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 Gashrog wrote:
I seem to recall GW did mention magnetizing ONCE, it was the plastic Carnifex IIRC.

Sometimes the modelling boys can let things slip through that management don't like. Black Gobbo once put up a tutorial for making Thunder Siege Tanks and Destroyer Tank Hunters using a leman russ kit and plastic tubing, but it was yanked a week later presumably after objection from Forge World.

You've brought up an interesting point here -perhaps they're fully supportive of converting and scratch building models, for things they don't actually produce a kit for.e.g. once Forge World started rolling it out Baneblades, I can understand why White Dwarf would cease featuring tutorials on how to scratch build super heavy tanks!

 Tannhauser42 wrote:
Why doesn't GW sell magnets? Because it would be very hard to successfully brand magnets. GW can get away with branding all the other hobby tools and supplies and convince people that those items are specially made to GW's exacting specifications, but magnets would be hard to do that with.

I dunno. Super glue, hobby knife, and clippers are about as generic as it gets

 Peregrine wrote:
(at least under their current management)

You keep using this "current management" vs "old management" thing, but I can't help but feeling you are missing the fact management just shifted again, so its "old management" vs "older management" now, with "current management" yet to properly reveal themselves.

Things like free PDF rules for new models, and even the out-of-codex models are outside the typical behavior of the era of kirby, as the the slew of (better and worse) discount big kits coming out here and there without any relation to anything (new DV expansions? new nid battleforce, new SM strikeforce...not great kits, but discount kits none the less.)

Once i sent an email to GW asking how to strip the paint and the person sent me an email with a link to a wargaming forum with a guide for stripping paint.

Apparently though that particular employee was flayed and his skin hangs there as a warning to the customer service department

Some kits are far more suited for magnets than others.
The hoses on the Centurions and scions are very fiddly, and each model has a specific way to build them, or the cables/hoses don't align. The parts only fit the exact specific part designed for that model, and the same items of the other models don't fit at all.
A left-hand lascannon for Centurion A won't fit on Centurion B, as the gun has a longer mount.
Assault Centurions get 2 types of gun on their drills.
Then there's the chest guns. Frag-packs, bolters or missiles, all intended to fit in the same mount. These parts are so tiny that I've drilled through the chest and just glued the magnet to the back of the weapon parts.

I'm simplifying a little but, but the Scions kit has 5 bodies, 5 hotshot lasguns, and 5 special weapons (IIRC). But, each body only has 1 left arm and 1 half-right arm.
The guns have the hand, or hand and wrist, or hand, wrist and fore-arm. Matching them up from a pile of clipped parts takes a long time.
Magnetising them means each gun needs a magnet at the wrist, the right arm needs the wrist and shoulder, and the left arm needs the shoulder. I've left off the left wrist. Life's too short.
Then flamers get a backpack, too.

So, GW's record on making magnetisable kits is very hit-and-miss. I'll have to grade them sometime.
Pics to follow, as I spent a huge amount of time making it work. And it only just works.

 Peregrine wrote:

 Azreal13 wrote:
Because you're supposed to buy a kit for every configuration, not adapt one for all the possibilities.

Exactly. GW (at least under their current management) is never going to provide advice on how to do more with fewer purchases. A multi-unit kit is an opportunity to choose which unit you want to build and then discard the extra parts, not a way to avoid buying a second unit.

And really, what kind of WAAC TFG would want to change the options on a model? You're supposed to decide which option fits your fluff, build that one, and never even think about doing something as tasteless as changing a weapon to make your list stronger.

This is very accurate. I mean they don't even include all the weapons options in all kits, or enough of the useful ones e.g. Devastator kit so they sure as hell ain't gonna be selling magnets.

IGtR= wrote:
I mean they don't even include all the weapons options in all kits, or enough of the useful ones e.g. Devastator kit so they sure as hell ain't gonna be selling magnets.

I must admit, when I opened my first box of these and saw the single missile launcher, I was like "Ah for f**ks sake!" I'm guessing that when that sprue was designed missile launchers weren't in favour, and that's why ther's only 1. It could of course be a deliberate sales ploy, but that's my cynical half telling me that...and I try not to listen to him.

It's part of their "sell a man a fish and he'll eat for a day" sales philosophy.

They're not in the "teach a man to fish" business, as that would cut them out of the loop before long.

I'm more an advocate of the "set a man on fire" school of thought, myself, though.