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Moving the rarer or pricier kits long distance


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I have a bunch of rarer or pricier kits that I have boxed up with others, plus my PE, parts, transkits and decal stashes.  Still not sure if I should have them moved with the other household goods or do something like PODS?  Anybody have any experiences or advice (some photos below).

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Depends on where and how you are moving.

I moved all of my stuff last year & I just carefully packed them in moving boxes & moved them via U-Haul truck myself.

Moving the fragile built vintage gems is a much more hair raising experience!

If you're not moving over seas & are planning on driving a vehicle at some point to your new location, (If you plan on having a vehicle at your new place, the answer should be obviously yes) then I would pack up the most valuable kits into small enough boxes to fit in my car & take them with me when I drive there.

If the photos you posted are pretty much what you have that you're worried about, I could easily fit that in my 2007 Honda Civic Coupe.

 

Steve

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You could ship that 62 Buick wagon to me.... I'll keep it safe .

All kidding aside, I wouldnt ship them in "Pod's", To much of a chance they will get shipped the wrong way... to the wrong address .... to the wrong person. Or worse , they get lost in the Pod's reginal warehouse and nobody can find them for a few month's .

Ship them with your household stuff, just be sure to stack them on "T O P " of the other stuff. I made the mistake of putting my kit's in a box near the bottom of the truck, and while in transit, The 450 LBS glass display case they were to be displayed in FELL ON THEM !  Broken glass .... broken kit's ..... broken dream's ...... you get the idea .

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I think more information is in order. You are moving [location name here] to [location name here]; those locations can assist the forum members on the best methods of packing/moving the kits. Another thing to consider: can you get insurance to cover any possible damage?

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I've used PODS when I moved into my current house, and my things arrived (two weeks after I moved in) with no trouble whatsoever. However I did as Steve suggested.........moved all my built stuff in the car as I had a Saturn Quadcoupe at the time, and was able to fit quite a lot of stuff in that with the rear seats and front passenger seat folded down. ;)

As Tim mentioned though........some careful planning on how stuff is packed is key. HEAVY stuff on the bottom------light fragile stuff on top. I and a friend did all of my packing int the container that PODS gives you and as I mentioned, everything arrived without a hitch.

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My biggest issue is that I do not trust someone else to move my prized possessions.

We have all seen how packages can arrive in the mail or what kind of condition your luggage can be returned in when you just take a simple plane trip.

Many times these guys are not particularly interested in keeping your possessions absolutely safe.

They just want to get the job done so that they can make it to happy hour on time.

Plus, as Bill stated, if you're worried about your priceless "plastic" models sitting somewhere in the 100 degree heat for 2 weeks as I would, you might want to take that possibility into consideration.

I would advise that if at all possible, I would move them myself.

 

Steve

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I have to agree with Steve on this one. Several years ago we moved from Texas back to Illinois. We packed everything ourselves. All the movers had to do was put stuff in the truck and drive it here. We had everything marked, which turned out to be one of our mistakes. 

When we unpacked we found 2 boxes of delicate antiques that had obviously been bounced like a basketball. The box was carefully marked, "FRAGILE - BREAKABLES". The other problem was that the box marked, "COIN & STAMP COLLECTIONS" somehow got lost in transit.

My new rule - I move delicates and fragile items myself. Period.

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It is a 2000 mile move from the Chicago area to Southwest Washington state about 20 miles from Portland Oregon.  We have already made a couple of trips out where some stuff came with like my best builds.  But I have over 700 unbuilt kits in 38 boxes.   Insurance is not an issue, we will have coverage. 

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I feel your pain.

Im about the go thru the exact same scenario. moving 2000 miles form Ky to Arizona.

Already started packing the more common unbuilt stuff in boxes. the builts will go in individual tuck boxes and will travel in the U haul. But I will be driving and they will be top stack only

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4 hours ago, Exotics_Builder said:

It is a 2000 mile move from the Chicago area to Southwest Washington state about 20 miles from Portland Oregon.  We have already made a couple of trips out where some stuff came with like my best builds.  But I have over 700 unbuilt kits in 38 boxes.   Insurance is not an issue, we will have coverage. 

Yes, but how many of the 700 kits are actually rare vintage kits?

I had a lot of average, currently available & more easily replaceable kits that I really didn't care a lot about.

The movers could have taken them without making me lose any sleep.

But the rare stuff??

They may be insured, but how easily are they replaced?

 

Steve

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4 hours ago, gtx6970 said:

I feel your pain.

Im about the go thru the exact same scenario. moving 2000 miles form Ky to Arizona.

Already started packing the more common unbuilt stuff in boxes. the builts will go in individual tuck boxes and will travel in the U haul. But I will be driving and they will be top stack only

That's exactly how I transported mine.

Last on the truck, first off!  ;)

 

Steve

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Gerry,

Best of luck in your move, hope all goes well.

13 years ago I moved from Chicago to Charlotte and had a moving company haul my stuff down in their large 53 foot van. Everything arrived safe and sound, the only stuff damaged was household items (TV tables, card table and chairs). 

