Can't select thin object and materialise it

I am evaluating this software and currently will not be purchasing because of this problem. I have many elements that I cannot select or apply materials to such as door handles and cabinet pulls. I can select them in the hierarchy but cannot select them in the viewport or apply any materials to them. Simply being able to drag materials onto the hierarchy would solve this problem. I need some way to add materials to small objects. Trying to do so now just adds the material to the object behind them.unselectable