Magnetizing a Menoth Plastic Kit

[Mod_Plarzoid]

Howdy all. I see lots of 'look at my finished magnetized 'jack' posts, but never a how to. As in every small little step. So, this is an attempt to do such a thing.

To start, you'll need to collect some supplies:

Magnets:
I chose two magnet sizes. One for the heads and the other for everything else.
Head magnets were 1/16" dia by 1/32" thick ($3 for 100)
Arm / Hand magnets were 1/8" dia by 3/32" thick ($0.12 ea)



Drills:
Depending on just how big your magnets are, you will likely need to drill holes at least twice. Once with a smaller bit to make a pilot hole, and again with a drill the same diameter as the magnet. One of the easiest ways to check a drill's size compared to your magnet is to stick them on the flat end of the drill bit:

Drill too small - but good for drilling pilot holes


Drill too big


Drill perfect size


If you can't see the magnet in the picture above, that's good. It should look like an extension of the drill - they should be the same size.

[Mod_Plarzoid]

Here are my three drills:


The smallest drill will be for pilot holes. The second drill is for the head magnets. It will also widen the hole one extra step for the big drill.

Other Supplies:
Hobby Knife (with a pointed tip)
Green Stuff
File or sanding block with a flat side
Sticky Tak (blu-tac, etc. It's the stuff that is like putty that can be used to hang posters without damaging walls). Example @ Amazon.com
Sharpened pencil or mechanical pencil

(No pictures of these - you should already own most of these!)

[Mod_Plarzoid]

So, now that you've gathered everything, let's start with the heads. The first step is to drill a spot for the magnet in the body of the 'jack. Start by aiming your smallest drill towards the center of the divot where the head should go.

Hold your drill like so:


Aim it like so:


Apply a little pressure with your pointer finger, and rotate the drill with your thumb and middle finger. Practice on wood or spare parts if you've never drilled before.

You should drill to a decent depth - don't worry about going too deep.

After drilling a pilot hole, your 'jack torso should look like this:


Now, use your next drill (the one that is the same diameter as the head magnet) to widen the hole to the correct diameter. Let the first hole guide the drill, you shouldn't need much pressure.

[Mod_Plarzoid]

Now we're ready to glue in a magnet. Stick one on the end of a large drill bit - this way you won't have to worry about holding on to these super tiny magnets with your fingers.



Apply a little bit of super glue to the end of the magnet, and stick it in the hole!





I should provide a warning here: Since the drills we're using are the same diameter as the magnets, if you stick a magnet in the hole without using super glue, it can get stuck. That's ok as long as it's secure, and the hole is drilled jsut deep enough so the magnet can't get pushed in any further. If a magnet gets stuck, it can be near impossible to get it back out. You can however push it further in, but if it doesn't go in far enough, you also can't drill the hole deeper to get a second magnet in the hole to the proper depth.

So, be very careful dry-fitting these small magnets.

[Mod_Plarzoid]

Now to put a magnet in a head. First, using a file or sand paper, make a flat spot on the back of the biggest lobe on the back of a head (ie, a flat spot where the head would glue to the body). The only reason for this is to keep your drill bit from rolling off the part which can be very frustrating.



Now, take your knife (which should have a sharp point), and put the point in the center of the flat spot. Twirl it back and forth like you do a drill. This will make a little divot right where we want to drill





Now drill it just like you did for the body. Be careful however - the heads are much smaller than the body - you don't want to accidently drill through the part!

[Mod_Plarzoid]

Now is where one small mistake can be fatal - you have to make sure the magnet is glued into the head the right direction. If it's backwards, your head magnet will repel your body magnet and the head will never stay on!

Here's how to be sure it will go on correctly:

Toss the magnet onto the magnet in the body.
insert the tip of your knife between the magnets (demonstrated on big magnets on the arm):


Now simply lift your knife away. The magnet should be stuck to the knife.

Add a little glue to the end of the magnet and stick it in the hole.



DO NOT lift the knife off the part, instead slide it to the side. The knife should slide right off the magnet leaving the magnet inside the head and flush with the outside. Perfectly placed, and properly oriented.




After a few minutes to let the super glue take hold, place the head in the head socket. It should stick!



Repeat for the remaining heads, and be sure each magnet is properly oriented!

[Mod_Plarzoid]

Now for the arms. I've glued the torso to the legs so I can be sure the whole pose works.
I've also decided (arbitrarily) to start with the Vanquisher cannon. I've sticky-tacked it where I want it.



