Sculpting flying minis

[johnboyjjb]

I was wondering if you could use magnetics to create a mini that didn\'t rely on the little stands. It would probably not be functional for playing but for display I think it could be really cool. Can it be done? Has it been done?

 

[Shawn R. L.]

I have considered the same thing. I think it might be trickey to get it to balance in the magnetic field. The way I had thought of doing it was to have a doughnut shaped magnet for the base. Have the base be the size of an actual doughnut with some STRONG magnets in it. Mabey even an electormagnet. Hoping that the field would, like the doughnut, have a \'low spot\' in the middle to set the mini in. I think where the real problem would lie would be in keeping the floating mini (with a magnet in it of course) from flipping over and being attracted to the base.........time to call the physisc teacher. Or get a bunch of magnets and give it a whirl. Let us know if you get it working.

 

[Talion]

I\'m no physics teacher but i\'m sure that is not possible.

The thing would either be repelled and going literally flying away, or attracted and get stuck.

you can make magnets defy gravity, but you need a lot of juice and they burn out quickly.

let me know if i\'m wrong, I\'ll make myself a flying chair

 

[EArkham]

You will need some way to prevent the mini from flipping over, which means a guiderail or wire -- basically the same thing you\'d need to \"fly\" a mini without magnets.

http://sci-toys.com/scitoys/scitoys/magnets/suspension.html

http://www.science.unitn.it/~karwasz/toys/files/elmag/magnesy-en.html

The gauss rifle at the site in the first link has some potential... Incorporate into a GD entry and it might be a good way to get rid of some of the competition.

I\'m kidding of course.

Kep

[edit] PS - Be very careful photographing a mini that has a ton of magnets. Wouldn\'t want to wipe out your camera.

 

[vincegamer]

McDonalds was recently giving away this toy in their happy meals.
There is a magnet in the tip of the dragon\'s tail and in the flyer. The string keeps the flyer in place.
I think you could do this better.
First off use fishing wire as it would be nigh invisible. (I don\'t think you could actually go wireless)
If you don\'t want something above the figure, it might work to put a magnet in the base and one in the fig positioned so they repel each other.
If you use better magnets than McDonalds, I don\'t see why it wouldn\'t work.

you know, now that I look at it again, it sure looks to me like he\'s urinating on the dragon.

hmmmm. That makes me think:
Common practice is to try and make the pole look like something else (treetop, exhaust flames etc.) so why not make a chaos guy on one of those flying disks urinating off the side (possibly onto some troops) where the stream of urine is actually a wire holding the figure in the air?

 

[Talion]

in this picture to it seems to me that the figure is not flying because it\'s being pushed into the air. There\'s a magnet in the tail trying to attract the figure, the \"urine\" stream is holding the figure back from sticking to it.

You would definatley need something to anchor the mini, which destroys the whole point in doing it.

 

[mrteal]

Originally posted by Talion



in this picture to it seems to me that the figure is not flying because it\'s being pushed into the air. There\'s a magnet in the tail trying to attract the figure, the \"urine\" stream is holding the figure back from sticking to it.

You would definatley need something to anchor the mini, which destroys the whole point in doing it.

Hehe, had a good laugh on that comment.

I was also trying to figure out a way to suspend things without connections but seemed waay to hard to execute.

 

[Mosch]

I did one of those once, it actually does work pretty esily... just get away from the idea of using magnets exclusively. Get four pieces of nylon string/fishing line, add magnet to base, add magnet to miniature so they repel each other, fix with fishing line.
Problem is that it is pretty hard to transport - it broke on one of my tripy to a friend (It was a Dark Eldar antigrav thingy, those are not actually the most resilient models ever made and the flying effect did not enhance it.... mayber I\'ll do another one).
The magnets I used were pretty strong - Cheryll bought some on ebay and gave them to me as a present. If I put one on the back of my hand and the other in my palm none of them fall.

 

[Talion]

If I put one on the back of my hand and the other in my palm none of them fall.

Wow you hold your hands together with magnets.

Can you take them off and replace them with forks to eat, or a small scratching device when you got an itchy arse

 

[johnboyjjb]

Is that welsh humor or just nerd humor? I can\'t tell.

 

[TheEnigma]

Originally posted by vincegameryou know, now that I look at it again, it sure looks to me like he\'s urinating on the dragon.

ROFLMAO!! lol That\'s gotta be one of the best toys I\'ve ever seen. Ya know, they say that dragons are pretty hard to train, maybe they require some extreme discipline.

Magnets are cool, but they are pretty tricky to work with. I always wondered if you could make a lightweight plastic model \"fly\" using static electricity, like rubbing a balloon on your head and sticking it to the wall.