History Main / FantasticPlastic

* In ''VideoGame/Fallout4'', plastic is one of the crafting materials the player can salvage. It's mostly used to build and upgrade energy weapons and other advanced technology.

-> '''Casey Jones''': Fugitoid, you are so ''Metal!'' \\
'''Professor Honeycutt''': Why actually, yes I am, and a plastic fiber compound.

To those unfamiliar with the chemical and historical significance of common polymers, plastic is a varied type of synthetic and semisynthetic material that by the 21st-century has become as common as the likes of glass and metal. It is a light-weight, long-lasting material used in countless applications from packaging, construction and electronics, to energy production, sports, healthcare, color-dying, art, mass production of goods and services and the list goes on and on.

And, much like radiation, plastic is not without its pitfalls. The environmental and health impact of plastic has only just begun to be addressed, most plastic doesn't biodegrade, instead breaking down to individual molecules which then find their way into animals, all the way back up the food chain into us. Even supposedly biodegradable plastics require industrial composting conditions to break down.

* ''Manga/GunslingerGirl''. CFRP (Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer) is used in the construction of the cyborgs, and has even been commercialized to make bullet-resistant vehicles.

** Plasteel is plastic-like material used heavily in construction, armor and a wide variety of other practical uses, most famously as the material in [[Characters/StarWarsDarthVaderAndServants Darth Vader's]] helmet.
** Plastoid is a type of light-weight material that superficially resembles plastic that, while vulnerable to blaster-fire, is resilient to a host of other things, including chemical warfare. It is used for a a wide variety of things, most famously as armor for Empire Stormtroopers.

* Plasteel in ''Franchise/{{Dune}}'' was any kind of composite of organic polymer and carbon-iron alloys used in many industries due to both its plasticity and Macroscopic hardness.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Starfinder}}'' nearly anything (aside from [[HumanResources necrografts]]) can be crafted from little grains of plastic called Universal Polymer Bases ([=UPBs=]). The Pact Worlds [[WeWillSpendCreditsInTheFuture credit]] is even pegged to the UPB, with an item's purchase price being [[ArtisticLicenseEconomics equal to the number of UPBs need to craft it.]]
* Plasteel from ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' is a type of advanced synthetic material that has the consistency of plastic but the tensile strength of a steel alloy that was developed during the Dark Age of Technology, but long used by the Imperium of Mankind in the construction of many types of personal infantry armor. Heavy-duty plasteel were combined with the heat-resistant ceramic material called ceramite to craft the plating of Terminator Armour when the Adeptus Mechanicus still maintained the technical knowledge required to manufacture it.
** Wraithbone, used by the Eldar for pretty much everything from weapons, to starships is a magical variant created from more or less solidified warp energy. It is manipulated via singing

[[folder:Video Game]]

* In ''VideoGame/RimWorld'', plasteel can be used for a lot of high tech devices needed for the spaceship to escape from the planet. It's also extremely effective if worked into bladed weapons or body armour. There's also an extremely rare and implicitly-synthetic fabric known as "hyperweave", which is moderately blade-resistant but mostly notable for being an incredibly good insulator.

* Parodied in the WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck cartoon "The Plastics Inventor", released in 1944, just as plastics were becoming mainstream. Following the instructions from a radio show, Donald makes a plastic airplane by melting down random junk and pouring it into a mold, then baking it. The finished plane flies like a dream, but there's one drawback: it's not waterproof. As soon as Donald flies into a downpour, the fuselage starts melting away.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/SuperFriends'' episode [[https://superfriends.fandom.com/wiki/The_Fantastic_FRERPs "The Fantastic FRERPs,"]] a villain known as King Plasto uses a new form of plastic, called FRERP (Fiber Reinforced Epoxy Resin Plastic), in his attempt to establish his own kingdom, Frerpland. Objects made from FRERP are compressed inside egg-shaped containers and come in two forms, solid and inflatable.

* ''WesternAnimation/XMenTheAnimatedSeries'': In "[[Recap/XMenS1E13TheFinalDecision The Final Decision]]", Magneto is confronted by a Sentinel, which is a gigantic android designed to hunt down mutants. The villain smugly proclaims that no robots can resist the master of magnetism, but the machine counters by explaining that it's made entirely of plastic.

