Tutorial: Miniature mounting system for transport boxes

Hello everyone, 

 

it's Andy, again. The “Bembel Miniature Cup” is in sight and so that your projects arrive safely, I will show you today my concept for new inserts/trays in my transport box.

Before our recent trip to the Monte San Savino Show I thought a lot about how to transport my miniatures to Italy by plane. Security checks, hand luggage, and a wooden box with metal parts kept me awake. I needed a solution that could be presented during an security inspection without much effort and, ideally, required no tools for assembly and disassembly.

Just using Bluetac/Pattafix was too unstable for me and gluing it would have risked leaving residue. That's why I decided on fixing the miniatures (or better: their bases/plinths) to the carrier trays with screws. In order not to have to carry a screwdriver with me, I decided on a combination of screw-in sleeves, M4 set screws and knurled nuts (links as example). This means that the bases/plinths can be easily attached without tools.

Since time was running short before the trip, I simply used a wooden board and drilled holes (as you can see in the picture below). However, for going to the Bembel Miniature Cup, I will upgrade that to a wooden pegboard (hole diameter 5mm, spacing 15mm). One screw per base/plinth is sufficient for 28mm projects and busts. Multiple screws are only necessary for larger or heavier projects. 

A note on drilling

The fact that I had to drill holes into the plinths of finished projects for the trip to Monte made me a little uneasy. To avoid dust on the miniatures, I drilled very carefully and vacuumed while drilling, which worked very well.

For future projects, in preparation for screw-in sleeves, I will make sure to drill a hole in the base in advance if there is any chance that the miniature is to be transported. 

Conclusion

The security check at the airport was a breeze with very nice officials, the miniatures survived the journey perfectly and fixing and releasing them was very easy - all in all, the effort was worth it.

Thanks for reading and your interest. Feel invited to comment in the section below. 

Andy