I've got a small toolbox for portable modeling that I can take in the car for road trips, hobby shows and club meets. But this time I'm tackling a different conveyance. I'll be flying to Asia this weekend (yes, one leg is on Malaysian Airlines ). Knives in the plane are a no-no and most solvents and glues may not past muster for checked baggage. Any thought on getting there with my supplies? I'm thinking acrylic paints and paint markers might be part of the answer, but what about glues?

I don't know the answer but after watching the news I don't know if I would get on a Malaysian plane.

I certainly would not fly Malaysian Air. However, if you put your glue and paint in baggies there should be no problem packing them. I believe you can even put them in your carry on, so long as each one is in its own bag.

Before things got really crazy, I would put Tamiya glue (xtra thin and thick) in a plastic box in my suitcase along with Tamiya enamels (not acrylics) and thinner. Now I'm getting a bit more concerned.

You could mail them to yourself.

Call the airline and ask them for assistance. If all else fails then buy glue when you arrive. I would put the knife in my shaving kit with the blades in a separate container. Same goes for the glue.

Got here largely unmolested. Nobody questioned my luggage, local Customs just waved me past the X-ray machine...Not sure I'll get that kinda luck in the USA on the way home.

I got her with my knives, acrylic paints, sprue cutter and Testors liquid cement. so now I just need to stay awake long enough o get some work done.

well, not a great success. but a good start. Get it all here, got some paint on and got a couple of glue joints done.


Now to pack it up and haul it all back home.

Mark,
Interesting experiment you successfully tried! And you remembered the clothespins! You say you were waived passed the x-ray at customs, but did you ask anyone at the airline beforehand if it was alright to pack those items? If not, did anyone at the airline ask about the chemicals? Did anyone at the airline or in security see them? Surely they showed up on a luggage scanner somewhere and were either shrugged off or deemed legal.

The reason I'm inundating you with questions like a six year old is because I travel frequently and have taken kit parts to work on, but just plastic and cutting & sanding media, nothing as risky as paints or glue. I usually take the mundane bits of a build--armor road-wheels and indie tank treads, aircraft stores, etc. Things I can work on while sitting on a hotel couch watching television. Kills time on the road while saving precious time at the workbench later on at home.

BTW--your kit looks good. Which one is that? A Navy 'Cat' of some sort? 1/72nd scale? And I like your mini-cutting mat. I may have to find one of those. Hotels hate it when you scratch up their coffee tables!

Good luck on the return trip with customs and all. Happy Travels.

Keith

Here's what I hauled over:

plastic container with Vallejo acrylic paints, paint pallet, sprue cutter and cutting pad.


Tray from a fishing tackle box with knives, sanding sticks, toothpicks, paint brushes, tape, clamps, paint pens and glue.

All stuffed in my checked bag.
No I didn't pre clear any of the stuff. In the past I did haul Tamiya enamels and thinner along with their glues. I guess I'm a little more paranoid now.

I'm sure the bag was X-rayed before it got on the first plane, the paint pens and glue bottle should have showed up on the X-ray, but not their labeling. So they must have been the wrong shape for raising interest. My last trip over, someone did open my luggage to see if I was carrying more than the legal amount of currency. But not this time.

I think I got the cutting pad at Michaels along with a knife set.. Also turns out to be a great mouse pad on their glass topped desk.

The kit is Monogram's 1/72 F8F Bearcat.

Hi I'm Anthony I work for TSA to get the info you need go to this web site.... tsa.gov...They have a list of what can and can't go. You right no blades are allowed in your carry-on but can go in checked baggage.

Well, the TSA page wasn't much help, but it did direct me to an FAA page HAZ-MAT that's pretty clear, if the model glue or superglue is flammable, it's not permitted.

Well, with a little restructuring, I'm trying it again. Switched from Tamiya extra thick glue (flammable) to Plastruct Bondeme (not flammable) but will it glue parts together? and I found some Vallejo Plastic putty, resin based.], see how that works.

Made it back mostly safe and sound. Did learn that you need to make sure the paint bottles are tightly closed before packing them. One of the paint bottles leaked all over the tub I had it sealed in. So no damage to the clothes in the suitcase.

Best I can tell the Bondene worked just as well as regular modeling glue.

Leapt out on a limb today. Glued together my first fuselage on the road.


Now I gott figure out hoe to protect it on the plane home.

Another trip back to Malaysia, my 6th this year (since June actually).

Thanks to Joel_W, I realized that I could leave the stuff TSA disapproves of at the office while I'm back in the states.

I this far on this F8F before I took it home to stay for painting.