Nerf and Airports

Hi all

I work at the international airport here in Perth and during the last couple of months i have seen a massive amount of Nerf related products come through our screening room. This is very disturbing for me because all Nerf blasters come under the heading of "Prohibited Items", as they resemble something that may be identified by another person as a real weapon.

Now most of the Nerf community is sensible, we all understand the outcomes of mistreating our blasters and how we use them in public. I personally have confiscated these following items in the last month.

7 longshots
1 vulcan
multiple recons (i lost count)
10 mavericks
5 nightfinders
2 raiders (one stock one heavily modified including all black paint)
Multiple buzz bee double shot shotguns
buzz bee tek3
buzz bee tek6
and some no name branded items.

All these items are confiscated and destroyed by the Australian Federal Police. Pleasse be aware that these items (as much as we love them) can not be taken through any airport in Australia as cabin baggage. Check you state laws they should be able to go in your check in baggage. Alot of these items confiscated are brand new in their box's intended as xmas presents. There are no excuses, they will all be confiscated with no renumeration.

I thought i would bring this to everyone's attention as i hate to see good blasters go to waste

Thankyou and merry xmas and a happy new year to all Nerfers everywhere.

They are, however, perfectly fine to stow in the the hold. So if you're going interstate with your arsenal, wrap them in bubble wrap and put them with the rest of your luggage.

~SD

Funnily enough i was just discussing this very topic with a friend only today and we came to the conclusion it would be safer and possibly cheaper to post or send your own guns via a courier than to pack them in your own luggage. This is because they might need to travel as excess baggage because of their combined weight.

If you fly Virgin (The safest fleet by the way, as they don't have any Airbuses) you get like 25 kilograms of stowed luggage for 10 bucks.

SnowDragon wrote:They are, however, perfectly fine to stow in the the hold. So if you're going interstate with your arsenal, wrap them in bubble wrap and put them with the rest of your luggage.

~SD

This is also fine for international flights as this is how i brought back my Alpha Trooper from japan in august.

Maybe they are different in every states?

I'd say different protocols for different jurisdictions.

The airport security is probably more relaxed in Japan (been there too, it was a breeze for an Aussie citizen - and metal cutlery too).
A bit harder here, because apparently we got more people that hate us, idiots and crafty bastards (remember sharpened wooden stakes?).

Well luckily I didn't take my Long-shot to Queensland to pick people off from the hotel's balcony...

littlebro05 wrote:Maybe they are different in every states?

Australian airports are under the jurisdiction of the A.F.P. the rules/laws are the same all over the country, as ar as I know anyways. So just put them in your suitcase with a big label on the front saying TOY GUNS INSIDE, and all should be fine.

That said , I have never taken a toy gun on or in a plane.

That is all.

Gooni.

Stay within the law and you're fine. For example, I can wear my FBSE vest into YBBN's terminal and be perfectly alright. As long as you don't try to take them in Carry on, you'll be alright. And even you accidentally leave them in your bag, you can turn around from airport security when they confront you about it and stow it back in your car or in your stowable luggage before attempting the security checkpoint again.

Thanks to everyone who has replied to this topic. It's good to see everyone share their knowledge on this subject. Hopefully I can see less of this happening at work.

I just got back from America with an Ultimate Berserker and a green Mav in my luggage, no problems. I'm regretting not bringing back a bb gun, they were $5 from a toy store there. I know they're illegal but no-one seemed to notice the Nerf guns.

Dylbot wrote:I just got back from America with an Ultimate Berserker and a green Mav in my luggage, no problems. I'm regretting not bringing back a bb gun, they were $5 from a toy store there. I know they're illegal but no-one seemed to notice the Nerf guns.

They would definately realise the bb guns. I have a BB gun but I have a Juniour gun license. They are considered a firearm as they can be used in holdups and things of that sort. They would seize it and let you of with a warning so I suppose you could have tried.

Dylbot wrote:I just got back from America with an Ultimate Berserker and a green Mav in my luggage, no problems. I'm regretting not bringing back a bb gun, they were $5 from a toy store there. I know they're illegal but no-one seemed to notice the Nerf guns.

It's easier to get a real gun in this country than an airsoft one. Customs would have picked up on the airsoft right away.

SnowDragon wrote:

Dylbot wrote:I just got back from America with an Ultimate Berserker and a green Mav in my luggage, no problems. I'm regretting not bringing back a bb gun, they were $5 from a toy store there. I know they're illegal but no-one seemed to notice the Nerf guns.

It's easier to get a real gun in this country than an airsoft one. Customs would have picked up on the airsoft right away.

Agreed, it can be done but you need to take it apart and even then the xray machines can pick them up. Customs is not stupid, don't forget that. I'm just going to wait till im 18 and get an actual license and acquire one legally.

