I am new to Armada but I have created a magnetic mat for gaming. I plan on offering a 36"x72" version of this mat for interested Armada players. I have two questions.

Which features/abilities about this mat interest you?

Can you think of a way to place a magnetic receptive piece on the capital ship bases so that they attach to the mat?

In theory, this sounds like a great idea.

Easiest method would be to add magnetic tape to the corners of a base. Another thing you can do for obstacles is donut hole them in the center

Best way I can think of from the top of my head, is to measure the distance from the underside of the base (the flat part) to the table surface. Then buy some cheap 3mm x 1mm magnets and some easily shaped material like plasticard or even bluetac would work I guess. Simply cut the plasticard or bluetac to 1mm less than the distance you measured above (distances might vary on the different bases). Then simply glue or add four of these magnetic "poles" to the base of the ships, they should be flush with the table and ideally they would nestle into each corner of the base. There's probably a better material than plasticard or blue tac that I'm simply not thinking of right now!

To clarify the mat itself is magnetic. The squadron ships are easy and I've got a great idea for obstacles. What I need to do is affix a piece of metal to the base of the capital ships.

My experience with magnetic sheets is that only certain zones are magnetised. And when you put something light on the sheet (like an obstacle or objective marker or squadron base) it will 'jump' slightly to the nearest magnetised area. Much better, IMO, to make the mat out of non-magnetic iron/rubber sheeting and use magnets on the bases of the ships.

My experience with magnetic sheets is that only certain zones are magnetised. And when you put something light on the sheet (like an obstacle or objective marker or squadron base) it will 'jump' slightly to the nearest magnetised area. Much better, IMO, to make the mat out of non-magnetic iron/rubber sheeting and use magnets on the bases of the ships.

I couldn't disagree more. I have not experienced anything remotely like that. Perhaps you've had lower quality magnetic sheeting then. I have a demo video. Magnets on the ships or obstacles has its own special set of problems. Foremost among them is getting the attraction strong enough to hold but not so strong you need a crowbar. That set up also limits the uses. A magnetic mat can be used much more universality. If you'd like I can give the address of my YouTube channel where I demo it

His magnetic mat is flawless in even strength of magnetism of a welcome strength throughout. It's not an issue.

Still the more relevant question is how to affix a bit of metal to the bottom of armada bases.

Does changing the height of the base below section matter? Does that allow more squadrons to fit underneath the side of the base?

Well, this is probably much more work than you want to go to, but in true wargaming fashion, a dremel (sp?) tool would do just fine. Buy some magnets at your LGS, drill into each of the four corners and then glue those little suckers in. From a business, sales standpoint, if you made a small piece (with those magnets attached) that you could just glue on to the bottom of a base then you'd really be cooking. Though, if there was a way to direct order the bases from FFG you could install the magnets the way I started staying and sell the bases. Somewhat time intensive though.

What's the predicted life of the mat before the field degrades?

What sort of strength are we talking here?

Sounds interesting...

Please post pics. I have an active game store that would love to try this out, if not, I would have this for myself.

What's the predicted life of the mat before the field degrades?

What sort of strength are we talking here?

Sounds interesting...

Unless heated at relatively high temperatures (240+ degrees) it would take longer than a human lifetime to lose its magnetization. The strength is specifically designed to hold the bases with metallic inserts in firmly place even if the mat is held completely vertical. At the same time it is not so powerful that it can't be easily removed by hand without having to be pried off.

Please post pics. I have an active game store that would love to try this out, if not, I would have this for myself.

If you'd like to PM me I can do much better than a simple photo. I can send you a demo video.

Why not link the video here? or paste URL?

Why not link the video here? or paste URL?

I'm on my cell phone now and it's about 2 mins long. Will it allow me to post a 2 min video?

I'm big on rare earth magnets, because of the impressive strength to size ratio. If you're going to go to the trouble of creating a magnetic board you're gonna want STRONG adhesion, right? Something distinctly superior to just using washers/silicon on a textured playmat? At least that's how I'd look at it.

