Ah, a key difference. Unless it's a really heavy model I don't pin or leave a base slug in anything, so I just cut a circle in the plastic line running through the middle with a pair of nail clippers and a hobby knife. If there are pins in the way that's a little trickier.
A fantastic solution; great work! A lot of the Japanese modellers I've met use plastic boxes with a metal plate inserted; the plate is made from the metal surface of a whiteboard, and both boxes and whiteboards are available very cheaply for ¥100 each (about a dollar) from the ubiquitous Daiso shops. They cut the metal sheet of the whiteboard to size and glue them in the bottom. I'd guess it's thin mild steel, and with the nice white writing surface is certainly very good for the purpose. Then they superglue neodymium magnets to the models’ bases. What I didn't much like about their solution is that exactly because they've magnetized firmly in place, it seemed quite fiddly to reach into the box, around the models, and get the models off the plate easily. I wondered about putting a piece of ribbon or suchlike under the base to serve as a tab to more easily extract them. (And fair warning to anyone who'd dare to say I'm overthinking it: this is a hobby - we're specifically allowed to overthink it! ) Can you tell us how you extract the models? And same question to other magnetizers including @Errhile @dalaule @Xeurian Especially also @Mahtamori and his industrial solution and @ChoTimberwolf and his Amazing Bike Proof Storage System which - models on their side being bounced around in a bicycle pannier, sounds excellent )
It becomes important to pull models off by the base, rather than the model itself with magnetic cases. If you have a front loading case, like the A-Case, you can slide the model off the edge if you are worried about plucking them up and out (the older metal trays can be flipped lip down, the new ones apparently don't have such a prominent lip).
I have used a few different kinds of magnets (I got them from a friend). Some are stuck a bit more to the plate, and need a firm-ish grip on the base to pull them off (it's like it weighs 300-400 grams kind of pull). For most of them I have used a weaker magnet which still lets the model stick to the plate (even upside down), but doesn't need much to get them off. I think the stronger magnets should be for the bigger models, like my Rudra and Andromeda model, although I kinda messed it up with one or two models. I was sort of skeptical to the solution, as I'm used to a briedcase lined with foam (similar to many other posters in this thread), and as my collection grows, I'll probably have one of those to store my miniatures, and use the metal tray to transport what I need from table to table at the club. Next time I meet up with my friend (later this week), I'll ask him where he got his magnets, and I'll post the website if he got them online.
I'll also add that the magnets that seem to work best are either flush with the bottom of the base, or further in and thus not actually touching the plate it is attracted to. This seems to work real well.
I pull them by their base - if I can. Or by the body if I can not. Just do not overdo with magnets (I did for Scarface, there are way too many mangets embedded in his base!). Yes, in my case the boxes travel on a bicycle too (in my backpack, I guess side bags would do just as well), and even a bumpy road doesn't really affect them. I had two cases of a model getting loose over the years - one was a TAG with not nearly enough magnets (I amended that since), the other was my backpack falling off a gaming table fully loaded, and landing upside down (a Gecko got loose by the mpact, resulting in some damage to it and other models). I wrote an article about magnetic storage a few years ago.
I got some pretty powerful n42? N52? 8x2mm magnets one is enough to hold a s2 and 2 for larger stuff, imma see if I find the correct data later but deah its better to take them at their base
My models are pinned to their base (when able, I clip the tab under the feet down to 3mm diameter pins, otherwise its good old 1mm piano wire) and the papers I glued on also reduce the magnet strength and make it easier to detach the LOF disc from the model. Only real problem is the magnets are a way too strong for using the discs as state/status markers.
Plastic magnet are not very strong. For 25 mm base mini : i can take them by the mini's body or by the base (taking them by the base reduce the damage to the paint long term). For the 40mm and 55 mm base mini : the base being much bigger, they are magnetised much strongly so I take them by the base (so I don't damage the mini)
That's one good article there, sir! I use a cake-tray, recommended by my friend who does the same, but I can see those tin-boxes being real useful, as they can fit a tag. My cake-tray can't.
By the way : magnetic storage/transport can also be used for scenery (or at least some of them) Resin scenery with a flat base (like some guild ball scenery I have) can be drilled using a basic hand drill like this : Make a first hole with a hobby hand drill (like the one GW sells), then make it bigger with the hand drill above, put some green stuff on the bottom of the hole, add some glue and a neodyme magnet and you have an easyly transportable/storable scenery
As i get started more into the playing part if Infinity and considered an A Case to but i decided to for another product that doesnt need any magnets but is still safe. I have some Feldherr stuff but i am not happy with the foam too. Friend of mine used a Shapeshift Bag for his Adeptus Titanicus stuff and i was sold. Here are some pictures off the system: https://www.phobosfoundry.com/ and this is the set i ordered on Sunday, so still in transfer and no pics from my side yet. https://www.phobosfoundry.com/product/shapeshift-early-adopters-set/ We did a test and one tray could handle around 40+ modells on 25 mm bases, enough for 2 300 point listsmost times. Yes, the cost is 3 times of a Feldherr Mini Plus, but its more flexible and i dont need to buy new foams for other games miniatures. Company is based in Poland and its no Kickstarter, so pretty save to order in my eyes.
Btw, the reason mine takes so long to magnetize is that I'm rebasing to resin bases. CB's standard bases have a pre-made slot for 5x2mm round magnets. A standard "small" 5x1mm hobby n35 neodymium magnet will work fine for the smaller LI/MI miniatures. It's just me going overboard sticking in 5x3mm n42 neodymium. (Well, and I work slowly due to high stress levels, but oh well)
I use Battlefoam, but I don't like it for my Nomad REMs. I use a 1" tray with 60mm circles. Even so, it is BARELY deep enough for the rear fin on my Lunos and Tsyklons. The problem with those stupid REMs is all those fins and whatnot sticking up/out. When the model shifts around in foam, a lot of weight gets put on those protruding bits, and even with pins and epoxy it is just a matter of time. What would work best, I think, is something like an A Case with metal trays and magnets. Sadly, my Nomads are on translucent acrylic bases, so I can't put in magnets. Grrrrrrr... Oh, naive Benson, would that I could go back and tell you not to glue on those stupid fins...
With perfect timing, my opponent last night was not only transporting with magnetized models, but also has a solution to my question about lifting the models out. This is a flight case into which he’s fixed a thin steel plate. He puts a square of paper under the larger models so he can easily peel them off. Easy, eh? He might contribute to the thread himself in due course, and comment and post better pics.... At least, when he’s recovered from the the most consistently bad dice I’ve ever witnessed
Fancy! How does he do it, exactly? Just pull the paper upwards, pinching the paper in two opposite corners?