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George Johnson
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How to pack a model.

August 1, 2018 · in How-to · 12 · 1.7K

I'm off to the IPMS nationals tomorrow and I'm taking the Horton with me. Ithought long and hard about whether I should ship it next day or take it with me as carry-on. The questions I asked myself were- 1, do I ship it and have it get destroyed or lost by the carrier, or 2, do I take it as carry-on and have one of the TSA people mishandle it and destroy it? I decided my chances were slightly better if I took it with me. I called TSA customer service, and surprisingly, they were friendly, couteous and efficient. They told me what to do when I get to the security area and I felt confident that they wouuld treat my model with care. I will report on that when I get back.

I found and old camera case and made a foamcore insert for it that I lined with foam. This thing took almost 6 hours to put together. The whole thing slides into the case and is protected by foam-lined lids.

Thought you guys might be interested in this method in case you find yourselves in a similar situation.

Reader reactions:
6  Awesome

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12 responses

  1. George, Safe travels and best of luck at the nationals. I'm sue all of us "here" on iModeler hope you grab the top prize. That model is certainly worthy of it.

  2. Fingers crossed and safe travels.

  3. Very ingenious solution, George - best of luck at the show (we'll expect a full report AND pictures) 🙂

  4. Hope it's smooth sailing, good luck.

  5. Thanks, Gentlemen. I will give a full report when I get back.

  6. By the way, I'm not expecting to win or anything even close because the quality of the work I've seen online from previous shows is absolutely superb. I'm hoping to gain some new ideas and techniques.

  7. As a long time employee for a US based air carrier, you chose wisely George. I’ll be down in PHX myself on Friday, looking forward to seeing your Horton.

  8. Nicely done George, I'm sure you'll do well at the Nats. Good luck and safe travel.

  9. Best of luck, George!

    You said: "I’m not expecting to win or anything even close because the quality of the work I’ve seen online from previous shows is absolutely superb." Bullpuckey! Your HO229 IS superb!

    Your packaging method is excellent and suits the quality of your model.

  10. If that doesn't win both Judges and People's Best of Show awards, it really is the International Pee and Moan Society. Good luck!

  11. Safe travels! I'm sure we'll be reading a stellar post-show report on the Horton.

  12. Even your packing looks a work of art...

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