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Hey im not sure that this is the best place but im hoping someone here has some info on this.

coming up in october im going to the states, and will be taking my army with me.now i need to take 2x 1520's and a pack max bag. whats the most reliable way to ship or move this stuff, that ballances cost with time and well who doesnt abuse the heck out of it. would id be "cheaper/safer" to take 3 extra cases as checked luggage, how good does BF go as checked luggage?
does anyone have experiances with overall shipping this stuff around in various ways need to determine the best way to do it that doesnt cost a million buck. (just saw that to ship a pack max for example via USPS usa to my place was $370)

thanks heaps

*NEVER* check anything you wouldn't be comfortable throwing down the stairs or sitting on. The checked baggage basically will have the pressure of hundreds of pounds on it as well as being tumbled about.

If you had a hard case, I would feel comfortable with models in good foam, but also remember, your checked bags *WILL* be opened and inspected. This means you have a random shot your minis which are in foam will be tossed, fall out of their foam and then be dumped back in to the case like they are baby toys. Models show up 'weird' on x-rays, so it will increase the chance of a search.

Carry-on is pretty good, as long as you don't end up being in a later boarding class where they say "sorry, we have to check that at the plane, the carry on is full". That is the risk you take with carry on.

Is this a vacation or a 'one-way' moving situation? If it is a 'move' you may want to bite the bullet and just ship them to guarantee they don't get damaged. It does kinda suck if you are a just taking a short trip and want your models... 2 1520s is a lot of models! I would never check my 1520 :(

yeah its my csm army and for 2 weeks... :( if i was going looooong term then it would be shipped normally, and what you say is very true about checked baggage, i just remembered all the broken stuff the tsa did for me last time i was over there.

so with checked baggage well out of the loop, has anyone shipped BF long distance and got recomandations for who is a good carrier, looking to ballance cost/time/quality of service.

I travel a lot with my army to different events for the last 10 years. I flew often with my armies (50+). Trips include like 15 hours flight to HK from Chicago, or 4 transit airports. etc with my army checked in. your question really focus on checked in and here is my view on it.

First, is not the form that going to protect your models but the case itself (see below). I had done with both hard case and soft case that is design for wargamming include GW stuff. Use hard case.

2nd TSA is going to open your case. If they have no clue how to open it then they going to drop a lot of your models on the ground. So make sure is dummy proof on how to open your case. Don't tape it or make it hard to open. And they they are open it should be clear whats inside without them moving too much around.

3rd Put that sticker on your case. either say like fragile or like hand with care. All airline handle your baggage about the same way. is more are you lucky with a good guy on the baggage or a piss off guy that want to cause some problems.

How I pack my models: I use a HARD case. then I leave EACH model with little space as possible by filling the gap with plunk foam. Create an impact zone(Both side) around your case. Even a hard case is going to bend in the middle of the case so create a space/zone for that bend. I use a layer of empty foam. Easy for TSA to open; just lift and pack it back up. they stack them so if you have a column of suitcase and each weight around 50kg you going to have like 400kg put against your case and sometime that right in the middle of your case.

IMO BF is a giant waste of your money for what you are looking for. In my view, BF even cause more damage compare to other foam. The custom layout is good for like road trip or carry on but for checked baggage I will not use it. You are really just buying a problem with BF instead of solving one.

I wouldn't do it. Way too much risk of damage or loss. The only way I would do something like this, is if I was moving.
And even than, all of my 40K stuff would stay inside my personal vehicle at all times.

I would suggest playing on Vassal while you are abroad.