Hi all,

I have a question about magnets and sizes required.

I want to magnetise special weapons in SM tactical squads, so I can swap between flamers and meltas as required in a Salamanders army.

What would be the best size for this?

I also want to magnetise my Valkyries so I can swap in the FW Vendetta weapons.

Would the same size magnets be sufficient, or will I need a different (bigger?) size for this?

Thanks in advance!

The answer to your question is 3x1 mm. I have done exactly the same job as that using these sizes.

I think I used two on each weapon though on the Valkyrie. I would buy a bunch of these magnets. They are by far the most common size across the range of applications I've used them for.

Thanks Nige!

I'll head over to eBay and see what I can get.

Remember that not all magnet are created equal and that the stronger the better I'd recoment N52's as the strongest you can buy in the UK they are a touch more expencive but well worth it. Most unlisted magnet strengths are N32/36's.

For SM arms, I reckon 2x1mm discs are easier and more appropriate. 3x1 work for termies, but the torso and arm of a normal marine is slightly too small for the 3mm diameter.

Thanks everyone!

I was thinking of gluing the arms and just magnetising the holding hand and the gun (where the handle would be). Maybe the smaller ones might be more appropriate.

I'll measure a closed SM hand!

It would be easier to magnetize the entire arm rather than trying to drill into the hand of a space marine.

I magnetized the arms of my assault terminators so they can be either assault or standard termies. Highly recommend magnetizing the parts.

Agreed, all my guys are arms and shoulder joint magnetised making it easy to get the 3mm in

Good points made-thanks.

I was thinking I could maybe get away with just a weapon swap. Hopefully I have a spare pair of arms...

The chap (and I apologise for not remembering his name) with the Dark Angels from Matt's club that I was paired with in the doubles just magnetised the weapons.

definitely the best way so you don't run out of arms, I may invest in some 2mm also.

The most important tip of all, make sure the polarity of all the magnets is the same from model to model.

Whether you magnetize the entire arm or just the weapons, you want to be able to interchange the parts, and if you reverse the polarity on any of the marines, you'll have some minis that can't use another model's weapons.

I use a permanent marker to mark one side of the magnet to make sure that I keep the polarity consistent. Nothing worse than having to un-glue a rare earth magnet. DAMHIKT!

Baragash wrote:The chap (and I apologise for not remembering his name) with the Dark Angels from Matt's club that I was paired with in the doubles just magnetised the weapons.

It was Martyn.

I think it was 2mm magnets he used. I'll confirm next time I see him.