Using the pencil, trace the outline of the arm onto the ball part of the 'jack body:



Pull the arm off, and you should have a circle representing where the arm will attach.



Now, to the best of your ability, use your knife to make a divot in the center of the drawn circle:

[Mod_Plarzoid]

Drill the body with your pilot drill. Then your head magnet drill. Then the drill that matches to your arm magnet size. Since this is the first arm we've done, just glue an arm magnet in. Direction doesn't matter - just make sure it's fluch with the rest of the ball.



Now, to the best of your ability, using your knife make a divot in the center of the socket part of the arm:



Drill this the same way you did the ball on the body. BE WARNED: If you drill too deep with your biggest drill, you could drill through the pipes that connect the socket to the rest of the arm. It's always easier to drill just a bit further than to go too far and have to repair everything.

Remember to use the knife trick to properly orient the magnet in the arm.

These big magnets are usually string enough that they can be pulled out if the get stuck dryfitting them. Feel free to drill shallow, test the depth with a magnet, and drill more if needed.

Once the glue has dried for a bit test out the arm!



The other arm is done exactly the same:

[Mod_Plarzoid]

Now the complicated arm.

Let's start with the hands to arm joint. This way, we can test each hand on the arm while it is sticky-tacked to the body to make sure we get a cool pose for all three models.

First, stick a small ball of stick-tack into the wrist of the arm:



Squish one of the hands into the stick tack, and make sure it lines up how you like. Using your pencil, draw the outline of the hand on the wrist:



Remove the hand and stick-tack. You can now see where the hand will sit on the wrist.

You want to put the magnet as close to the middle of this area as possible:



Drill it with all three drills, and stick a magnet in, flush with the wrist.

[Mod_Plarzoid]

Grab the hand, and pick the middle again:



Drill with all three drills, and use the knife trick to get it oriented correctly.

Like before, test it out once it's dry!

Repeat for all three hands.

Now, I picked the exact center of the ball for my arm locartion. You can choose wherever you like using the sticky-tack and pencil method.



Now - here's where we can do something cool. Use the knife trick to put this magnet in, and use the other arm ball magnet (the one we already did). This will make the two arm magnets opposite polarized, so it's impossible to put the arms on wrong!

Alternatively, you can just glue this arm in place. Since the same arm is used for all three 'jacks, you only need to magnetize the hand.

[Mod_Plarzoid]

Lastly, we have the shield. Here's what I did. The magnets I chose are the same size as the bolt on the side of the arm. So, I drilled my shield magnet right in the middle of the bolt:



Here's where I made an oops:



All you have to do if this happens is back the drill out, and fix it later with greenstuff.

Magnet glued in:

[Mod_Plarzoid]

For the shield, I made a big ball of greenstuff and stuffed it in between the posts. I stuck a magnet in the middle.



I then put a drop or two of water onto the magnet on the arm, and stuck the shield on. The magnet snaps into position, and I could adjust the look of the shield.

I then pulled it directly off the arm.

Of course, the magnet stayed behind:



But I pulled it off, and gently put it back into the green stuff. I then used a wet knife to clean up the look of the green stuff.



Not too shabby!

[Mod_Plarzoid]

Finished product:

[yastobaal]

Nicely done man. I think this is the guide that all should follow if they are thinking of doing the same.

[ReaperRob]

Great How-To. I've seen pictures of people doing this before, but yours is the first one to have good instructions and thorough explanations.

[PG_Cloud-Gatherer]

I didn't do mine exactly this way, but thanks for the helpful how-to! I'm betting a lot of people will get use out of this.

I guess I don't see the point in magnetizing the right arm to the body, since it never changes, and I'm not wild about the way the shield looks all moved to the side like that - but then, I didn't magnetize the shield at all. Anyway, that'd be my only critique. Thanks again for the informative post!

[Mod_Gemini]

Awesome, thanks for this! I'll be magnetizing my Menoth jack kit very soon, and this will be a huge help!

[Joasht]

Nice job!

Pity about the whole shield thing, so far I don't think I've seen anyone magnetize the shield at the hand, although to be fair its probably almost impossible to accomplish without messing up the hand

[Invaderzahn]

I did something extremely similar (same magnets even) but I glued the torso to the legs and glued on the right arm.

Less Poseable but gives me more magnets for other projects.