I packed all of my boxed models into large cardboard boxes that were near perfect size for my collection (about 300 kits at the time) and I had an inventory list of what was in each box (as well as all other stuff deemed valuable by me & the wife). The boxes held the kits snug with very little packing paper and I think that helped them survive the move.I had contemplated buying plastic totes but the kits did not fit well in them and I decided to use them for paints instead.

It will come down to how they pack and drive your load to Washington. Hopefully no issues this time of year and all arrives intact!

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I packed all my kits into moving company (Wheaton Movers) supplied boxes.  The driver was told what's in each box and tagged then appropriately.  Upon arrival in Florida, everything was fine with nothing broken or otherwise damaged.  I guess you need to find a reputable moving company.

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I moved over 1000 kits (unbuilt, built, resin) from my house in Phoenix to my house in Ohio last year, all boxed up in moving boxes w/ bubble wrap inside in a moving Pod.   Everything arrived safe and sound. 

I still have a lot of kits, die cast, furniture and electronics in storage in Denver.  Planning to fly out and rent a UHaul or Penske truck and drive everything back to Ohio probably in the fall or next year. 

Edited by Rob Hall
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12 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

Yes, but how many of the 700 kits are actually rare vintage kits?

I had a lot of average, currently available & more easily replaceable kits that I really didn't care a lot about.

The movers could have taken them without making me lose any sleep.

But the rare stuff??

They may be insured, but how easily are they replaced?

 

Steve

I would say about 15%, which include expensive (think Model Factory Hiro 1/24 scale Ferraris) and hard to find kits (until the manufacturer finally decides to do a reissue).  I have boxed them carefully and have an estimated value for what is each box.  I also will have them insured.  

 

Edited by Exotics_Builder
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1 hour ago, 1930fordpickup said:

You can always get a Uhaul with a dolly to pull your car behind you. 

I have thought about this  for the more delicate built cars. This way I dont have to worry about them so much . Ive bought a couple hundred of the baseball card boxes to pack them in once Ive  wrapped with tissue paper

I think the more common unbuilts and both common and vintage re-builders can travel in the U haul box truck ( top freight only )

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Thru the years I have made several moves and have found that each one was different for what ever reason. Sounds like you're going back and forth to Washington state and I would suggest renting a large 2 axle U-Haul type vehicle in which you can control what happens to your models and any other irreplaceable items. This could include gas powered lawn equipment and any house plants, moving companies don't like these items and they even have some regulations that will not allow them to transport them. Over twenty years ago we moved from Sacramento to Kansas City area with only one of the rockers on a rocking chair being damaged, over 10k pounds total. In 2000 we moved about 20 miles from our old residence and while we boxed everything our selves the "Neanderthals" that moved use managed to damage a lot of items and I had some torn boxes that were marked Models and I think someone was taking inventory. If anything error on the side of caution since even with the moving insurance lots of luck collecting on that.  No one is really looking out for you but you, act accordingly.  

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Though I moved everything from Arizona last year, I still have a lot of kits, die cast, furniture and electronics in storage in Denver.  Planning to fly out and rent a UHaul or Penske truck and drive everything back to Ohio probably in the fall or next year. 

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When I moved my considerable stash back here to Lafayette from Mishawaka IN (next door to South Bend), I took the mindset that model kits are delivered in cartons of a dozen (generally), in which the kits fit snugly (but not forced into the cartons!).  With that in mind, I went to a Walmart, and to my surprise, found a size carton that fit those standard AMT model kits perfectly--the key here is to locate cartons that do just that.  There are even cartons out there that will hold, very securely, upwards of 20 standard AMT/MPC kits very nicely.  As for moving my builtups, I have found that for most all 1/25 scale model cars, those that are 50's and later models,  550-count baseball card boxes work quite well--in fact, those are what I use to transport models to and from model car shows,  even carry them in a cloth tote when traveling by airline (carry-on baggage).

As a thought, if you need a lot of such cartons, once you find the size that works as I've described, go online to U-Line's website, as more than likely they have exactly the same size, but in bulk, and priced quite reasonably, and U-Line ships those out in standard bundles, very quickly.

Art

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I found the boxes the sell at Home Depot to be the best value.  They come in three sizes and cost from $1 to $2 each.  The large size holds about 20 model boxes. We owned the two houses for over a year, and I went back and forth weekly.  So I was able to transport all my models and  fragiles in my Dodge Caravan hightop on my weekly trips.

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17 hours ago, Tom Geiger said:

I found the boxes the sell at Home Depot to be the best value.  They come in three sizes and cost from $1 to $2 each.  The large size holds about 20 model boxes. We owned the two houses for over a year, and I went back and forth weekly.  So I was able to transport all my models and  fragiles in my Dodge Caravan hightop on my weekly trips.

Agreed,

Ive already filled maybe a half dozen with unbuilts putting some not so expensive  builders on top in the boxes as filler .

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