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In preparation for the upcoming HOB event, I am becoming more and more concerned
with how to transport my MOCs safely either as checked airline baggage or by
over-nighting via a shipping company. I have found some helpful information by
searching around LUGNET, but was hoping to consolidate it all into one post for
future reference. Would those who have experience in this area mind posting
their experiences so that I can avoid my past mistakes?
My first lesson is that each component or MOC should be individually bagged so
that if the outer carton is compromised, the bricks will remain inside the box.
It is also easier to reconstruct an assembly when the parts are prevented from
commingling with those from other assemblies.
Before:
After:
-Duane
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In lugnet.storage, Duane Hess wrote:
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In preparation for the upcoming HOB event, I am becoming more and more
concerned with how to transport my MOCs safely either as checked airline
baggage or by over-nighting via a shipping company. I have found some helpful
information by searching around LUGNET, but was hoping to consolidate it all
into one post for future reference. Would those who have experience in this
area mind posting their experiences so that I can avoid my past mistakes?
My first lesson is that each component or MOC should be individually bagged
so that if the outer carton is compromised, the bricks will remain inside the
box. It is also easier to reconstruct an assembly when the parts are
prevented from commingling with those from other assemblies.
Before:
After:
-Duane
|
Hm.
Besides bagging sections of MOCs, I would recommend:
1. Wrapping MOCs in towels or bubble wrap to fit a box...try to minimize open
space in the box. On the other hand, do not pack too tight - the bubble wrap and
towel keep the MOC from being restricted when bounced around.
2. Have reference
pictures in the package. 3. If MOCs have large open spaces inside (spaceship
compartments), stuff with bubble wrap for support.
4. List an inventory
somewhere in the box.
Those immediately come to mind.
Joe Meno
.space paparazzi!
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Hm.
Besides bagging sections of MOCs, I would recommend:
1. Wrapping MOCs in towels or bubble wrap to fit a box...try to minimize open
space in the box. On the other hand, do not pack too tight - the bubble wrap
and towel keep the MOC from being restricted when bounced around.
2. Have
reference pictures in the package. 3. If MOCs have large open spaces inside
(spaceship compartments), stuff with bubble wrap for support.
4. List an
inventory somewhere in the box.
Those immediately come to mind.
Joe Meno
.space paparazzi!
|
The bagging of components is good--so is bubble wrap. I’d also recommend using
sheets of foam padding--they absorb impact, as well as providing “compartments”
for your compartmentalized bags. Don’t forget to pad all sides of the carton
well (including the bottom)--those freight guys toss stuff in all sorts of
directions--I like to pack as if it’s WWW III (excluding nuclear option;).
You don’t want any space for MOC’s to move around freely in the box. Let the
Bubble wrap absorb the shock of impact. If you’re really nervous about it--pack
up the box, use one piece of tape, pick up the box about 3-4 feet off the
ground, and drop onto a hard surface--then open up the box and check it out.
That 3-4 foot drop should emulate any shipping stress that would happen in
normal shipping.
Duane, you may wind up having to ship stuff with that new job of yours ;)
--same story holds on packing those boxes too. One trick I learned--cutting
boxes of corrugated cardboard apart and rolling them into something like a
compression spring (kinda like what a cinnamon roll looks like) as filler
material is cheap and effective, if you don’t have bubble wrap on hand.
Scott Lyttle
(hope you’re liking that “new” job!
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I wrote an article about this for Classic-Castle:
http://www.classic-castle.com/howto/articles/packing.html
Hope that helps.
-Lenny
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Leonard Hoffman wrote:
> I wrote an article about this for Classic-Castle:
>
> http://www.classic-castle.com/howto/articles/packing.html
>
> Hope that helps.
>
> -Lenny
This kind of stuff would be excellent material for a curator to collect...
The trick is to consider what forces cause MOCs to disassemble.
Vibration is one issue. Solidly constructed models will survive best from
this standpoint. This is the reason most greebles fall off.
Torque/twisting/bending is another issue. This is the other reason most
greebles fall off (they stick out, and whack against something else, and the
bending moment pops them loose). It is also the bane of larger creations.
The larger (and especially longer) your creation is, the more torque that is
applied as the MOC bends and twists under stress from shifting loads.
Implosion is the last big issue. It's really a special case of
torque/twisting/bending. A large hollow box will collapse if something
spearlike impacts the wall of the box.
A final issue that I have not seen to much of a problem with is breakage of
parts. Greebles are probably the most susceptible to damage.
So armed with these modes of disassembly, you can come up with ways to
address them.
Small sub-modules go a long way to improving survival. Plus, if things do
break, you're trying to figure out how 10 chunks of 100 pieces go back
together rather than how 1000 pieces go back together.
De-greebling solves a ton of minor problems.
I have successefully used temporary bracing to help things hold together. A
box without a top becomes stronger if some plates are put on it to make a
top. Pirate ship hulls hold together better when plates are temporarily
attached to the bottom to add additional strength to hold the hull sections
together.
Another trick is sub-packing. I pack my MOCs into several small boxes all of
which are fit into a larger box or suitcase. Doing so reduces the distance
things can travel when the container is subjected to shock (dropping or
being dropped on).
I actually use relatively little padding.
My big port scene which breaks down into a bunch of small modules is my
biggest experience with travelling. I use very little padding with this.
Most of the padding comes from the plastic bags each module goes into. I fit
things into boxes so they fit fairly tightly though. I have never had to
spend more than about an hour getting this ready for display including all
unpacking, re-greebling, re-building the occaisional part that falls apart.
