Napoleonic & ECW wargaming, with a load of old Hooptedoodle on this & that


Sunday 6 November 2011

Catching Up with the Mainstream

Box 1 of the French Artillery - the two armies require six such boxes

Sometimes I surprise myself with my own stupidity. Of course, I realise that everyone in the known universe uses magnetic basing materials to transport their wargames figures, but somehow this particular technological advance has evaded me. Partly because my soldiers live in a big static cupboard, but mostly because I never take them anywhere - except when I move house, of course.

I bought in some mag sheets a couple of years ago as part of a fleetingly brilliant idea connected with deployable skirmishers, but the idea proved to be a poor one. Recent army expansions and my big push to get more limbers completed have meant that The Cupboard is now officially full, and some reorganisation is needed. With thanks to all who reassured me and offered advice on the subject, I have now fitted out half a dozen A4 box files with steel paper and fitted mag sheet to the bases of my artillery, engineering and wheeled impedimenta, and am delighted with the results. Everything cosy and secure.

Allosaurus makes a discovery

I am a little shamefaced that it took so long for me to get to this point, but here I am. Yes - I know that everyone uses this stuff all the time, but there's an act of faith required when it comes to risking precious figures and guns - my experience has been that old Sir Isaac Newton will get you in the end, especially if you are as clumsy as I am. Anyway, Allosaurus has discovered that it is no longer necessary to kill something everyday to stay alive - you just go to the supermarket like everyone else.

My thanks to Trevor Holland at Coritani for helpful, quick service and supplying me with the mag sheets. Excellent.

4 comments:

  1. Well, not quite everyone. Excuse me, I have to go kill something for lunch.

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  2. Steady on old spoon, you'll be watching X factor and beating your children next.

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  3. I use fridge magnets on the bases of my figures and transport them in a tool-box. That's fine for the majority of my figures as they are plastic, but the metal figures don't always finish the trip in the position they started, as their weight often breaks the magnets' grip.

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  4. Monsieur Rosbif - the point about the magnetic sheet which I had never understood is that a smooth, semi-gloss mag sheet covering the underside of a flat base produces a decent vacuum seal on smooth, flat steel paper. mounted on the rigid floor of a box.

    My preliminary experiments indicated that the actual magnetic force was only so-so, but when the components are rigid and flat it's mostly air pressure that holds everything in place, and that is impressive. If you lift a corner you can feel the seal break. Button magnets wouldn't give you that effect, I don't think.

    Whatever, I didn't think the mag sheets would handle heavy pieces, but in fact I have to be careful not to damage castings while heaving them off the box floor!

    Regards

    Tony

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