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Magnets????
Topic Started: 31st May 2005 - 09:08 PM (563 Views)
Grey seer White Paw
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Warlord of 7th Tactics!
Hi all, the other day i played dark elves and the guy playing them had all his dark riders on magnetic bases and then placed magnets on the underside of his movement trays, hence making a movement tray which allowed him to move the troops without them falling off, but allowed him to remove the casulties, without the nortorius problem off blue tack, making the models stick to the point where u break off the heads trying to remove the casulties. What a great idea. I am planning on doing some of these myself as i am fed up of thesaid blue tac problem occuring to me. So can anyone recomend where to get the magnets? i require very thin flat long ones for the regiment tray and small circle ones, also thin fro the models. Now being skaven i need alot of magnets, so cheap magnets would be good as well if u could. I would look about but i figured that someone on here has probaly already done this and could help me save alot of time traveling about at the weekend. So if u have any ideas let me know.
GW, sucking the fun out of the hobby since 1999.

Never worry. Worst case scenario you die, and then there was no point worrying anyways.

Skaven repaint overhaul Number 5! (2/5th complete)
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DrackoSkaven
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i can give you a brand name! Adhes-A-Mag is what i use all you need for home made movement trays (heres a pic of the box)

- Adhes-A-Mag magnetic sheet (one side is glue covered(like a sticker))
- Adhes-A-Mag round magnets
- some kind of hard, FLAT material like a sheet of plastic

step 1) find the sze of the unit movement tray you want, then cut the size out of the magnetic sheet and plastic, i used old plastic box lids.
magnetic sheet
magnetic sheet attached to plastic

step 2) the smal magnets are twice as tall as the botom of your bases, so use an exacto-knife or some sharp blade to cut it in half so you have 2 small disks.
cutting the magnet
the 2 parts of the magnet

step 3) glue the discs to the bottom of your bases, it doesn't matter if a bit sticks out. wait for the glue to dry
clanrat with magnet on base

step 4) take your blade and run it across the bottom of you base, trimming off all extra magnetic stuff
trimming the magent (so it doesn't woble or stick out)

step 5) place on the movement tray, you may want to build an edge for the tray but i didn't.
tadah! 20 clanrats on the magnetic plate
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hakoMike
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More grey every day.
I did something like that here:

http://s6.invisionfree.com/The_UnderEmpire...?showtopic=7606
So old. So so old.
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DrackoSkaven
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zinc washer a heavy... these magnets can hold at about 60 degrees... after that they slide... still, not wieght is added by the magnets.
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Tilara
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I used to take a slightly different approach.

First I would buy a piece of sheet magnet at a craftstore like Michaels. Usually this would be a piece about 5x7 could get a lot of pieces from it. The strips tend to be a little thicker I think and have a stronger holding force, but the width isn't always a good match.
(couldn't find a pic, someone else posted some though)

Next I would get some of the thin sheet metal. This is usually found at a model shop around their balsa and plywood sheets, sometimes in a little display rack with tubing. The sheets would be about 4x8 or something. Be careful not to get the non-magnentic types. Sometimes they've got brass and aluminum too.
(edit: displays might look like this.)

While I was there, I'd usually grab a sheet of 1/8" plywood. I'd use that primary part of the base, plascard works too, but I just like the wood better.
(edit: like this stuff.)


Next I'd decide how large of a tray I wanted and cut the plywood slightly larger. Next I'd get a pair of tin snips and cut the sheetmetal to the proper size, glue the metal to the center of the plywood try (i used wood glue), then sand the edges of the plywood round to smooth it out. Need to be careful with the metal though, you don't want to leave any edges sticking up and it doesn't hurt to sand or file the edges of it a little too.
I never decorated the movement trays, but I don't see why you couldn't. I just painted them a dark green, somewhat mottled so it wasn't single color, then applied a few good layers of spray sealer. It probably wouldn't hurt to do the first layer in a gloss as those tend to be thicker and more resistant to chiping, but I only had flat.

For the magnets, I'd place a base at two points along the edge to measure with and mark it. Lay down a steel ruler next to that and cut with an xacto knife. Usually took a few passes as I didn't want to press too hard, but it would cut. Probably wouldn't hurt to mark lines in the other direction with a light scoring before cutting the sheet apart. This would give me a few dozen little magnetic squares. I'd count out however many I needed for the unit I was working on, then put the rest in the tube a bottle of superglue accelerator came in.

