Travel Cases

[Oceaneer99]

I built a model travel case last night.  It is made of layers of dense, firm foam that I cut to rectangles with a knife to fit a cardboard box.  I used a butane-powered hot knife to cut out holes or pockets to fit models.  When the pieces were done, I glued them together using spray adhesive, except for the center two.  All I have to do is lift up the top half to expose the models.

The foam was used to package industrial components.  Unfortunately, I only have a few left.  I need to figure out what gets shipped in them so that I can save more from the trash can.


http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-3327

The models here:

1/72 Spitfire
1/72 I-16
1/80 Lisa Hy-Bird

[Oceaneer99]

By the way, my inspiration was Lou's transport boxes, reprinted below.  The original discussion is at:

   
Transport boxes . . .
http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/SMF/index.php?topic=164.0

Part two:
The top form is removed to reveal the BAe Hawk nicely cushioned in foam.






The layers of 1/4 inch foam are glued using plain white glue, wood blocks to apply pressure and patience.





More to come.
Lou

[Oceaneer99]

I'm adding a discussion from the gallery:

lastvautour      
Excellent. How dense is the foam in comparison to a sponge?

Oceaneer99     
Thank you for the comments. The foam is pretty firm. Each sheet is about 3/8 inch thick, and if you squeeze it with your fingers, it only goes down to about 1/4 inch.

lastvautour     
Thanks Garet. My packing materiel is very close to an ordinary sponge.

In the past (1980s), I had trouble with the soft foam, as it sometimes can break down and make a mess of things.  I had a fragile sea shell packed in some of that, and the foam turned gooey after several years in storage.  Of course, I don't intend to leave my models in the case for long, just for occasional transport and temporary storage during basement workroom changes.  The last time I moved things around, I just stacked the models in a big box, which was probably not a good idea.

Garet

[Oceaneer99]

I walked the production floor yesterday and saw pieces of those pink foam pads everywhere, used for all sorts of things like keeping tag-out tags on pegs.  However, I didn't see, say, a garbage can full of them.  I think this is the same sort of dense foam that they sell in rolls as inexpensive sleeping bag pads for camping.  I'll take a look in the outdoor section of my local store and see.

While it is firmer than the foam they use in couch cushions, it is not as firm as closed-cell foam used for making kayak accessories (I have a small sheet of that as a seat pad for my son's kayak).

Garet

[Oceaneer99]

I checked, and it turns out my local outdoor equipment shop sells a 3/8-inch thick pad of the same foam (except blue), 2 x 6 feet in size, rolled up for about US$10.  It is intended to be used under sleeping bags to provide a bit of insulation and cushioning.

[dave_t]

Garet,
     I saw this on one of the Japanese sites, thought you might like to see it...

http://saiunkai.s261.xrea.com/cgi-main/img-box/img20091113090838.jpg