Transporting LEGO displays

Last year I managed to fill up my entire car with Lego modules to take to model train shows with BLTG.

I found the 'Ezy' 4 draw storage cabinets ideal to put in the car and a Lego structure on a 32x32 base plate would fit in each draw. Larger modules fitted into large cardboard boxes; often with a waste of space.

How do you all take your modules to train shows, conventions, etc?

Do you have especially built containers or have you found an ideal container in a shop?

I'm very interested in finding out how to move 48x48 baseplates with Lego structures on them. Any suggestions?

In my experience the only way is this: with great difficulty.
When I'm transporting a layout to a display I tend to put each section in a plastic bag, then box everything in the most suitable boxes I can find, often 4 or 5 buildings may make their way into the same box. Track is a no brainer, just boxed and same with baseplates. But plastic shopping bags and ziplock bags are invaluable to me.

During the past twelve months I have transported my LEGO by way of putting sets in two different 20 litre storage containers.

One for the larger items and one for the accessories and vehicles which has worked well however the downside is that you will need to grab some bubble wrap and/or bits of foam to keep them from moving around !!!

I am very likely to change my way of doing it this year because I will most likely be heading to a bigger exhibition which will require a better and bigger layout

I custom made a wooden storage box for some of the "El Bricko" buildings. Otherwise I have a source of cardboard boxes that fit two 32 baseplates very nicely.

Intrastella,

Brilliant western theme. Well done.

Where did you get the boxes for the 2x32 baseplates?

The boxes come from work, they are for paper towels for toilets "Scott" brand. They just happen to fit two baseplates with about 10mm spare.

Hello I don’t normally post on the net but I thought I would share my method
I have approx. 20 plastic bins of various depth that are otherwise all the same dimensions 70 studs by 40. I use the shallow ones for vehicles, medium and large are for buildings and Pirate ships with masts attached. I got these 20 years ago from hardware stores and always kick myself that I didn’t get more as they aren’t around anymore.
When I ran out of space I got foam boxes used to move broccoli around. Not ideal but they were cheap light and if they broke I used them as filler.
For trees, people and signs i use plastic ammo boxes about a foot long by half a foot wide. The beauty of all 3 methods are that they all stack neatly into the same system and the removalist truck that i had to use the last time i transported to a show.
As seen
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=20888
Sadly i cant find a picture of the boxes

One of the tricks the M>LTC uses to some success is our scenery is seperate to the buildings.

We build our track on chipboard sized to 3x3 32 baseplates (or 2x2 48 baseplates). These stack well on top of one another, and the ballast for the track holds the plates together. The track gets put on at the show.

The buildings either have their own baseplates, or just sit on top of the scenery. When we move them they sit in the cars tightly packed on the seats or back of the station wagons.

For really large awkward stuff we may use a beanbag to sit the building on, or pack towels around them. Smaller stuff might be packed in whatever large plastic tubs are cheap at Bunnings. The larger ones tend to be more useful, as long as they fit well in the car.

M>LTC will hopefully soon have its own trailer so we might change to larger modules then.

Thanks Debrick and peterab

That is similar to what i have done.

This year I have partially finished ScreamWorld for our upcoming train shows.

It is built on 48x48 baseplates so I am searching for containers that are square [40cm x 40cm ] and that are stackable.

I also have a 1.3m tower which houses the 'Creepy Collosus' and the 'Dreadful Drop'; I don't want to use the names from a nearby theme park in case I get sued.

I feel that I will have to build a special box to hold it.

Any suggestions?

I have a large 100L crate that fits all my built models and another for all my parts.

Paul