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Hi Dakka,

So i suppose many of you have shared this painful experience, your going about your business, getting your army together, you put in the magnets thinking its the right polarity, then you set the super glue in and BAM. Doesn't magnetize. You realize you've put the magnet in facing the wrong direction and now you have to get it out with a knife.

What do you guys do to keep track of the polarity? Do you mark it with paint?

I usually paint one side with a black permanent marker

IGotBodied wrote:
I usually paint one side with a black permanent marker

This.

Be very slow and do not assembly line them. Make sure you have the right polarity and check it as you insert it. If you do too many at once you screw up.

Slow and deliberate is your friend here. I just finishing magnetizing the arms for my Hive Tyrant. I drilled one hole and inserted the magnets. Drilled the matching hole into the arm then put 2 exposed magnets in the shoulder socket. I then pushed my arm onto the exposed magnets to 1) ensure the right polarity and 2) best contact for the magnets. For the second socket, I drilled the holes, then attached 2 exposed magnets to the just-completed arm, and used it to push the magnets into the socket. Did this all the way around the model such that any of the arms will fit any of the sockets.

Oh yes, check twice, glue once.

Check twice and glue once is right, had to dig one out today. After that fun I was double and triple checking.

I do a single arm first. I then keep my magnets stuck to that peice of arm whilst drilling for bodies (so maybe a stack of 20 magnets sticking to the one thats glued into the arm)
When the bodies are magnetized I stick the stack o' magnets on the bodies and do the rest of the arms.

Test fit alot too.

Although with my drill bits and magnets when test fitting I've managed to stick magnets in without the glue. Half of my terminator arms are stuck in due to friction alone, can't get the buggers out even if I wanted too.

I dont have an issue with multiple models not matching, they all do its just doing them one at a time i have to re insert the magnet because i thought it was the right polarity and it wasnt! Grr!!

I think i'm just gonna get a black permanent marker and mark them...


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also, do any of you use any pliers or anything to put them in? I hate it when they go on their side...

I use the flat of a blade (edge has been removed with a file) to hold them and press them in flat.
Then I just slide the blade away.

Black marker for the marking of polarity, like others.

I find that the end of a wooden coffee stirrer is an ideal tool for final positioning and pressing in. Its not metal, so the magent doesn't stick, and its quite rough, so its harder for the superglue to get a grip as well. Nothing worse than getting the magent all positioned and then it comes away when you take the knife away

My thumb or base of the hobby knife.

 Paint_To_Redemption wrote:

IGotBodied wrote:
I usually paint one side with a black permanent marker

This.

rubs off too easy from my exp.

i like to put a bright dot of paint on them.

The thought occured to me the other day, to let 50 of them set out, in 25 stacks of 2, then spray paint them a color, flip over and spray again.

then always marry the 2 silver sides, and allow painted sides to glue into models.

Thought I'd pass along this tip as well. When you have your first magnet in, put a very thin layer of blue tack on the other side, wet it with a little bit of saliva, and press the two pieces together. When you separate the pieces, you should see a slight impression showing where the opposing magnet will meet. Use a scribe to make an indentation in the middle of that point and begin to drill.

To solve this problem, I made a pair of magnetic paint brushes. I ordered a pair of 1 inch x 1/16 inch magnets, pulled the bristles out of an old pair of brushes with pliers, then filed the ferrules down until the holes were large enough for the magnets to fit. I then drilled into the ferrule/handle about 1/2 inch and squeezed in some gap-filling super glue. Finally, I inserted the magnets, mopped up the excess glue and let them dry for a few days.

The brushes were then sanded, primed, and painted. Violet = Vehicle. Green = Gun.

I've had zero problems with polarity issues ever since. And they also make handling tiny magnets really easy.

 Nodri wrote:
To solve this problem, I made a pair of magnetic paint brushes. I ordered a pair of 1 inch x 1/16 inch magnets, pulled the bristles out of an old pair of brushes with pliers, then filed the ferrules down until the holes were large enough for the magnets to fit. I then drilled into the ferrule/handle about 1/2 inch and squeezed in some gap-filling super glue. Finally, I inserted the magnets, mopped up the excess glue and let them dry for a few days.

The brushes were then sanded, primed, and painted. Violet = Vehicle. Green = Gun.

I've had zero problems with polarity issues ever since. And they also make handling tiny magnets really easy.

That's a neat idea! I picked up a simple tool at the Manufactorum a while back, it had a "stud" north and 'flush" south, using one end to put magnets into bodies and the other into arms worked for me.

Drill holes, mount one magnet, then apply a small stack of magnets to it. Pressing the other part onto the stack to seat the opposing magnet ensures the proper polarity. Since you're only working on one pair at a time and polarity is physically confirmed, marking is unnecessary.

If you want arms to be universally swappable between several bodies, or some similar setup, start with one pair, as usual, then simply use the original body to orient all arms and the original arm to orient all subsequent bodies. It's pretty much foolproof.

Buy a cheap magnetic compass...it will tell you what is what with magnets and their polar facing.

I have one 'master' model and one 'master' weapon attachment as my guide. I do this to ensure all my marine weapons are the same polarity and interchange. I find that marking the magnets doesn't help me as I will forget which end my marked magnets goes after a few months. Will an actual model I can always be sure.

I took a piece of 1/4" dowel and put the magnets in the, and labeled which side is weapon and which side is model.

So if I'm magnetizing a gun I drill the hole, pick up a magnet with the model side and then press it into the gun.

 oadie wrote:
Drill holes, mount one magnet, then apply a small stack of magnets to it. Pressing the other part onto the stack to seat the opposing magnet ensures the proper polarity. Since you're only working on one pair at a time and polarity is physically confirmed, marking is unnecessary.

If you want arms to be universally swappable between several bodies, or some similar setup, start with one pair, as usual, then simply use the original body to orient all arms and the original arm to orient all subsequent bodies. It's pretty much foolproof.

That's how I deal with it, but seeing the brushes someone made above, that's a really good idea. You could just glue 2 small magnets to the end of any 2 sticks and colour code them to ensure you are gluing the correct polarity without having to think about it. You could even just glue it to the end of a piece of sprue and mark it to tell you what polarity it is.

I always like ideas that reduce the amount of tool swapping I have to do.