Of course, you do not need any magnets to build it, but magnetizing options can give you a lot of flexibility. Flexibility in loadout, in pose, in transportation options, etc...
When magnetizing miniatures you almost always want to use rare-earth magnets. I understand that neodymium magnets are the most common of these. A lot of times they also have a strength "grade" associated with them. You want to look for some with a grade between N-42 and N-52. I like to get N-52s when I can, but a lot of times I cannot source the sizes I want in strengths greater than N-48.
I get my magnets from Apex Magnets. They are close to me so shipping is super fast. I have only had a few dud magnets from them, too. Another option is Magnet Baron. I have met the Baron, and he is a good dude who makes a lot of useful add-ons for Games Workshop kits. He also has options for packages of magnets that specifically correspond to some common kits. Unfortunately, the Warbringer is not common enough to warrant one of those.
I am not a complete "magnets for everything" band-wagoneer. Often I prefer not to use them because I do not like how they get jostled when you move models around on a table. [Side note: That concern was born of my introduction to magnets on Tau battlesuit weapons, which (when magnetized) do not really recess into the model at all and are easy to mis-orient or shake loose when playing.]
There are two distinct instances in which I do like to use magnets:
- When a model comes with pre-molded slots for them, suggesting that the kit was designed with magnets in mind. (I.e., Adeptus Titanicus Warlord Titans)
- When a kit is so expensive that I would not reasonably ever have multiples simply for the sake of having loadout options. (I.e., the Acastus Knight Porphyrion)
The Warbringer is sort of an odd beast when it comes to magnetization. A lot of components are designed to be magnetized, but some very important ones are not (or do not have adequately sized recesses).
Here is a list of all of the magnets that you need (or, at least, what I used) and what they correspond to:
- Magnets for Pre-molded Slots:
- 12 - 8mm x 2mm - Anvillus-pattern Batteries, Quake Cannon Ammo Feeders
- 28 - 6mm x 2mm - Anvillus-pattern Batteries, Quake Cannon Ammo Feeders, Head
- 12 - 4mm x 2mm - Quake Cannon Ammo Feeders, Head
- Magnets which I drilled holes for:
- 2 - 20mm x 10mm - Torso / Legs
- 1 (per weapon) - 15mm x 5mm - You want one for each arm weapon, so probably 2 initially.
- 2 - 10mm x 5mm - Arm Socket
Also, slots exist for the 4mm x 2mm magnets which connect the head cables to the torso assembly and which connect the Quake Cannon's ammo feeders to the torso assembly. They are not strictly necessary (although I did account for them in the list). Other magnets in the neck socket and the ammo feeders do an ample job of holding those respective pieces up.
In fact, the 4mm x 2mm molded recesses in the torso assembly for the ammo feeders are incredibly finicky to place magnets in. Or at least, it is hard to do so in a way that preserves the right polarity. They are so close that even if you are very careful about polarity, they can hop up and reorient before the glue sets. I had that happen to both sides of my Warbringer's torso. I had no choice but to remove them at that point.
You might ask yourself, "how does one remove magnets which have been superglued into place?"
Well... this is how:
You drill the magnets out through the back. Which means you better hope that whatever is on the backside of those magnets is not a bit of detail that will get destroyed. The chewed up mess of holes you see here will end up (and as of writing, have ended up) being covered by the shoulder assembly.
The reason it is a chewed up mess, rather than a single hole, is because I was eyeballing where the bit would come out. Also because I broke a drill bit in the resin and had to drill around that to remove it. It was a nightmare. I would never put those 4mm x 2mm magnets in the ammo feeders again. I included them in the list because there are slots for them and if you get it right they do work.
The other topic I would like to spend a minute on are the added magnets, those which ForgeWorld did not include molded recesses for (or those which I judged to be inadequate).
The torso and waist have molded recesses built in, but I honestly do not even remember what size they originally were. At any rate, they were not going to be sufficient to keep the legs attached to the torso when lifted.
