Dilemma: I bought a box of Assault Marines. I can only have one Sergeant. There are a ton of options to equip him with. What should I give him? What if I change my mind after I make him?
Answer: Magnets.
What you see above is the final product. An assembled and painted Assault Marine with all of his arm options laid out around him. He is fitted with magnets.
Space Marines are a great thing to try your hand on with this technique. Everyone's got some lying around somewhere, and their arms are bulky enough to actually hold a magnet. Add to that, the shoulderpads seriously hide that there is a magnet in the armpit.
Here's what you need:
Magcraft makes a line of magnets that are a 0.125 inch diameter disc. (You can buy them on Amazon
) That's the smallest they make, so we'll be using those for now. (note: there are smaller on other sites, but they're very hard to work with, and I'll cover them later with more advanced conversions. For now, let's stick with these.) They come in a pack of 100 magnetic discs for about $9. Next, get yourself a 1/8" drill bit (1/8" = 0.125", see where I'm going here?) and a pin vise. Make sure the pin vise can hold 1/8", as not many can. That size bit is generally too large for a pin vise, but they do make them. The large one in that link is the one I use for the 1/8" bit. The second largest is what I use for the 1/16" drill bit.Now, once you have the materials the rest is rather simple. After gluing together the torso, use the drill bit+vise to make holes where the magnets will go. Also, drill a hole in the shoulder part of the arm you want to attach. Try a "dry fit" to make sure the hole is deep enough that the magnet sits flush in the piece.
NOTE: The torso was tricky for me, as it was hollow. When I attached the second magnet to the other shoulder, it shot through the torso bit to the other arm (they're that strong). I would suggest reinforcing the middle of the torso with a bit of greenstuff first. Also, before you super-glue the "mate" magnet, double-check that you have the correct side facing out (they should attract each other.) You don't want to finish gluing your model's arm together just to find out that it is violently propelled away from the model's torso when you try to put it on.
Let everything dry before you try them out.
At this point, feel free to enjoy your model:
Now that you have the basics, you are only limited by your imagination and creativity.
Another example of what you can do with magnets?
Oh yeah. BOTH turrets.
Click here for Part 2
Simple. Straightforward. Awesome.
ReplyDeleteThanks, matey!
Now...any chance of some playable rules for that tau badboy at the bottom of the post?!
- Drax
I've just discovered magnet love myself. I don't think I would have had the confidence to try it on something as small as marine arms though! I will definitely keep this in mind next time I'm on my marines. I think this could be a genius move for most Veteran Sergeants, not just jump troops!
ReplyDeleteThe next installment of magnetism will be covering even smaller magnets. Space Marine wrists (for the Commander box set with the different guns), and smaller model arms (Eldar, Imperial Guard, etc.). But seriously, those magnets are TINY...
ReplyDeleteAlso, magnetizing is amazing for Tyranids. (Carnifexes with every head, arm, and biomorph in a magnetized form.)
Also, the poll's been reset. Have at it!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting idea.
ReplyDeleteWhat do the magnets cost?
I can see myself using it more on tanks than guys. With guys, honestly, it's rare that I want to change the weapons. It's adding things like an auspex, melta-bombs, etc. that I wish could be magnitized.
Dan
A container of 100 magnets like in the picture will set you back $8.99
ReplyDeleteRe: Auspexes and Meltabombs, it can be done. I'm getting another shipment in of even smaller magnets (1/2 the diameter, which means 1/4 the size) but are just as strong.
When they come in, I'll go a bit more in-depth with the possibilities of these magnets, including embedding a magnet in a marine's leg, then hiding it's mate in a Melta-Bomb/Auspex. Instant gear!
I suppose the only danger is the model 'rearranging' themselves in your carry box...
ReplyDeleteDARKSOL: Tada - my mighty commander!
OPPONENT: Does he have genestealer arms and a Tau Rail Rifle? Oi Judge!
DARKSOL: Errr sorry hang on ...
JUDGE: You're Fired!
Great tutorial Darksol, I just wish I could find those magnets over here in England! I've searched everywhere for small magnets like that for my dreadnoughts, but to no avail:( any info anyone?
ReplyDelete73rd
I'm pretty sure Mag-craft ships to the UK as well. I looked through their checkout section online and found it listed under G for "Great Britain"
ReplyDelete@Suneokun: Something similar happened already. I was pulling out all my bits and models for a game, and all the pictured Sergeant's arms had affixed to each other in what looked like a roiling ball of Space Marine appendages with weapons. My opponent gave out a "What the eff is that?!?" He was afraid I was whipping out some strange 'counts as' model. Ha!
Short, concise and nice and easy to follow.
ReplyDeleteSomething I definately need to try out this.
Nice job.
ReplyDeleteI've only magnetised a backpack once but the time it takes is well worth it in the long run.
im planning to use magnets with the new Crusader / Redeemer Landraider, not sure if i would use them for minis but i will for large vehicles and dreadnoughts.
ReplyDeletereason i wouldnt use them for minis is mainly due to my amazing super power where i can loose the most important item i need at any given time of the day, only to find it again when i have no need for it what so ever :)
Another thing to think about is if the arm is light enough you may only need to put the magnet in the arm. You could use a very small piece of ferrous metal (paperclip) and put that in the body instead of another magnet. You're only issue then is to make sure the arm stays in the position you want. If not than another magnet may be required.
ReplyDeleteSo if it would hold you could run small rods through the torso to hold the arms in place and save a couple magnets in the process
Master, a great article- never seen the idea of magnetic armed space marines- only vehicles and dreads really. You mention magcraft magnets- consider that amazon.com sells them, and you can become an affilaite member for free and sell the magnets off your site right under your article- this is how you do it, and here are the magnets to buy- you see 4% of the sale. I'm just throwing it out there as your blog's new facelift is really sweet and with your comics and content you have a great site- don't know what your traffic #'s are but maybe you could get your blog to start paying for your 40K hobby?
ReplyDeleteExcellent stuff, I was looking for an article on just this kind of thing and this pegs it. I've been agonizing over my plastic terminators since I got them, especially my assault termies, and now I have a plan for making use of any weapon combo I want. No waisting those extra lightning claws etc.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteA fantastic article, well done! This is something I want to think long and hard about, as the options it will open up are endless - I can have a single marine be able to swap between special or heavy weapons, of allow some wonderful customisations for veterans!
ReplyDeleteMy big question is whether there is a UK equilivent for Magcraft...
Edit: Just found out someone has already asked this, no matter :)
An easy was to make sure you get the polarity right is to put one in the main body and let it dry, when it dries place the other magnet on top BEFORE you glue it into the weapon\option. place a small dot of red on the top side of the magnet and make sure you glue that bit into the body.
ReplyDeletegreat models check out my magnetic tutorials on youtube under covchaser, watch out for the sentinel and chimera tutorials
ReplyDelete