Magnetising Morrowan and Thamarite Archons

When I first saw the size of the Archons I knew that they would be tricky to transport and might cause placement issues during games. I loath to take my models off the table and replace them with proxy markers so being able to remove a weapon and keep them on the table is a great option for me.

(I don't normally upload video to the blog let me know if this doesn't work)

The Morrowan Archon is first up as was the first one I got and the model I figured this all out with.

For this I used:

Hobby knife, 1&3mm drill bits, dremel, clippers, super glue, 3x2mm magnets.

When drilling into the shoulder I first put a small nick using a hobby knife in the middle of the hole the model already had for the spear arms original plug. I then drilled into that nick using a 1mm drill bit. This was to help guide the larger drill bit (3mm) I then used to make the hole for the magnet.

Every few seconds I would test the depth of the hole I had drilled with the magnet. I didn't want to drill too far into the model as I knew I needed room for the magnet which would be in the back for the wings.

I repeated this process on the back in the hole meant for the wings to fit into. I tested the depth of the hole I was drilling regularly to make sure I didn't end up drilling straight through the front of the model. I wanted to make sure I had enough room for one or two magnets inside the torso as adding an extra magnet really makes a firmer hold for the wings later on.

For the spear arm, first I clipped off the peg that normally fits into the hole in the body. I then repeated the same method used on the body. Nick a small hole in the centre of the attachment point, drill a guide hole using a 1mm drill bit, then drill using the 3 mm drill bit.

I really took my time with this, as it is a lot harder drilling into metal compared to the resin, and pushing too hard could lead to drilling through the side of the arm.

I glued on magnet into the body, then the corresponding magnet in the spear arm. Before gluing - check the polarity of the magnet, then check it again! You really don't want to have to ruin your model digging a magnet out of the model.

With two magnets being so close to each other in the body there is potential for them to repulse each other. They are nearly at right angles to each other so there is no easy way to know which way round to put the magnet in the back. My advice is to dry fit with no glue both ways to see which one "feels" like it seats easier. 

The wings themselves are a lot trickier...

I cut into the joining parts of the wings to make "L" shapes to create an area to fit the magnet between them. I struggled to keep the wings lined up neatly while the glue dried however.
So I drilled a 1mm hole into each as you can see above to pin them together to make this process easier.

You can see here the magnet fitting between the two wings attachment parts

If when you attach your wings to the body you can still see the magnet you can use green stuff to cover this up and allow you to paint over it easily. (I had to do this on one of my Morrowan Archons)

The Thamarite Archon wings are actually a lot easier. They have a small bump and dent in each wing to help glue them together. I glued them, waiting until the glue was fully dry then drilled into the join with first the 1mm drill then the 3mm. This was far easier and quicker.

Drilling into the body was exactly the same process as with the Morrowan.

Here are my magnetised Archons!

I hope you found this guide helpful, if you did or have any feedback for me, please let me know as I appreciate hearing from you all.

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Magnetised Seaking

I recently was commissioned to magnetise a Trollblood Seaking Gargantuan to make it easier for the client to transport. I knew it was a tall model but it wasn't until I got the model in my hands that I truly grasped how big!    

Being an organic model it is harder to magnetise in general, the curved pieces don't lend themselves to the process as well and a warjack for example. It took a lot of dry fitting and planning to decided where to put the magnets.

The models arm which isn't holding the anchor had a fairly big gap that really looks like it needs gap filling with green stuff. I contacted the client and he was happy for me to not magnetise this arm, especially as the arm fits much closer to the models body so shouldn't make it harder to transport.

To attach the anchor arm I used a combination of 10mm magnets and also a long pin. The pin is to help stop the arm from rotating downwards under the weight of the anchor and arm.

Matching up the position of the magnet in the arm as well as the pin hole was tricky but taking time to line it up right was worth the extra effort.

I sunk a magnet into the hole the anchor chain goes into, I was going to add pins as well, but as it turns out the 3mm magnets were strong enough to hold the anchor in place nicely.

To make it even easier to transport I also magnetised the trailing anchor chain on the other side of the fist using two 2mm magnets. Maybe a bit unnecessary to some, but should make it a lot easier to fit in a case. 

I hope this post is helpful for you if you decide to magnetise your Seaking! If it was helpful please let me know, its great to get feedback from you guys so I can know how or what to improve.

If you would like me to magnetise something for you, or pin or convert something feel free to get in touch at 

thomasgbell84@googlemail.com

(I'm based in the UK)

Magnetising Aradus Soldier/Sentinel

My latest commission was to assemble and magnetise a Skorne Aradus Soldier/Sentinel.

I had not magnetised a warbeast before so I was interested to see how it would turn out.

Warbeasts having more natural and curved shapes they can often be more in need of gap filling at the joints you want to be magnetised.

The claw arms I drilled into with a 1mm drill bit to make a pilot hole then drilled in with a 3mm drill bit. Before gluing any magnet check, check and triple check that they are all the same polarity! 

I used 3mm x 1mm magnets for the claw arms.

Left and right shoulder magnets drilled into the torso. I did a small amount of gap filling with green stuff where the body comes together in it three main parts.

The tail for the Sentinel seemed like a 3mm magnet would not be enough so I used a 5mm x 2mm magnet for the magnet inside the back half of the body and the Sentinel's tail. The Soldiers tail is much smaller so I just used a 3mm x 1mm magnet.

Here it is set up as a Sentinel

And here as a Soldier. 

The thing I learnt about on this one was that the claw arms on the Soldier are really pushing the limit of what a 3mm magnet can hold. I found you have to push the arm into place rather than let the power of the magnet pull the arm into place as with the Sentinels arms.

If there was room in the arm piece I would like to have used a 5mm magnet but there wasn't the space.

Even with this the arms hold on well enough that I can shake the model gently and the arms stay on and violent shaking only makes one arm fall off. I'm calling that a win! 

I'm glad I used 5mm magnets for the Sentinels tail it is quite a heavy piece that has a high center of gravity so I doubt it would stay on with a smaller magnet.

Its worth mentioning that the client didn't want the head magentised he picked the one he liked the look of best and its glued on, but it could easily be magnetised with a 3mm magnet. 

If you would like me to magnetise something for you drop me an email at

thomasgbell84@googlemail.com

(I'm based in the UK)