* ''Manga/GunslingerGirl''. CFRP or Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic is used in the construction of the cyborgs, and has even been commercialized to make bullet-resistant vehicles.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Subnautica}}'', plasteel is a material used in advanced fabrication, particularly of pressure-resistant submersibles and upgrades to same. For some reason it's crafted from a combination of titanium and
lithium.
* In ''VideoGame/XComTerrorFromTheDeep]]'', the alien alloys and related technology from the 1st game will corrode quickly in seawater. This forced X-Com to research the aliens' Aqua Plastic to create a material that's similarly as strong as the old alien alloy but won't break down in saltwater.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Subnautica}}'', plasteel is a material used in advanced fabrication, particularly of pressure-resistant submersibles and upgrades to same. For some reason it's crafted from a combination of titanium and lithium.

Much like radiation, plastic is a miracle of science that was not available for wide-spread use in the cultural zeitgeist until the 20th century (specifically 1907), and [[ILoveNuclearPower like radiation]], fiction likes to think it is capable of ''anything''. Sometimes these advanced "plastics", if the fiction goes that far, are said to be reinforced with ceramic or crystalline matrices, carbon or metallic nanotubes, etc. Sometimes they're plastics in name only, making it a case of TranslationConvention.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/SuperFriends'' episode "[[https://superfriends.fandom.com/wiki/The_Fantastic_FRERPs The Fantastic FRERPs]]", a villain known as King Plasto uses a new form of plastic, called FRERP (Fiber Reinforced Epoxy Resin Plastic), in his attempt to establish his own kingdom, Frerpland. Objects made from FRERP are compressed inside egg-shaped containers and come in two forms, solid and inflatable.

* In 2007, engineer professor Nicholas Kotov created a multi-layer polymer called "[[https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071004143114.htm plastic steel]]", a water-proof material that could potentially be used in the construction of armor for soldiers and police, vehicle construction, unmanned aircrafts, microfluids and various other applications.
* 3D printer technology is often hyped up this way, as in theory the tech enables anyone to create any object (including guns) out of plastic at home from just a digital blueprint and some plastic pellets. While [[TechnologyMarchesOn development continues to advance by leaps and bounds]], the plastics and printing mechanisms used in early generations of the technology have traditionally struggled with issues of stringiness, brittleness, gaps in thin surfaces, and incomplete fusion between layers. Advanced models are increasingly reliable and precise, but designs still need to be engineered to minimize the potential effects of print errors and weaknesses[[note]]For instance, printing a component so that shearing stress is carried by solid cross-sections rather than a stack of layers[[/note]], and assume some degree of manual clean up will be required even on the cleanest outputs.\\

* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode "[[Recap/FuturamaS7E17FortyPercentLeadbelly Forty Percent Leadbelly]]", Bender's hard-drive becomes permanently connected to the Bluetooth of a giant 3-D printer to create whatever in his hard-drive out of nanoplastic. While he originally only wanted to replicate Silicone Red's guitar (the nanoplastic-guitar sounding indistinguishable from a real one), the printer begins to automatically print whatever he is thinking as perfect replicas, including three robots (one of which is a perfect replica of Bender), Fry, a fully functioning train and a giant octopus.

* 3D printer technology is often hyped up this way, as in theory the tech enables anyone to create any object (including guns) out of plastic at home from just a digital blueprint and some plastic pellets. While [[TechnologyMarchesOn development continues to advance by leaps and bounds]], the plastics and printing mechanisms used in early generations of the technology have traditionally struggled with issues of stringiness, brittleness, gaps in thin surfaces, and incomplete fusion between layers. Advanced models are increasingly reliable and precise, but designs still need to be engineered to minimize the potential effects of print errors and weaknessess[[note]]For instance, printing a component so that shearing stress is carried by solid cross-sections rather than a stack of layers[[/note]], and assume some degree of manual clean up will be required even on the cleanest outputs.\\

* ''WesternAnimation/XMen'': In "[[Recap/XMenS1E13TheFinalDecision The Final Decision]]", Magneto is confronted by a Sentinel, which is a gigantic android designed to hunt down mutants. The villain smugly proclaims that no robots can resist the master of magnetism, but the machine counters by explaining that it's made entirely of plastic.

