Magnetizing your bases is mandatory to me for any Warhammer Fantasy player, so here’s a How-To in doing so.
Mr. Black here, and today we’re going to be talking about Warhammer and Magnets, so right away I’ll warn you this will be dangerous and should not be attempted by anyone unless they have a firm disliking of their current state of being “alive”.
For those who do not know, Warhammer Fantasy is played in regimental formation, meaning all your troops will be in rank-and-file lines, not skirmishing (such as seen in Warhammer 40K). This creates the small problem that units are hard as hell to move properly without outside assistance: enter movement trays.
There are lots of companies on the market that make such trays but the best available is still probably the hometown team Games-Workshop, which offer large movement “sheets” which you cut down to the appropriate tray you need. Very handy for the player who uses weird formations such as 6×2 or the new horde formations (well… new four months ago)
Now most people will use a hobby saw or other similar tool to cut through the entire sheet and I just can’t recommend this… Too much effort… Real simple just to score the sheet where you want to cut it with an Exacto-Knife or similar tool then snap it. This is the method I do and I’ve never once had an issue with it and it always provides a clean cut. Once that’s done glue your edges on and let’s move onto the actual magnetizing bit.
One thing I will mention before we begin however: Recently I have noticed a string of hobby accessory companies creating their own Magnetic Basing Kits, and having looked over all of them I cannot stress enough you have alternatives if you want to apply a little elbow grease! For anywhere from $15 to as high as $30 you can buy premade kits that give you enough to magnetize a couple of unit bases at most; but using Mr.Blacks sneaky elbow grease method you can finish off an entire army for around $20!
What You’ll Need:
There are two methods I will go over for how to magnetize your bases: the Business Card Method and the Rare Earth Method, both use some simple items you can get at the local Office Depot or in a bind the internet.
Rare Earth Magnet Method
For those that don’t know Rare Earth Magnets are basically some of the strongest magnets you can buy… I’m sure they’re used for something other than wrecking computers and using with little plastic armymen, but as to what that purpose is I have no idea! This is kind of a unique item though so finding it local may prove to be a bit of a strain, luckily many places online sell them so just check around! You’re looking for ones that are disk shaped and around 0.125 in. to 0.25 in. in diameter, with my personal preference being the 0.25 as they have double the hold of the 0.125 (Go figure!). Usually when I buy the 0.25 they will come in a pack of eighty for just under $10, so depending on how big your army is you may need more than one pack.
The hold on these will be super strong and you can probably transport your models on the movement tray once your finished without any fear of them moving around. I recall one fellow who had his entire Skaven army towed around in a compact three-shelf metal tool cabinet, the magnets being so strong as to bond the movement tray to the metal shelves of the unit!
**One thing about this method is it works best with non-slotted bases, which, as the name implies, are the kind that doesn’t have a slot in them (aka the kind you glue the miniature right on to), due to the fact the slot may make it so the magnet cannot fit under the base, which is our end result.
You will also need some simple sheet-metal, which you can find at any Home Depot/Ace Hardware/European Equivalent. Aluminum Foil will not work as it is not a ferromagnetic material, aka “something that sticks to magnets”, so don’t waste your money trying!
You can probably see where we’re going but from here on it’s simple: cut your sheet-metal to the size of your movement tray, glue it on, then glue the magnet to the bottom of the miniature’s base!
Done?
Some of those miniatures now refusing to stay on now? Maybe even resisting sitting on the metal? Yep, that’s what happens when you rush! You glued the magnet with the wrong polarity side facing down! Rip it off and flip it around!
Before you glue the magnet on lay them all on your piece of sheet-metal to make sure the right side is facing down! Trust me, it’s a pain to have to rip magnets off because you glued the wrong end down!
That’s pretty much it for this method! Nice, simple, and effective!
Business Card Magnet Method
This method will require you to buy about two/three packs of Business Card Magnets and one pack of “Picture Frame Magnets, which are basically the same thing only 5 in. by 5 in. on average.
For this method you’re first going to cut your movement trays out then take the Picture Frame Magnet and lay it right onto the tray. If you’re making a 25mm 5×5 tray then fantastic, the magnet will fit perfectly! If you’re making another shape then just play around with it using the Picture Frame and Business Card magnets until you have it covered. You can glue it to the tray if you want, but I find the adhesive backing of the magnet will hold just fine!
Next up you’re going to whip out your handy Exacto-Knife and a miniature. Place the miniature on the Business Card Magnet and trim around the base, shaving off any excess once you’re done. Again, the adhesive backing of the magnet should hold to the bottom of the miniature, but for a little extra protection I usually put a tab of glue between the two before pressing the magnetic strip onto the miniature, just to get an extra hold.
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Once your all done the magnetic sheets will bind to each other, creating a stable hold for the miniatures. It is worth noting the bond will not be as strong as the one created in the Rare Earth Magnet method so I wouldn’t recommend carrying them around loose. What I usually end up doing is placing the models, in tray and in formation, into a layer of protective foam- this protects them just fine but makes for easy pre-game setup and deployment.
One last thing I will mention about this method, however rare it may happen, is that something I get some weird situations with how the magnetic strips interact- quite literally I have some models that just refuse to sit next to each other, but when moved around in the unit rest fine. I’m sure this has something to do with the wonky nature of magnetic strips in general but it shouldn’t be a deal-breaker!
~And there you have it! Two quick and easy ways to make your Warhammer Fantasy life easier! Anyone have any other methods they have found successful and wish to share?
