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Hey guys...

Do any of you know of any particularly handy way of making the 5 or so guardian heavy weapons options be interchangable on the heavy weapon base? I'd rather not buy 5 different GW models just to have a weapon for any occasion with that squad. Something with magnets, perhaps?

Get yourself some tiny neodymium magnets. You can get them fairly cheaply, and they allow you to swap out the weapons quickly.

You can usually get them from Maelstrom, or from hobby stores, or special online stores. They are really strong, so a 2mm magnet on both the base and weapon will work. Just make sure you put them on the right way around. (I find that a tiny dab of superglue works. I usually stick the magnets together, with a piece of paper between, then I superglue one and pull the other (and the paper) away before the glue sticks them together. That, or paint one side.

I found that Ebay has a seller of 20 1/16" by 1/32" magnets with logos for each 40K army. You get 20 for US $6. I tried looking at magnetcraft brand but the thinnest I found was 1/8 and that's still a bit too thick.

Do you know the sellers name on ebay?

It's "lotsotreasures"

Or you can do a search for "magnet 1/16".

Be sure to post pics if you succed. I would think those elfish contraptions to delicate to fit with magnets without making it look bulky and awkvard.
Perhaps a simple drill/pinning solution could be an alternative?

Perhaps... I do know it will be a very odd fit, but I'm gonna give it a shot. I'll be sure to post pics when I get it together.

I made them interchangeable by not gluing the weapon into the base. I was too worried that I'd end up gluing magnets down on the wrong sides.

I use a couple of pins.

Easier than magnets.

Better yet, if the wrong people touch my stuff, they stab themselves (thus teaching them a valuable lesson. ASK FIRST and if I say 'no!' then SOD OFF).

Aha! I have just done the same thing with my wife's guardian squad.

I haven't made up my wife's mind on what colours to do her army which is why they are different colours. . .

I found that the HW platform is actually quite easy to magnetize compared to other stuff. I did have to cut rather than drill spaces for the magnets however.

Anyway here are a few pics.







I should have taken pics before priming, sorry.

I keep meaning to take some pics of how I go about magnetising my stuff, ( I use a lot of magnets...) but normally once I start, i tend not to stop, until i realise it is all done and I haven't taken any pics. I did a quick paint pic to give you some Idea on how not to get the polarity wrong. Hope it helps.




I generally use 3/16 diameter magnets which fit well in a hole made with a 3mm drillbit leaving room for glue.
I normally use super glue, but occasionally (esp. for metal models) use 90 sec 2 part epoxy (aldredite.)

Ensure that the glue is stuck before you attatch the second magnet! Or you will Cuss!

I use a hex based quick detatched 3 mm drillbit. I find the hex base is great to attatch the magnet to, and when putting the magnet into a hole, you can insert the magnet and then slide the drillbit to one side and away, the magnet staying in the hole.

Really nice, Kr'aag!

Did you make the extra "shields" by your self or are they left over bits?

Fayric wrote:Really nice, Kr'aag!

Did you make the extra "shields" by your self or are they left over bits?

Thanks. Ja, I made 3 of them. The two with "bobbles" on them came with the kit.
I just used a bit of plastic card, cut to shape and then filed down around the edges.
I then bent them around my xacto to put a curve to the shape.
Time to complete, about 2 minutes each.

So

it looks like you cut into the existing tab on the missile launcher to make the alignment pins and then when you installed the magnet in the gun mount in the middle of the slot intended for the tab on the weapons, then the alignment tabs automatically line up with the pins/tab?

I like it!

Ja. It worked quite well. The gun stays quite stable once attatched to the base. I scratched my head a bit when deciding how to do it at first, but now i am happy with the result. With my crisis suits, the weapons are very wiggly. I am thinking of making a pin system retrospectively, but It will be tough to get them all the right position so I might just let them stay wiggly. . .

Hopefully here shortly my magnets will arrive and I can tell you how well this specific brand works.

Check out K & J Magnetics. They've got a huge selection of neodium/rare earth magnets available at very reasonable price, including smaller sizes like 1/8" and 1/16" widths. I used square brass tubing for mine, although my platforms and guns are the older metal ones, heavier than even the strong draw of these small magnets can support.

Sorry it took so long, but I did it the day that the magnets arrived.

First off, I'll say that though the magnets work wonderfully and are extremely powerful for their size, the picture on the webpage seemed to imply that they were unique to the army that you selected, and like having an emblem on it. Instead, they were just plain steel-colored magnets.

The magnets are 1/16" wide and 1/32" tall, which is perfect for plastic parts this size. I would not reccomend them for medium-sized pewter peices (unless you use more than one) or large plastic ones. Like said before by a previous poster, they can get wobbly, but if you don't glue the turret shield to the weapon itself, you can place the weapons inside the turret shield which stabalizes it, and the magnet is powerful enough to hold up the weight of the bottom peice. I made the hole for the magnets with a Hobbico brand pocket drill.

Pardon of the Bright Lance looks a little tacky. I am experimenting with color schemes and have had to change it multiple times. I think I am going to go black or dark angels green for the lance and then mottle the whole thing like I did with the guardian.