Pinning and Magnetizing Miniatures: A Practical Guide

Hey again, friends. Let me paint you a picture. You've just finished assembling a beautiful centerpiece model. Big dramatic pose, sword arm reaching out heroically. You pick it up to admire your work, and the arm falls off. Hits the table. Bounces. Lands somewhere in the carpet dimension where no miniature part has ever been recovered from. You stare at the little glob of dried super glue on the shoulder socket and wonder why you didn't just pin it.

Or maybe you're the person who built their Space Marine captain with a thunder hammer because it's the best weapon in the current rules, and then the next codex drops and suddenly the thunder hammer is garbage and everyone's running power fists. Cool. Guess you're ripping that arm off and hoping for the best. Unless, of course, you magnetized it.

Pinning and magnetizing solve two different but equally frustrating problems. Pinning makes joints bulletproof. Magnetizing makes weapon options swappable. Both techniques use the same core skill (drilling tiny holes in plastic), and once you've done it a few times, it becomes second nature. Let's break them down.

Pinning: When and Why

Pinning is the process of drilling a small hole into each side of a joint, inserting a short piece of wire or rod, and then gluing the whole thing together. The pin creates a physical bridge between the two parts that's dramatically stronger than glue alone. Think of it like a dowel joint in woodworking, just much smaller.

You don't need to pin everything. For standard plastic kits that you're assembling with plastic cement, the chemical bond that plastic cement creates (it literally melts the plastic together) is strong enough for most joints. Where pinning becomes important is:

Metal models. Metal is heavy and super glue bonds are the only option. Super glue creates a surface bond that doesn't penetrate the material the way plastic cement does. On a metal model, especially one with extended limbs or a dynamic pose, super glue alone will eventually fail. Usually at the worst possible moment, like when you're reaching across the table during a game. Pinning gives the joint actual mechanical strength.

Resin models with thin contact points. That Forge World character with the arm connected by a wrist the thickness of a toothpick? Pin it. Resin is lighter than metal, but thin contact points plus the rigidity of cured super glue equals a joint that snaps under stress.

Heavy conversions. If you're kitbashing and the parts weren't designed to fit together, the contact area might be small or uneven. A pin bridges the gap and gives you something solid to build around.

Models that travel. If your army goes to tournaments or game nights in a carrying case, the models take bumps. Pinned joints survive transport. Unpinned joints on heavy or fragile models tend not to.

Pinning Tools and Materials

Pin vise. This is a small hand drill. You can get one for under ten dollars and it'll last years. The chuck holds tiny drill bits and you twist it by hand to drill into your miniature. It sounds fiddly, but it's actually very satisfying once you get the rhythm. A pin vise gives you total control over depth and angle, which matters when you're drilling into a 3mm-wide wrist joint.

Drill bits. You'll want a few sizes. For standard infantry, 0.7mm to 1mm bits handle most pinning jobs. For bigger models and heavy joints, 1.5mm to 2mm bits give you room for a thicker pin. Buy more 1mm bits than anything else. They're the workhorses and they do break occasionally (they're tiny metal rods, it happens).

Pins. Paper clips are the classic choice. Straighten one out, cut it to length, and you've got a pin. Brass rod from a hobby shop works too and comes in precise diameters that match your drill bits. I use paper clips for 90% of my pinning because they're free, they're everywhere, and they work perfectly.

Super glue. Since you're pinning joints that plastic cement can't handle (metal, resin, cross-material), super glue is your bonding agent. Apply it to both the hole and the pin before inserting.

How to Pin: Step by Step

It's simpler than it sounds. Really.

Dry fit your pieces. Hold them together exactly how they'll be glued. Figure out where the center of the contact area is on both sides. That's where your pin goes.

Mark both sides. Use your hobby knife to poke a small guide hole in the center of each contact surface. Some people use a dab of paint on one side, press the pieces together, and use the paint mark to find the matching position on the other side. Either method works.

Drill. Put the appropriate bit in your pin vise and drill into the first piece. You don't need to go deep. 3-5mm is plenty for most joints. Keep the bit as straight as possible so the pin doesn't sit at a weird angle. Repeat on the second piece.

Cut your pin. Snip a piece of paper clip or brass rod that's about twice the depth of one hole plus a tiny bit extra. So if each hole is 4mm deep, your pin should be about 9-10mm long. You want it to seat fully into both sides with no gap between the pieces.

Test fit. Push the pin into one hole (no glue yet), then try fitting the second piece on. Everything should sit flush with no wobble. If the pieces don't sit flat, either a hole is angled wrong or the pin is too long. Fix it now while it's easy.

Glue it. Put a drop of super glue into each hole, push the pin into the first side, apply glue to the exposed pin and the contact surface, and press the second piece on. Hold it for thirty seconds. Done. That joint is now absurdly strong.

Magnetizing: When and Why

Magnetizing is pinning's more versatile cousin. Instead of a permanent wire pin, you embed small magnets into each side of a joint so the pieces snap together magnetically. They hold firm during play but can be pulled apart when you want to swap a weapon, change a loadout, or pack the model flat for transport.

The most common reasons to magnetize:

Weapon options. This is the big one. Game rules change. Points values shift. The optimal loadout today might be trash tomorrow. If you magnetize weapon arms, you can swap between every option in the kit without committing to one permanently. Build them all, magnetize them all, and you're future-proof.

Transport. A model with outstretched arms, a big banner, or a long weapon takes up a lot of space in a carrying case and those extended bits are fragile during transit. If the arms are magnetized, you can pop them off, pack everything flat, and reassemble at the table. No broken swords. No regluing mid-tournament.

Big models. Knights, tanks, and monsters often benefit from magnetized turrets, arms, or heads. These larger kits frequently come with multiple build options, and nobody wants to buy two Imperial Knights just to have both weapon configurations.

