[Texman]

So, true tale from the travel log.

Those who know "the box", that is my battle box. Some have called it the "Tardis box" because it is
bigger on the inside ( I can stuff a lot of models in there!). This year, I redesigned it to accommodate
more models, in a more secure, organized method.

As I was going through TSA at Dulles upon leaving, I placed the box in the required plastic bin
(everything gets binned now days). The TSA agent looks at the box, picks it up, and starts shaking it!
Vigorously! I immediately make a move his direction, and waving my hands to STOP! It's FRAGILE!
Very SMALL models inside! We can open it, just don't shake it!

This individual, looks at me while holding it at a 45 deg angle, and tries to mumble something in a very
English is a second (or third) language accent. It seems, the new scanners also incorporate, what is
my guess, a sniffer, based on his explanation that he needed to see if it was heavy enough to not be
blown around in the scanner. Then, he wanted to weight it down with a ream of paper. We did this ok,
and he secured my other items under it so they wouldn't get blown around either.

As I get through TSA, and get to my gate, I decide to see what damage has been done.
Fearing the worst, I open it up. What to my over engineered surprise, but the validation
and operational parameters of the box have been exceeded!

The only damage was a bent propellor on one aircraft, due to one of the three models that popped
out of their "area". As I did not expect to have the box "bounce checked", I did not secure the vehicle
portion of the display. They are simply placed in boxed in areas. On the second level, only one
submarine had become partially dislodged, but still secure for travel.

So, I rest relatively secure knowing my kits are protected during their travels. It takes some of the
worry out of the equation, knowing my work is protected up to moderate turbulence.

Thanks for listening.