Magnetic carry case

[WrathOfTheLion]

Hello all,

 

For some more fiddly armies, been looking at doing a magnetic case for them so that the foam doesn't damage them.

 

In an older topic here, army case was mentioned, but not sure whether things have changed in three years or there's better advice. Is something like that still good, is there a better product on the market or is there some homebrew way that works the best?

 

As an added question, if you have or use a magnetic case, do you have a soft rule on what size magnet to use based on model size?

 

Thanks for your help

Edited October 28, 2022 by WrathOfTheLion
typo

[Lord Marshal]

If you'd prefer to stay on the cheap and cheerful side, I'm always ready to shill Duncan Rhode's DIY boxes.

 

 

Edited October 28, 2022 by Lord Marshal

[Doobles57]

25 minutes ago, Lord Marshal said:

If you'd prefer to stay on the cheap and cheerful side, I'm always ready to shill Duncan Rhode's DIY boxes.

 

 

I love these and it's how I store the majority of my models. However, while they're great for storage, they're not brilliant for transporting - especially if you need more than one to hold everything you need.

 

I've got a Battlefoam Magnarack case for taking to games. Works really well for up to 2000 points. Although if you've got lots of tall models it may not work.

[Imren]

The case itself is a matter of taste and individual need, I got the large A-case and I'm very happy with it, I like the trays since they are so useful when handling the minis at events, moving between tables, easy to keep them in order. Also the large side-pockets fits large/thick rulebooks, dice bags and tape measure very well.

 

Regarding magnets; I'd recommend 6x2 mm N52 neodymium magnets. It's important that the magnet height is no more than 2 mm so they fit in the underside of standard GW bases (they have a depth of 2,5 mm). These magnets being N52 are strong for their size which is good for preventing sliding of models during transport (especially in a car ride through roundabouts) that are a bit heavier (larger resin models with elaborate bases).

 

The disadvantage with strong magnets is that you ought to pin the model onto the base with wire (I use 1 mm brass wire) otherwise you will have to grab them by the base to remove from tray, otherwise they will come off the base (superglue or epoxy is not sufficient to hold the model on the base if base is magnetised with strong magnets. Of course if you only use plastic models that are glued with plastic glue directly onto the bare plastic base surface this is not a problem (plastic glue weld the plastic model to base), But for my 30k army that are predominantly resin model superglue does not cut it, also I paint base and model separately so pinning is more suitable for me.

 

When I paint my models I paint them pinned in the feet to cork with ca 2" of 1 mm brass wire and use the cork as a painting handle, when paint job finished and model varnished (and varnish fully cured) I pull out the pins from cork, cut off and inch straighten them and gauge where they should pierce the base, mark those spots and drill 1 mm holes through the (finished) base and install the model onto the base, the protruding ends under the base I bend them along the base underside. This way I get a very strong attachment between model and base that are robust enough for the model to be lifted from tray grabbing the model instead of just the base (with 6x2 mm N52 magnets). Another advantage of this method is that in the future if you want to rebase the models you just re-straighten the brass wire and gently pull off the model from the base and attach it onto another base the same way.

 

 

Edited October 28, 2022 by Imren

[WrathOfTheLion]

Thanks for all your help. I'll do some shopping around and check the dimensions of things, comparing to some of the commercial offerings and see what I want to do.