Tip for Better Magnetizing

Over the weekend I put together a few converted veteran guardsmen for my Escalation League force and I wanted to do some magnetizing again. Having had so much trouble with the Valkyrie I knew that I needed to come up with a better way of ensuring a firm connection between the two magnets than just praying that the holes were the correct size. I also needed a better way of keeping polarities from getting mixed up, and something to help me deal with how tiny the magnets were would also help.

After thinking about it for a while, I came up with the following process:

 

First I drilled my first hole using my dremel and glued a magnet inside so that it was flush with the outside. Then, I placed another magnet on top as can be seen above.

I then took the piece that I was going to magnetize this to and drilled a hole in that one, checking every so often to see whether it fit the magnet yet. When it did, I put some glue in the hole, then stuck the exposed magnet into the hole while still attached to the first magnet. Then I simply slid the two pieces off of one another (DO NOT pull) and let the superglue take hold.

 

By keeping the two magnets attached while I was drilling the second hole I made sure that the final product would still have a nice, strong connection between the two parts. 

I then proceeded similarly with the other alternate weapons load outs, this time starting from the figure and placing the magnet on top that would go in the other weapon options.

So, if you're ever having trouble getting your magnets to stick (or even keeping the polarities in the right place), try keeping the magnets connected throughout the process- you'll see a much greater success rate in making that connection really secure. And if you drill too deep on the first or the second hole, don't worry- superglue or greenstuff should provide enough extra material to make sure that your magnet is in the right place.

Assembling the Valkyrie, Part 2

No fluff today and apologies for the late post- too distracted by my life of destroying houses with a claw hammer/playing with my big flying box. Speaking of that...

On Tuesday I attempted to magnetize my Valkyrie. Attempted is the key word here, as it didn't turn out quite like I had intended. I followed the instructions here, the same place that I got them for my sentinel, and have discovered one thing:

MAGNETS ARE TOO TINY.

I mean, seriously... the 1/16x1/32 ones are ITTY! I can barely get them in the correct facing to go on the model. I also apparently cannot drill to save my life, as most of the magnets ended up not being flush with the edge, leading to weak connections.

For example, the 1/16 magnets on my valk and the associated weapon hardpoints:

 

ITTY-BITTY!

I also magnetized on the two neck weapon slots, so that I switch from multilaser and a targeting arrawy to two lascannons in a jiffy... though I still need to order some more lascannons.

I did get one thing right that was of my one design, though- the back door. This was an addition that I made to the guide as my door kept on opening when I didn't want it to. Two 1/8x1/32 inch magnets did the trick, and now I can open and close it with ease.

Finally, the major problem that I have been having is the flight stand. I just can get the damn thing on and off without breaking something. I tried to fix the problem by magnetizing it on, but the connection wasn't smooth/strong enough to support the bird and it kept on falling off. Anyone else had problems with getting the stand on and off, and does anyone have a solution?

EDIT: turns out sanding the slot that the stand goes into is pretty much the only way that it works. Oh well...

Hopefully this experience will have been a learning one, as I intend on magnetizing my other two Valkyries when they arrive, as well as the members of Diamond squad that I have some serious green stuff work planned for. Now I have to start painting the thing... fun fun fun!