"Time to Magnetize!" Topic

The state just issued a "shelter at home" order for everyone in Illinois. So I'm going to have even more time on my hands. Since it's likely we'll be moving in a few months, I have another project I can take care of.Over the past few years I've picked up a good number of collections on the second hand market. While I have these stored, they are not all magnetic. Normally I use steel bases and magnet lined storage boxes. But some of these collections are based on plastic, card, etc.

Time to magnetize!Up first, my Flames of War armies.

First up, the United Kingdon (cuz their boxes are on top!). I'm going to make sure every base has a magnetic bottom. I'll make any major repairs I find, but will leave organizing the troops for another day. At present they are just sorted in boxes labeled Vehicles or Infantry (i.e. all non-vehicles).

Here is the first box of UK troops after making sure everyone is snug.

That should keep you busy! You add a "steel" paper to the box and a magnet film to the figure bases?

I'm painting Dredd and old Wargames factory Zombie survivors. The hollow bases on the survivors are a pain to magnatize as their depth is slightly deeper than my magnets.

Other way round: steel paper to the miniature, magnet to the box.

I buy self-stick bases cut to fit. So I have 25mm rounds for my slotta-based figures. I do add a drop of super glue to reinforce the self stick.

The hollow bases on the survivors are a pain to magnatize as their depth is slightly deeper than my magnets.

Crayola Air Dry Clay is cheap, and jus the thing to fill that type fo gap.

Extra Crispy – Have fun with your extended spring cleaning.

UK Infantry Box #2

UK Infantry Box #3

Nice progress on the storage Mark.

I bought a bunch of self stick magnets originally as I had spare sheet metal from a home project. I just cut the metal to fit my RUB. Last round I bought some paper "steel" cut to fit from Litko. How ever you do it, it works really cheaply for plastic and resin figures (or smaller scales). My metal 28mm need a real magnet to stay put from my experience.

Good idea on the clay etotheipi. I used to have tubs of that around when the kids were little but I had forgotten about it.

Wouldn't it be easier to have magnetic bases with steel boxes. For instance, I use Craftsman 3-drawer, tool boxes, three steel drawers for the figures with magnetic bases, and 1, large, plastic, open bin on top for miscellaneous, glues, paints, odds and ends. Convenient, easy to handle, readily available, and inexpensive (about $34.99 USD to $49.99 USD). The tool box itself is plastic just the pull out drawers are steel, so it helps to reduce overall weight.
But, to each their own, personal preference.

When I first started gaming there were worried that the magnet would lose it's pull. Subsequently learned that it might, eventually, but not in my lifetime. But by then I was already committed to steel bases and magnet boxes.

One reason I like this system anyway is the steel bases are thin. It helps prevent that whole "troops on soap boxes" look.

As for cost, one box costs me about $7 USD all in, and hold an awful lot of troops. Some boxes I can get two layers.

I prefer the magnetic bases because I can cover a large area in magnetic paint (paint with enough ferrous material to make a fridge magnet hold to it) and do things like this with the minis.

but not in my lifetime

I suppose that depends on how long you plan to live. ;) But, yes, to lose a significant amount of its magnetic moment, most permanent magnets would take hundreds of millennia, at least, excepting a few extremely non-everyday occurrences (exposure to smelting heat or large, close, variable magnetic fields) and a few normal ones (dropping on a hard surface several times).

Where do we find this magical magnetic paint?

link

Woohoo! we gonna have some fun when this Sh*t is over!