If you’ve flown on an airplane, have you ever wondered what it would be like to actually be your luggage? Where would you go in the airport? What would you see? How would you even get to the plane? Most importantly, as someone who travels with LEGO models, how roughly will you be handled along the way? That’s the main question I hope to answer today, as well as exploring the risks your luggage faces and how to pack and prepare for them—all so that your beautiful LEGO MOCs don’t crumble on the way to your next big event.
I’ve already talked about how to properly pack MOCs for air travel, but the type of luggage you use makes a big difference. The sad reality of it is that airports and airlines are not designed to handle your suitcase delicately. Obviously, most people who handle your suitcase try to do so with care (and we’ve all seen the videos of the few who do not care at all), but on-time operations and employee safety take priority over luggage safety every single time.
So despite being able to point out the risks and plan how your luggage will be handled, nothing can be 100% prevented. I personally have had MOCs destroyed in transit and some that have survived almost completely together. But don’t be discouraged—there are ways to help your MOCs survive the journey no matter where they are going.
Choosing Your Luggage
I have been a luggage handler for three years. I’ve seen thousands of bags handled daily and observed two primary risks your MOCs face if they are packed in a checked suitcase: 1) taking impact from being dropped and 2) taking impact from being crushed. But before we dive too deep into your luggage at the airport, we should first quickly talk about your luggage itself and how you pack it.
It is vital to have a good starting point when protecting your MOCs, and that involves using the right kind of luggage. It is a little-known fact that you can pretty much fly with any kind of bag or container: cardboard boxes, styrofoam boxes, wood crates, plastic tote containers, or even five-gallon buckets. If it can hold stuff in it, odds are you can travel with it.
Below is a grid of the most common types of luggage and the kinds of risks you take using them for transporting LEGO creations. This is not a comprehensive list—it only lists the common items I think would protect MOCs well. It includes duffle bags, hard-sided suitcases, cardboard boxes and more.
| Duffle Bag | Hard Sided Suitcase (4 Wheels) | Plastic Tote/Toolbox | Pelican Case | Wood Crate | Cardboard Box | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Being Crushed | High Risk | Medium Risk | Small Risk | No Risk | No Risk | High Risk |
| Being Dropped | High Risk | Small Risk | Medium Risk | Medium Risk | Medium Risk | Small Risk |
| Being Thrown | High Risk | Minimal Risk | High Risk | High Risk | Medium Risk | High Risk |
| Extra Notes |
Don’t use this, it’s just an example |
Multiuse, Affordable | Affordable, Often no wheels |
Expensive, Not much packing room |
Custom made, No wheels | Very affordable, No wheels |
IMagine this red LEGO luggage is yours…
No matter what you use, though, two things apply to every item of luggage in the airport. 1) If your luggage is already broken (cracked, bent, handles broken, wheels don’t work, etc.), it is likely to become even more broken and damaged. 2) Any items hung on the outside of the bag (luggage straps, rubber/plastic ID tags, key chains, sting/ribbons, etc.) can get jammed in belt systems anywhere along its journey. This can cause damage to your bag, cause it to suffer a large fall, or get crushed by other bags. If you want to easily identify your luggage, use a bit of paint or tape or something that can’t get caught on or in things.
There are so many variables in bags alone that I can’t get into, but these are the most common items I see daily used in one way or another to keep items safe in flight. I’m not here to say one is better than the other—each has its benefits that each of you may find more appealing than others. So, whether your MOCs survive comes down to the second half flying with luggage, which is actually packing the MOCs in whatever bag you use.
Packing Your Bag
A well balanced bag with the weight near the bottom and equal on both sides, this will be your example bag in all the pictures only scaled down to a 1x2 brick
There are countless ways to pack your models in a suitcase, whether it be with bubble wrap, plastic wrap, plastic bags, or whatever else you may use. I have touched on this a little bit in another article about flying with MOCs, so instead I’d like to look at packing your bag as a whole and not just individual MOCs.
Taking impact from drops, whether small or large, is the most common thing that happens to your bag, so preparing for that is a must. Using some sort of padding along the edges of your suitcase is a simple way to prepare for this. Clothing, bubble wrap, foam, wadded-up paper, or anything else that can provide a cushion.
Something more important for suitcases with four wheels is packing all your heavy items in the bottom of the suitcase. No, not on one side but closer to the wheels on both sides, this way as your bag is rolled it’s much less likely to tip over. Having an out-of-balance suitcase makes it much more likely to tip over when being handled, just adding to how many times it may hit the floor or take a small drop.