After reading a thread, seeking advice on importing a gun sight, I thought I may as well share with everyone the advice I gave him. In general, as long as the item you are importing (buying from a store overseas etc) is external to a firearm, excluding Silencers, it can be imported without worry. Fairly general rule of thumb, however I've found in the past, Australian Customs has a very useful and concise list of Prohibitied and Restricted Imports on their website, which can be found HERE, to my knowledge, this is an exhaustive list of all items restricted or prohibited to be imported to Australia, it's your one-stop shop to check whether the item you are importing will in fact be ceased by Customs.

Why the topic was locked was beyond me. I've decided to merge the above post with another thread from a while ago as a means of helping others understand what can be carried into Australia, given that there's a wide confusion into how the laws and guidelines are interpreted for our hobby.

It may serve useful for some of you here.

Let me clear up, you can bring toy blasters into australia, but not take them out, due to customs? Or the other way around?

If i were to bring in a berserker from America, would I have to remove it from it packaging and bubble wrap it, or leave it in its box and put it into the luggage back heading for the hold in the plane?

Xoenz wrote:Let me clear up, you can bring toy blasters into australia, but not take them out, due to customs? Or the other way around?

If i were to bring in a berserker from America, would I have to remove it from it packaging and bubble wrap it, or leave it in its box and put it into the luggage back heading for the hold in the plane?

It's not a firearm so it's not an issue, bring it in any condition, but I would NOT be taking that into the cabin, put that in your checked luggage to avoid ANY risk of security issues.

This is stupid! They should make a form we can fill out saying we are carrying a Nerf or Nerf like toy gun so they don't freak out and steal them off us. I've never flown with a Nerf but I want to pick mine up when I fly to my parents place later in the year. How am I going to get them home?

Just my 2 cents worth incase it helps anyone buying and posting or taking Nerf purchases on a plane within Australia:

1. I live in Tassie, I've been to Melbourne, Sydney and most recently the Gold Coast, and each time I've bought Nerf gear and just gone to an Australia Post Office and mailed it home.

-> Yes this method does cost extra and I'm sure there would be cheaper / more effective ways to do this (I haven't tried a courier yet) but its really easy to find and walk into a post office and organize; its fast delivery, a cheap tracking number is available, the packages are rarely damaged (and even if they do it's only a small hole at worst), and IMO its worth it if you buy something you can't normally get when at home, or if it would end up costing more and/or taking longer when buying online.

2. On my last trip I bought an Air Zone Punisher (just for the lulz) but sadly the post offices I tried were closed due to Easter (just bad timing on my behalf, but it couldn't be helped). I had to organize it to be taken on the plane as extra luggage.

-> If you're like me and didn't "pre-plan" your air fare with extra luggage (ie; just taking a carry-on bag into the cabin) then most airlines *should* allow you to upgrade your fare from just carry on to some luggage too.

** SADLY, DOING THIS WILL STING YOUR WALLET: JETSTAR CHARGED ME $80 FOR IT **

-> (That being said; in my case the Punisher is only available at Toys R Us, which we don't have at all here in Tassie, and TRU are not able to assist in postage, the blaster itself was $59, so I'd rather pay more to keep it rather than waste $60 worth being confiscated at the airport - plus it was not available to buy anywhere online like eBay at the time. So in my situation it was worth the $80 to keep it, take it home and have it right away rather than waiting for it to be mailed, or having it taken off me.)

3. Otherwise if you are smart unlike me, booking a return fare with luggage (10kg is all you need) if you KNOW you *might* buy some Nerf or other large item and are not able to post or courier said purchase. It will save you stress, time and money in the long run.

Hope this helps~

Zandor wrote:** SADLY, DOING THIS WILL STING YOUR WALLET: JETSTAR CHARGED ME $80 FOR IT **

Amen to that, the "Budget" airlines have us by the balls when it comes to luggage. One thing I would keep in mind is accounting for the size of the box, eg. the Stampede box is bloody massive, just ensure you have a large enough suitcase for it.

IMO, checked luggage is the way to go, walk into the airport with your Nerf gear all tucked away in your suitcases, lodge it at check-in and then breeze through Airport security, only having to remove your valubles, belt, shoes and ... underpants :P.

Synergie wrote:IMO, checked luggage is the way to go, walk into the airport with your Nerf gear all tucked away in your suitcases, lodge it at check-in and then breeze through Airport security, only having to remove your valubles, belt, shoes and ... underpants :P.

If you were asked to remove those... then I don't think those people who stopped you were airport security...

Echoes wrote:

Synergie wrote:IMO, checked luggage is the way to go, walk into the airport with your Nerf gear all tucked away in your suitcases, lodge it at check-in and then breeze through Airport security, only having to remove your valubles, belt, shoes and ... underpants :P.

If you were asked to remove those... then I don't think those people who stopped you were airport security...

Maybe confused with Mardi Gras security....