I might have mentioned in the past that I don't like fixing roofs to things. Nowadays I now like to be able to get inside. I once cut a glued on roof off a brake van to get inside and change it only to discover a dead spider in there. Now I just find that having them come off easily makes painting or adding a bit more weight simpler. Previously I have tried press studs, bits of wire in tubes and cotton, all with variable success. This time I think I'll try something different.

You might have noticed that a number of specialist firms are out there selling magnets. Exotic stuff, neodymium samarium cobalt and other lists of elements that would keep Tom Lehrer amused for ages. All in different sizes, and these days a lot cheaper than they used to be. So I ordered some to have a play with.

Some messing about later I decided that 2 magnets , size 10 x 5 x 1mm held together far too strongly, the roof would pull apart before it came off. But a single magnet pulled to a soft iron plate with a satisfying click, didn't move when shaken and pulled apart with with no distortion to the roof. The soft iron plate is a bit of a 0.5 mm thick E lamination from a junk transformer.

( Just an aside. Old transformers from junk electronics are a good source of soft iron plate. The cheaper and nastier the better, quality transformers are varnish impregnated and the laminations are nigh on impossible to open, cheap ones aren't and come to bits easily. From the same electronics I always strip out the relays and break them up, the contacts are lovely springy brass, sometimes gold plated. I use them as pickups on locos. )

So here we go. A van roof with silhouette cut formers, a 40 thou stiffener and magnets superglued on each end. The magnets I bought are self adhesive, but didn't want to stick well to styrene, hence the superglue.



At each end of the body I glued a 20 mm square bit of copperclad, stiffens and straightens the ends and can be soldered to. The bit of iron is superglued to a strip of scrap etch, bent over and soldered well down at the bottom of the copperclad so as to act as a bit of a hold down spring.



Tests showed this worked ok, so the internal bracers went in next, good thats looking all square.



There we are, a van with a magnetic roof, ready for trimming. One that can be taken off and dropped back on hundreds of times with no damage or distortion.



Now, you might all think that this is all a bit of a palaver for something as mundane as a van roof. But playing with things and learning techniques is a lot of the fun of modelmaking. And the whole point of a forum is to discuss ideas, I love reading about other modelmakers experiments.

I enjoyed having a go and there is method in my madness. I now have the confidence to try other sizes of magnets for things like fixing cab roofs on locos or holding small scenic items down so if you accidentally knock them they move rather than breaking. Sitting in my unbuilt cupboard is a rake of Caley coaches kits for grampian corridor stock. Magnetic roofs on those for sure.