Northeast Wars X

This is the first in a series of articles I intend to write regarding various projects I am working on while waiting for next year’s Northeast Wars.

Today’s article will be about how I am currently magnetizing my bases.  I make no claim that this is the best way, it is simply the method that is working for me now until I start tinkering with a different method.

But before I get into technical details, some of you maybe asking what I am talking about in the first place.  Magnetizing bases and or movement trays  is a process where magnets are used to make the base of a miniature and a movement tray stick to each other.  This is useful for two reasons.  The first is that movement trays are much easier to use if the miniatures resist tipping over as you move the movement tray.  This is especially true with heavy and/or tall miniatures.  The second reason is that transport is easier (and safer for the mini’s) since the mini’s are stuck tightly their trays and not bouncing around.

Now with the “Why” covered, I will move onto the “How.”  The aspiring magnet master must first decide if they want to have the base of the mini, the movement tray, or both to be magnetic.  I have gravitated to a solution where I glue neodynium magnets inside the base and either attach a piece of steel to a movement tray or (more recently) simply use a piece of steel ( a tie plate to be exact) as the movement tray.  This article will cover how I do the first part.  A future article will discuss how I make movement trays out of hardware for building a house that blends nicely onto the table top.

Step One: The Magnets

Neodymium or Rare Earth magnets can be bought online or at hobby stores.  I would recommend measuring the spaces in the bottom of the bases you want to magnetize and buy several sizes that will fit your bases.  Small ones are obviously good for small spaces, and the large ones are very handy for tipy miniatures line banner bearers or anything tall and made of metal.   Once you have found sized that work well for you, you may want to buy a large quantity of them as the magnets tend to be radically cheaper in large quantities.

In this picture you will notice that I have a blue glass bead attached to a stack of magnets.  When I first started magnetizing bases I decided that I did not want the mini’s to be constantly sticking to each other bottom to bottom, which they would if they were not all of the same polarity.  So I epoxied one magnet to that glass bead to act as a reference.  As long as I peel off magnets from the bottom of the stack below the bead and attach them to bases in the same direction, all of my bases will have the same polarity and thus tend to repel each other instead of attracting.

Step Two: Gluing The Magnets

I apply a touch of superglue to the base and stick on the magnet.  This is not rocket science.  I will be applying multiple magnets to these bases since the mini’s are metal and I like to have one magnet on each side of the slot so the mini is not prone to ‘hinging’  away from the movement tray on the magnetized side.  However, I will only glue one magnet to begin with.  Trying to apply a second magnet before the first one is fully glued into place is just inviting super glue covered magnets to start flying about the place.  And if two neodymium magnets slap against each other they are prone to shattering, sending superglue covered shrapnel flying.  So just glue one magnet to five or so bases, and by that time the first magnet should be set.

Step Three: Going Overboard

The bases are likely to be completely servicable at this point.  However, I like ot have a little more insurance that the magnets will stay put and I like having t

he bottoms of my bases ‘finished’.  Gorilla glue is a powerful adhesive with the interesting property of expanding while it sets (expecially if there is water available).  So gorilla glue will not only firmly lock my magnets in place, it will also expand to fill up most of the empty base (and even ooze through the slot to fill that in some as well).

In this picture I spray water lightly onto several squares of paper cut to be slightly smaller than the bottom of the bases.

These pieces of paper will provide the moisture needed by the glue to set as well as providing a nice smooth bottom to the base.  The pieces of paper are resting on a strip of silicone that I had left over from making a silicone baking sheet fit my pan.  I suspect that parchment paper or saran wrap will also work to provide a surface that the glue won’t want to stick to.  Under the silicone sheet is a piece of tie plate.  It’s there to make the magnetized base press itself down against the upward pressure of the expanding glue and thus give you (hopefully) a nice clean bottom.

Here on the right you can see a moderate amount of the glue has been applied to the base.  It’s probably better to have a little less than too much as the glue will expand a lot.  I prefer to cover most surfaces lightly rather than one large blob in one place as I suspect that I get better adhesion and filling in that way.

With the gorilla glue added it’s just a matter of carefully putting the base onto the lightly moistened paper squares.

Below, you can see how the glue will foam up and escape along the bottom and through the slot over time (about 30-60 minutes).

I like to try to smooth out the foam that comes up through the slot across the surface of the base within the first hour (while its still fluid).  Make sure that the foam doesn’t build up too much around the feet.  The foam fills in the slot nicely, which is good for aesthetics and for securing the mini to its base even more securely.  The foam can also lend some texture to the top of the base.

After the foam has set for twelve hours or so and is firm, lift up the mini and either snap off the excess foam around the bottom of the base or trim it with an exacto knife.

I find the extra time and bother of magnetizing my miniatures well worth it as I don’t have to fear my mini’s plunging from the movement tray as they try to move up a hill and they are very snug while being transported which saves on damage and paint touch up.  I even like to get them magnetized before priming as I have a metal cookie tin that I stick them on so I can easily rotate them around while working the spray primer.

I hope you found this useful!  Feel free to leave comments.