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Safely transporting our miniatures is essential, especially when we have invested hundreds of hours in painting our precious army. Therefore, one of the most efficient ways to do this is to magnetize the miniatures and transport them in specially designed boxes. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you can check out the complete review I did of the Airas Box transport boxes from Bandua Wargames.

In today’s article I will show you a detailed step by step guide on different ways to magnetize the bases of our miniatures in an effective and durable way, so you can choose the one that best suits your needs.

Lets start!

Which magnet sizes to choose?

The ideal sizes to magnet the bases of our miniatures, will be the magnets with size 3x2mm for infantry, and 5x2mm for bigger miniatures, vehicles, etc.

In addition, if necessary, several magnets can be placed on the same base. For example for a tank, large vehicle or even an Imperial Knight, several 5x2mm magnets can be added.

Superglue and cardboard

For the first method we will need the following materials and tools:

–Magnets

-Cyanoacrylate(Super Glue)

-Modeling blade

-Very thin cardboard

The first of the techniques we are going to see, was told to me by Ivo from Bandua Wargames, since it is the method he uses to magnetize his armies. It is a simple but very effective process and it is undoubtedly the fastest of all as you will see below.

The biggest problem we have with this type of magnets in the bases, is that the magnets are usually not perfectly aligned flush with the base and the magnetic plate, so the adhesion is completely lost.

A simple solution is to put a very thin piece of cardboard (or a couple of pieces of paper) between the base and the magnet, so that the magnet can be in contact with the magnetic plate.

We will cut a small piece of cardboard:

And finally we glue the magnet on the cardboard.

To choose the right cardboard (very thin cardboard, such as cookie boxes, etc.) you will have to make a couple of tests and check that they are correctly aligned.

Also, depending on the magnets you use, it may be the case that the thickness of the magnets is almost in contact with the metal sheets you use, by simply gluing the magnets with superglue on the bases. In these cases you can do a test, and if the magnetic force is enough for you (it will not be as powerful as these methods) you will be able to magnetize the whole army very quickly.

Green Stuff – Milliput

The second method we are going to see requires the following materials and tools:

–Magnets

-Cyanoacrylate(Super Glue)

-Green stuff or Milliput

-Baking paper

First we mix the putty we are going to use and make small balls.

Apply a little super glue on the base.

And then we glue one of the putty balls we had prepared.

Now all we have to do is embed one of the magnets in the green putty. We can use a small drop of superglue if we want a better adhesion:

Once the magnet is in place, place and press the base of the miniature on baking paper. This way it will be perfectly aligned. We will use baking paper as it will prevent it from sticking. However, if we have applied a little superglue, it is important to move the base and not to let it sit for a long time, as it could stick to the paper.

And we would already have the base magnetized using green stuff or milliput:

Hot Silicone Gun (Hot Melt Gun)

The last method we are going to look at is using a hot melt or hot glue gun. It will require the following tools/materials:

–Magnets

-Baking paper

-Metal plate (I used one of the trays from the Airas Box).

-Hot melt gun – silicone

-Silicone sticks

If you want a more elegant result, you can use black silicone sticks:

First, we place the magnet on the base:

We apply a little silicone on the magnet using the gun, covering it completely:

Quickly, without waiting for it to cool, place and press the base on the baking paper.

It is essential to have a metal plate under the baking paper. In this way, the magnet will be perfectly aligned and adjusted to the metal plate to increase its power of attraction. It is important to press for several seconds until the silicone has solidified.

Thanks to the baking paper, the silicone will not stick to the paper and the result will be as follows:

Transporting our miniatures safely

Now that we have all our army, band or kill team magnetized, it is time to transport our miniatures.

For the safety of your miniatures, I advise you not to use flexible magnetic plates, as their power of attraction is much less than that of a real metal plate + magnet. For this reason, in my case I usually use the trays of the Airas Box, as they have metal plates with a great power of attraction.

Below I show you how I transport 2 of my fully magnetized Kills Teams in an Airas Box S Series:

And finally, to show you the power of attraction with magnets, I show you the following photos, where I turn the trays completely upside down:

I hope this guide has been helpful and, above all, that it will help you to transport your miniatures in a simple and safe way.

See you in the next tutorial!