Any tips on moving a short distance (~15 miles) with a fairly large collection of displayed sets? Not worried about my new sets, those are already packed up well enough to move easily... but suddenly my army of displayed pieces seems much more difficult to maneuver than I expected.

 

This has literally been the most daunting part of moving to a new house, I don't want to take apart the sets only to rebuild after the trip but I don't want to lose pieces in the move either. Anyone have any tips or horror stories that I should know about? HELP!

Maybe if you unmount some pieces of your sets, then you put each set in its own big bag, and then again these bags in boxes.

WIth about a 15 mile move, I would try and get the biggest surface and put a bag around each set and then set them in there and drive really slow. You shouldn't have many problems - it may just take a while.

 

Another idea, but takes more time, is to put each in a bag then in a box and pack newspaper around them. I had someone ship a set built like that to me and it was in perfect condition and still fully built when it got here.

I've though/worried about this for a while. being a military brat and then moving around a lot as an adult, I've pretty much mastered moving.  but I haven't moved since coming out of the dark times.  I know when it is time to move we're taking down all the sets and rebuild after.  This a giant undertaking having over 50 sets displayed, from giants like the falcon to little sets like the mixels. for us this would give us the best chance not to lose pieces.  we are also smokers so the sets already get taken down and wash.  

In your case, I would put say a modular build in a garbage bag and then in a cardboard box. this would let you be sure not to lose any pieces and easily carry several sets. 

If you wrap each set individually in bubble wrap or a plastic bag and then put it in its own box, you should be fine. So one set per box. This way, even if a piece or few breaks off, you know which set it belongs to and should be quick/easy to fix

I understand the desire to keep all of your sets intact during the move, but keep in mind that depending on how long you take to pack the sets and keep them protected, it might be a better use of time to simply repair them when you reach the new place. 

 

My suggestion for getting them moved is similar to some other folks, especially concerning your big sets.  Put your set in a bag, tie it up, dump it in a box, then put padding (newspaper, bubble wrap, etc) around the in-the-bag set.  Your set is secure enough for the move now, and if any pieces fall off (which they will), they're not only in the bag with the rest of the set, but you also don't run the chance of throwing any pieces away with your packing material, which could easily happen if you put your padding inside the plastic bag with the set. 

 

For the big sets, I'd probably throw a little bit of padding in the box underneath the set too to cut down on car vibration/bumps.  I wouldn't worry about the little sets as much, they usually hold together well and they're easier to put back together.  I'd still bag them individually, but maybe do a layer of small sets in a box, then a layer of padding, then another layer of sets, etc. 

 

One last thing-  it might not be useful advice to members of this forum since we all have mountains of shipping materials lying around, but t-shirts are awesome for packing up, especially for fragile stuff like plates or glasses;  might work for some of the Lego sets too.  There's also the added advantage that once all your breakables are ready to go, half of your clothes have been packed too. 

Dealt with this around a year ago and was really worried. I just put most of my sets on boxes and added newspapers and honestly they arrived almost intact.

Dealing with the SSD and the Death Star (or any of the UCS sets really) required more effort, but they got here fine.

Only exception: Tower Bridge had a little accident and I have not rebuilt it since lol

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If all goes well, I will be faced with moving a substantial collection of new in box and loose lego very soon.

 

I vaguely remember Uline as s suggested box source.  Most of my collection had been taken out of the original shipping boxes to save on space (I was confined to a tiny 12' x 16' basement room so I had to make due).  While that is not really that small, it was packed.  My hope, the next home can be configured with a build room and NIB storage room (with lockable door).

 

I will need to box up 800 plus new sets many being the 23" x 19" x 4" and 19" x 15" x 3".  I have a dozen+ shipping boxes that will fit those size of sets, two per box, but that is not nearly enough.  All of my smaller sets are already packed.

 

Just looking for tips, online box resources, and any other experiences that related to making this as smooth as possible.

brickelements, if you have the time, I`d see about packing up your sets for shipping before you move. If you do a search you should find at least a couple threads regarding this, that way all you have to do later on is list, sell, slap on a label, and you are good to go. Some call it the "emazers" method, as that is how he stores most of his sets. It works great, the only draw back is that it requires time up front to pack, but it will save you time when you sell. Something to consider for everyone who is moving, and wants their sets protected and at the same time, in the best possible way.