* 3D printer technology is often hyped up this way, as the tech supposedly enables anyone to create any object (including guns) out of plastic at home from just a digital blueprint and some plastic pellets. In reality, 3D printing is impractical for many items, especially larger ones, due to the plastic's stringiness and brittleness and challenges creating uniform, solid pieces.

Much like radiation, plastic is a miracle of science that was not available for wide-spread use in the cultural zeitgeist until the 20th century (specifically 1907), and [[ILoveNuclearPower like radiation]], fiction likes to think it is capable of ''anything''. Sometimes these advanced "plastics", if the fiction goes that far, are sometimes said to be reinforced with ceramic or crystalline matrices, carbon or metallic nanotubes, etc. Sometimes they're plastics in name only, making it a case of TranslationConvention.

-> '''Casey Jones''': Fugitoid, you are so ''Metal''! \\

* In ''VideoGame/RimWorld'', plasteel can be used for a lot of high tech devices needed for the spaceship to escape from the planet.

In RealLife, plastics are used for parts in robots and other machinery. In ScienceFiction, you can have indestructible robots made entirely out of plastic. Plastic composite-alloys that are lighter and stronger than steel. With added benefit of not rusting like metal, plastic can last for hundreds of years, maybe even forever in a world run on RaygunGothic, CassetteFuturism or [[EverythingIsAnIPodInTheFuture iPunk]]. They're easier to mold into the perfect shape and might even be cuttable with scissors, yet make the perfect material to build rockets that can width-stand the overwhelming heat of reentry and the intense pressures of the ocean.

!!Examples

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:Tabletop Game]]

* In ''VideoGame/{{Fallout4}}'', plastic is one of the crafting materials the player can salvage. It's mostly used to build and upgrade energy weapons and other advanced technology.

In RealLife, plastics are used for parts in robots and other machinery. In ScienceFiction, you can have indestructible robots made entirely out of plastic. Plastic composite-alloys that are lighter and stronger and steel. With added benefit of not rusting like metal, plastic can last for hundreds of years, maybe even forever in a world run on RaygunGothic, CassetteFuturism or [[EverythingIsAnIPodInTheFuture iPunk]]. They're easier to mold into the perfect shape and might even be cuttable with scissors, yet make the perfect material to build rockets that can width-stand the overwhelming heat of reentry and the intense pressures of the ocean.

* Parodied on the WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck cartoon "The Plastics Inventor", released in 1944, just as plastics were becoming mainstream. Following the instructions from a radio show, Donald makes a plastic airplane by melting down random junk and pouring it into a mold, then baking it. The finished plane flies like a dream, but there's one drawback: it's not waterproof. As soon as Donald flies into a downpour, the fuselage starts melting away.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode "[[Recap/FuturamaS7E17FortyPercentLeadbelly Forty Percent Leadbelly]]", Bender's hard-drive becomes permanently connected to the Bluetooth of a giant 3-D printer to create whatever in his hard-drive out of nanoplastic. While he originally only wanted to replicate Silicone Red's guitar (the nanoplastic-guitar sounding indistinguishable to a real one), the printer begins to automatically print whatever he is thinking as perfect replicas, including 3 robots (one of which being a perfect replica of Bender), Fry, a fully-functioning train and a giant octopus.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012'' episode "[[Recap/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012S4E12TheEvilOfDregg The Evil of Dregg]]", when Casey calls Professor Honeycutt "metal" after he rescues them from Dregg, he misunderstands the compliment and clarifies that he is indeed made of metal, as well as a plastic fiber compound.

--> '''Toad:''' You mean we are flying in cheap plastic?

* In 2007, Engineer Professor Nicholas Kotov created a multi-layer polymer called "[[https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071004143114.htm plastic steel]]", a water-proof material that could potentially be used in the construction of armor for soldiers and police, vehicle construction, unmanned aircrafts, microfluids and various other applications.