I've read here that a handful of y'all do commission work. How do you package and ship your models to the costumer, securely?

Do you leave some assemblies off? Obviously I'm sure antennas are left off.
Do you mount the to a base?
What packaging medium do you use?
Do you insure the package? For how much roughly?
Is there a certain carrier you suggest for this?

I'm curious because I'll be shipping a model for Christmas (hopefully) across the country and I want to get a jump on this packaging deal so I'm not trying to figure it out last minute.

Thanks for any help.

I can only comment on packing material - I use sea foam, or Oasis foam which is used in flower arranging. It cuts easily, so I get it to a rough shape and then press the model into it inside the box. I then do the same pressing it softly onto the top of the model, clamping it in place.. I find that it holds the model firmly but is soft enough to absorb impacts. I've shipped (excuse the pun) AFV models all over the world only using this stuff inside a box with very few breakages.

Sorry, don't mean to self-promote, but here's a post I've written about this

https://butterfingeredmodelbuilder.wordpress.com/2016/01/14/how-to-store-and-transport-models/

This one was pretty good

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/general_discussion/f/9/t/172709.aspx

Dustin,

My models - air, tanks, figures, and rigged ships - moved with me about 4,000 miles across the USA. Minimal damage. Of course, they were almost always in my supervision.

What is it you are mailing? I recently mailed a 1/32 helicopter. It was a 2-blade but the blade hung out over the nose so I removed it and the tail rotor. Then I wrapped the airframe in fine bubble wrap. Then I floated it in Styrofoam peanuts. That packing was enclosed in its box and that box was put into a slightly larger box, using wadded newspaper and bulkier bubble wrap for stuffing. That created a tightly held - but not pressured - model in a box that was shielded from shock and compression by the outer box.

Aircraft? My 1/32 jets and 1/48 bombers travel well floating in peanuts. Gear doors and pitots and antennas may not like that. However, my favorite way is to ut the model into as big a zip lock bag as it takes to contain it, seal it enough to stick a straw into, and gently suck out enough air to have the bag gentle collapse around the model; quickly remove the straw and zip it up. Then float the model in peanuts.

Tanks? I also pack them in the ziploc method. The idea is simply to contain the model in a firm grip inside the baggie, then cushion it in something shock absorbing.
I remove antennae and sometimes a machine gun on a pedestal, but to ship a tank/AFV/truck, you mainly need only wrap it in a cling wrap or bubble wrap, then float it in peanuts. Friends and I have mailed many AFVs like this with no reports of damage.

Ships? Tricky. If it is waterline, simple. Glue a nut inside over a hole and bolt the rascal to a rigid material, then put that in a box. Then pack that box in a box with shock absorbing packing material.

Full hull? This depends on whether there is railing and such or if the deck is "clear". If clear, take a sturdy box. Pock holes along it. Take as many paperclips as you need and bend it open 90 degrees. Pock an end into the box. Stretch a rubber band between the clips on each side of the box and suspend the model in the rubber bands. Glue piece of cardstock along the hull to prevent lateral shifting. Then pack that box in a box with shock absorbing packing material.

I hope this helps.

Thank you all very much.

Frederick, thats great info. I'll be shipping a 1/35th Abrams.