Any advice on shipping completed builds?

I would say just make the drive, I wouldn't trust any of the majors to understand not to flip the box over, toss it, etc.  If I remember correctly it's only about 4 hours and you're already on the right side of Houston.

Groot

Congratulations for getting in. I'm about to start working on a build for them as well and I think I'll probably just drive it down... and I live in Greenville, TX which is about 50 miles east of Dallas. That said, I've talked with them and they seem to be a good bunch of people. They could probably give you some suggestions if you must ship it, and if worse comes to worse, they do have someone that's able to do repairs.  I'd love to see some pictures of what you're sending them... Raymond

I am pretty sure I will hand deliver these as I really don't trust any shipping options.  It is not that I have a bad opinion of them, but I have seen too many packages tossed around haphazardly.  I don't currently have any photo hosting site but will try to set one up and post pictures.

A few years ago, my son worked for UPS.  He was horrified to see how the packages were handled with the automatic equipment.  It makes no difference if  you write "fragile" on it- it will be ignored.

Cadet Chuck

A few years ago, my son worked for UPS.  He was horrified to see how the packages were handled with the automatic equipment.  It makes no difference if  you write "fragile" on it- it will be ignored.

I have had bad luck shipping models.  Cars seem to do okay.  Some smaller scale planes without too much detail do okay, ships are a disaster.  Antennas, pitot tubes, etc. are really at risk.  Cutting styrofoam to hold model from moving, yet not touching small detail, seems to work best.

Try this.  It works great......

http://www.swannysmodels.com/Packaging.html

Joe

Recently I relocated cross-country and was faced with moving a small collection of 1/48th scale WWII models, all single engine.  I obtained some USPS square Priority Mail boxes (about 11" on a side).  I obtained some MOUNTAIN MIST-Fiberloft Poly Stuffing, a premium quality 100% polyester stuffing for pillows and stuffed toys.  (It is sold at craft sores, Walmart and Target.)  This materials made a very soft cocoon around the models.  I made sure no part of the model touched the sides of the box (so any shocks would be cushioned by the material).  The idea was to make the models "float" in this material.  I had nine boxes in total.  A few small parts were separated, but that was it.  One box arrived with the cover totally caved in (which is really rare for Priority Mail in my experience).  That box contained my Hasegawa Hurricane Mk I, definitely one of my favorites.  I cringed opening it up.  But, there was absolutely no damage.  The model survived a pretty severe blow.

Smaller models have little mass, so my packing method worked pretty well.  I am not sure how well it would work with larger, and therefore heavier, models.  However, given a big enough box and enough polyester stuffing, it might work well.

Here are pictures of the builds I am delivering to the USS Lexington museum in a couple of weeks ....

Arado Ar196A-3

Savoia Marchetti SM.79

Eck.  Clearly I have forgotten how to post photos.  I was using Photobucket but have lost all my login password stuff for that site.  I created a new account with flickr but the Image function on the tool bar doesn't seem to like flickr.  

Any suggestions?

Never mind, I figured it out.

AHA !

The voice of experience rears up and says Make The Drive !  I have a  client/friend in Arizona who used to have me make up super detailed radars and stuff for inclusion in his kits , if wanted . Through him I got a client in Alabama . After the disastrous times we had with shippers I am going to Drive to Montgomery , Alabama from New Nraunfels , Tx. and deliver the client's two ships in person .That way I know they got handled right !  G.J.Geracci - owner - MINSHIPCO . - known here as Tanker - Builder     P.S. I even went to U.P.S and had a man show me how to pack fragile items . Even doing it that way I had the result of a quarter of a shipment of $90.00 apiece radars destroyed in shipping ! Never mind the insurance , that's NOT the point ! You are delivering to a Museum . Deliver them yourself !

Yes, my family and I will be taking a quick vacation to Corpus Christi, Texas next weekend, and on the way will stop by to meet the curator to hand deliver these scale models.  I was hoping the CC Hooks AA baseball team (double A squad for the Houston Astros) would be in town that weekend but they are not.  After the Lexington museum, we'll just have to find something else to do.

I've had great results transporting aircraft models internationally using stout boxes.

I build thin cardboard "bearers", tailored to the plane.....fore and aft for the wings (longer than the chord), and a "bearer" for the fuselage, securely taped to the bottom of the box.

Using tape and light paper, I tape over the wings from front to back (using the paper to prevent tape from touching the painted wings) and stick the tape to the bearers, trapping the wings.

Doing the same for the fuselage, I can shake the box and the plane won't move.  Close and tape the lid, and the model (in my experience) survives the journey intact.  It worked a treat!

If it was me, I wouldn't hesitate to make the drive.

When possible, the driving and personally delivering the models is the safest. Anything with rigging is difficult to keep from getting damaged

leemitcheltree

The method you described is actually very good since I started using it and fantastic so far. I use a cardboard base with the cutout of the plane on its back, sort of a cradle. I then hot glue thick pieces of cardboard to this base, bent and shaped to protect gears and other small delicate parts. The wings and fuselage are secured to this base with thin strips or cardboard hot glued in place. I then lay this cardboard base on about 4" of balled up plastic bags. These bags are free as I get them when you buy at Target, Publix, Walmart etc and they build up rather quickly.

I then take peanuts and carefully spread them on the center to fill any gaps which adds additional support, Then more balled up plastic bags are added all around the sides and on top locking and suspending the model in place. The box is then taped and NO fragile stickers are added. I had more things damaged with boxes marked fragile than without.

This method has been working out great so far. I recently shipped a couple of 1/48 models this way with some delicate parts and they arrived with ZERO damage.

Joe

Swanny's method is fantastic but extremely pricey. The cheapest I have found that foam is $25 for a 2 ft    wide x 6 ft long X 3" thick piece. Depending on the scale, it would just about take up most of the piece for just one packing. Walmart has the same size but 2" thick at $18 for the piece.

This looks like a great method for what I need - thanks for posting the link! I need to ship a 1:48 X-3 Stiletto to my dad for father's day (we built the same exact Lindberg kit when I was about 7in 1975 and I have a photo of us building it to accompany the model.  That model is long lost). I modeled it with the gear up b/c the detail was so terrible (and it looks better) and found a great plastic display stand that will hold it in the air.  Need to ship it to Idaho. I was really concerned about how to pack it, but now I know!