Can I play with magnets?

Hey guys, long time since my last post (as usual), but thought I'd post a little tutorial on how I magnetised my Customeeple silhouette markers.  It makes them a lot easier to transport as they go flat for storage.

First up, I'm very impressed with the Customeeple acrylic templates, they are good quality for the cost, and being able to get my main Infinity faction's (Bakunin) logo on there really sets it apart from some of the other templates available.  The silhouettes are no different, you get 3 templates in total, an S1/2, S4/7 and S3/5/6, plus a 25, 40 and 55mm base.  One thing that I was a little disappointing was that the acrylic is just a rectangle, so you have to glue it directly (and flush and centered) to the base.  I think they could be improved by adding a tab so that you can slot them in to the bases without requiring glue, but overall I was thoroughly impressed.  Anyway, on to the tutorial!

A (finished) silhouette template.

To magnetise your templates, you will need a bunch of 5mm diameter magnets, plus some 2mm diameter magnets.  First, you will need to find the center and diameter of the base:

Marking the diameter

The easiest way to do this is to draw 2 parallel lines anywhere on the base, then draw a 3rd line between the center point of those two lines.  The center of that 3rd line is the center of the base, and a line drawn from that point to the edges is the diameter.

Next, drill two holes 2mm in diameter at the edges of the base, both on the diameter line (being careful not to cut into the sides of the base.

Drilling holes on the diameter

Once you have drilled two holes, and cleaned them up, attach two of the 2mm diameter magnets to the bottom of the acrylic piece, being careful to ensure that when the acrylic is placed on top of the base, the magnets fit snugly into the holes and the acrylic piece sits flush with the base.

Magnets attached

Finally, attach 2 of the 5mm diameter magnets underneath the base, covering the hole you drilled earlier, being VERY CAREFUL  to ensure the polarities of these magnets matches up to those you attached to the acrylic piece, you may need to carve some of the plastic out of the underside, depending on where you drilled your holes.

 The 5mm magnets in place

And that's it! when you fit the magnets on the acrylic piece, they should sit flush in the hole and the magnets should hold it upright and in place.  They are pretty sturdy, though your mileage may vary depending on the magnets you use (I used neodymium ones)and I've yet to have one topple over of it's own volition.  Then once your done playing, just take the acrylic piece off the base and pop them back in your bag, flat as a pancake!

It's just a little inverted, it's still good!

So there you have it, magnetised silhouette templates.  It was really simple to do and in my opinion makes them much easier to transport.  Hopefully you may find this tutorial useful when you come to make your own.  Thanks for reading and check back soon(ish) for more nerdly goings on in the world of Leigen_Zero!