What were your experiences with PSCing (moving for normal people) I have a pretty large collection (2000+) of TFs, plus I collect Joes(600+ and about 30 vehicles) and Star Wars, 1/18 cars and other various lines. I had packed up about 90% of my loose collection, but with my misb/mib items that really wasnt feasible..I prepacked about 30% of those. As all military people know, we dont have a choice in movers, they simply show up. Here was my experience: The packers show up at 8:30 (two OLD (50+) women and a guy...WTF!!?) They are already griping about me living on the 3rd floor. They take a look around my apartment, are obviously pissed, and leave for about 30 min. They come back and start packing but arent happy about it. The woman that packed my bedroom was very old and took out her frustrations on my stuff I am now discovering, as she just shoved half my stuff in boxes without any regard for shipping damage. Fast Foward to me unpacking this stuff at my new location and what I have found so far: I had a stack of about 50 CDs that she just threw in a box with NO protection at all. She also threw about 20 of my 1/18 cars in boxes with no protection and they were metal to metal. If I was a stringent MISBer I would be crying right now, so many of my boxes have dings and tears from poor packing it isnt even funny..my red box alternator prowl and jazz boxes are ripped to hell..I have a MIB night raven, one of those b!tches WROTE on the box in black marker and put brown packing tape ALL OVER it! Luckily that was not something I intended to keep in box, but I was severely pissed when I saw that. So far I have found: 3 broken lamps A broken frame on picture my brother gave me 4 broken 1/18 cars so far They also broke my going away statue It seems I will have a pretty lengthy list for the claims office. Those packers sucked ass to put it lightly. I could not be everywhere at once to see the crap they were doing...even still they cheaply wrap even your fragile items with thin layers of crappy paper. Some things need bubble wrap...not a couple of sheets of PAPER covering them. I know some people would suggest being super anal and standing over the people as they pack...well the catch 22 to that as any military person will tell you is the stuff still has to go on the truck and to the wherehouse...where items can and do come up damaged or "missing"..so it behooves you to not be anal to the packers or movers. Lessons learned: Bubble wrap anything I consider valuable/one of a kind Pre-pack as much as possible! Sell off/unpackage figs to make space before moving I havent found any broken TFs yet....but then again I haven opened any of the bags yet... So mil people/people with large collections..how have your move(s) gone?
Good luck at the claims office You have to file the paperwork Then show your homeowners insurance does not cover it Then provide pictures Then legal has to look at it The process is definately convoluted and designed to prevent reimbursement for those who do not want to dedicate the time. Our move went ok. But most of my sh!t is loose. I plan on packing the G1 stuff on my own next time especially all the little weapons and such /r
PCS'd a few times. It's a HUGE pain in the ass. Honestly, DITY moves are best with collections. If you can't do that, then I encourage storage. At your parents, or wherever you know you're going to end up after your career--why move it several times just to end up in the same place? It's not like you're going to be playing with all of them during this or any other given tour. If you do have them move it, documentation is key. Using a video camera is a good way to do it. Pack up everything yourself--Rubbermaid bins with lots of bubble wrap. But at the end of the day, you get what the government pays for, and that's the lowest bidder.
I packed a good amount in rubber-maid bins, but with those things cost like 17 bucks a pop for the large ones, and once you start looking at MISB stuff, fitting like 6 or 7 boxes in that tub starts taking out the feasibility of them. There also the issue of where they go once you are done unpacking. They take up alot of space. I also made a video and took pics before I left, so I should be good on that.
That might be feasible if I knew where I was going to retire....besides I would not be cool with my collection being in one part of the country and me another...all the while paying for it.
I didn't have a huge collection when I moved (about 100-200 pieces) and none were in that great of condition, but when I moved in the military, that one box somehow failed to ever materialize. Yup, my entire collection disappeared. I bought a Transformer price guide and went through what I remembered having and everything came out to about $1000. But in the end, I didn't feel that great of a loss and just put off filing the claim until it was too late. I miss having the toys, but at 25 or so, it surprisingly wasn't as big a deal to lose as I would have thought.
No TF's involved but my dad moved out here by himself to find a place to live after he retired from the Navy after 22 years and a bunch of his stuff got jacked/lost a rifle my late grandfather gave him, and OUR TV! I don't know exactly what I'm trying to say here but I think military moving programs kinda' suck. could you move your stuff on your own??
Definitely. It's a DITY move, short for "do it yourself." Instead of paying movers, the government gives you a travel voucher for mileage, expenses, etc. There's some upsides to it, but a lot of it depends on the situation. For example, not as good when you're moving from Ft. Bragg, NC to Ft. Lewis, WA, and not really an option if you're heading overseas.
Other than packing and moving your collection and other important personal items yourself, or a complete DITY move, there's not really much other advice that can be given. When I was in the military my collection stayed at my parents - mostly because I was clear across the country from them until I was completely out, and sending them to me would have been expensive. The only ones I had with me for my entire 13 years were G1 Jazz and G2 Snarl. Storage with your family isn't always the best option, either...my Thundercracker and Predaking mysteriously disappeared while in their care. But better than trusting military movers. --Moony
