Minis in the Sky

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Andrejko
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Minis in the Sky

Post by Andrejko »

Hi,

I am planning a visit to the UK soon and I was wondering if anybody has encountered any problems with carrying their miniatures through the airport.

I am asking because of the War on Terror and miniatures being pretty sharp and metal.

I was worried that somebody might think I was going to Hijack the plane a metal spear (the size of a toothpick) and I would be forced to leave them or something. That would be a disaster.

I know, I know…..it sounds pretty silly but I think the UK takes this stuff seriously.

I was planning on taking them in my hand luggage in a miniatures case. Anybody done this before?
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Dalamar
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Post by Dalamar »

Done this multiple times.

They will ask you to open it and show them, so make sure you are able to do that... one time I had some unpainted miniatures simply stuffed in a box and customs officer was digging trough that clutter of metal :P on their scanner it only showed as one big blob of metal ;)

If you carry them in your miniatures case you'll most probably just have to open it, show all layers and it's a go.
7th edition army book:
Games Played: 213
Games Won: 114 (54%)
Games Drawn: 33 (15%)
Games Lost: 66 (31%)

8th Edition army book W/D/L:
Druchii: 36/4/16
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Sedro
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Post by Sedro »

I have flought (correct irregularverb form of fly?) from paris to gothenburg and I had my minis (a corsair command group I just bought there) in my hand luggage it was not much minis and they were in blister, but I didn't got any word from them that they could be dangerous or something.
But don't trust me to much since I did only have 3 minis in blister.
Sligui_sg
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Post by Sligui_sg »

my cousin was held up for a long time flying from austria to canada when he wanted to bring his minis as carry on. Next year, he brought them again but in his luggage and was perfectly fine.

There might have been minimal damage done to a few minis but it really was fixable and there was no problems at customs at all :D

Hope this helps
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Colonel
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Post by Colonel »

My gaming group of about 8 regularly fly from California to Arkansas/Texas/Tennesee with minis as a carry-on and usually only a few of us have to open our bags. Just make sure any tools and glue are in checked luggage.

Of course I cant speek to flight in Slovakia.. but likely the worst they would do is ask you to go back and check the bag.
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Dalamar
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Post by Dalamar »

I've carried all my minis in hand luggage while moving to UK... still have some left back home and will be transported the same way. Never had any problems except for nice people at the border asking me to show them the minis (jealous!).

But if you have a way to secure them in main luggage (new GW Heavy Support Bag is awesome for that, seriously! just got myself one for my flights :P) then it will save you some hassle.

And yeah, if you plan to take your paints/modelling tools put them in the main luggage just to be safe. They are always funny about liquids and scalpels at the airports ;) heck, can't even take nail clippers with you... like you're going to hijack a plane with nail clippers <.<
7th edition army book:
Games Played: 213
Games Won: 114 (54%)
Games Drawn: 33 (15%)
Games Lost: 66 (31%)

8th Edition army book W/D/L:
Druchii: 36/4/16
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Malys the younger
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Post by Malys the younger »

I've carried minis and paint in checked luggage before. My name was actually called over the loudspeaker about it. I had to explain whether the paints were water or oil based. :)
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Andrejko
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Post by Andrejko »

I think I will take them as hand luggage as from the replies it seems to be very possible to get them on the plane.

I would not like to trust my precious miniatures with the baggage handlers. If my bag gets lost then all my hard work would be gone and I would probably have to cry like a baby. It’s never happened to me before but I have heard some stories.

I don’t mind showing them off or waiting a bit longer.
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Demetrius
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Post by Demetrius »

Unless you have one of the new suit case things, itd be worth taking them as hand luggage IMHO because you can't lock them and people may swipe a couple of minis.
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Dannyfave
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Post by Dannyfave »

for a scouting trip from california to wyoming i took it all in my checked baggage but that wasn't an international flight so maybe that doesn't count
AKA Dannyfave, I just don't know if I could change my name here.
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