Now, the torso actually sits on the legs very well without any magnets.
No magnets were installed between the torso and waist in that picture. And I could jostle Romach Shel Raam around a bit like that too, the torso would stay on. What I could not do is lift the whole titan by its torso or tilt it very much while carrying it by the legs.
So I decided that I wanted magnets. Lyden Procter of the Titan Owners Club had already built his Warbringer and had demonstrated magnets that held the legs on. I asked him what magnets he used, and he said 20mm x 10mm. That is a pretty big magnet.
In order to mount them I had to drill some pretty big holes. Thing is, a standard 20mm drill bit would have left a pretty big depression beneath the magnet and made it harder for the magnet to stay glued in place. So instead I researched my options and found something called a Forstner bit.
The Forstner bit was patented by Benjamin Forstner in 1886 to drill a smooth sided hole with a flat bottom. For big magnets, especially a 20mm diameter magnet, it is what I wanted. I got this one off of Amazon.
It drilled this hole:
Oh, yeah, you need a power drill to do that. I used a hand drill to create a pilot hole, and probably spun the Forstner bit by hand for a little bit to make sure I had the hole in the right place, but once the hole guides were set I used a power drill. There is a lot more resistance when drilling, really "shaving," this kind of hole, so you have to be patient. It also throws off a ton of resin flakes and dust, so you must wear a respirator or something like that.
The 20mm magnets that go in here and in the torso are powerful. I have not let them touch each other, because I do not think that I could separate them if I did. That has to wait until they are firmly glued in place.
The battle titan arm weapons, which work for both Warbringer and Reaver titans, have some variety. More than any other option currently available for the Warbringer. So it is really appealing to magnetize them. Unfortunately, the arm weapons do not come with molded recesses. The elbows have built in recesses where a guide peg on the weapon plugs in. I think they are something in the ballpark of 8mm in diameter and 2mm deep. I felt the weight of an arm weapon and decided that I was not comfortable with the pull force I would get from an 8mm x 2mm magnet.
That meant that the elbow recess had to be expanded in order to get a strong enough magnet in there. I opted for a 10mm x 15mm magnet and I used a 10mm Forstner bit to drill the hole. I really needed the Forstner bit there because there was not a lot of resin behind the elbow mount. Even with the Forstner I drilled through the shallow parts of the elbow's piston trenches on the opposite side. Fortunately, when everything was said and done, the pistons and the arm assemblies hid the spots where the bit came through.
For the weapons themselves I used a 15mm x 5mm magnet (one for each weapon). I have one Melta Cannon, one Gatling Blaster, and two Volcano Cannons. I had drill the 8mm guide peg away and then drill down into the weapon's body in order to mount the magnets. I probably could have gotten away with a normal bit here, but again I used a Forstner. I just really love having that flat bottomed hole to drop magnets into. Much less frustrating than a normal bit. The smaller the magnet (or the taller where height is greater than diameter) the less necessary the Forstner bit is.
Oh! One more thing: Glue. I set most of my magnets with Maxi-cure superglue. For most applications it is enough. For magnets over 10mm I use Gorilla epoxy. Superglue can be pretty brittle, so anything where one big magnet is going to be subjected to the force of me removing and replacing parts I prefer the epoxy. It is overkill for small magnets though.
And that is a wrap for today's very special post on magnets. Let me know if you have any gripping magnet questions!
[Note: Will Hayes told me that I had 6mm x 1mm magnets marked where it should have been 6mm x 2mm. I recall making a change in recommendation to another Facebook TOC group member in early march where I said 6mm x 2mm and then altered that to 1mm based on something I saw at home. Maybe I picked up my 6mm x 1mm magnets and thought that is what I used? I will double check on this and get an answer tonight. Will Hayes is definitely to be believed here though. In which case, I apologize for steering anyone wrong.]