So I'd suggest looking into producing "inserts" for the Armada bases (that have an appropriately sized slot for a magnet). You could sell the inserts and magnets separately, or just glue them in place yourself ahead of time. As for the material of the insert itself, I'm not sure what would work best. I suppose you could do laser-cut acrylic or MDF, but that might require the user to glue it into the base on their end. Perhaps some sort of softer material with a little give (like rubber or silicon) would work, because the insert could be slightly scrunched and stuffed into the base, where it would then re-expand to stay affixed.

I'd imagine a problem with both a magnetic play mat and magnetic bases is that if you **** up the polarity, then you've got to pull the base apart to flip the magnet.

I'm big on rare earth magnets, because of the impressive strength to size ratio. If you're going to go to the trouble of creating a magnetic board you're gonna want STRONG adhesion, right? Something distinctly superior to just using washers/silicon on a textured playmat? At least that's how I'd look at it.

So I'd suggest looking into producing "inserts" for the Armada bases (that have an appropriately sized slot for a magnet). You could sell the inserts and magnets separately, or just glue them in place yourself ahead of time. As for the material of the insert itself, I'm not sure what would work best. I suppose you could do laser-cut acrylic or MDF, but that might require the user to glue it into the base on their end. Perhaps some sort of softer material with a little give (like rubber or silicon) would work, because the insert could be slightly scrunched and stuffed into the base, where it would then re-expand to stay affixed.

When I did the play test this is not what I found to be true. You want magnetization which is strong enough to resist a slight bump or nudge but not so strong that it pulls the mat up with it or needs to be pried off to separate. That is the trick of the mat. It has to find that good balance point between the two so it's playable. The only thing you may want to stick on and stay put are the obstacles.

I'd imagine a problem with both a magnetic play mat and magnetic bases is that if you **** up the polarity, then you've got to pull the base apart to flip the magnet.

Unless you are planning on pounding it repeatedly with a hammer, running an alternating current through it, or baking it at 250 degrees you don't need to worry about screwing up the polarity.

Right, but the mat HAS a polarity, correct? So if you decided to put magnets in the bases of your models, you could put them in back to front accidentally and **** the whole thing up, right? Which is why you would used inert ferrous metal, rather than magnetised material for the base, right?

Stupid question, isn't this problematic for Cellphones / Tablets that you might put on the table ?

Right, but the mat HAS a polarity, correct? So if you decided to put magnets in the bases of your models, you could put them in back to front accidentally and **** the whole thing up, right? Which is why you would used inert ferrous metal, rather than magnetised material for the base, right?

Yes. I can't think of one good reason why you would ever put magnets on the bases. The mat itself is magnetic so as you stated an inert ferrous metal is what is used fo attraction and has no effect on polarity. Using a magnet on a magnet seems in the same category as the hammer or the oven to me.

Stupid question, isn't this problematic for Cellphones / Tablets that you might put on the table ?

Not a stupid question at all. The mat is a low energy magnet and I have had my phone and a laptop on it with no problem. Typically it's high energy magnets which disrupt electronics.

Right, but the mat HAS a polarity, correct? So if you decided to put magnets in the bases of your models, you could put them in back to front accidentally and **** the whole thing up, right? Which is why you would used inert ferrous metal, rather than magnetised material for the base, right?

Yes. I can't think of one good reason why you would ever put magnets on the bases. The mat itself is magnetic so as you stated an inert ferrous metal is what is used fo attraction and has no effect on polarity. Using a magnet on a magnet seems in the same category as the hammer or the oven to me.

Wouldn't magnet-to-magnet be significantly stronger than magnet-to-metal?

Like I said, there doesn't seem to be an advantage to the product unless it offers significant clinginess beyond what people are used to. I have hundreds of old Warhammer modes with magnets in the bases, and a set of metal movement trays, and if there's only one figure on a tray a reasonably light nudge will still disrupt its positioning. Since Warhammer makes you rank models up side by side, they tend to keep each other in line. But on an Armada table there's going to be no physical barrier to stop your ship from shifting after a bump.

Hmmmm putting the ferrous in the 90°portions of the bases legs would work really well.

You would want a light magnetic hold instead of magnet on magnet because it would be harder to pick up and move a magnet on magnet set up