Magnetizing turrets on tanks

[ignacj]

How many of you are magnetizing turrets on your BT tanks?
I magnetized few of my larger tanks, but medium and smaller tanks are PIA to drill correctly.
After all, do you actually rotate turrets during gameplay?

Thanks

ig

[pheonixstorm]

I do. Smallest unit I have drilled so far is the J. Edgar. I think I have drill bits for smaller items just don't have magnets smaller than 1/8"

I usually start a hole with one bit type then change to something else to finish the job using my cordless drill. Works so far. The trick is to make sure you don't press down too hard when drilling the hole in the mini. Best to practice with a thicker unit so you don't punch through the smaller tanks.

I plan on getting some smaller 1/16" magnets for my Maxims which have tiny turrets. To me taking the nub off the turret is the tricky part as if that gets messed up if affects the drilling. At least to me it does.

But, I have a nice drill bit set since I use it a lot for other projects mostly modding computer cases.

[ignacj]

Just wondering, do you actually turn turrets while playing BT, or is this more a matter of principle that turrets should be movable? I'm more of a second variety and it would be comforting knowing I am not the only one. :)

ig

[BairdEC]

I like to turn the turrets during play.  It's mostly for aesthetics, but if the vehicle gets a locked turret crit, it then becomes a reminder of where the turret is facing.

[worktroll]

Just want to point out "poor man's magnet - blu-tak.

For the average turret, which doesn't face a lot of stress sitting on a much larger hull, a little ball of blu-tak will hold the turret securely, plus allow it to rotate.

Not so good for smaller turrets - eg. I'll happily use the blu-tak on the Po or Saracen, but not on the Gabriel.

And not at all good for 'Mech arms or torsos. But worth mentioning.

W.

[ignacj]

I have a giant ball of blue poster tak in front of me that I use to hold down minis when painting, and it never crossed my mind to use it for turrets!

ig

[Ryumyo]

All of my tank turrets twist, the only real exceptions to this are Artillery ( 2 Thors and a Padilla ) and if not possible due to tiny size or sculpted to the vehicle. My helicopters have rotating rotors ( 12 built with 9 painted to table so far ) while the tilt-wing aircraft have functional wings. For Mechs, if they can torso-twist then they do with some one-piece body sculpts modified to do the same. 22 Mechs, 26 vehicles and 10 aircraft that have moving parts that are painted to table out of 108 units. I also have two Mechs, three tanks and three helicopters in various stages of assembly that will do the same with one of the Mechs being a Crab. The Crab gets cut to make twist. Yes, I like moving parts alot and my gaming group appreciates the efforts involved even when shooting at them.

[Cazaril]

You could always just pin them (only glue one side). The turret could turn freely, and if you put the pin in the tank, then for those small turrets, all you would need would be just a shallow hole... Granted, the turret might change positions if the table is bumped, or on an incline, but it is a cheap and easy way to do it.

Personally I pin mine permanently in place. Which makes me wonder: Does either pinning, or magnets, cause the paint to wear faster? Has anyone had a problem with the turret grinding through the tanks paint, wearing it back to bare metal?

Caz

[Ryumyo]

   ignacj, I do not pin and glue one side like Cazaril above would suggest for you as I consider it a " cheap and shoddy construct " for my purposes and the risk of losing parts is greater than magnets or finishing the pin and gluing on BOTH sides of the turret in question. With that said, use whatever method you feel most comfortable with. Experiment a little if you so choose.
  Caz, one way to prevent paint damage on the bottom side of the turret in question is to use a properly sized shim. This can also be done to correct any height discrepancies in the sculpt. I don't worry about any paint loss under the shim as it's not important to me - the shim acts as a bushing in this case while the magnets function as bearings at the point of articulation. If damage is showing, paint gets applied to fix it or I keep it to show the wear and tear. Besides a steel pin can in due time can work itself loose, especially at the wrong time. Yea, I hand-set my magnets for each magnetizing job I do and keep the magnets' polarity the same from one unit to the next : I.E. You could swap parts around between units and they would attract to each other. Speaking of tanks, turrets and magnets, I call my tanks " The Keepers of the Polarity " for this reason as I grab one of the Behemoths and use it to set the polarity of the magnet pair that's getting installed in the new build ( if magnets are required ).
   Phoenixstorm, can I suggest a pin vise for the smaller drill bits and you can use an X-Acto ( #11 ) to make the starter divot for drilling. Set the tip of the blade where you need the hole started and give the handle a twist, slowly of course so the blade doesn't start to " walk " from where you are setting the starter hole. Pin vises can be gotten that will go up to 1/8 inch for drill size. I use two, one has two double-ended collets that allow for different sizes of bits. The other is a dedicated 1/8 inch but can accommodate a 3/32 inch bit in a pinch.

[BirdofPrey]

I've never magnetized my tanks.  I always just drill a hole through the bottom of the tank into the turret and put a pin in the turret.  Unlike mech arms, the turret isn't really going to fall off if you jostle the mini around.
I've also done that for torso twisting mechs.

[dirty harry]

Most of my tanks field magnetised turrets, primarily for aesthetics. Smallest models with magnetised turret are a pair of Shamash hovers. I use magnets with 2 millimetre diameter and usually a hight of 2 mm, really small examples like those Shamash only 1 mm hight (and yes, these are tiny...).

To find the centre of drill i use a pinboard pin and scratch the model where needed. Next i use a small diameter drill (usually 0.8 mm, the same i use for pins) and expand the hole with 1.3 and finally 2.0 mm drills. Depth is only a matter of the last drill bit as it gives the final position of the magnet (that said only applies as long as you didn't drill through your part - a little bit of dexterity should always be part of your drilling). As long as the turrets original 'pole' is still existant (e.g. far wider diameter) the magnet should be flush with the bottom of the pole. Adjust the necessary hight with the hole on the other side of the mini (again: don't thrill through your mini if not necessary). It happened to me, that in some cases it is easier to invert, what is pole and what is hole: Used the longer magnet as new pole, filed down the pewter pole and drilled the new hole in its stead. Similar procedure if drilling the necessary holes eliminated the pole (e.g. magnet has same or bigger size as the given bit of pewter): Use the magnet of one side as new pole and tune the holes so that both magnets fit in the mini.

Regarding magnets grinding paint jobs: yes, it can happen. With stronger magnets used it happens easily. In order to prevent this i put a thin layer of acrylic glue on the estimated contact surfaces of the finalised paint job, as acrylic glue results in a much more durable coat than varnish. Let the glue dry thoroughly before putting both parts together again!! Varnish can be applied afterwards as usual. As the acrylic glue might be visible, don't splash it all over the mini but just on those surfaces that could contact and keep the layer as thin as possible.