Halo 3 Magnetic Conversion
So, this Jin Saotome guy - who’s like some kind of action figure customizing messiah or something - loves to stick magnets all over his customs. But I’d never seen what I considered a practical use for magnetic customization until I started tinkering with the Halo 3 figs. They have these little pegs that hold on their weapons and grenades, but the pegs are unsightly and are sometimes difficult to get in and out of their slots. So, when I saw Jin’s solution in magnetic form, I just had to try it out for myself.
Jin came up with this M.A.P. (Magnetic Attachment Points) system. I think that’s a pretty ridiculous (and pretentious) term for something as simple as gluing magnets to you toys, so that’s probably the last time you’ll hear me say it. Nevertheless, I gotta give Jin credit for finding the right size magnets to use. I ordered these upon his recommendation and they fit perfectly in the holes on the Halo figs.
Once I had my magnets glued to my fig, I then had to get something magnetizable into the weapons so they’d stick. The grenade was easy. It’s so small and lightweight that it took nothing more than the snipped off end of a paperclip to hold it firmly in place! The gun was heavier, so I dremelled out the existing peg hole to widen it enough to accommodate another magnet. The magnets are plenty powerful that you can just use a small chunk of metal (like a little screw) but I didn’t have a screw small enough to match up with the gun so I double-magneted it. Note - when you use a magnet for both points, make sure you test it before you glue it in. If you have the opposite poles facing each other it won’t work!
But yeah, that’s about it. Glue on some magnets, stick in some paperclips or screws, and voila! Sturdy magnetic clip-on weapons! Neato! (Oh, and I’ll go back and paint the surface of the magnets to match the figure but I left them plain for the pics so you can see them better.) Feel free to post questions/comments!
Tags: customs, halo 3
That’s pretty cool because in the actual game it seems as if the weapons stick to his armor. Like in the cut scenes when he just places the battle riffle on his back and it stays.
So you’d never heard of Jin before? He is pretty godlike, particularly in the Transformers community — his customs on eBay sometimes sell for over $1K apiece (which I think is flipping insane for an 8″ toy, but whatever). In any case, I’m not sure the pegs would bother me all that much — we’ll find out whenever I finally run into some of these Halo figs — but I’m particularly impressed by those new heads Jin stuck on the figures. Very cool.
yeah, i’m actually very familiar with jin and the insane amounts of cash he rakes in for his customs. i just try to be disparaging whenever possible.
i check out jin’s site weekly, and saw his mods. i just thought he left out specifics on what you posted. you read my mind. anyhow, great mods yourself. thanks!