Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

A question for the crafty and positively polarized Dakkanauts out there. Any recommendation for magnetizing jet bike units or other skimmers?

I'm no stranger to the clear elevated plastic bases for many flyers in 40k and I have several Deff Koptas, Vipers, Wave Serpents, Annhilation barges in the collection. The Vertus Praetors for the Custodes have a much different plastic base where instead of an easy to insert plastic bit they have a rounded plastic ball to mount your jetbikes onto. This is very loose for my bikes and for storage I don't intend on glueing them together.

In the past I've just clipped off a piece of plastic and glued on a pair of magnets to the stem and to the model base and that's work fine for my Captain but I'm hopeful there's a better way out there. I've heard people use the X-Wing rounded circular magnets before with Jetbikes so I'm curious if anyone has any experience with those.

Thanks!

For bikes with the ball mount, I just filled the socket with GS and stuck a magnet in there. Works for lightweight Eldar bikes. Not sure how it would do for something with more torque.

I was considering some blu-tack in the socket but then I was worried about having it get stuck in a crevice and having to scrape it out later.

I have done the same with my Jetbikes, including the old Shining Spears with metal bodies and spears. Just a round magnet on the clear plastic pillar and expanded the hole in the bike fuselage and inserted a magnet there. Use two part epoxy on the clear plastic post or you might get some hazing on the pillar.

Examples in my Eldar painting log.

My two cents,

CB

I have a similar problem with my Storm Speeder. It's on basically a bigger version of the ball and socket mount from the newer jetbikes. Tried just Blue-tac, but that didn't hold it for very long at all, so it's looking like I'm going to need some kind of magnets. Or to go ahead and glue it and deal with the transport headaches as best I can. One idea I had was to put a magnet in the top of the ball and another in the socket, as it might hold well enough between friction and the magnets without needing to use big magnets.

Ah that's a shame that the blu-tack doesn't work. A friend gave me a 'magnetbaron' stand for my jet bike captain so I may end up getting them for my vertus praetors as well, the only downside is that the clear plastic stem is very thick and stands out. Still it's fairly stable.

Maybe you can design a base mount that houses the magnet, which then glues onto the ball socket similar to something like this.


You can design it so that it looks like some sort of intake system.

When in doubt, use brass rod or a nail. Superglue that in, problem solved.
I stick magnet foil under the base of the flyer and transport them on a metal tray.

Making a structure that blends into the model but provides a solid grip on the model is another option. I did that for Eldar vehicles that exceed jetbike size.

If you have a 3D printer or a friend with one make your flight stands yourself, I did that for my darkeldar.