[Mod_Plarzoid]

Nice job!

Pity about the whole shield thing, so far I don't think I've seen anyone magnetize the shield at the hand, although to be fair its probably almost impossible to accomplish without messing up the hand

Unfortunately, this was my conclusion as well. This was the best solution I could think of.

[Yoritomo Jiriki]

Would you suggest the same sized magnets for Myrmidons and Khador Jacks?

[squidstudios]

Nice job!

Pity about the whole shield thing, so far I don't think I've seen anyone magnetize the shield at the hand, although to be fair its probably almost impossible to accomplish without messing up the hand

Unfortunately, this was my conclusion as well. This was the best solution I could think of.

I was thinking you could magnetize the bottom of the Open Fist, then replace the lower "handle" of the shield with a magnet embedded in greenstuff, keeping as much of the top "handle" as possible. This would at least minimize the appearance of the magnets in the Open Fist and shield.

EDIT: also, TERRIFIC JOB on the walkthrough!

[Mod_Plarzoid]

Would you suggest the same sized magnets for Myrmidons and Khador Jacks?

When I did a Khador 'jack, I used larger magnets for the arms - but the ones I used here would have been easier. I think these sizes would be just fine for a Khador 'jack.

I've not gotten my hands on a Myrmidon, so I don't know about them. I have no intention of doing a Retribution army, so I don't know when or if I'll ever magnetize one of their 'jacks. However - if someone were to PM me and have a NIB one... I could borrow it and write up a how-to using their 'jack...

I was thinking you could magnetize the bottom of the Open Fist, then replace the lower "handle" of the shield with a magnet embedded in greenstuff, keeping as much of the top "handle" as possible. This would at least minimize the appearance of the magnets in the Open Fist and shield.

EDIT: also, TERRIFIC JOB on the walkthrough!

That might work. I'll keep that in mind if I do a second one.

And thanks!

[PG_Cloud-Gatherer]

For those interested in saving a little work: you can also just glue a magnet directly into the jack's neck-hole, then cut the neck off each head and replace it with a magnet.

[Arch4ngel]

Great guide, man. Thank you for taking the time to enlighten us who haven't had the courage to take this plunge quite yet.

Two questions: First, do you have any problems with spin? Like for the arms, where if you bump the mini, the arm swivels on the magnet join?

Second, I was thinking about getting a bunch of really thin magnets, and setting them on their side in a "teeth" configuration. So the arm would have 1 magnet, and the shoulder would have 2, like so: (shoulder)=-(arm) resulting in a row of 3 magnets when the model was assembled.

The theory seems solid, but I wanted to ask if you had any insights since you've now actually done this.

[Mod_Plarzoid]

First, do you have any problems with spin? Like for the arms, where if you bump the mini, the arm swivels on the magnet join?

If the arm joint is parallel to the horizon, then the weight of the arm can cause it to spin. But the more powerful the magnet, the less this happens. One way to battle this problem is to rough up the surface of the magnet with a file. This increases the friction and decreases the chance of the arm spinning.

tl;dr - it happens, but there are ways around it.

Second, I was thinking about getting a bunch of really thin magnets, and setting them on their side in a "teeth" configuration. So the arm would have 1 magnet, and the shoulder would have 2, like so: (shoulder)=-(arm) resulting in a row of 3 magnets when the model was assembled.

The theory seems solid, but I wanted to ask if you had any insights since you've now actually done this.

I would say no. If you have a set of magnets you can play with, you'll notice the easiest way to separate two of them is to slide them apart, not just pull them apart. Their strength is in the holding power -><- Their ability to keep each other aligned is strictly a function of their attraction force and friction.

In addition, you have the difficult task of attaching the magnet that gets inserted into the other two. It can only be attached on it's edge, which will be an area of high-stress - likely to need re-gluing constantly. The arm will simply break off, leaving the magnet in the other two.

So, assuming I didn't completely misunderstand your idea - the theory is good, but I don't think it can be effectively executed.

[jking_3rd]

Best How To Guide, ever!

Loved it

[Sam Lam]

Oh god I think I know telepathy, I did EXACTLY what you did... and I don't even know who you are.

[Mod_Plarzoid]

Best How To Guide, ever!

Loved it

Thanks!

Oh god I think I know telepathy, I did EXACTLY what you did... and I don't even know who you are.

Great minds think alike!

