Magnetising Flat-Based Models

First posted on The Warhammer Forum 2013, written by The Dice Bag Lady, feel free to share but please cite your sources!

Been having a huge mission trying to magnetise my metal Normans for Saga, but solved it, so I thought I’d share.

My other game is Warhammer, of which I have tonnes of models stored magnetically. I felt out of love with foam case storage after one too many snapped spears, and the time spent putting models in and out of them.

So my warhammer solution was rare earth magnets, discs stuck under the lip of the GW base, and “Really Useful Storage” boxes lined with sticky backed metal sheeting. Some of the models are on sarissa (mdf cut) bases with no indent underneath, so I drilled holes and put magnets in there. With the single troop plastics, I just used magnetic sheeting. Which means I just rank everyone back up after a game, so when I come to pay next, I’m all ready to go.

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So, SAGA. The problem I had was that I couldn’t drill into the renedra base (and even if I could, I’d already started painting and basing the models, so didn’t want to mess that up.

I tried the magnetic sheet on metal sheet lined box… very bad. One careful trip and when I opened the box they were chipped and broke Even though I had tightly wedged them in to prevent sliding.

So the solution,

THINNER magnets.

I bought 100 of 15mm x 0.5mm disc magnets from Guys Magnets

(pic shows about half)

Be especially careful if you’re used to the regular sized magnets sold by wargaming shops etc.. as they are so thin they are very brittle and a bit lethal when they break (I broke a few as they got pulled in a direction and smashed) and the usual magnet precaution (keep well away from phones, cameras, ipods etc)

Then I simply super glued them on. Make sure to keep your guys apart from each other or before you know it they’re flying everywhere and stuck in a big pile of men…apparently

I probably overkilled it a bit, but there is no way these guys are going to slide anywhere.

Wait til completely dry and.. ta da.

They solidly stick on to the metallic sheet, but I since discovered than a biscuit tin is the way to go. The test model I shook aggressively and it did not bugde at all. Annoyingly, it wasn’t my biscuit tin, so my next mission is to find one!

The magnets are so thin that they don’t make the models look strange or risen, so no drilling or indenting required.

Once you’re all done, it’s then customary to use the remaining lump of magnets to position under the table, directly underneath a magnetised model, go “weeeee!” and watch him whizz around.

Hope that was useful,
Annie

Magnetising Flat-Based Models

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