Magnet Questions.

[Force21]

Hello all,


I have a some Q's about good old Rare Earth Magnets...


It was my B-day a week ago & I got a hold of a Wraithkight

but after opening the box... dang it looks like quite a challenge, plus the fact that I want to be able to switch the the load out.

So 1st, what size do you think or know would work for the different cannons/close combat gear, and is there a way to make it so I don't have to glue the weapons on the shoulders?


2nd I plan on getting the Vanguard Veteran box....just cause its awesome!

so do you know what size would work on the arms to torso and wrists to hands?


anyway... Thanks in advance.

[Tyrendian]

@Wraithknight: I didn't need a single magnet for mine to be fully modular - the fit on the parts is good enough that you can simply stick them in place... only thing that was a little tricky was finding a pose that worked with all configs...

[Paulo187]

As far as the magnetizing Space Marine sized figures, you should use 1/8" diameter magnets for shoulders, jetpacks, or heads, and you should use 1/16" diameter magnets for wrists, and combi-weapon attachments. The bigger 1/4" diameter magnets should only be used on vehicles. The main rule you have to remember is to always use the biggest magnet that will fit. Another rule to remember is that most of the newer vehicle kits were created knowing that players like to swap weapon options. Therefore a lot of these weapon options are "push fit" and can be taken off and put back on without the need for magnets at all. For example, the Leman Russ tank, and the Stormraven gunship can be given every option without needing to magnetize anything.

[DarkLink]

The guns could use magnets, mine don't fit on well enough without them. That's it, though, everything else works without them.

[DWest]

I use 1/16x1/16 disc magnets for all my Space Marines, fits perfectly within the hand/wrist joint. Backpacks are a little trickier, you might want to get some stiff wire or thin brass rod and make posts to attach the backpacks firmly, then maybe 1 magnet connection to hold it in place.
For a whole arm connection (such as to swap between a powerfist/lightning claw arm), what I do is I tack the shoulder pad I want to use onto the arm with a tiny dab of superglue, then place the whole assembly face-down on to some blu-tac or a sponge, anything to keep the assembly from sliding around a bit while doing your drilling. Drill straight through the center of the shoulder, about halfway up the shoulder socket, and halfway into the pad (the force of the drill will most likely bust the pad free when it goes through the arm into the pad, if not you might want to stop and pop the arm off to check when it feels like you're through the arm). When done correctly, you should have a bore clear through the arm, and an "indent" on the inside of the shoulder pad.
Next, tack the arm very lightly to the torso of the Marine, and slip your drill into the hole in the arm and drill an indent into the torso. Pop the arm off the torso and smooth down any roughness from the glue, and check that your indent is roughly 1/2 the thickness of the magnet or a little bit deeper. Now, the trick is to scuff up the magnets that are going in the torso and pad sockets slightly, so that they will adhere well to their sockets. Glue 1 magnet into the torso socket, and one into the pad socket, keeping the poles the same so that the pad will stick to the torso. Finally, put one magnet of the same polarity into the hole through the shoulder of the arm, press the pad on to the outside and then press the assembly to the model. The three magnets should form an "axle" of sorts and hold the arm in place.

I use [URL="http://www.kjmagnetics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=D11"]these[/URL] for my magnets, they're inexpensive and effective. While I have not done a Wraithknight, I would imagine that if the parts are press-fit as Tyrendian says, one pair of 1/16" magnets at the main connection points should be plenty to give you piece of mind that things won't pop off.

[Force21]

Awesome.

Thanks everyone,

I really only made one other big model once before, but it was a Baneblade...definitely a bit different modeling wise...


now I need to make the base for the Wraithkight epic & then I should be good to go...

[interrogator_chaplain]

Right now, the website [URL="http://www.miniwargaming.com/"]Miniwargaming.com[/URL] is doing a week on magnets, so you might be able to pick up some tips there.