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Back in 2010 I did a tutorial on my Blog on how to make Movement Trays. I never got around to making the follow up tutorial on how to magnetize those trays. I thought I would share this here.

Making Movement Trays

I use 2mm thick styrene. This is probably thicker than I need, but I like the stability, and it is what I had on hand in large sheets. Determine the size of tray for the unit you need. You can either lay out the unit and measure the sides, or just use the general base dimensions and multiply by rank and file. For example a unit 6x5 of 25mm bases has a rough dimension of 150mm by 125mm. I then add 4 mm to length and width to account for my edging material. Final cutting dimensions is 154mm by 129mm



To cut, all you need to do is score it a few times with the back of your hobby knife. After you have a good grove going, use the blade side to give it a good score to break along. Bend it along the straight edge of the table and it should break cleanly along the scoring.

For the edging of the tray I use 2mm by 4mm strips of styrene. These can be found in most hobby stores or online.



I like to start with the front rail of the tray first along the 2mm edge of the strip. I use a plastic welding glue as the bond is more secure and you wont ever have to worry about your trays falling apart. Glue one side edge on.



And then the other



Trim the side rails even with the back of the tray. I normally don't add a rear rail, but you can if you want. It really isn't needed if you magnetize the bases. This gives you an inner depth of 4mm.



Making trays are really that simple. There might be a simpler method, but this is one I found works for me and I like the looks of.







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Magnetizing your Movement Trays

Once the tray is made, I then cut to size the sheets I use to line the trays. For my trays I use a product called Flex-Steel (I think? I cant find the labels anymore lol). It is not magnetic itself, but is ferrous enough that anything magnetic will stick to it. Its self-adhesive peel and stick so makes the process a lot easier.



Cut it to the inner size of the tray. This is the dimension of the unit itself, minus the 4mm of the trim. This example is for an inner dimension of 100mm by 80mm.




I like to align it to the front rail of the tray and then slowly work it down so that there are no air bubbles. Use another piece of plastic to help squeeze the sheet to the floor of the tray to make sure it has adhered thoroughly.





For the magnetic bases, I use a .020 inch thickness magnetic sheet with peel and stick backing. For 20mm bases I cut strips 21mm wide




I then cut those strips into 21mm squares



Why 21mm by 21mm? This will make aligning the base onto the magnetic square a lot simpler as it gives you more room to play with. GW bases aren't exactly 20mm square, and can vary up or down in their size... Having that extra 1mm makes it a lot easier to get it stuck on.




Now, you need to prep the bases themselves. If you are using slottabases, then you can skip this part. However, if you are using the normal flat top base, you need to add a spacer for the magnetic sheet to grip to in the middle. This way they stay stuck to each other far longer than without. I use just clippings of extra plastic, which needs to be at least 2mm thick. Less than 2mm and there wont be good adhesion. You don't want to use to thick or the bases wont sit flush. Glue the plastic spacer into the bottom of the base like so. I use a plastic weld type glue, but you can use superglue if you want. I prefer the welding as it will stay together longer.




When attaching the magnetic sheet, I like to strip the backing off and then lay the square on the table sticky side up. I then align the miniatures base and slowly lower it until it touches. I will then pick it up, pressing firmly in the middle to adhere to the spacer, then I will run my fingers around the edge to press it all together. I'll then sit it on the table and press firmly down along the base edge to make sure the seal is good.




Then trim with your hobby knife. I like to go at a slight angle so there is a bevel like /. This way there is less chance of the magnetic sheet catching at the join and ripping away from the base.



Just finish up your unit, and you are done.




As you can see, it holds pretty well.




Now, this works great for plastics. Metal minis you would have to use Magnetic sheeting on both the bases and the trays themselves. I'd recommend using the thicker .030 inch on the trays as this will improve the magnetic bond as well. I also recommend that you do not touch the sticky backing with your fingers... skin contact really weakens the stickiness of the backing...

That is pretty much it. I hope this was informative and inspirational. If you have any other questions on the process, or if you have any suggestions, feel free to post them. Thanks for looking.

I'm going to give this a try. I'll let you know how it works out!

As a side note, where did you find the Flex-steel?