The Road to #SWCC 2019 - It's Bin Fun (Not Really)

Bin There, Done (with) That

So in my last blog post, I was planning to use a new Husky 25 gallon bin to transport my armor:

You know, the one I painted and can't return to Home Depot?

The problem is, even the smaller bin is over-sized by air carrier standards.

Air carriers measure luggage by linear dimensions; that it, the L + W + H of an item. Over-sized baggage is anything over 62" linear. Even the small Husky comes in at about 72" - that's 10" over the limit, so not even wiggle room worthy.

A confirmation on another Celebration group I follow from one of our airline veterans confirmed this.

Over-sized Baggage on Airlines

So the different airlines have their own policies about over-sized baggage fees, ranging in the realm of about $75 to $200 per piece, one way. United and American (my airline for this trip, thanks to frequent flier miles) are the worst, at $200 per item.

Worse is that fees can stack. Say your over-sized item was over 50 pounds. It would be considered over-sized (+$200) AND overweight (+$200). Add on the normal checked bag fee of $25, $35, or $50, and it can cost anywhere between $425 - $450 to put your armor bin on a plane, ONE WAY. You can check out American Airline's "wonderful" policies here (in short: do NOT fly to cons with American or United if you can avoid it). This actually happened to someone in my garrison who flew United for Celebration one year (probably Orlando).

Southwest, by comparison, would charge only $75 each way since the 25 gallon Husky is between 62 and 85 inches linear (their policy can be found here). But your airline is going to charge out the nose for over-sized bags, what are you other options?

Hard Suitcases

The least worrisome option is a hard suitcase that will protect your armor (minus the bucket, which you'll need to transport as carry-on luggage) without qualifying as over-sized. Of course, hard suitcases can be even more expensive than an armor bin, but will save you more in the long run.

Thankfully, my garrison mate TK-70701 has experience traveling with armor, and a hard suitcase that I can borrow, which is a godsend considering that I already spent $60 on a Husky I won't even be able to use.

Edit; TK 78383 recommends the Sterelite Foot Locker at Walmart. It measures in at 62.75" according to the online specs, but there might be some wiggle room with your airline. He says he's "done this multiple times" with this particular box.

Admiral's Club or Similar

Sometimes, top-tier airline travelers can travel with over-sized bags at the same rate as a normal checked bag, but this varies from airline to airline.

Ship by Freight Carrier

You can always use UPS or FedEx to ship your bin. Obviously ground freight is most economical, but can still be around $120 each way by my own estimates. And if you need it overnight... you may as well pay the airline to do it, because it will be just as expensive, if not more so.

The Kessel Run

People in some garrisons will sometimes own or rent a large truck or trailer and drive to Celebration with several bins, usually for a fee of $150 - $200 round trip (it's really up to them what they charge - this is based on my own experience). They meet you at your hotel or at Celebration with your bin, you do the con, and then you pack it up and they drive back home with it. It's a lot cheaper than many airlines' over-sized baggage fees or ground shipping, especially if you want to get your full-sized bin to the convention and don't want to buy a hard suitcase or worry about baggage handlers.

This can be handy if the person doing this is someone you trust, their schedule coincides with yours, and you're staying near the convention. I'm not staying near the convention and my schedule involves visiting my family back home as well, so I will probably not opt to do this for logistical purposes, especially if there's a hard suitcase available from my garrison mate.

Anyhow... back to other non-transportation-related news...

~~~~~*****~~~~~

Polishing armor

Armor now repaired (or at least good enough for a con), it was now time to shine it.

Sometimes you need to use a Magic Eraser, especially when boots (or bots, whatever) scuff against the shins. This doesn't really worry me, as the micro-abrasions can usually be buffed out with Novus 2 or car wax (see below).

For some of the scratched areas, I used a buffer wheel (that you can get with a headlight restoration kit) on my drill driver and Novus 3 to help relieve the scratches. I think at this rate I'll have to start making a Heavy Weapons Trooper backpack so I can just start weathering the armor and not have to worry about polishing it so much :D But until then, the buffing wheel and Novus work pretty well. Just ensure you support the piece properly with one hand while you work with the buffing (bugging?) wheel with the other hand.

Besides the normal Novus 1-2-3 for removing scratches, Turtle Wax or automotive was works really well to get white armor shiny. I use the Wax  & Dry stuff because it's easy to apply and shine.

The Side Gig

Along with the armor, I have another costume I have to wear: my recently approved black staff officer outfit.

This costume almost fell into my lap. A garrison mate who's about the same height and weight as me sold this for cheap, and I picked it up. Had to make a new hat (which I sewed myself thanks to the tutelage of another garrison mate and patterns on the Internet), but even the boots fit me to a T. It was an easy approval since it had already been approved on another person, so I'll have this costume for days I want to be more casual at the con, and if plans for the armor completely fall through for whatever reason.

So in the meantime, I have to pick up the hard suitcase from my SCG mate, get the armor packed, go through my swag to see what coins and patches I want to bring for trade, and the various other final details of the trip. But I'll have more in my next blog post. Until next time...