More weight on the top will make your bag much easier to tip over, so instead of rolling when pushed it will want to tip
most of the weight on one side leads to a bag that does not like to stand up at all, this is also very likely to tip over instead of roll properly when pushed
If the items inside your suitcase are loose, that will also make it more likely to tip over, but this isn’t the only reason you don’t want loose items in your suitcase. MOCs flying around freely is a recipe for disaster, so having a full (but not overly full) suitcase will make sure your MOCs stay in place.
A third reason for this is a full suitcase does not get as crushed as much as a half-filled one because it is already packed in tight, so there is less room to compress under the weight of other bags. But a half empty suitcase may get more squished under the weight of bags.
Your bag being crushed is mostly up to chance and is mostly prevented by what suitcase you use. A larger regular suitcase is more likely to be placed on the bottom of a stack of bags than a small carry-on-sized bag, but your bag could end up anywhere in between, no matter the size. Because bags are all stacked manually by people, it depends on when the bag is received and who is placing it. This is why having a suitcase that does not crush easily is key because you can not rely on much else to prevent it.
Your Bag’s Journey On The Plane
Internal belt systems, Notice the steep belt, the drop off, and the bumper that pushes the bag down the steep slide.
If you like flying, you may have an idea of how your bag moves along with you. But if you haven’t flown before or don’t fly often, you may not know the whole story. Realizing what will happen to your bag will help you in your own packing, so I tell you all this so you don’t just take my word for what I think will work, but so you can make your own opinions.
Can used for Wide Body Aircraft. Notice the odd shape and limited size, often as many bags as possible are crammed into a can to maximize space. and your red bag is on the bottom of all those bags
When you first check-in, your bag is taken by long belt systems that semi-sort your bags based on what flight you are on. These belts are efficient, not always gentle, and sometimes have drops or steep slides. Those bags are then fully sorted into luggage carts or cans by airline employees.
Carts and cans have their ups and downs. Carts are for narrow-body planes (meaning one aisle to walk in the airplane), which are used for most domestic and shorter flights. Cans are used for wide-body planes(meaning the planes have two aisles to walk), which are mostly used for long or overseas flights. In a cart, your bag will be handled more by humans, but in a can, your bag is more likely to really be crammed in there to maximize space. Sadly you don’t really get to pick what kind of plane you fly on, but know your bag gets handled differently depending on the size and type of airplane.
Luggage cart used for narrow Body Aircraft, Notice the placement of your red bag, it could be any one of those 1x2 bricks any time it is in a cart
Your bag will then be loaded onto the aircraft, either manually by employees on a narrow-body plane or using large machines on a wide-body plane. This is the largest risk area for your bag—the manual loading and unloading. Having a team of three people load and stack 100-200 bags in the aircraft bin in less than an hour does not give a lot of time to be extra careful with every bag.
Baggage Claim
Upon arrival, the opposite happens when loading. Bags are taken off the plane quite quickly to be delivered to you, the customer, in a timely manner—another time restraint that does not give much time to handle every bag with the utmost care.
The most common area for straps, zippers, and other loose items to get caught in the belt system as bags are loaded
a hight drop of between 1-3 meters is possible if a bag is caught and pushed off by other bags
After being manually placed on the claim belt by employees, the belt brings the bags out to the customers on a carousel at baggage claim. And finally after however long your journey was, your precious cargo is delivered back to you. Hopefully it is delivered with your MOCs still intact so you can be grateful for a smooth trip from good packing and smooth handling. But if things got a little bit broken, at least you know you’re doing all you can to keep your luggage safe.
Safe Flight!
Attending a LEGO event far from home is truly an adventure, filled with excitement and, yes, a bit of stress when it comes to ensuring your MOCs arrive intact. No matter the risks and hurdles, traveling with your creations is an integral part of being a LEGO fan—showcasing your work, connecting with other enthusiasts, and bringing your models to life in new places is worth every challenge.
So, whether you’re headed to a local show, a national convention, or even an international event, remember that preparation and a solid packing strategy are your best tools for a successful journey. With the right planning and the right luggage, you can increase the chances that everything arrives as intended. So embrace the journey, pack thoughtfully, and get ready to make memories that will last far beyond any baggage claim! Safe travels, and may all your bricks arrive exactly as you built them!
How do you pack your MOCs when you travel by airplane? Let us know in the comments below.
Do you want to help BrickNerd continue publishing articles like this one? Become a top patron like Marc & Liz Puleo, Paige Mueller, Rob Klingberg from Brickstuff, John & Joshua Hanlon from Beyond the Brick, Megan Lum, Andy Price, Lukas Kurth from StoneWars, Wayne Tyler, LeAnna Taylor, Monica Innis, Dan Church, Roxanne Baxter, and Steven Laughlin to show your support, get early access, exclusive swag and more.