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Greetings,

I am a new wargaming player who has started playing WH:AoS with some friends. I'm currently building Beastclaw Raiders and I've run into a small issue in terms of swapping weapons out for my models (Mournfang, Beastriders, etc.). After doing some digging I've learned about Pinning and placing magnets to swap out arms, weapons, or even mounts when needed.

This sounds like a great, clever way to swap parts, but I noticed that all the videos I've seen shown either resin figures or pewter. The majority of the beastclaws are a hard, hallow plastic.

Are magnets and pinning even viable for hallow plastic? There does not seem to be enough plastic to drill through to hold the magnets without going right through it, and I'm wondering if there is enough plastic to hold the pins together in the first place. Or are Beastclaws only truly viable when using one specific set of weapons?

Perhaps I'm overthinking this, but I would like some second opinions on this before I start building more of my army.

Thanks,

It is possible to magnetise plastics - you will need that other modeller's friend, "Greenstuff" to get the best out of the technique, though.

It's not quite as easy as pinning resin or metal models, but it is doable for most people.

Because the plastic larger models are hollow, you will need the GS to hold the magnets. Make the holes as normal for magnetising, but mix some greenstuff up and push that into the hole. Seat the magnets into this with a drop of superglue (it will grab to the greenstuff).

It shouldn't be a problem. Drill the hole just large enough to fit the magnet in snugly and superglue. It should hold fine. If you are worried, you can fill the hole with a glob of greenstuff or miliput and then put the magnet/glue in. You could also countersink the magnet by just a bit and put a thin skin of greenstuff or milliput over it and it should still hold fine. The biggest thing with magnets is making sure you keep the polarity straight. Digging them out after gluing into a model is no fun.

I've magnetised countless hollow models, so no, it's not impossible or even difficult to magnetise them.

Most weapons can be magnetised with tiny 1mm x 2mm neodymium dics.
This means you only need enough space to drill a 2mm hole 1mm into the plastic.
You'll need to think smart about WHERE you choose to place magnets, IE you can't put it at the bottom of the blade of a sword so you can switch it to an axe without changing the hand, but you can easily but it in the wrist of an ogre sized model.


Again, with pinning, the plastic should be thick enough. You aren't putting a lot of weight or strain on, so they only need a shallow depth for the pin in order to stay put.

Thank you for your quick reply!

I've seen people drill holes big enough to fit the magnets in, but I worry that due to how thin the plastic is, (that's not to say they are flimsy, they are well made!), wouldn't the magnet just fall through? I guess that's where the GS comes in!

I've heard of GS but I haven't gotten around to using it yet. Pretty much you apply it to the base and let the magnet rest in it so it will hold, but wouldn't that create a large bulge preventing the piece for attaching correctly?

Edit: Thank you for your continued replies everyone!

I've also been curious as to where to find a pinning tool to attach the drill bit so it would be easier to drill for the magnets.

I use the drill in my hand for thinner plastic (just hold the bit and do the old rub thumb and forefinger move) or in a dremel type tool. The greenstuff will fill inside the hole, and it is rather sticky (you said you haven't used it before). As stated earlier, drill the hole, place a drop of super glue inside, and the GS will stick to it right off. Then push your magnet in to the correct depth (usually even with hole) and it will hold, let it dry overnight (nothing is more frustrating then magnetizing, getting impatient, and pulling the magnet back out with its counterpart). Also, a tip. I take a sharpie marker and mark one side of my magnets, so there is never confusion on which side is "up" when placing one in arm say, and other on weapon.
One last note...there are a lot of places selling GS...not just GW. You can generally get tubes of Yellow/blue in sets for a lot less...actually search for tubes of Kneadadite blue/yellow or such


fund an example of my guard with magnetised shoulders. First gallery on this page, hope it helps.
http://edwardmystcreations.weebly.com/command-squad.html

The greenstuff would go inside the hole, then the magnet goes in that.

No greenstuff should be left outside the hole, so it shouldn't change the fit of the two parts.

So you drill straight through and apply the GS to fill it back in but give enough room for the magnet to slip in, brilliant!

Thank you for the helpful replies everyone! With your suggestions I have a better understanding on what I can do for swapping my weapons and mount riders for the future.

If anyone has any other suggestions or advice I'd be happy to listen to them.

Thank you again!

 Gordon Shumway wrote:
It shouldn't be a problem. Drill the hole just large enough to fit the magnet in snugly and superglue. It should hold fine. If you are worried, you can fill the hole with a glob of greenstuff or miliput and then put the magnet/glue in. You could also countersink the magnet by just a bit and put a thin skin of greenstuff or milliput over it and it should still hold fine. The biggest thing with magnets is making sure you keep the polarity straight. Digging them out after gluing into a model is no fun.

As it is I didn't even need superglue. I testpushed magnet into slot and whoom it fitted so snugly it stays there. As it is I CANNOT get magnet out short of drilling more of plastic to get room. So I'm more worried about not drilling deep enough so it would stick out

 WizardingThumbnail wrote:
So you drill straight through and apply the GS to fill it back in but give enough room for the magnet to slip in, brilliant!

Thank you for the helpful replies everyone! With your suggestions I have a better understanding on what I can do for swapping my weapons and mount riders for the future.

If anyone has any other suggestions or advice I'd be happy to listen to them.

Thank you again!

Don't forget, you're putting the magnet in while the green stuff is still soft.

Just making sure