This tutorial was written by Fireman Tim

Here is my Tutorial on customizing your large plastic miniatures to accommodate different weapon attachments (whew, that's a mouth full).

This is an Advanced tutorial that will require some skill.

TOOLS YOU WILL NEED:

-Dremel tool with a 1cm diameter grinding bit (makes this project easy. If you don't got one, it will take much longer to drill it out by hand)
-Sharp blade
-Crazy glue or Epoxy glue
-Green stuff (in case you make a mistake)
-Plastic cement to assemble the model



THE IMPORTANT BITS:

-1cm diameter magnets
-1cm diameter metal nuts
-Safety glasses to keep your little eyes from being poked out!



Ok, lets get started. Below are 4 weapon arms and shoulders from the Space Marine Dreadnought. ***Important*** Don't glue anything together yet!



Dremel out the holes in the weapon arms to accommodate a 1cm diameter metal magnet. Clean the hole you drilled with an hobby knife to make a snug fit for the magnet.



Insert the magnet. Each magnet has a strong side and a weak side. Make sure the strong side faces outwards.



Glue the magnet in place. Make sure the magnet is flush. You can now glue the weapon arm halves together (but be sure to wait till the crazy glue is dried).



Ok, its time to dremel out the spot where the weapon arm connect to the body.



Glue the 1cm diameter metal nut into the whole you drilled out. Again, make it flush with the exterior of the body.



Right, now here is the assembled body of the dreadnought. As you can see, the socket where the arm attaches has the metal nut in it.



Now that we are done with the dremel, lets go back to the weapon arms. Cut off a small piece of sprue, small enough to fit inside the metal nut.



This is what you end up with:



Crazy glue the piece of sprue into the center of the magnet on the weapon arm.



Repeat this to all the weapon arms and you should have something that looks like the following:



The weapon arms are now easily interchangeable and rotate.



Enemies of the Empire beware!



If you don't have or like Space Marine dreadnoughts, no problem. This technique will work with anything that has large multiple plastic arms. Even tank turrets.

Now pay attention:
-Please be sure to size the magnet up to the arm and body of the miniature you are going to be dremeling.
-Magnets come in lots of sizes and can be found in craft stores everywhere. You can find them on eBay too.
-Watch your fingers. Count them after each time you use the dremel.
-If you make a mistake, use the green stuff to repair it.
-Don't rush things. When in doubt, measure first.

Happy wargaming from Fireman Tim.