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.

Hey there!

I just read of another wargamer who attaches magnets to the arms of his Space Marines. This allows him to have inter-changeable arms instead of being stuck with just permanent weapons.

Is this normal? Is this recommended?

Thanks mates and cheers!

Dom

Some people do it, and magnetizing is normal. I don't think magnetizing tactical squads is normal though.

I think they are easy and cheap enough to simply have an extra marine for whatever guns you want. Borrow from devastator squads or use your spare to create new devastator squads.

I would save the magnets for vehicles, dreadnoughts, and important infantry like HQs and sergeants.

I'll magnetize Assault troops -std packs - jump packs - different ccw options

Cool... but how are the magnets attached? Are there tutorials or something?

When using magnets consider a few things:

You need a pin vise of the same diameter or slightly bigger than the magnets

Patience

Time

I say that as you will be using a pin vise to drill out holes to set the magnets in. You also want to be sure you set all the magnets the same way, so that all arms go with all men. That is actually surprisingly easy to mess up. This of course takes extra time and patience. Additionally it means painting and modeling an extra set of arms/backpacks/etc.

I magnetise my terminators and my tanks, just so I can have extra options. Tactical squads are a pain in the arse to do so I just have an extra model or two sitting around. Only issue is that I need to buy extra shoulderpads, which is cheap enough off Ebay or similar.

Edit: oh and I have a dremel my lovely wife bought me so it makes it much easier

I generally don't magnatise arms. Turrets, dread arms, etc., yes but not infantry arms. There are just too many bits available out there to need it.

 dominiquekee wrote:
Cool... but how are the magnets attached? Are there tutorials or something?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9aN_LHQmwA

This may be useful.

Not much call for magnetization across the board, as Tac Marines will always be Tac Marines, but it's not that uncommon to do for special/heavy weapons, generic HQs, or pricier models with multiple potential loadouts, like terminators (shooty or assault with LC or TH/SS).

To save on parts, one can also place the magnets at the wrist, meaning that the hand/weapon (one-handed weapons usually have the hand attached, anyway) can be swapped out without needing a ton of extra arms. The joint is a bit thinner, so smaller magnets must be used, obviously, but the process is the same.

As far as the process is concerned, the idea is pretty simple: Either get very thin magnets and glue them straight to the inner surfaces of the joint or drill matching holes in the parts and insert magnets to have them sit flush (making sure, in both cases, to match polarity). I much prefer the finish of the latter method, since it's completely invisible, but some are willing to make the (they claim "minor") visual concession for the greater ease of the former. Either way, there are definitely tutorials out there if you search around a bit, both on Dakka and elsewhere.

I found it was incredibly useful for my thunderwolf cavalry, as by magnetising the waist of one model and the wrist of another I could field all normal marines or any combination of thunderhammer, power fist, axe or sword. Haven't got round to magnetising the storm shields too though.

This is great information guys! I'm going to start looking for the magnets now...

It might be overkill since I'm only a beginner at this hobby, but hey! You'll never know until you try it out!

Thanks again!

Dom

I've been playing with magnet for a little bit, and magnets are great, if you know where and when to put them. These are my own preference from working with them.

Your day to day standart bolters are not worth magnetizing, its more pain then its worth and you have a greater chance of putting the magnets upside down. Skip these guys.

Heavy 2 handed weapons such as lauchers and lascanon: You can do it, but again its a pain and you will be sacrificing a lot of astthetics to make it work. I personaly suggest you get a the 5 man combat squad if you need more weapon from the devestator squad.

Melta, Flamers and plasma gun: Instead of magnetizing the hole arm: glue them in place as if he was holding one of these (These three weapons and the bolter all have the same spacing between the grib and the stock of the weapon) use 1/16 by 1/32 magets and put one in the right hand and the other where the grib will be.

Magnetize the shoulder of those that you can change the whole arms is pretty easy and straight forwards, just us either 1/8 or 3/32 size magnests. The slimer 1/32 magnets are better if you can get your hands on them if not the 1/16 in thickness do the job just fine, simply be care full with your drilling. Your sergant, terminators, your captain, assault marines will all be happy to change there weapons casualy

personally i dont like working with magnets. i find putting them in and painting extra options to be a large pain in the ass.

better to spend that time and effort painting a whole new squad. two complete models are greater than one model with options IMO.

if youre on a really tight budget or OCD about using every last bit then i guess you will need to do it.

for some vehicles i guess it makes sense to do it.

As stated, i can see the appeal of magnetising HQs, Elites and soem vehicles.

Basic Troops? Meh, i personally woudln't bother.

I simply get angry with GW whenever I have to buy a whole new kit because I want the option to use all the different configs, while also having to buy multiple kits to have a squad full of the same weapons (I'm looking at you killa kans and devastators).

I therefore magnetize everything that isn't a bolter: flamers, chainswords, powerfists, dread arms, rhino hatches and razorback turrets, choppas, sluggas, shootas, the list goes on. The only thing I can't magnetize are dev heavy weapons as there are too many bits that need to link up and I don't like having a bunch of magnetized torsos sitting around. I did just do new models for them.

Magnetizing makes me feel like I'm sticking it to the man somehow, although I know that this is really just a comfortable fantasy I'm clinging to while I'm bent over a rhino hatch with my trousers around my ankles and a grinning Ward standing behind me.

_Lightbringer_ wrote:
I simply get angry with GW whenever I have to buy a whole new kit because I want the option to use all the different configs, while also having to buy multiple kits to have a squad full of the same weapons (I'm looking at you killa kans and devastators).

Do bitz websites not exist in your world or something?

 Grimtuff wrote:

_Lightbringer_ wrote:
I simply get angry with GW whenever I have to buy a whole new kit because I want the option to use all the different configs, while also having to buy multiple kits to have a squad full of the same weapons (I'm looking at you killa kans and devastators).

Do bitz websites not exist in your world or something?

Ooh, don't get me started on those. Have you seen the prices? I might aswell get a new kit and have a bunch of random stuff left over that I can maybe use someday. All the stuff anyone wants is also always sold out. Want pauldrons? Fill your boots. Grotzooka? Sorry, sir. All sold out, sir. Maybe sir would like to wait and check back in a year or two. Can I interest sir in a boltgun?

Also bear in mind that magentising can lead to annoying times during games when arms swivel about and fall off leading to amusing situations.

Welcome to another episode of good idea, bad idea.

Good idea! Magenitizing arms so that you can swap them out when you feel like trying something different without having to spend extra $$$ for a duplicate models so that it has a different said arm.

Bad idea! Not paying close enough attention to the polarities and gluing a magnet in the wrong way.

 Thorn678 wrote:
Welcome to another episode of good idea, bad idea.

Good idea! Magenitizing arms so that you can swap them out when you feel like trying something different without having to spend extra $$$ for a duplicate models so that it has a different said arm.

Bad idea! Not paying close enough attention to the polarities and gluing a magnet in the wrong way.

Been there, done that. Annoying.

Only if weapons mounted in the same place has the same points and indended to deal with different targets do magnitization worths.

Also magnets are needed to be powerful enough or it will not hold up with iron-plated sockets.

Personally I don't magnetize because when I was a kid i've seen tons of magnetized toys using low quality (or even electrically-polarized) magnets before and it sucks!.

I only magnetize a handful of marines for special and heavy weapons I drill holes into either the shoulder or the wrist depending. It's been awesome, I have a modular versatile group of marines that I can quickly change if I want to try something new. Instead of having 6melta/plasma/flamer marines totaling 18 marines, I have 6 that can change weapons to suit.

Like said make sure you have powerful rare earth magnets and nice small drills.