[Gareson]

I just magentized two Protectorate heavies using this method and it was perfectly written and illustrated. I followed it word for word and with near-perfect success(the one error was my deviation from the tutorial and easily rectified). Plarzoid- thanks for the great guide, I'll be sure to give a shout-out to you and this thread in my next youtube vid!

[Mod_Plarzoid]

Sweeeeet, I'm glad it worked for you! Be sure to post pictures of your finished models!

[Gareson]

I used Plarzoid's walkhtru with great success- it is highly recommended to any prospective "magnetizers"! Here are my magnetized jacks...

In the video below I show how the parts change out and articulate...
Figure Feature: Protectorate

[puddinpants]

Great work!

I did almost the exact same for mine, worked very well. Excellent guide!

Two suggestions for others:

1. Put all your magnets in a single row, and use a sharpie to mark the negative or positive side. Then as you pull them off, mark the next one. This way you can be sure you are connecting the right polarities to each other.

2. If you do ever get a magnet that dies in with the wrong polarity up or not sitting flat in the hole, I found that using a bit of acetone softens the plastic and glue enough to pry the magnet out with a knife. If you do this carefully, you don't ruin your model (the part with the magnet is usually covered anyway) and you get your magnet back out.

[Mod_Plarzoid]

Good lookin' kits Gareson. Thanks for the shoutout in your video

[roddo]

Great work!

I did almost the exact same for mine, worked very well. Excellent guide!

Two suggestions for others:

1. Put all your magnets in a single row, and use a sharpie to mark the negative or positive side. Then as you pull them off, mark the next one. This way you can be sure you are connecting the right polarities to each other.

2. If you do ever get a magnet that dies in with the wrong polarity up or not sitting flat in the hole, I found that using a bit of acetone softens the plastic and glue enough to pry the magnet out with a knife. If you do this carefully, you don't ruin your model (the part with the magnet is usually covered anyway) and you get your magnet back out.

I tried this with a sharpie and found it tended to rub off. My solution was a dab of paint on the end i wanted to insert into the model, I did both arms on the jack first, then each subsequent magnet I lined it up, painted the end i wanted then glued it in place.

[pacman529]

this was a great guide! i really got a lot out of it!

there is one thing i think i can add though. i saw a guy do this in a video where he was magnetizing something else, but i think the process can be adapted and applied.

after he put the first magnet in the torso, he put just a little bit of red paint (he said any color can be used) on the surface of the magnet, then dry fitted the arm while the paint was still wet. this left a dot of paint on the arm. a bullseye for EXACTLY where the corresponding hole should go!

once i get my warjack kit i'm going to give this a try, see how it goes, and report back.

[PG_Pszito]

Great guide here! Step by step, easy to read/see, and effective with all things plastic! Also helps when arms/systems are knocked out.

Depending on the strength of your magnets and glue, respectively, I've also heavily sealed or glued in the magnets so on a long time line they don't strong-arm their way out. Rare earth magnets are more than strong enough to do this, i've found, and especially when i've done metal model magnetizing with all the extra weight behind them (and usually multiple magnets to boot). I've also made loose-fit pins to help hold directional orientations on ball-and-socket pieces that liked to sag with gravity; simply add a static pin near magnet on the body/center piece and drill a corresponding (ever-so-slightly larger) hole on the armature/bit that will hold it in the position desired.

Keep the knowledge flowing.

[Dicedog_dt]

Great tutorial. Has anyone tried magnetizing the torso as well for use as a wreck marker? I was thinking for a destroyed jack you could replace the torso with a second magnet that had some steel wool "smoke"

Or does everyone just assume it's the other guy's jack that gets wrecked !

[Mod_Plarzoid]

Great tutorial. Has anyone tried magnetizing the torso as well for use as a wreck marker? I was thinking for a destroyed jack you could replace the torso with a second magnet that had some steel wool "smoke"

Or does everyone just assume it's the other guy's jack that gets wrecked !

You could definitely do that. The only problem with too many magnets is that the model becomes a marionette and won't hold a pose well. Gravity sucks.

[Anurien]

You can mask of the drill bit so you only leave the depth of hole you want to create. Make this the size/depth of your magnet and they should be flush and very secure when following this guide

Drill Bit
||________
||/
||/ masking tape wrapped around drill bit here
||/_______
|| | Depth of hole you want
\/ |___
( )
Magnet hole/ divot made with knife

EDIT: Brilliantly simple and hugely helpful post.