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I've never magnetized miniatures, before and I was hoping someone could give me a link to some magnets that would be the right size for a hive tyrant or carnifex.
Also what size would I use for something like space marine arms?

go on ebay and do a search for round magnets the size you desire; typically: 5mm x1mm, 3mm x1mm, 2mm x1mm. I suggest always getting the 1mm depth, if you need thicker you can glue them back to back. the N# associated with magnets: high=strong, but N35 should be fine for what you need.

Advice: always mark one side of magnets with a marker=positive, unmarked=negative, keep it universal so your weapons/arms can be swapped around the whole army. You will need a hand held drill vise or two to help making holes for the magnets to glue in.

Magnetising can be a bit tricky/stressful but really rewarding/invaluable skill to learn and at the rate GW change the usefulness of loadouts its always worth doing. I've not magnetised any Tyranids but a quick youtube turned up a few videos with magnet sizes. For most things larger than "traditional human" arms I find a 2mm/2mm or 3mm/2mm to be very useful. In the states they seem to refer to 3/16th by 16th quite a lot. I use these for eldar vehicle/support weapon/wraithlord/fire prism or night spinner weapon swaps. The same worked for space marine centurions and dreadnought arms. I also use these for jetbike base magnetisation and theyre invaluable. As most starter youtube videos state, id say to focus on getting your polarity right so either pay for marked magnets or simply paint on one side. You will accidentally mix up your polarity at some so just test as soon as you glue and have a contingency. Also have something wooden or plastic to apply a bit of pressure, as there's nothing worse than having your freshly glued magnet come away after you try and hold it down with something metal.

I magnetized my SM infantry arms with 2mm x 1mm, I think it's the most appropriate size for that kind of models. However 3mm x 1mm could work as well.

2mm x 2mm are uncommon but of course they will work as well, probably even better than the 2mm x 1mm but more expensive, while 3mm x 2mm are probably too strong and some kind of waste.

On bigger models like terminators 2mm x 1mm is too weak, you need at least the 3mm x 1mm, or the 2mm x 2mm or the 3mm x 2mm, the latter is my favorite option as arms like the one wielding a thunder hammer are quite heavy.

3mm x 2mm are also perfect for dreads. For bigger magnets you need a more expensive drill as the cheapest ones, which are perfect for this matter, can typically drill holes up to 3mm.

3mm x 2mm are strong enough for most monsters/vehicles, I think. Only if you need to magnetize something really big like a knight arm I'd suggest bigger sizes.

I'd recommend N42 or better, not the N35.

Also, get some plastic tweezers or other non-metal tools (even just a suitable bit of sprue or plasticard) to position the magnet.

And safety point, do not ever leave them somewhere they can be swallowed by kids or animals.


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Also, I’ve found that with suitably light stuff like individual weapons, you can get away with a single magnet in the mount and a bit of metal (heavy duty staples or paper clips work well) on the gun. Gets around the polarity concerns and saves you some magnets if you’re using a lot (e.g. Tau battle suits).

I suggest to buy an assortment of magnet and try a little. I find out that bigger magnets are better, and that something of the same size may require different magnets due to position, center of gravity or inclination.
It's difficult to standardize: for example, I find the 2x1 too small for everything except small decorations. My Knight are magnetized with monstered 8x3: they almost broke the plastic when snap together, but nothing smaller can bear the weight.


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I also agree that you can use magnetic material for the second part of smaller stuff. I usually use some cut metal pin

For sm arms, you'll want 2mm neodymium magnets. You can get packs of 20 from Amazon for good prices.

Haven't tried it myself, but for very large items, ie knight arms, I've also heard suggested using one magnet of modest size, and one or two offset pins in one side with holes on the other. The pins prevent twisting, the magnet holds the arm on the pins, rather than having to rely on sheer friction forces which might need the 8mm magnet.

For Hive Tyrants and Carnifexes, I recommend 5x2mm rather than 5x1mm, at least on the torso sockets. It gives a little more strength with no downsides.

Once the model is painted, the friction will prevent the arms from rotating. Pins should only be necessary on very heavy bits, like wings.

For Marine arms (or Tyranid Warrior arms, or other bigger-than-human models), 3x2mm magnets work fine. You can do down to 2x2s for human-scale arms.

I get my magnets on eBay. Be sure to find a reputable seller, and be sure you're buying N48-N52 strength.

On large resin parts such as IK torso or arm, I use either double 5x1 mm or Ring type magnet 3x1 mm with 1 mm hole which I drill and put in a long pin for extra strength.

You can use the standard pin vise to drill large holes for 5mm, just simply remove the top half of the vise, the bottom half should have enough grit to hole the large drill in place for drilling.

What boxes have you all been using? I figure you can be lazy and just buy a steel box to hold the figures.

I guess I'll stick my smaller mini's in planos, and larger ones in a box?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0143BZHWW/ref=ask_ql_qh_dp_hza

Dropped in to see if anyone had responded to my post from yesterday to find a wealth of useful information.
I just want to say that this is a perfect example of why I love this community and why I have trusted it so much for 11 years now.

 MeatShield wrote:
Dropped in to see if anyone had responded to my post from yesterday to find a wealth of useful information.
I just want to say that this is a perfect example of why I love this community and why I have trusted it so much for 11 years now.

Plenty of good advise so will just chorus what's been said really..

I would recommend going for biggest N52 you can fit for model. Snug fit is good as the model wont wobble around and seem like its about to fall apart on the table.
3x2 N52 magnets should be good for any large infantry.

You can generally pick up cheap packs of 10x N52 of whatever size you want from ebay and its good idea to have an assortment and try out different things. Its fairly straight forward once you pick your magnets.

The only thing I would offer in addition is the tin foil trick to ensure polarisation. Nothing worse than having to dislodge a magnet coz you glued the wrong face down (done it plenty..)

Tin foil trick? Not heard that one, please explain?