I think once I have had one of the room modules (basically a box) really get
broken up, usually just a small section at the top of a wall will pop off.
Frank
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If I am transporting my MOCs, I tend to use Games Workshop carry cases -
with a bit less of the stuffing - it braces the model well, and keeps it
from getting broken. Because these are hardcases, which seal, peices that
break off will stay in the case.
If you are going to do it often, and have larger models, maybe it is worth
considering the flight cases normally used for music equipment. Again -
these seal well, they are hardcases (and can take the knocks) as well as
having a padded interior.
Orion
--
http://orionrobots.co.uk - Learn to build robots
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Nice artical - but I really like the kalashnikov - thats a seriously top
ship.
Orion
--
http://orionrobots.co.uk - Learn to build robots
On Mon, 4 April, 2005 5:07 pm, Leonard Hoffman said:
> I wrote an article about this for Classic-Castle:
>
> http://www.classic-castle.com/howto/articles/packing.html
>
> Hope that helps.
>
> -Lenny
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In lugnet.storage, Duane Hess wrote:
| |
In preparation for the upcoming HOB event, I am becoming more and more
concerned with how to transport my MOCs safely either as checked airline
baggage or by over-nighting via a shipping company. I have found some helpful
information by searching around LUGNET, but was hoping to consolidate it all
into one post for future reference. Would those who have experience in this
area mind posting their experiences so that I can avoid my past mistakes?
My first lesson is that each component or MOC should be individually bagged
so that if the outer carton is compromised, the bricks will remain inside the
box. It is also easier to reconstruct an assembly when the parts are
prevented from commingling with those from other assemblies.
Before:
After:
-Duane
|
I seem to recall someone using expanding foam insulation to make custom foam
inserts.
Wrap the moc in plastic wrap and use low expanding insulation foam. Key word s
are “low exoanding”. the regular foam exerts a lot of pressure as it expands.
the low expanding foam is meant for around doors and windows. Its designed to
expand less so that the door/window odesn’t warp and jamb.
Mike
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I found this thread by via the
post on The Brothers Brick and wanted to add my experiences to the discussion.
I live near San Francisco CA, and went to BrickFair in Washington DC and
BrickCon in Seattle WA this year. For both trips I took only a small set of
small MOCs in my carryon luggage, but I might try checking or shipping next
time. In any case, what I did was to take a small cardboard box and fill it
tightly with MOC’s, each MOC wrapped in bubble wrap. I removed some delicate
parts and either put them inside the MOC or put them into plastic baggies which
went into the box also.
Several of my MOCs had been rendered using LDRAW (MLCAD) and I brought those
files on my laptop computer with me on the trips. But it wasn’t necessary, as
for both trips all the MOCs survived with very little damage. The bubble wrap
really does the trick.
In between the two trips, my Lego Train Club (BayLTC) had a train show and I brought several of the same MOCs to that show.
By comparison, the cars and trucks that I usually bring to train shows were
badly damaged (as they usually are) by just being packed loose in boxes. I
think I’m going to start using bubble wrap for those as well, to reduce the
setup time for train shows.
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In lugnet.storage, Duane Hess wrote:
| |
In preparation for the upcoming HOB event, I am becoming more and more
concerned with how to transport my MOCs safely either as checked airline
baggage or by over-nighting via a shipping company. I have found some helpful
information by searching around LUGNET, but was hoping to consolidate it all
into one post for future reference. Would those who have experience in this
area mind posting their experiences so that I can avoid my past mistakes?
My first lesson is that each component or MOC should be individually bagged
so that if the outer carton is compromised, the bricks will remain inside the
box. It is also easier to reconstruct an assembly when the parts are
prevented from commingling with those from other assemblies.
Before:
After:
-Duane
|
I’ve found that wrapping MOC’s in Saran wrap first helps keep all your MOC’s
together. I learned the hard way that saving a dollar and getting the no-brand
stuff--makes you wish you had spent that dollar. A more effort was spent using
the cheap stuff, and less effort using the brand name stuff--definitely worth
the extra dollar or two.
Taking my Space Mountain/Tomorrowland MOC to NMRA in Anaheim from Atlanta, I
wrapped many elements in saran wrap first, then used bubble wrap, and baggies as
well, if I could fit items into a baggie.
for example--vehicles: wrap somewhat tightly in saran wrap, then slide into a
baggie. make sure to trap a little extra air in the baggie. If you’re packing
into a tight space, sometimes it’s better to let the air out of the baggie.
I’ve found the tighter you can pack something into a box, the better it will
stay intact. The reasoning? When pieces break apart--they only fall apart if
there’s space for them to go. If you’ve got a wall made of LEGO pieces against
a flat piece of cardboard..and the pieces split a little in transit--as
everything is pushed against the cardboard, there’s no place for the pieces to
move--thus the pieces stay in place. The Saran wrap works this way in the same
concept. (very much the same way shrink wrap is used to wrap shipments on a
pallet.
I packed my NMRA items into a box that fit into an overhead
compartment,(fortunately, I managed a non-stop flight),when I unpacked the
box--very little had fallen apart.
For your pic above--I’d have wrapped the head in saran wrap, removed each arm,
wrapped them individually in saran wrap, then wrap the entire minifig body in
saran wrap. Saran wrap stretches a little, and multiple wraps give you some
very good protection.
Scott
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