Mailing Completed Models?

[JohnP]

I've plans to build a 1/35 scale T-55 for a friend who lives halfway across the United States from me. I live in Illinois, he lives in Virginia.

Has anyone had success shipping a more or less intact model via one shipping partner over another?

Also, what would be the best way to pack a completed model?

[rm6239]

Hi John

Can't help you with the shipping companies but I have packed models that have survived 300 mile moves with a moving company. All you can really do is cover the basics and hope.

You don't want any Horizontal or Vertical movement, so put the model in the middle of a box, I use a mixture of bubble wrap and crumpled newspaper, fill around the sides so there is no movement, then gradually move up the sides, remember to try to support the barrel as well. Keep going until you reach the top of the turret. I would then use crumpled newspaper to fill from the top of the turret until the lid of the box is reached, then I would use a layer or two of bubble wrap to finish off. Close the lid of the box, hopefully you feel a bit of downward pressure from the lid, there should be some give in the crumpled newspaper.

Once completed you should be able to shake the box and feel no movement from the packed model. Then put that box inside another bigger box and pack it nicely as well.

That's about all you can do. Good luck with the build and the shipping.

cheers
Rossco

[Tomcat64]

As with rm6239 I can't help with the shipping companies but in terms of packing it up when I shipped a 1/48 Hurricane & dio base from the UK to Crete last year I used a rigid plastic storage box as the container and then just layers of bubble-wrap and polystyrene packing chips. The box obviously added more weight to the shipment but the extra rigidity worked well enough and the dio arrived relatively unscathed.

Before & after shots - the only casualties were a loose dog, crew-man and one of the undercarriage covers - all easily fixed.

[digger303]

I make a box out of thick polystyrene and use wedges of the same to firmly fix it to stop all movement with possibly a few noodles to fill voids. Kind of make it the same as many packaged products today.