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Forgive me if this has been asked about or discussed before. It’s just a random thing I was thinking about yesterday.
Has anyone ever tried getting a block of styrofoam, slicing it in half, and then carving out the area inside to fit a windstone? I’m sure there would be a little wiggle room so a layer of bubble wrap might be needed too. I know a lot of people pay to ship empty windstone boxes around, and there’s generally a high demand for fitted boxes, and it got me thinking of other ways around that.
I know when shipping without a fitted windstone box, most people just do the whole “bubblewrap burrito” thing, is that correct? But with the weight of windstones something that would keep it firmly in place without wiggling would be best, which is why the fitted boxes are preferential especially for larger sculpts. So I was thinking how I might make something similar. And the styrofoam thing kind of came to mind.
I’m not like, looking for advice or anything (I’m not mailing any windstones in the near future) I was just wondering if anyone has ever tried it. I’m sort of new to the forum and collecting so maybe there’s an obvious reason against what I was thinking of that I’m not aware of 😛 If not styrofoam, has anyone tried to make their own cardboard fitted box, or anything similar? Or do you guys all just use tons of bubblewrap?
or maybe a mold with some kind of block of foam? Back in the day, Windstones would come in styrofoam boxes. Ive got an old green mother styrofoam, and my large blue and red wizard came in a styrofoam “box” too…the box disentegrated in transit, but the wizard survived.
and yes, I use tons of bubble wrap, and then something harder-like packing paper or news print to stuff in the space between the bubble wrap and the box. The paper wont compress and shift like the peanuts will, and when crumpled, it seems to protect the box and the sculpt pretty well (disclaimer: dont use ONLY paper-its a bad idea for you and your Windstone)
I had a friend who would painstaking do this for many of the Windstones she shipped without a box. It worked very well. My only advice is to 1) vacuum out the hole of do something to clean the inside because it can get pretty messy, and 2) don’t forget the platic bag or something else around the piece to protect the paint job. The paint jobs will still scuff against the styrofoam.
I have used these before, when shipping expensive three dimensional artworks:
http://www.lpsind.com/InstapakCushion.htm
Volunteer mod- I'm here to help! Email me for the best response: nambroth at gmail.com
My art: featherdust.comThose look awesome, Jennifer! My husband might just have to buy me some (he had my father-in-law helping clean the garage when we weren’t home and said FIL recycled ALL my Windstone boxes… )
Do you think they’d work for Windstone sculptures, Jennifer? I’m about to do a cross-country move and I can’t fit them all in the car so I have to pack several pieces with no original boxes well enough to withstand movers.
Thanks!
Do you think they’d work for Windstone sculptures, Jennifer? I’m about to do a cross-country move and I can’t fit them all in the car so I have to pack several pieces with no original boxes well enough to withstand movers.
Thanks!
Maybe!! Probably not for really pointy bits, such as horns, or pieces that jut out deeply (thinking the emp’s tail here) but otherwise they would probably be better than nothing.
Volunteer mod- I'm here to help! Email me for the best response: nambroth at gmail.com
My art: featherdust.comThose insta pack cushions work great on windstones. I have a few I made my own boxes for with those and they work great and keep their shape.
Got a busted Windstone?
drag0nfeathersdesign@gmail.com
*OPEN for repairs**SEEKING GRAILS*
Arc-en-ciel Emperor
Siphlophis Male Dragon
Calypso Hatching Empress
Ivory Moss Sitting Baby Kirin
Tattoo Mother Kirin
Emerald Tabby Male Griffin
Tie Dye + Orion Hatching Royalty
Indigo Rockfish + Flame Tabby Little Rock Dragons
Dragon Quail + Obsidian Frost Old Warriors
Betta Sun Dragon + Male Dragon
Dreamscape, Orion, Poison Dart, Fireberry, Spangler + Tigerberry DragonsDo you think they’d work for Windstone sculptures, Jennifer? I’m about to do a cross-country move and I can’t fit them all in the car so I have to pack several pieces with no original boxes well enough to withstand movers.
Thanks!
Maybe!! Probably not for really pointy bits, such as horns, or pieces that jut out deeply (thinking the emp’s tail here) but otherwise they would probably be better than nothing.
Maybe it would work for things like the Emps tail if you used more than just two of the packs?
Another possible solution for custom windstone cushions…
That sprayfoam in a can that is used for windows and such that you get at home improvement stores sprayed into bags, in sections (for removal), around a wrapped windstone. The sprayfoam will take pretty much any shape but it might get expensive. Maybe drag0nfeathers could weigh in on that option? *shrug*I have used these before, when shipping expensive three dimensional artworks:
This looks like the stuff my Secret Keeper was packed in.
I have used these before, when shipping expensive three dimensional artworks:
This looks like the stuff my Secret Keeper was packed in.
Mine as well. It seems to work quite well, as my SK survived shipping and two moves… well, I HOPE she survived the second move. I haven’t unpacked her yet, but I brought her over in the car, so I know she wasn’t banged about.
Windstone collector in remission. 😉
My rock dragons came padded by those instapak cushions.
Curious, for those who have used them, where did you purchase them from? Any place you don’t have to buy them by the caseload?
If my calculations are correct, the cost to make one protective box from the prices on that website (assuming you need 2 cushions: one for top and bottom), ends up being around ~$10-$12 for each box with the instapaks that don’t need a warmer (even more for the largest Windstones). Doesn’t sound too bad considering how much we pay to buy or have boxes shipped from members, but these need to be bought by the case, which is pretty expensive upfront. And that doesn’t include the cost to ship which was estimated at $22 to my zip code.
I thiiiink I bought mine off of eBay as a smaller lot. It’s been 2 years though and I forget, since I buy so many packing supplies! 🙁 Sorry.
Volunteer mod- I'm here to help! Email me for the best response: nambroth at gmail.com
My art: featherdust.comYeah, you can buy those off ebay.
I have a LOT of statues that don’t have original boxes. Not windstones, but expensive, heavy, hard to replace statues. With the likelihood of moving soon, I’d need a way to safely pack them. Thing is, most are super pointy… so I’m unsure how this would work with them.I’ve received many things from ebay with this as the packing material and haven’t had a break yet. So I’d say it’s a good bet for windstone packing!
Depending on where the points are, I find for stuff like that if there’s a flat or non- pointy side, it’s a good idea to tie the sculpt to the inside of the box. I’ve been doing that recently with unicorns since I had a few arrive with the tip of the horn bent or knocked off. You’d still bubblewrap the entire thing but that way it couldn’t bang against once side of the box.
With all around pointy items… hmm. Toughie. I have no idea how, for example, creatures from El manages to pack those pointy sculptures!
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