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Author Topic: New Fox Shipping Cases: anyone else seen 'em? Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 05-03-2003 03:04 AM                     It's on the front page guys.  |  IP: Logged Frank Angel Film God Posts: 5305 From: Brooklyn NY USA Registered: Dec 1999 posted 05-07-2003 01:16 PM                        Nice pics, Brad; thanks. And your evaluation is right on the money. If only they insist that the designers spend a week in a real projection booth and another week in a shipping depot before they ever put a single pencil mark on their drawing boards or start up their CAD programs. This is a nice try but what they should have done was to do a small protype run to see how the things hold up in day in and day out usage. They needed to talk to the people who actually have to deal with these things and THEN go back to the drawing board and fix the flaws. Maybe do this two or three times. Sure it is more costly and probably would take longer to refine the design, but it certainly would be worth it for something we are going to have to live with for decades. The problem with not doing this kind of preliminary testing is that once they commit to a design, it can become too costly to go back and do redesigns after they've invested in putting a couple of hundred thousand out in the field -- then it's too late and we are the ones stuck with them. Once again Crazy Glue will save the day!  |  IP: Logged Carl Martin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1424 From: Oakland, CA, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 10-12-2003 05:27 PM                        our print of luther came in these boxes, so i finally got to examine them for myself. these comments are largely in response to points made in brad's review (in the review section). first of all, improvements have been made to the "locking pin". it is now attached to the box by a durable-looking length of metal "thread", and while the pin itself is still plastic, it is more of a hairpin shape to help lock it into place. on one of the cans the pin went in and out quite smoothly. on the other, the hole was too small and this was quite difficult. i tried to scrape out the inside of the hole a little but i couldn't really get the right angle on it, what with the raised edges of the box getting in the way. over time, these holes will probably be worn into uniformity. as for stackability, i had no problem stacking the boxes vertically or side to side. either way, they nest very nicely. a vast improvement over the completely unstackable metal cans. not that i would want to try stacking them more than 3 high. the reel slots on the inside are well-intentioned, but i agree that they don't really hold things in place very well. overall, i think they deserve no less than a B or a C grade, especially when judged against the standard of the traditional metal cans. carl  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 01-22-2004 02:23 PM                        I just saw my first set of these boxes today. I guess it takes a while for things to migrate this far north? -------------------------------------------------------------- EDITED BY AUTHOR - I mostly repeated what Carl said above. (That'll teach me to look over an old thread before posting on it.) -------------------------------------------------------------- I guess they're OK. Anything is better than those damn boxes. [ 01-23-2004, 12:26 PM: Message edited by: Mike Blakesley ]  |  IP: Logged Gary Crawford Expert Film Handler Posts: 200 From: Neptune NJ USA Registered: Nov 2003 posted 01-22-2004 02:55 PM                     I received a print a couple weeks ago in the new plastic boxes. Personally I like them. Beats losing a handle from a Fox Box while it is about halfway winched up the ladder, with predictable results! I think the plastic cases will last better than the metal cans. Amazing how many of those dented and bashed metal things, probably from the 70s, that are still kicking around. Great design for transport, the old metal ones, but no one addresses that they won't open or close anymore. Pry them open with a crow bar, jump up and down on them to close 'em. You know you're in trouble when you get metal cans with ball peen hammer dents all over the lids.  |  IP: Logged John Pytlak Film God Posts: 9987 From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922 Registered: Jan 2000 posted 01-22-2004 04:01 PM                        When you really get a case that has "seen better days" and is almost impossible to open and close properly, tag it in some way that alerts the exchange personnel to its bad shape. Maybe a large label over the theatre's shipping tag, or a large tie-on tag through the case's lock.  |  IP: Logged Bill Enos Film God Posts: 2081 From: Richmond, Virginia, USA Registered: Apr 2000 posted 01-24-2004 08:52 AM                     I received one of these things a month ago held closed by lamp cord.It went out the same way. They will all be in the dumpster soon.  |  IP: Logged Jack Rapper Film Handler Posts: 7 From: norfolk, va /usa Registered: Oct 2003 posted 01-27-2004 11:29 PM                        first post... yeah i saw one of those for a screening of intolerable cruelty. definitely dope.  |  IP: Logged Adam Budweg Film Handler Posts: 22 From: Lorain, Ohio, USA Registered: Sep 2003 posted 01-29-2004 11:00 AM                     I've seen about 2-3 of these plastic boxes. the first 2 i had no problems with, but the 3rd and most recent took me about 20 minutes to close. soemting was misaligned or something but i just couldnt get it closed completely. it got to the point where i took a hammer to it just to get it lined up exactly right. one think i couldnt stand about the older containers is that at times the container would weigh more than the film it carried and these new boxes are lighter, and there also convient in the since that they dont put the entier print in one box thas just to akward to carry. so if the designers are reading this dont give it such a tight fit.  |  IP: Logged Brad Allen Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 688 From: Evansville, IN, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 01-30-2004 12:34 PM                     I shipped two of these out last night. Definitely junk. The film truck guy agreed. He hates messing with them in the depot.  |  IP: Logged

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