Magic Magnet LEGO Minifigs

We get a lot of weekend kid-visitors at the Design that Matters workshop. One of the most popular projects is the magical magnetic LEGO minifigure. LEGOs that hang upside down! Here's how to build them.

You'll need at least one LEGO minifig.

Magnets for LEGO minifig hands

• Neodymium Magnets Cylinder 1/8" OD x 3/16" H
• SKU D23 @ K&J Magnetics
• unit price is $0.22
• www.kjmagnetics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=D23

Magnets for LEGO minifig feet

• Neodymium Magnets Cylinder 0.2" OD x 3/16" H
• SKU DH23 K&J Magnetics
• unit price is $0.34
• www.kjmagnetics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=DH23

You may also want to apply some superglue (cyanoacrylate)

We often use small, powerful neodymium magnets in prototype assembly. They are much more convenient than fasteners and glue, especially when creating removable covers to hide batteries and microcontrollers.

Goofing around one weekend, we discovered that two of the neodymium magnets we stock in the workshop fit perfectly inside LEGO minifigs! The 1/8" cylinder magnets snap right into the minifig hands, and the 0.2" cylinder magnets are a squashy press-fit into the minifig feet.

When stuffing your magnets, you want to go slow, as some LEGO plastic colors are more brittle and can crack. The magnets are also tiny and can be a bit fiddly to line up. You may find it easier to stick the 0.2" magnets to a screwdriver or some other piece of metal and then press the LEGO minifig foot down onto the magnet.

You can tack each magnet in place with a blob of superglue (cyanoacrylate), especially if you cracked the foot when pushing it in.

Throw your new superpowered magnetic LEGOs all over the place! Can you get a minifig to stick to the metal shop stool from across the room? Can you get a minifig to stick to the metal dividers in the drop ceiling?

For bonus points, you can tape an LED blinkie to the back of your minifig so that you can see it stuck to the ceiling even when the lights are off!

A word of warning: be careful not to give the magnet-stuffed LEGOs to dumb adults who like to swallow toys.