Boxing/shipping/moving scale models

Umm this us a 7 year old thread

Every time I've had to move, I move them with me in my car. Took a couple of extra trips but saved a lot of agravation. Use those under the bed plastic storage boxes with a piece of blue foam wallboard on the bottom. Each model held in place with toothpicks surrounding them stuck in the wallboard. Use them going to shows also. Only had one broken landing gear in all these years. It was due to a very quick stop on the turnpike caused by a deer crossing.

Jim  

How Modelworks Packs Models for Shipping 

The art of packing a fine handcrafted scale model and shipping the model internationally is something that I have done 50,000 times in the past 25 years. While its impossible to avoid damage 100% of the time, there are key ways to minimize damage. Here are some key points currently used by Modelworks to ship their models:

1. Identify Weak Points

2. Verify support points that can resist impact

3. Pack model in an oversized box or Crate 

4. Insulate model with Foam and contact points

The key to successfully Securing the model in a box is to carve out the model's strongest support points in the form of a Foam Mold.  It's important that the surface contact between the model and the foam occurs ONLY on surfaces that can handle compression. The fenders, roof and structural chassis can take quite a bit of impact.  However, Mirrors, Wheels and accessories should NOT contact the Foam. There should be an Airspace for the delicate areas but can be filled with a lighter material or No Material at all. 

Delicate parts should be reinforced with tong and grove connections or some type of design that has a rebar type design.  When delicate parts are interconnected or glued using two small surfaces. The contact points are susceptible to stress and load.  The solution is to let the model's strongest surfaces absorb much of the load. Let the delicate parts freely sway in an Airspace. 

The weak spots can be tested on a broomstick to simulate mishandling impact to determine whether there would be any separation during an impact. Everyone has seen how some undisciplined couriers from UPS, DHL and Airborne Express may mishandle shipment. The best defence is to engineer a packaging solution for a worst-case scenario. 

Bottom line, Aaron, is that I don't think you're going to find a "foolproof" way to SHIP your models without damage. I moved two years ago, and I left most of my models up in New York at my fiancee's mom's house. I moved each model myself, over to the bookcases where they reside. I have a few here in North Carolina, and have to move again next month. I've packed up the tanks in boxes, with "frames" of soft pink foam around them, cut to each individual model's dimensions, and will move each single-level box in my own truck, by myself, when the day comes. If you have only 20 or so, you may be able to feasibly pack them up in big boxes of packing peanuts or whatever and ship them, but I had a few hundred--that would have been impossible. Pick your best ones and store the rest somewhere, if possible? I would seriously look into storing them somewhere, if possible, with someone you trust, until you can eventually moved them yourself. The other possibility is to pack them up semi-permanently, and don't unpack them

Just a thought: I haven't had to ship/move any models, but a few years ago I won a large ( 2' x 2' ) neon bar sign on e-bay. The shipper was in Arizona, and said that these neon signs were a large part of his business. He also said that his preferred method of shipping was with a bus line, as according to him they tend to have space in the baggage compartment and the freight wasn't subject to the level of manhandling that can occur in a shipping distribution center.

My sign was fixed to the back of it's shipping box with packing tape and surrounded with packing peanuts. I simply picked it up at my local Greyhound terminal (I live in Maine), damage-free. 

Hi ;

        I have used this method to ship my all brass 1/96 scale masts and yes , the bunched plastic bag method works very well .

I think here we have to use what we know will work for us.

        Models are very hard to ship and there are ways to ship that sometimes come by accident .

I now ship the radars as I said .

        One difference though . I wrap each unit snugly with pillow stuffing , (that hairy kind ) and then insert those into the hollow plastic craft balls from HOBBY LOBBY (christmas ornaments ?) . then I space and pack the balls (with the radars inside) the way I said .

        They arrive still not damaged and ,the customer can then take the ball and pack it in the kit box .      Tanker-builder

DoogsATX

Still arrived as though someone had been playing football with it.

I know what you mean. I have packed models very carefully as you did, using foam peanuts, foam cradles, foam this and that, securing with t-shirt straps and still arrived in pieces.  The balled up plastic bag method really worked even when shipping a one tank diorama with groundwork and vegetation. Hopefully it will continue to work.

corvettemike

Being a 1/24 car builder packing to move to Sacramento as we speak I wrapped mine in TP. Then I used the plastic display cases I put them in and made a bed of TP then placed the car inside and filled the gaps with more tissue. Then I put the bottom on and taped it down, then packed multiple cases in a padded box.

