Packing, transporting to shows/contests

[Helix]

Just curious as to how you guys pack your completed subjects and take to shows etc....

For me it's just a Revell box with some foam inserts and bubble wrap, seems to work for me....mind you I always take some tools, paint and glue just in case

And it's the only time I drive to a contest like a little old lady !

Cheers

Ray

[Quick GMC]

small bubblewrap seems to be a smart way.

Also the little air bags, if you place them correctly, could be a good way. One on each side, one on top and one on bottom. Then wrap tape around them. Now your car is inside it's own airbag.

like this: http://3.imimg.com/data3/SK/WP/MY-926651/packing-air-bags-250x250.jpg

[Tom Geiger]

For traveling to local model shows in my own car, I simply take a model kit box, set the model in the center of it, and surround it with packing peanuts. Put the top back on the box, and stack them in a larger box. Easy as that.

[Jantrix]

I have a long Rubbermaid box. I fold up an old t-shirt to hold the model on all four sides and I lay nothing on top. Just the box lid. Drive carefully and you should be fine.

[ZTony8]

Through work I've been able to obtain some boxes that fit most of my built ups quite well.They even come with some bubble pack! They're a bit too small for a Top FueIer or a large 50s or 60s car but work great for most other models.I store my builds in them and just put those boxes into a larger carrying box,the size of which depends on how many entries I take to the contest.

[crazyjim]

I wrap in small bubble wrap and insert the model into plastic shoe box size containers my wife found at Wal-Mart. The containers have handles on them. I also purchased a grocery cart from Wal-Mart that the containers fit into along with a small cooler for my RC Cola, sandwich(s), and chips.

[tbill]

I found some Tupperware type containers at Walmart, they have snap on lids and handles, I can fit 3 cars in each and lay micro-fiber towels between them and the ends of the container. also, the lids are molded in such a way that the bottom of another container fits onto the lid, so you can stack them.

then drive slowly....lol.

[Brizio]

For some models I build a custom box, other a Sterilite shoe box, and I use seatbelts on the car, so they don't move around.

This is from the Voodoo Vette.

The shoe box for Janis Joplin Porsche.

Edited June 4, 2015 by Brizio

[Ramfins59]

I'm with Tom Geiger on this one. I pack each model in it's own box with either packing peanuts or wadded paper towels for cushioning and then all of the individual boxes packed in a large box from a Keurig Coffee Maker with a secure handle. The large box holds up to 6 model boxes, mirrored display bases and a plastic bag with "emergency supplies" (CA glue, toothpicks, tweezers and an XActo knife.)

[DaveM]

I usually attach the car to the bottom of the box, or to a base that is affixed to the bottom of a box. I run some coated wire over the axle and the front suspension, drop it through holes in the base, and twist it together. (Just like the display case instructions used to show!) That ensures that I don't have unwanted rattling and shifting within the padding. I also carry a repair kit, although, if I break something, I usually just pack the model back up and fix it at home. I tried doing a small fix to a mudflap at the Hot Rod Model Car Nationals down at Indy one year, and I was in a hurry. Long story short... I pretty much damaged a paint job beyond repair. My mirrors and other little bits are pinned on my show models. I make them removable, just using a friction fit. That makes transport easy, as I carry the mirrors and antennae in a separate container and stick them on at the show. (I use .013 wire from a "B" string for all of my mounts) The only problems I have had with this system were my fault. I got to a show in Chicago back in the '90s and realized that my box of mirrors and small parts was still on the kitchen table in Michigan! There was also a judge at one show who saw me fitting all of my mirrors onto my models this way. At the end of the day, when I went to pick up my models, they were all wearing the wrong mirrors! The Orange Corvette mirrors were on the Green Torino, and some of the cars had a different mirror on each side! My custom Merc had mirrors installed where the curb feelers should have been, curb feelers where the spotlights mounted, a spotlight where the antenna should have been and antenna where the mirror should have been. It looked like George Barris meets Mad Max meets Back to the Future! The judge tried to convince me that I had assembled the cars like that because I hadn't had my morning cup of coffee, but I don't think I did... I can't be too mean because that judge is on this site! (It's the same judge who drove his Wife's brand new car to a show and didn't notice the free bumper sticker we gave him until she came home from work the next day... !) (The bumper sticker that read, "Retired Hooter's Girl")

Seriously, though, the pinned parts, which are carried separately are far less prone to damage than glued on bits which can take off a bit of paint when they get broken, or scratch the model when they rub against it) It is also so much easier to pack when I don't have to work around mirrors, etc.

[Russell C]

For 'standard' body shape cars, a couple of wraps of clean t-shirt cloth remnants is good enough around each, stuff two or three models in a regular model car box with cut-to-size bits of corrugated cardboard lining at least one side and one end to prevent box-crushing, and away it goes in an airline carry-on suitcase with all my other stuff.

Things like my Top Fuel 4x4 dragster are a whole different matter. When I flew up for the 2001 GSL contest, I created a special box, which was the second 'carry-on' item I could bring which fit nicely under the seat in front of me.

1. built entirely out of a sheet of refrigerator box material, half of the two-part handle on each side of the top flaps, L-shaped straps taped down on the near flap and fitting into a slot in the far flap
2. the 'inner box' toward the front (with a leftover bit of blue t-shirt material sitting in it) is permanently taped in blace, while the side area with two pockets and a triangle brace is removable. I put a couple of t-shirt-wrapped regular models in that area for the 2001 trip, while potentially needed repair glue / tools went in that upper permanent 'inner box'
3. side area / brace out, nearest to camera, model on removable platform with wheel chocks & removable handle which allows me to lift the model out from under the 'inner box'

The transport for the 2001 trip went perfect, the key to success was to never let the thing turn over on its side.

[Helix]

Awesome stuff guys, thanks for the feedback, we all have our own individual ways of doing things

Cheers

Ray

[BMXNBULLDOG]

I found a way back in the 90's that i like to use. I took a bankers box or document box that has a seperate box that slides in and out of the outer box, and bought 4 inch foam from a fabric store and fit it to the inner box. I cut "squares" for the cars by putting them where I thought they would set the best and drew a box around them with a sharpie so the car would be able to set down inside the box. I then cut the boxes out with an electric knife so that the car will sit down in the "box" i cut the cut out piece in half or a correct thickness so that I have a piece of foam at the bottom of each "box"and a thickness of foam for the top. So car goes in "box" , foam top goes on. Car protected. I have room for 3 cars on one end facing the center of the box and 3 more on the other end and 1 1/20 indy car in the middle 90 degrees to the cars on each end. I took it in the car from Colorado to the GSL in 97 with zero damage and no slow driving. LOL. I have since built another one for the cars I've built since then. I also stored all my models in their spots for more then 15 years and had no damage what so ever. Sorry so long winded without a picture I thought I needed to explain so everyone would understand. thanks.