Subject:
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Re: how to transport lego by air
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.general, lugnet.loc.au
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Date:
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Mon, 24 Nov 2003 21:40:33 GMT
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Viewed:
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1168 times
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In lugnet.general, Kerry Raymond wrote:
>
> > Is it safe to trust it to airport baggage handlers or should I take it
> > in-cabin?
>
> Don't trust the airport baggage handlers. Read about my experiences earlier
> this year with sending a large MOC as checked baggage.
>
> http://news.lugnet.com/loc/au/?n=10998
>
> If your MOCs are small enough to take as carry-on, I would do it that way.
> If your MOCs are large (like mine), then following the experience described
> above, I did the following.
>
> I cut a piece of foam rubber to fit the bottom of the box to absorb any
> shocks from underneath. I then put a piece of board (plywood) on top of that
> as a solid base for the MOC to sit on.
>
> I remove all the "little bits" on the MOC that can be easily knocked off and
> put them in a ziplock bag to re-attach on arrival. I then put the MOC into a
> large plastic garbage bag and tie it closed (the rationale is that if it is
> smashed to pieces, at least the pieces stay in the bag). I then put the MOC
> in the plastic bag onto the piece of board in the box.
>
> I then roll and bend large pieces of foam rubber to fit between the MOC and
> side of the box. The foam rubber needs to be thick enough that it doesn't
> fold over but resists being bent/rolled so that it pushes outward like a
> spring; the idea is that the MOC is now being held in the *centre* of the
> box (away from the sides where any impact might occur) by pressure from the
> foam rubber on different sides. I then fill any empty spaces with more foam
> rubber, bubble wrap or other lightweight space-filling packaging materials.
> I then place more foam rubber rolled/bent on top of the MOC to try to hold
> it down onto the board when the baggage handers ignore the "This Way Up"
> signs (which they did on another trip!).
>
> I then tape the whole box sealed with loads of packing tape and add all the
> "Fragile", "This Way Up" etc signs (for what little good it seems to do).
>
> This set of techniques has reduced the damage to the MOCs considerably.
> However, when you see your box arrive on the baggage carousel upside-down,
> you can reasonably assume that some damage will probably have occurred
> unless your MOC just happens to be flat enough on the top that it can
> balance upside-down.
>
> Finally allow sufficient time on arrival at your destination to reconstruct
> your MOC if all else fails.
>
> I believe that when professional model builders (not just Lego) transport
> stuff, they wrap the models and put them in the box and then spray in some
> kind of liquid foam that fills the space around the models in the box and
> then sets (I am not sure exactly how firm it ends up, but presumably soft
> enough to absorb impact and hard enough to hold the models in place in the
> box). Then on arrival they cut the foam away (which is why it is important
> to wrap the model or the foam gets all through the model). Clearly the cost
> of this use-once spray-foam (and whatever equipment you need) is justifiable
> for professionals but I suspect it's probably out of the league of the
> hobbyist, although I keep meaning to make enquires just on the off-chance
> that it is a bit more affordable than I imagine. Anyhow, my rolled/bent foam
> rubber is my poor man's equivalent of the same technique.
>
> On the positive side, you *can* always rebuild a Lego MOC. Imagine if your
> hobby was china painting :-)
>
> Kerry
Kerry,
There's a product out there called "Foam In Place Seating", made by Dynamic
Systems, inc. in North Carolina. You can make custom-sized foam inserts. Their
primary focus is on seating systems, especially for elderly people in
wheelchairs (making molded seats to match a person's individual contours). I
didn't think about it until now, but you could make shipping inserts molded
around the size of a MOC. It's similar to that spray foam you are talking
about. I used it on a college project where we made custom seats for off-road
racers, so I've got some actual experience working with it. The only drawback I
can see is that the chemical reaction of the chemicals when mixed together
creates a heated chemical reaction--I don't know if it is hot enough to melt
Lego bricks, however.
They also have large sheets of cushioning foam that will mix with the foam in
place seating. Take a look at the website--see if it's economical for you to
try on a really special MOC...
http://www.sunmatecushions.com
From working with this product, it's relatively easy to use, just make sure you
don't have any skin (especially with hair) exposed...the foam will get on your
skin and will NOT peel off..so just wear gloves and long sleeved shirts when
doing it... (I plan on using these as fillers for a sci-fi based full body
costume in the future...)
Scott Lyttle
Scott Lyttle
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: how to transport lego by air
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| (...) Don't trust the airport baggage handlers. Read about my experiences earlier this year with sending a large MOC as checked baggage. (URL) your MOCs are small enough to take as carry-on, I would do it that way. If your MOCs are large (like (...) (21 years ago, 24-Nov-03, to lugnet.general, lugnet.loc.au)
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