I think moving is a bit different than straight-up shipping since (usually) the stuff just stays on one truck and doesn't go through the horrors of distribution centers and tossing onto/off of multiple trucks, aircraft, conveyor belts, bins etc.

Being a 1/24 car builder packing to move to Sacramento as we speak I wrapped mine in TP. Then I used the plastic display cases I put them in and made a bed of TP then placed the car inside and filled the gaps with more tissue. Then I put the bottom on and taped it down, then packed multiple cases in a padded box.

I built a full frame for the 1/32 B-25 I shipped. Flat plywood base, several columns to another thin plywood "ceiling". In between, measured and cut something like 15 different risers to support the aircraft. Fuselage, wings, tail, the whole nine. Each of these had a long strip of cut-up t-shirt stapled to its top, then a piece of thick, soft foam padding hot-glued on top. The B-25 was then placed on top and tied down with the t-shirt strips. The thing was secure. 

Still arrived as though someone had been playing football with it.

Whenever I have to move I choose a box a little bigger than the model and line the bottom with "folded" toilet paper. Form the toilet paper into squares and stack them under wings and around landing gear. Also pad the sides of the box about an inch thick then fill the rest of the box with "wads" stratigicly placed around the rest of the model. If transporting in a moving van place boxes on top of the load and secure with duct tape if needed.   My last move I didnt watch what I was doing and packed my boxes on the floor of the truck. Right next to my 600 lb all glass display case! I lost 11 revell subs, a revell schnell boat and my pyro riverboat Natches that is now in more pieces than when it was a new kit!   Your best bet is to pack them in your car with nothing else and dont let nobody near them! P.S. Anybody here know how to repair glass? :)

I've tried the foam beads.  Didn't work.  When I saw the g-loads in that kid's science experiment I can see why.  With a 20 g impact those beads are like ball bearings!  Some of her impacts were well above 20 gs.

Hi :

       Having had to ship very delicate 1/96 radars and other stuff I thinkI have a solution to your dilemna . I usually make sure the model is cradled in soft foam .(with ships this is easier of course .) Then , and here's where it gets interesting .

      I take the small foam beads  you can get at OFFICE DEPOT,and pour them over the model , masts ,hardware and all till the whole thing is covered.( when unpacking , turn the model upside down and gently shake the little ,pesky beads off )Then a double layer of the SMALL bubble wrap .Don't think I am crazy (I then temporarily tape the box closed and flip it around and tap it heavily on the bench or floor .(this emulates U.S.P.S. and other package handlers .).

      I then check for damage or settling , finish the packing , seal and ship .I can almost guarantee that your models will arrive safely . This method has worked for me for over three years now ,with only minimal damage when I didn't put enough beads in a box.

Also when you ship armor , or vehicles of any kind , think of the way FRANKLIN MINT and DANBURY ship . You can make padded bulkheads to lock the model down to the bottom foam and NOT damage paint or details . Just make sure , as I do , that it will pass the shake and bump test . I hope this helps you .      Tanker-builder

I would at all cost, move them yourself. if that is not possible the try my new method given to me by a member in Armorama. This is where alll those hundreds of plastic bags from stores come in handy. I have tons from Publix, Target and Walmart and dry cleaners.

Use a box slightly larger than the model. Place the model inside a plastic bag and carefully fold the bag. Now take the bags and ball them up to create a layer at the bottom of the box, then place the model in the center. Continue to ball up the plastic bags and pack them into all available spaces. Be careful with antennas, pitot tubes etc. by packing around them. Continue to pack all the way to the top then add a couple more bags to tighten up the slack in there. Fold over the box flaps and tape.

This method is fool froof! The balled up plastic bags provide cushioning that not even packing peanuts give, allowing for slight shifting but no damage. I have shipped three very delicate models, including one small diorama and they all arrived without any damage whatsoever.  I was getting frustrated cause I was using packing peanuts and soft foam sheets for packing yet the models were arriving with some kind of damage. Now, I'm more than happy to save those plastic bags.  

I have had very bad luck shipping built models.  Then, I read about a science-fair experiment a high school student did.  She shipped some active accelerometers in a box via package delivery services.  The readings she got explain why my models never arrived in one piece!

Move them yourself and don't entrust them to a shipping carrier...

You can also pack them up and ship them via a white glove service (UShip is a decent place to get quotes). It's pricey, but if you're serious about keeping your kits safe it's worth it.