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Magnetizing Grey Knights Terminators

Hey there, internets!  I know, it’s been a while, but I’ve been busy.  Most of my hobby time has been spent putting together Grey Knights in order to deliver a bonus prize army for the Heroes of Armageddon project.

To that end, I’ve discovered that, for once, Games Workshop has put out a box that will allow you to make a ton of stuff and magnetize it for an additional bonus ton!  Grey Knights Terminators are awesome.  And if you buy two boxes (which you probably will if you’re running Grey Knights), you get even more fun.

I didn’t bother magnetizing the hand weapons, but with 1/16th magnets, that’s a piece of cake.  What I did do was magnetize the heavy weapons.

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I don’t have them based because I’m painting the bases separately.  A little modeling clay works wonders!

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Here’s where the two boxes come in.  If you look, the pads for the right shoulders have a shield that (if you build them this way) matches the shape of the shield that goes on the left pad.  Each box contains six right pads, six left pads, and six shields.  So, if you mix and match properly, you can get two left pads and shields to match one right pad for two models, one from each box.  This means you can give your heavy weapon Termie a storm bolter if you don’t want to field the heavy weapon, but you don’t have to worry about mis-matched shoulder pads.

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For mounting arms, I use a 1/8th inch magnet.  However, boring right into plastic with a 1/8th inch drill bit is a recipe for disaster.  To mitigate damage, I do two simple things:

1) Pre-drill with a 1/16th inch bit.
2) Go SLOW.  I mean, take your time.  If you don’t, you’re going to end up with a wrecked model, and at $10 a pop, you probably don’t want to do that.

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Even drilling slowly, the plastic will tear a bit.  Remember to clean away any extra flashing that occurs with a hobby knife.  You want your magnets to have a smooth fit.  I use magnets that are 1/16th inch thick, so I try not to drill any deeper than I need to.  Just a little past what will fit, in order to give a slight recess.

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These little bastards are really strong, but they’re also really small and thin.  I’ve found that the best way to place them is in a stack.  I use Loctite Ultra Gel, which doesn’t run and goes right where I need it to.  With magnets, this is clutch.  Dab a little onto the top edge of the magnet, and insert it.  Leave it for a second, and then slide the rest away.

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Once your glue has dried enough to hold it tighter than its magnetic strength, put the stack back, and add your glue to the other end.  Pop the first arm on that end and repeat the process.  This will ensure that you have your polarities correct.  Nothing makes me want to go back to Magic: The Crackening more than having magnetized something backwards.

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Here’s the model with the Storm bolter…

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And the Heavy Weapon arm.  Yes, my model has no head.  It’s a lot easier to paint eyes and the back of the head when it’s on a wire instead of in place.

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Next comes the weapon mounts.  Again, this is a pre-drilled hole, just behind the slot that the weapon fits into on the wrist.

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Now these are tricky little buggers.  They’ve already got holes there, just slightly smaller than we need.  Really take your time here, because your drill is likely to slip.  You want to get that hole as close to the front of the weapon as possible.

Once you’ve got them done, pop the magnets in, just like with the arms.

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And viola!  One Terminator, four different weapons.