Shipping Your Soldiers To Foreign Shores
Has anyone shipped major amounts of soldiers and terrain abroad? I need to get my Indian Mutiny and Crete 1941 collections to Greece next year. What would people recommend? I've sold stuff on Ebay before and single boxes can be expensive. Time-wise it doesn't matter as the stuff doesn't need to be there until early summer 2010, so a slow boat to China method would be OK. Must say I am hugely confused about box to weight calculations as this seems to be the basis of the charges for air freight. Can anyone suggest anything? I'm trying to guessimate the weight which I reckon will be around 50kg or more, a mixture of soldiers, buildings and terrain. I reckon around 2500 figures, about 50 buildings, a lot of trees and shrubs and walling etc.

Daft though this may seem, i'd drive it there myself as it's probably quite a weight/bulk and you want to ensure safe arrival. Yes Greece is a long way but not a drive that would bother me too much....but then i'm a little barking mad when it comes to driving stupid distances...Hampshire to Inverness then back in 24 hrs anyone?

I reckon it'd take me three or four days to get to Brindisi, then the overnight ferry. I wonder if you can hire a motor in the UK and dump it in Greece and fly back? I had considered it as an option, I did drive from Calais to Boulogne via Berlin once.

Cheers Cornet, maybe you'd ship me a nice Highway Patrol Car (preferably a van). If I have to pass through places like Albania I might need shotguns too.

Should be able to run down through France then Italy and Ferry accross. I'd presumed the figures were coming back if they're not then I might consider sending them by a very reputable courier.

I've only ever had a large amount of stuff transported overseas by professional carriage people and it was very hit and miss. The timing (from NZ to UK) was excellent, but the packaging was very random - things like cushions were covered in bubblewrap whilst some glass and china was simply wrapped in newspaper, with inevitable results...

Paul - one way trip, I'll still see the boys, only less often.....

when I shipped all the stuff I had accumulated over 5 years from the UK to Greece I used a carriage service as Giles said. Mind you I packed them all first myself and then they put them in their own larger boxes. The only thing I will say for sure is to use those little polysterene balls to fill all available space in the boxes where you put your minis. I remember I used magnetic basing for all minis AND the ball thingies. Sorry but I can't for the life of me remember how they are properly called.

Good luck whatever you choose. I can only say stuff shipped from here to OZz is apparently fired from a giant trebuchet, judging by the condition it always seems to arrive in regardless of packing.

Theo, they're called expanded styrene beads. B&Q's sell them as insulation material.

you speak like an expert Gung - does that mean they have an important application in a certain Polish project ? ;)

GM, no, but I used them to insulate some hard to get to spots of flooring in my previous home. Though, now you mention it, they would make great model snow balls.

and before we know it you'll be selling them as such on your website .....