What’s the hotness in shipping services these days? I need to move a pin and a populated playfield across the country (KY to WA, if it matters), and honestly am not sure where to even begin. Along the same lines… any suggestions on a good way to pack up a populated (F-14) playfield for shipping?
best way to pack the playfield is to build a crate for it that mimics how it sits in a machine. 4 walls, then a set of rails. After playfield is in, another set of rails to hold it in place. screw plywood top and bottom to seal crate.
Don’t use 1/4" plywood as forklift forks go through that very easily. If possible after it’s in the crate, attach it to the bottom of the pin with straps, it would probably fit on one pallet this way. shrink wrap the whole thing. If possible as well have the whole thing crated.
I had a machine and a populated playfield shipped from WA to PA with just the PF strapped to the bottom of the cab, it made it ok (there was a crate built around it… with 1/4" ply… ) - there was forklift damage to the 1/4. The playfield was thrown in for free from the seller so I didn’t care too much about its condition.
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What scochar said for playfields.
I will strap down a game onto a pallet, centred when possible. Pad it with shipping blankets and shrink wrap that ish. Usually that’s enough that the only way it’ll get damaged is if the shippers literally drop your pallet or something ridiculous.
Also I recommend using colored shrink wrap. I’ve heard from others that shippers have broken pins and rewrapped them. Having them colored will help both you and the recipient avoid a damaged game with no compensation.
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