One of the best hobby-friendly decisions Archon Studio made with the official Trench Crusade plastic kits is molding a magnet well directly into every base. Flip over a Prussian Stosstruppen base, or any of the newer plastic Trench Crusade bases, and you will find a recessed slot sized for a 5mm disc magnet. No drilling, no pin vise, no guesswork required.
Magnet size for Trench Crusade bases
The magnet you need is a 5mm x 2mm N52 neodymium disc magnet. The 5mm diameter matches the well in the base, and at N52 grade these are the strongest permanent magnets commercially available. Each one pulls 1.24 lbs, far more than enough to hold any Trench Crusade model securely to a metal surface.
[Buy Product=10-3-16-x-1-16-disc-super-strong-rare-earth-magnets-neodymium-n35-nicuni,Variant=All]
Installation
- Lightly scuff the magnet on the face you plan to glue, using a file or hobby knife. This gives the glue a surface to grip.
- Add a drop of super glue into the magnet well on the underside of the base.
- Press the magnet in. It slides right into the recess and sits flush.
- Done. Let it cure and move on to the next model.
The whole process takes about 10 seconds per base. You can magnetize an entire warband during a single hobby session.
Why magnetizing matters in a skirmish game
Trench Crusade warbands are small, often under a dozen models, but that makes magnetizing more important rather than less. Every model in your warband matters, and these kits carry fine detail with delicate weapons and equipment options. A single rough trip in a foam case can snap a bayonet or chip a paint job you spent hours on.
Magnetized bases let your models grip a metal-lined case, a Really Useful Box, a cookie sheet, or a magnetic movement tray. Your warband stays locked in place during transport instead of rattling around loose. The magnet wells are already built into the bases, so there is no reason to skip it during assembly. It takes almost no extra time and saves real headaches later.