Choosing Your Magnets

The two things that matter with magnets are size and strength.

Size. You need magnets that fit inside the joint without being visible when the model is assembled. The most common sizes for miniatures are:

• 2mm x 1mm for infantry arms, small weapon swaps, and small model joints. These are your everyday magnets.
• 3mm x 1mm or 3mm x 2mm for larger infantry (Primaris Marines, Stormcast Eternals), medium joints, and heavier weapon options.
• 5mm x 1mm or 5mm x 2mm for big stuff. Vehicle turrets, monster arms, Knight weapons. Anything where the part has real weight to it.
• 6mm x 2mm and up for the really heavy applications. Dreadnought arms, large vehicle sponsons, anything that needs to hold against gravity and the occasional table bump.

Strength. Rare earth magnets (neodymium) are what you want. Specifically N52 grade, which is the strongest commonly available. Some sellers offer cheaper N35 magnets, and while they work for very light parts, they don't hold heavy weapon options reliably. The price difference is small enough that I'd say just buy N52 and never worry about it. A $5 pack of 100 magnets will last you ages.

The Polarity Problem (and the Trick That Solves It)

Here's where people mess up magnetizing. Every magnet has a north pole and a south pole. For two magnets to attract each other, you need opposite poles facing each other. North facing north repels. If you glue a magnet into an arm socket with the wrong pole facing out, every weapon arm you attach is going to push itself away from the model instead of snapping on. And once that magnet is glued in, getting it out is a nightmare.

The polarity marking trick solves this forever. Before you start, grab a marker. Take your entire stack of magnets (they'll be stuck together in a column). Mark one end of the column. Now you know that every magnet in that stack has the same face marked. When you pull magnets off the stack for use, always put the marked face in the same direction. I always glue the marked face into the body (facing inward) and the unmarked face into the weapon arm (facing inward). That way every arm automatically has the correct polarity to snap onto any socket.

If you're magnetizing anything more complex than simple arm swaps, take five seconds to check the polarity before the glue goes on. Hold the magnet against its partner, confirm they attract, then glue. Five seconds of checking beats twenty minutes of surgery to remove a backwards magnet.

How to Magnetize: Step by Step

Pick your magnet size. Look at the joint. How much surface area do you have to work with? For a standard Space Marine arm socket, 3mm x 1mm magnets are the sweet spot. The arm sits snugly in the socket and the magnet holds firm. For bigger models, go bigger.

Drill the socket. Same technique as pinning. Mark the center with your hobby knife, then drill with a bit that matches your magnet diameter. Depth should match the magnet's thickness so it sits flush with or just below the surface. If the magnet sticks out even a tiny bit, the parts won't sit flush when assembled.

Check your polarity. Hold the magnet you're about to glue against its partner. Confirm they attract. I cannot stress this enough. Check every single time.

Glue the magnet in. A tiny drop of super glue in the hole, then press the magnet in with the back of your hobby knife or a dedicated magnet placement tool. Don't use your fingers. The magnet will stick to the super glue and your fingertip simultaneously, and peeling a super-glued magnet off your finger is exactly as fun as it sounds.

Repeat for the matching side. Drill the arm or weapon piece, check polarity again, glue the magnet in. Test fit. The pieces should snap together with a satisfying click and hold firmly when you pick the model up.

Build all your options. This is the whole point. Magnetize every weapon arm, every shield option, every head variant. Build them all, paint them all, and swap at will. Future you will thank present you when the next balance update drops and your army needs a completely different loadout overnight.

Common Mistakes

Drilling too shallow. If the hole is too shallow, the magnet sits proud of the surface and the parts don't sit flush. This looks terrible and creates a visible gap in the joint. Test with the magnet before gluing. It should sit level with or slightly below the surface.

Wrong polarity. I know I've said this three times already. I'm going to say it again. Check. Every. Time. The amount of people on hobby forums posting "help, my magnets repel" is staggering. Use the marking trick, and verify before gluing.

Too-small magnets. If the part is heavy and the magnet is tiny, the weapon will sag or fall off during play. Err on the side of slightly bigger magnets. A 3mm magnet in a space that could fit a 2mm magnet doesn't cost you anything except a slightly wider hole, and it holds much more securely.

Gluing magnets to the outside. I've seen people try to skip the drilling step by just gluing a magnet to the flat contact surface. This looks bad, creates a gap, and the magnet is visible. Take the extra thirty seconds to drill a proper recess. The result is so much better.

Using plastic cement on magnets. Plastic cement melts plastic. Magnets are metal. Plastic cement does nothing to metal. Use super glue. Always super glue for magnets.

Pinning vs. Magnetizing: Quick Reference

Pin when: The joint is permanent, the parts are heavy (especially metal), the model travels a lot, or the contact area is small and needs mechanical reinforcement.

Magnetize when: You want weapon options to be swappable, the model has multiple build variants, you want to disassemble for transport, or game rules are likely to change what loadout is optimal.

Both when: You're building a big centerpiece with magnetized weapon arms and pinned permanent features. Some joints on a model need to be rock-solid (pinned) while others benefit from being swappable (magnetized). Use both techniques on the same model wherever it makes sense.

Neither of these techniques is hard. They both use the same core skill: drilling a tiny hole in the right place. If you can do that (and you can, I promise), you can pin and magnetize anything in your collection.

I'll be straight with you. The first time I magnetized a model, I got the polarity wrong on one arm and had to chisel the magnet out with a hobby knife. It was annoying. The second model went perfectly. The third one I did in five minutes without thinking about it. Like everything in this hobby, the learning curve is steep for about twenty minutes and then it's just a thing you know how to do.

Now get out there and slay the gray.

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