Air Travel & ADLG

Introduction

When first posted this article it was a request for help:

I'd like to hear tips from players who regularly travel to events by air. Especially, tips for packing figures and terrain in carry on baggage. How do you avoid damage to things like spears and lances?

I have absolutely no plans to fly to tournaments whatsoever, but I've always been intrigued how those that do carry their troops.

I asked the question on both the ADLG & Society of Ancients forums too, as well as emailing a few players I knew to be regular travellers. Now, after a flurry of replies, it's time to thank everyone who took the trouble to reply and expand the post with the information and tips they provided.

Summary

Naturally, some replies were more detailed than others, but they were all interesting. It's clear there's no universal method or approach; there are lots of individual tweaks and preferences. However, there are some consistent themes:

• Magnets are your friend. Everyone used magnets, in one form or another, to ensure minimal troop movement in transit.
• A "bespoke" travel box is mandatory be it a Really Useful Box or a metal biscuit tin.
• Additional padding inside the box (bubble wrap, foam or peanut packaging) is popular, but not universally so.
• Some form of "Priority Booking is common, usually because it allows a second piece of hand luggage.
• At some point, you will be stopped by airport security. Be prepared to open the boxes and to "warn" security staff about what's in your hand luggage (and its fragility).

Interestingly, there's no agreement on bag placement: using the overhead lockers, or placing a bag underneath the seat are equally popular.

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Individual Approaches

Read on for more details, tips, and links to useful websites.

Mike Bennett

• I aim to use a carry on bag, but pack for the hold (worst case) just in case.
• My bases ¹ contain rare earth magnets ².
• I use a couple of small, narrow “Really Useful Boxes” ³, ⁴. They are 80 mm wide (exactly 2 UD) and take about 2 commands each. This minimises space for figures to move around.
• Sometimes I add peanut packaging, but very loose as most figures will not move anyway and I do not want to damage spears and lances. The peanuts fit in between the spears.
• The bag fits in the overhead locker with the boxes flat in the bag. The aim is never to tip the boxes.
• If I am forced to check my bag, I also have a cloth bag. I put the two figure boxes in the bag and place it under the seat in front of me.

Mark Fry

• I use pre-drilled MDF base and magnets ⁵, ⁶.
• To carry the army, I use an empty biscuit box. Marks & Spencer's Belgian Chocolate Biscuit Selection comes in a suitable square metal box with lid.
• The box is deep enough to accommodate pikes, elephants, infantry and mounted standard bearers or cavalry lances.
• Most 15 mm armies, even large ones of 30+ units, will fit along with ambush markers, a camp and dismounts.
• I have two small plastic business card boxes, with magnetic vinyl glued to the bottom which I also put in the tin. They contain things like terrain markers on coins, casualty markers and command markers.
• Once the everything is in the box, I pad any space with bubble-wrap. Not too tight, to avoid damaging the figures, but enough to stop accidental movement in transit. On top of the bubble wrap I put my measuring sticks.
• Finally, I place a couple of large elastic bands around the box which goes into my hard shelled case cushioned with items such as rolled socks etc.
• The case is my second piece of hand luggage and goes in the overhead lockers.
• If available, I buy priority boarding so I can take both my case and a carry on bag. This also ensures I board first and have a choice of overhead lockers.
• I occasionally get stopped at airport security, and usually get a smile off the security agent when I open the box.

Marc (aka babyshark)

• It is important that the figures go under the seat in front. If you put them in the overhead bin then you are guaranteed to have some clown rush onto the plane at the last minute and rearrange all your stuff to get his bag into the overhead.

Paul Dawson

• I use two Really Useful Boxes ⁷ lined with sticky backed, steel paper cut to size and magnetic vinyl added to my bases.
• The boxes are placed in a small bag that will go under the seat, and I take care not to overfill the bag.
• Apart from the army, the bag only holds the things I need on the journey, everything else (rules, terrain, etc) is in a second case destined for an overhead locker ⁸.
• When going through security, I sometimes take the boxes out to ensure they don't get mishandled.

Tim Porter

• I favour a combination of magna-based figures and a metal biscuit tin, topped off with foam padding.
• Breakages are repaired (presumably with superglue included in the travel kit) on arrival.

Mick Hession (DBMM player)

• I put terrain, rules etc in my checked bag but the army itself is always carry-on.
• All of my figures are on magnetic bases and carried in metal boxes (mostly Marks and Spencer's Christmas shortbread tins).
• The boxes stack snugly in a fabric Tesco "Bag for Life" making it easily accessible for security checks.
• As I am carrying my own figures, I know to carry them the right way up, without any padding. I rely on the base magnets to hold everything in place.
• The bag is placed under the seat rather than the overhead locker, where they may get bashed around by fellow passengers trying to squeeze in their wheelie cases.
• It's a good idea to learn the phrase "lead toy soldiers - a bit fragile" in the local language for the return leg's security checks.

Richard Jeffery Cook (MeG player)

• I use plastic A4 craft filing boxes ⁹ lined with steel paper. These are much cheaper than Really Useful Boxes.
• Magnetised bases with soft bubble wrap between the bases to stop lateral movement.
• I try to avoid figures with vulnerable spears.

Notes

1. Pre-drilled MDF from Products for Wargamers. Not on web site, but available on request. The cost is the same as regular bases. ↩

2. One magnet for 2-4 foot; two magnets for four or more foot & cavalry; three magnets for elephants etc. From AliExpress and elsewhere. ↩

3. Either 0.9 litre (185 x 080 x 060, L/W/D in mm) or 1.5 litre (320 x 080 x 060, L/W/D in mm) boxes from Really Useful Boxes ↩

4. Lined with FerroFlex® Ultra ↩

5. Pre-drilled MDF bases with 5 mm holes from Warbases and 5 x 2 mm magnets from First4Magnets ↩

6. One magnet for standard units & two for camp bases. ↩

7. 1.75 litre (195 x 150 x 060, L/W/D in mm). ↩

8. Ryan Air & EasyJet charge for a second cabin bag as part of their priority boarding "service". ↩

9. Hobbycraft UK stock these. Size: H 5.5 x W 21.6 x D 30.4 cm . ↩