I have quite a few Eduard and Tamiya planes, about ten, that I have not built. I wanted to, but knowing I will probably sell them off I am realizing that shipping is going to be a complete pain in the butt. With landing gear, props, antenna wire I just know its going to be a headache worrying about the breakage during shipping.
I am so close to pulling the rip cord ! Anyway…
Find a local club that meets every month. They often have swap meets and auctions. You may not get as much as you wanted, buy you’ll save on shipping and several needless trips to the post office.
Get an estimate on postage from your post office and include that in your asking price. May I assume you were planning on selling on ebay?
Well actually I should have written this up much better. I should have explained the idea of shipping the items after they have been built. Not as still in the box.
The USPS Priority Mail boxes have a flat rate for shipping within the USA. Most single engine single seat 1/48 fighter kits will fit into one of those boxes.
And I could have written up my response better: I meant building the kit, packing it VERY securely, and sticking it into a box of appropriate size. Take that to a local post office and ask them to weigh it for international shipping, as well as domestic. Add that to your asking price for the finished kit.
Many years ago I read an article about a builder who shipped a commissioned model airplane through the post. As I remember it, he “suspended” the model in the middle of a box (slightly larger than the plane) with rubber bands. I can’t remember if he then filled the box with styrofoam peanuts, or some such thing, or not. He did place the box with the suspended plane into a larger box, and shipped that. Again, my memory is shakey here, but I think the smaller box may have had styrofoam peanuts packed around it, within the larger box.
A royal pain in the arse if you ask me, but the model apparently arrived to the client completely intact.
This is why I stay away from heli’s so much.
Heck even the die cast companies have the foam molded around the plane and you have to add things sometimes later.
Might be able to get a hold of those really tiny pellets you see in stuffed animals, but it gets pricey fast.
I only shipped one built plane and it was no fun packing that up. I much prefer shipping armor.
Find a block of the soft closed cell foam like you might use for sponge chipping. Bigger than the chosen kit, slice it in half so you have a top and bottom. Trace your silhouette and dig out the foam as appropriate w relief cuts and divots for pilot tubes, landing gear etc. Find a bigger box, surround that foam w the peanuts or bubble wrap but don’t leave any voids so it can’t shift much. I’m thinking about this too since most likely later this year my wife and I are splitting up after I get an insurance settlement and I’ve got built kits to move, most likely cross country.
