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Ok, I'm trying to magnetize skaven. I have a large sheet of galvanized tin, which I cut into squares that fit into the GW movement trays. I then super glued the tin to the trays. Then, I took these rectangular magnetic stickers (meant to be used on the back of business cards), cut those into small squares and stuck them to the bottom of my skaven.

But ... the skaven won't stick to the glavanized tin! The business card magnets stick to the tin, even when cut into small squares. However, once I put the squares under the skaven, they don't stick. I think this may be because there is too much space between the magentic surface and the tin, but am not sure. There is only maybe 1/4 of an inch between the magnet and the tin (just guessing). Any ideas?

The magnets and the tin need to make contact for such a weak magnet to stick. I had the same problem with some plastic skeletons a while back. I just cut plastic card and stacked it as a filler in the base cavity. Then attach the magnet. This made the magnet flush with the lower edges of the base and it will stick to the tin. Try one and see.

Also, I did have a bit of a problem when I cut a magnet sheet into smaller squares. The polarity of the new edges tended to repel each other if I was not careful with the setup. Hopefully, the magnets will be more attracted to the tin than repelled by each other!

Good Luck!

The magnetic material you're using is pretty weak. Orkistotle is right, you need to have the magnet actually touching the tin. I use rare earth magnets from K & J Magnetics on the web. It costs a little more, but I can transport my units of dwarves on the trays with no problem. I can flip the tray over and shake and won't lose one!

To make certain my magnets are contacting the metal, I mix up some green stuff epoxy and put a small ball into the base of the mini, then I push the magnet into it and squash the mini onto some scrap metal and let it cure. This spaces the magnet exactly right. You have to make sure you use the right amount of green stuff. Too much and it might glue the mini to the metal, too little and the magnetmight not be secure enough. Just experiment a little. I can do 20 minis in 10-12 minutes.

I'm not sure how much magnetic sheet costs, but you can get rare earth magnets for as little .15 or .20 cents each. I have a 100 or so of several different sizes. For minis with weak joints like skeletons or necrons, use smaller magnets or you can yank them apart. I transport my 40K armies in toolboxes with metal drawers and don't have to worry about paint wear in foam trays. It also helps me organise by squads.

Good luck, I hope this helps!

The only thing to be careful about when using the stronger magnets is not to go over board. I got some MIGHTY little magnets from K&J on clearance a while back, and made the mistake of using them in the bases of my plastic assault marines. They just fly at each other if they are within a quarter inch now. So, get weaker magnets and use two if needed for skirmishers. For things in movement trays, you should be fine.

Wehrkind wrote:The only thing to be careful about when using the stronger magnets is not to go over board. I got some MIGHTY little magnets from K&J on clearance a while back, and made the mistake of using them in the bases of my plastic assault marines. They just fly at each other if they are within a quarter inch now. So, get weaker magnets and use two if needed for skirmishers. For things in movement trays, you should be fine.

What a beautiful image! Youch, that makes maximizing your 2" unit coherency really important!

Death By Monkeys wrote:

Wehrkind wrote:The only thing to be careful about when using the stronger magnets is not to go over board. I got some MIGHTY little magnets from K&J on clearance a while back, and made the mistake of using them in the bases of my plastic assault marines. They just fly at each other if they are within a quarter inch now. So, get weaker magnets and use two if needed for skirmishers. For things in movement trays, you should be fine.

What a beautiful image! Youch, that makes maximizing your 2" unit coherency really important!

Is that the crazy swirling motion you see right before the vortex grenade sucks all your minis into the warp???