One of the features of this guy is magnetised arms. I offered it when I took the project as a way to make the model a little easier to transport and stow. The actual process was pretty easy, I just needed to make sure I prevented arm rotation since his shoulders are ball joints.
I picked up a variety pack of rare earth magnets from my FLGS (Game Vault) and grabbed my cordless drill with the big bit.
Time to start drilling. I needed to use a magnet that had enough surface area to hold the arms in place. It didn't have to be huge, just have the surface area for the magnets to contact and hold in place.
I found the perfect sized magnet and then found a drill bit that was the exact size so the magnet fits snug in the opening with a little bit of superglue for good measure.
With his right arm, the rotation wasn't a problem since my client wanted the arm pointing down. The left arm was a different story since that one was going to be pointing upwards and it naturally wanted to rotate back down.
To solve the left arm rotation and keep it pointed upwards, I ended up cutting a notch into the shoulder socket and adding a peg to the arm itself so that the arm "locks" into place and won't rotate.
You can see the greenstuff in the notch to tidy up the area cut away. The peg that was added to the arm was a bit of sprue cut to fit in place. With a little fitting, I got the arm positioned exactly the way I wanted and it doesn't rotate anywhere.
I think the notch to prevent rotation is spot on. I might have used a pin to prevent rotation while the arm is attached with the magnet, but I'm a bit pin crazy. This notch will do the same job with less chance of loosening over time. This looks to be a well planned removable joint. Just remember that magnets always need to be double checked to make sure they are facing the correct direction before final attachment of the second magnet.
- The Inner Geek
Project Link: Follow my Eldar Titan project
Additional FTW links on using magents:
Magnets: Flying bases
