the dark.
Many in the hobby world wide have experienced this rather starchy problem.
AIRFIX production in its early days and even now suffer still from the same problem...
Rubber and Starch!
Now a days I only buy the hard 28mm plastic items produced by HAT. BB