Any tips for packing a helmet for shipping?

I need to ship an unfinished helmet. Does anyone have any tips for making sure it doesn't get damaged during the "Postal Service World Cup finals"?

I was thinking of reinforcing the corners or something. What do you guys do when shipping buckets?

wrap helmet in bubblewrap. If the range finder is removeable do so, fill the helmet with newspaper until it's full and tightly packed then fill the space outside of it until you hit top of the box and it doesn't move.

packing peanuts, lots and lots of packing peanuts. put the helmet in upsidedown and fill it with peanuts as well. if you have any from packages you've received just reuse them, i put all the peanuts i get in a bag and keep them for later. if you haven't been keeping them, then you may have to hit up a couple businesses and see if they're willing to share. my comic book store hooks me up when i run short.

Originally Posted by saint_nasty

packing peanuts, lots and lots of packing peanuts. put the helmet in upsidedown and fill it with peanuts as well. if you have any from packages you've received just reuse them, i put all the peanuts i get in a bag and keep them for later. if you haven't been keeping them, then you may have to hit up a couple businesses and see if they're willing to share. my comic book store hooks me up when i run short.

I have 3 lawn sized garbage bags full of packing peanuts. I don't think I'll run out
I was actually planning on doing that, but I'm concerned about heavy boxes being stacked on top of it. The "Fragile" markings on packages are rarely ever observed in recent years. Packing peanuts are great, but I'm paranoid that the box will get crushed anyway. This isn't a fett helmet, and not a cast. It is a scratchbuild one-of-a-kind thing, so it can't be replaced if it is damaged. I was thinking about building a wooden frame to support the box, but I'm kind of lazy when it comes to that kind of thing. My original thought was to ship it in a Home Depot kind of bucket, but it is a tight fit.

that makes sense then. A wood frame in a big box and tons of peanuts would probably do just fine.

What about a plastic storage tub inside the box? That could be an option if your too lazy to build a wooden frame or box.

Originally Posted by Bossywalker

What about a plastic storage tub inside the box? That could be an option if your too lazy to build a wooden frame or box.

Problem solved, I found a box that already had reinforced edges and corners. Once I put the packing material inside and put the helmet in the box, my paranoia went away. By the way, a Fett helmet does fit nicely (rangefinder stalk detached and helmet placed upside-down) in a Home Depot style bucket with plenty of room for packing material. This is good to know, because I'll be moving soon and I don't want any big screen tv crushing my props again :P