Here is how to magnetize and build the Imperial Guard Rogal Dorn Battle Tank and some ideas on the missing bottom in our latest tutorial.
Rob is back unboxing the Rogal Dorn Battle Tank for Warhammer 40k, which has created some controversy. He’ll see what it takes to get it ready for the tabletop, show you the model’s size, how to magnetize it, and tell you the GOTCHAS to be aware of when building it! That way, you can decide if this is worth your hard-earned hobby dollars.
How to Magnetize: Imperial Guard Rogal Dorn Battle Tank
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You definitely want to magnetize this, as the kit ran for $90 on release but is currently $110!
Sprues
Everything looks pretty good, and most things seem like they slap right in. You get three sprues in total in this kit. However, for comparison, the Baneblade comes with nine sprues, and the Leman Russ also comes with three sprues for $60. So it’s pretty obvious sprue count doesn’t really add up to the price anymore per ce.
However, many people are upset about the Rogal Dorn Tank not having a bottom. To be fair, that probably would have made GW have to produce another sprue for the kit. Which might have increased the price even more; it’s just hard to say. Either way, we have a nice three-sprue kit that has some swappable weapons to magnetize!
Rogal Dorn Tank Instructions
To start, the treads don’t look too bad to build. However, you already have to do some magnet work right here. Rob would put a magnet in the side tread panel, using a 3/8″ magnet to hold it on through the plastic. OR, if you want to drill it out, use a 1/4″ magnet for attaching the sponson to later on.
If you drill the hole at this step, it will be a lot easier than gluing up the tread section and trying to do it later on! We get all our magnets for hobbying from The Magnet Baron. Use coupon code Spikey10off to get 10% off your next order with them!
Overall, the chassis looks to line up easier than most of the previous Imperial Guard tank kits.
The turret is where you really need some magnets, as you may want all the options. Rob said would put magnets on the initial assembly, but we’ll see how everything plays out when building it.
The side sponsons also look pretty simple. Hopefully, they are push-fit, and you don’t even need magnets. However, you could use a 1/16″ magnet for them if you need to.
How To Magnetize the Rogal Dorn Tank
The fully assembled model looks pretty cool, but let’s first jump into the magnets!
There are two main magnets we’re going to use here, 3/8″ and 1/4″. If you do not want to drill through the white section above, you can use the bigger magnets, and it should hold just fine.
What he did for the sponsors themselves was he cut out two pieces from the sprue and glued them with a little poster tack behind them for support. Then he put the magnet on top of that. For the sponson, he cut out some metal strips and put them on the front of the sponson, then added a small 1/8″ magnet on each different weapon barrel.
To drill out these areas, he used the Wowstick with a smaller bit to get the depth of the hole. Then, he used a 1/8″ bit on his large pin vice to bore out the rest relatively easily. The front turret doesn’t need to be magnetized, as it just locks in place.
But if you want to magnetize the main turret to make it super secure, here is how. Rob glued some metal strips onto the weapons themselves and drilled out the holes for the 1/4″ magnets on the turret. This way, the weapons are relatively flush and hold their weight easily.
Cap it off by adding a strip of plastic card in the hole behind the weapons mount so the magnets don’t fall into the turret and onto the table (because its bottom is open), and you’re good. You can see the white plastic card behind the turret mount in the image above.
Here is the list of magnets you’ll need to get the whole thing done. Again, we get all our magnets for hobbying from The Magnet Baron. Use coupon code Spikey10off to get 10% off your next order with them!
Size Comparisons
Here is the Forge World Macharius; as you can see, it’s not even close size-wise. A Leman Russ with trench rails on it is about the same length, but the footprint is slightly different.
Rogal Dorn Tank is Missing It’s Bottom?
Well, who knows, maybe you can use the bottom for extra storage. You don’t see it on the tabletop, but we can see how it is a little annoying not to have the bottom. There are already a few retailers out there making bottoms for the tank, which look great. Obviously, you can just make your own out of plasticard.
However, if you don’t feel like that, you can pick up these products to convert your own bottom. Be sure to watch the tutorial or all the tips on magnetizing your new Rogal Dorn tank!
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About the Author: Travis Pasch
Travis Pasch
Job Title: Head Writer & Editor
Socials: @paschbass
About Travis Pasch: Travis has been a Warhammer 40k hobbyist since the 1990s, playing the game since Third Edition. Through extensive traveling, he’s seen a lot of the miniatures hobby from across the world, giving him a unique perspective on the latest gaming topics and trends.
Travis’s brother even owns a commission painting studio, where he’s picked up a lot of good advice and techniques for painting Warhammer and tabletop miniatures over the years, as well. Travis joined the Spikey Bits team in 2019 and has been the lead writer since 2020.
Currently, he’s working on converting all his 40k Adeptus Mechanicus models and becoming a true tech enjoyer, complete with both sad and happy robot noises!