The magnets have an adhesive backing on them which didn't work well for modeling. I'd tear that off and put a small dab of superglue on it and stick one to each of the model bases, being careful to center it. If there was any overlap, I'd trim it with an xacto knife.

The sheet magnents aren't too strong, but they hold the figs in place on your tray well enough. I used balsa on the first tray I made, but that warped a little when it was glued so I moved to ply instead.
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DrackoSkaven
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i still think my way is a little easier... i use plasticard, but you could use wood. i bust think that using those round magnets on the bottom is a little easier that cutting out squards for each guy... the only models that don't hold weel with this is standard bearer and that is only if he being boucned around, when being poshed across a table they shoud stay on. i think it is the standard that makes the model a bit front heavy...

a covertion comes to mind! ise the coiled tail and stick the banner in there, making it back heavy and if it fell over it would just bump off the guy behind him...

oh, well... that is for next time i get guys...
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scrivener
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*toot*

I go the washer way. It saves cutting up magnets and the weight is good when you're prone to knocking models especially standard bearers over.

There are companies that make magnetic bases if you're not keen on the DIY.
hannanibal
 
*Angry mob assembles*

"WHAT DO WE WANT!!??"
"A THINNISH, WATERY PAINT WITH A GREENER TINGE THAN AGRAX EARTHSHADE!!"
"WHEN DO WE WANT IT!?"
"QUITE SOON PLEASE AS MY LAST POT IS RUNNING OUT!"
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Grey seer White Paw
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Warlord of 7th Tactics!
see me was thinking of just making the reguiment base outof the gw ones, then putting these mag strips in the bottom and ill go with the washers on the bottom of the models, i think that will hold. thanks for the help is that brand avaliable in the uk by the way?
GW, sucking the fun out of the hobby since 1999.

Never worry. Worst case scenario you die, and then there was no point worrying anyways.

Skaven repaint overhaul Number 5! (2/5th complete)
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DrackoSkaven
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it should... i got it for my birthday so i can't help with prise and such... i can tell you that the washers would be good for standard bearer but the magnets i use are very good and cost effective, i done 22 models and still have half the pack left... i'd advise it for your rank-and-file and heros (the disks can be cut in half again to make semi-circles for the slit in metal model bases. you should use the washers for standard bearers.
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Malignus Rodenticus
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While I chose to buy a magnetic sheet 12"x 24" and glue them to each base, and then cut out a sheet of galvanized zinc and glue balsa wood around the edges, you can do it all by purchasing it from Gale Force 9

http://www.gf9.com/store/default.php?manufacturers_id=10



MR
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Warlock Engineer Warpeye
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Clanrat
Would a mild adhesive work? I was thinking about it but wasn't sure...

Maybe velcro!

Was thinking about magnets but am still on the debate.
God created rowing to keep the truly gifted from ruling the world.
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scrivener
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*toot*

Warlock Engineer Warpeye
Jun 3 2005, 06:50 AM
Would a mild adhesive work? I was thinking about it but wasn't sure...

Maybe velcro!

Was thinking about magnets but am still on the debate.

Velcro is probably not a good idea since it won't get your models perfectly level on the tray. Stcky stuff like sticky-tac or post-it glue will get all sort of grit and dust stuck to your models, and then the stickiness wear off. Magnetism is by far the best way to go.
hannanibal
 
*Angry mob assembles*

"WHAT DO WE WANT!!??"
"A THINNISH, WATERY PAINT WITH A GREENER TINGE THAN AGRAX EARTHSHADE!!"
"WHEN DO WE WANT IT!?"
"QUITE SOON PLEASE AS MY LAST POT IS RUNNING OUT!"
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Bassik Dwarveripper
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But also a bit on the expensive side
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Malignus Rodenticus
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Attorney to the Rats
I magnetized my whole army for about $15.00, plus four hours of my time (which I can bill out at $250 per hour...but I don't). So they are not expensive. As for Velcro, you'll destroy your figs. As for somethink sticky...they will collect dirt. Magnets is teh cheapest way to go....and the bset.



MR
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DrackoSkaven
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Grey Seer
yeah, magnetic trays are definately the bst thing, we use different methods, the washer are a bit expencive, the magnetic bases need to be ordered... i think my way is a bit less of a hassel...

oh well, whatever works for you is good. ^_^
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