Transporting entries on a plane ideas.

Pictish Mini Painting

Pictish Mini Painting

I'm actually a man!
Hi folks.

I am going down to the golden demon this year (the 2 month notice isn't doing my stress levels any good).

I am flying from Aberdeen to Birmingham and I wondered what ideas people have for getting the stuff down there in one piece. I am entering diorama and vehicle categories and wanted some tips from anyone who had flown with their entries before.

My plans is to take them in a roller case as hand luggage, and try to pack them as solidly as possible, with all models fixed to their bases either with strong glue and pins or bolted to the base in the case of the tank. I am more worried about little bits and bobs falling off as I don't think I will be able to get glue on the plane to make any repairs in the hotel, though I could buy glue at warhammer fest, run back up to the hotel, glue anything and come back to enter the comp as I am staying at the venue.

What things have people done in the past for transporting their pride and joys all over the world.

cheers

Rick
 
M

Matt Cexwish

Member
What Airline are you flying with? Depending on that, more or less precaution is needed when flying with fragile Miniature Projects (more so Dioramas...)... If it is Ryanair brace yourself for a zero tolerance policy concerning your Handluggage and Carry On... If it doesn´t fit in the bin or is heavier then 8 Kilogramms, they will ask you to pay a horrendous fee... Needless to say that anything you declare will arrive in Pieces, completely anihilated...

My Advice is to pack everything in a TRANSPARENT PE or PP container as small as possible and according to the Airline Rules, so the Security can see the filigree nature of your Work and handle it with caution... Use lots of Blue Tack to attach your Miniatures to the Lid of your Container... Use Soft Cotton or Teddy Bear Filling Material around your Project if possible if the Blue Tack fails or some part drops from the Miniature (it will then be caught by the Filling Materal... not adviseable if you have a lot of very filigree structures as the Foam or Cotton will stick to it and probably squash your components)... If you want to avoid People from staring and / or talking with you about your Miniatures, you might also take an extra Bag that you can easily wrap around your Miniature Container...

Also, always keep your Miniature Repair Kit (Most Colours that you have used on your Project but most importantly Black, White, Ivory, Dark Sea Blue, Some Brown like Scorched or Tank Brown, Charadon Granite, Thin and Thick Super Glue, Super Glue Accelerator, A needle, a Wooden Stick to apply the Glue on the Broken Parts, some Tissue to not mess up the table you are glueing on, etc. ...) SEPERATE from your Miniature in your Container... Super Glue expands if exposed to the Higher Pressure of an Airplane Cabin, sometimes resulting in a Horrible Outburst... Not so nice if this happens right next to your Miniatures... Place them in a Transparent Bag for the Security Screening at the Airport and make sure that no Container is bigger then 100ml, otherwise they will throw your Stuff away...

Besides that: Have a Save Trip to the Golden Demon...^-^...
 
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Pictish Mini Painting

Pictish Mini Painting

I'm actually a man!
Hi Matt,

That's some good tips there.

Thankfully it is not Ryanair, avoid like the plague. I am flying with Flybe, a subsidiary of british airways I think.

Plan is to affix the bases to a lid of a clear box, bit like the ones with clamps on the side, use sticky Velcro pads so it will hold with blu-tak backup. Carry those boxes in a back pack, which should fit in the hand luggage test box, but I will confirm with airline website etc.

My main concern was taking repair kit, as I wasn't sure if I could take paint and specifically superglue as it may not be allowed in the cabin.

Hopefully will be fine just use foam blocks glued to the box so it presses down on flat sections of the diorama just for a bit extra hold.

Is the massive voodoo the same one that is doing the paint rack kickstarter? Got my pledge in the other day :)
 
Bailey03

Bailey03

Well-known member
I've seen a lot of people use cases similar to the hobbyzone ones. Another option (depending on the size of you figures) is one of the mini cases from Tablewar. Their mini size was designed to fit under the seat. And the clear front can be helpful when your taking your stuff through security.
http://www.tablewar.com/mini-case-solid-mark-ii-black-red-blue/
d6bfef059e2aa3b5a1a0904e03ef1df7_large.gif


As an alternative to using blu tack to hold down my bases, on all of my display pieces I drill a hole into the bottom of the base and tap it so all my pieces can be bolted down for transport. Lots of people use blu tack or something similar, so it must be pretty secure... but when I screw my figures into the board for transport I know they're not going anywhere!

I actually fly with some figures for the first time this past weekend. Unfortunately my stuff was too big for the mini case. My latest diorama is about 8 inches (21 cm) tall and was pretty fragile (giant spider with legs that could be easily knocked off, delicate spider webs, etc). I decided to try out Tablewar's half size case. It's the next step up from the mini and, while it won't fit under the seat, was within the planes carry-on dimensions so I was hopeful it would fit in the overhead. The clear front was helpful with security as both there and back they gave it a close inspection but didn't need to open it. The main hiccup was since the case was slightly taller than it is deep I had to flip the case onto it's back to fit in the overhead. So my figures flew the entire way horizontally! But the delicate diorama, a mounted figure with long metal lance, and two more figures (all metal) made it safely with no bent or broken parts. I'm not sure I'd recommend using the half case to fly, but pinning my figures to their base and then bolting the base to a board secured in the case was enough to get them through two flights without incident.
 
MAXXxxx

MAXXxxx

Well-known member
I'm a bit (a lot) late and totally unprofessional, but what I use regularly (I fly with minis about 5-6 times a year):
Sabol's armytransport (just fits to be taken as a handlug. ) and the minis packed in plastic containers (I have a lot because of e2046's packaging). Depending on the mini they are fixed to the bottoms(for delicate ones) or simply wrapped up in bubblewrap (busts, GW figures). The important bit is to have it so packed that they can't move around in the container.

So far I'm pretty successful with it. No paint chipping, rarely a broken piece, that needs to be fixed (but mostly on minis, that were expected, like McVey's models, where the thin resin shafts of weapons snap if you look at them wrong).

that said, I wouldn't recommend my type of transport for delicate dioramas that are most likely not varnished (all my minis are with at least a matt varnish to avoid chipping from handling the mini).
 
Pictish Mini Painting

Pictish Mini Painting

I'm actually a man!
Seems a carry case is the best way to go, and ensuring all the diorama stuff is welded to the base!

I can sort odd little bits coming off with glue I can buy at the show in the morning, but ensuring it moves as little as possible will be the best plan.

Hopefully it will be fine to take as hand luggage as that way I can keep an eye on it :)
 
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