Miniatures transportation: share your secrets

[Margo]

What do you use for transporting your minis? Boxes filled with ... fabric? cotton? toilet paper?

 

[TAB Studio]

mini wrapped in plenty tissue,then a layer of cotton batting, then inside a firm box with peanuts....Another box packed with peanuts to surround the original box with the mini.

 

[ipaintminis]

...she really likes packing things so that they dont break!

 

[War Griffon]

Depends what you are thinking of transporting them for.
If its normal gaming then a foam lined partitioned tray should surfice however if its fto bring your GD entries over with then I would suggest you use a strong box with plenty of bubble wrap or Polystyrene quavers and carry it as hand luggage what ever you do don\'t put it with your main luggage.
I have travelled a lot with my stuff and never had any problems with it as hand luggage.

 

[ipaintminis]

is hand luggage the same as carry on???

 

[Warworks]

For most gaming minis, like war griffon said, I use a foam tray system (I like Army Transport Cases). For most of the stuff I take to sell at a convention, I use a metal toolchest, because I put magnets on each figure - this is nice because I can lock it. When I sell something, I use torn up sheets of dish packing foam (the strips of soft foam) and nestle the mini in a box, using the foam like a hamster uses tissue.

 

[t_haye2]

although I haven\'t done it myself, or Gd entries a good way of transporting is to have a little bolt in the base, and screwing the whole model into a wooden box.....

 

[Margo]

Originally posted by t_haye2
although I haven\'t done it myself, or Gd entries a good way of transporting is to have a little bolt in the base, and screwing the whole model into a wooden box.....

Wow, this is a wonderful idea. Thanks everybody for sharing, and of course I\'ll be carrying it in a hand luggage. I\'m starting to worry about these things since just today I bought my ticket As in, a plane ticket

 

[minimaker]

Hi,

I use metal boxes like this one (here for WIP sculpt):
http://shorterlink.com/?EYBASL

I wrap the figure in tissue and put it in the box where I keep it from moving around using plastic foam pads.

Margo, keep in mind that you may have to unpack it at the airport. So make sure it can be packed/unpacked several times.

Bye, Ming-Hua

(for the Dutch: boxes are found at the xenos stores)

 

[War Griffon]

Originally posted by minimaker
Margo, keep in mind that you may have to unpack it at the airport. So make sure it can be packed/unpacked several times.

Thats true leaving Cardiff airport ti go to Amsterdam security wasn\'t sure of teh scan so wanted to do a search of the box daft buggers even did an explosives scan on the bubble wrap i had used to cushion the figures from th etop of the boxlol

 

[Margo]

Originally posted by minimaker
Margo, keep in mind that you may have to unpack it at the airport. So make sure it can be packed/unpacked several times.

good point, I was thinking about it too. especially since it\'s going to be in the hand luggage ... Russian customs beat any other country in asking the most unbelievable questions about things you carry (or carry not, for that matter) in your luggage.

 

[minimaker]

Well, Americans are pretty good at it as well. Last time I went there I had to unpack every one of my sculpting boxes for the US officials at Schiphol.

 

[Calavera]

I have this plastic box similar size of VHS tape boxes(opens just like one too) filled with foam to transport my minis. But when sending I\'d use a sturdy box with plenty of foam, packing peanuts and something soft

 

[War Griffon]

Originally posted by minimaker
Well, Americans are pretty good at it as well. Last time I went there I had to unpack every one of my sculpting boxes for the US officials at Schiphol.

I usually find since this happened to me that I tell them what is in the box now this gets their interest and once the amazement factor wears off and they have a look its not a problem

 

[Warworks]

Originally posted by minimaker
Well, Americans are pretty good at it as well. Last time I went there I had to unpack every one of my sculpting boxes for the US officials at Schiphol.

If you\'re in the states, make sure that any tools you might have are in checked bags, sculpting tools especially. It\'s not always a problem, but there are some jumpy people here these days, and there will be more closer to the November elections. I got stopped once because I had packed a lunch with a metal fork - they actually made me throw it away! I don\'t want to think of what would have hapened if I had a dental pick in a sculpture kit.

 

[Skrit]

Originally posted by t_haye2
although I haven\'t done it myself, or Gd entries a good way of transporting is to have a little bolt in the base, and screwing the whole model into a wooden box.....

Funny, i think my brother was the freak who started doing this. (offcourse not entirelly sure!)

After he won a Golden in 1999 people started asking him how he\'d made the box.

Up till now he makes boxes for all his entries and they all never had any damage to them. Not even when he let one slip out of his hands and it fell down 2 or 3 stairs!

He\'s gonna have trouble next year though!

 

[KingM]

I had my models in a big toolcase last year, the guys at the NIA got me to open it up on the way in, must have that \'terrorist look\' or something


That thing with the bolt in the base is a good idea, I think I saw Jakob Nielsen doing that last year

 

[t_haye2]

ha!!! that would be Dennis then with his Scratchbuilt Ork bomba!!! lollollol

Actually, it\'s something historical modellers have used for years, it\'s very common amongst those circles(54 mm and up people, not wargaming) to use that method

@ minimaker: no, that\'s just dutch customs being anal....

@ Margo: Funny, whenever \'guests\' from the Studio take models from Eavy Metal overseas, they HAVE to cary it in their hand luggage, otherwise they\'re not allowed to take painted models the nest time they get invited.(which puts a damper on the games Day fun). so many accidents have happened, the value of which you cannot even imagine....(if one case of EM models gets crushed, it costs GW something like 8 grand...sterling....)

Originally posted by Skrit

Originally posted by t_haye2
although I haven\'t done it myself, or Gd entries a good way of transporting is to have a little bolt in the base, and screwing the whole model into a wooden box.....

Funny, i think my brother was the freak who started doing this. (offcourse not entirelly sure!)

After he won a Golden in 1999 people started asking him how he\'d made the box.

Up till now he makes boxes for all his entries and they all never had any damage to them. Not even when he let one slip out of his hands and it fell down 2 or 3 stairs!

He\'s gonna have trouble next year though!

 

[Skrit]

Is it sarcasm the smilies or do misunderstand?

Originally posted by t_haye2
ha!!! that would be Dennis then with his Scratchbuilt Ork bomba!!! lollollol

Actually, it\'s something historical modellers have used for years, it\'s very common amongst those circles(54 mm and up people, not wargaming) to use that method

Oh, thx for clearing that up!

Btw: Have you seen his Scratch-built Titan?

 

[Margo]

Originally posted by t_haye2
so many accidents have happened, the value of which you cannot even imagine....(if one case of EM models gets crushed, it costs GW something like 8 grand...sterling....)

Outch, that must have hurt!
But wait, now that I come to think of it, I have a question about this way with the bolt. So you attach it to the miniature base. Say, you glue it or something. How do you take the bolt off the base when you need to take the mini out of the box? Just tear it off the base? And then glue it back when you need to take the mini back?

@Warworks: I was also thinking army transport. Hopefully, we will have those in Moscow soon.