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figure 5
By E. James Small
Here’s something you probably haven’t thought of when building or modifying your models -- magnets!
There are many different types of magnets available, but the best ones to use are those known as “rare earth” or “neodymium” magnets (fig 1). They are small and very powerful and available in many different shapes and sizes.
Magnets are wonderful because they can be used instead of other fasteners allowing you to make optional parts easily removable, or even act as pivot points. This can enable some sections to move that would otherwise need to be glued together!
When building models for Round 2, I have to make the models easy to ship to them and allow the buildups to be transported from place to place as well. I built some models, like the “Witch” for example, with some of the main assemblies removable from the diorama base for transport that also allows the parts to be quickly re-assembled for display! Therefore, the Witch has magnets buried in her feet, and the cauldron has a magnet on the bottom. Corresponding magnets are glued under the display base for each piece, taking care to match magnetic polarity lest they repel each other instead of attract!
For the “Robby the Robot” kit (fig 2,3), I put a magnet at each body pivot point so the torso and head can swivel. There are also magnets in the soles of his feet so he can be attached and removed from the display base. Putting the magnets in Robby’s body required that I build some sheet plastic “shelves” that span the gaps in the hollow sections so that the magnets could be centered. I also put magnets in his chest and “wrists” so the different chest plates and hands/claws could be interchanged for display.
The big “Enterprise-A” kit (fig 4,5) has a tiny magnet behind each of the docking doors on the side of the model and behind the bridge. Some of the shuttles have a flat head nail placed in the rear airlock doors. This way, they can be docked with the ship for a fun way to display them! I also used magnets to hold the main warp drive engines in place on the pylons so they could be easily taken off to aid transport of the huge model.
When gluing the magnets to the model parts, use epoxy or cyanoacrylate (super glue), as regular model cement won’t work.
Experiment with magnets and have fun with them! There are many great ideas that you can dream up to add creativity and functionality into your modeling projects!
EjIMBo.
E. James Small
Excellence In Model Building
www.smallartworks.ca
All photography by E. James Small
