Starting Warhammer on a budget

[pawl]

Some of you may have already seen my ultimate guide to cheap Warhammer, but this one is a little different.

Somebody I work with (former collector, but not looking to get back into the hobby) told me that his son (13) is interested in giving the hobby a go and he wondered if I had any old models or bits and pieces that he could have, purely to save on money if it turned out to not be his thing.

A week later and I have 8 Space Marines from the 2nd ed starter set (they were unneeded from an eBay job-lot win), a black and an ivory rattlecan, and some Humbrol extra thin cement. His lad had some brushes and paints that would just about to the job, so I told him that I would send him some additional suggestions on via whatsapp for how to start-up on the cheap.

Naturally that snowballed, and I ended up writing the guide below. It might not be much use to most here, but if you know somebody who's interested in starting out then it might help them a little. =]

Click here to have a read!

Edited September 6, 2022 by pawl
Link change

[Mazer Rackham]

A very good article.

 

It is formatted and written well in board friendly and engaging language.  I think it might be useful here, and to spread the word, you should consider petitioning the Staff to post it in full.  This board caters to learners and the mission statement includes fostering and furthering the hobby.

 

Nicely done regardless.

[Grotsmasha]

Once the new software is up and running, it is my understanding that we'll be able to publish more Article-like content like this, and I can definitely see this having a place there :tu: 

[pawl]

In all honesty the reason I didn't post it in full is simply because it uses custom tags, and I was feeling too lazy to find suitable replacements (if they exist) on B&C, or simply to remove them while posting from my phone

[pawl]

The upgrade seemed to affect the OP and broke the link. It needed updating anyway as it's now on a new website, so I've just added it back in. =]

 

I'm still more than happy to post in full though, if/when the board is ready for it!

Edited July 24, 2022 by pawl

[Xenith]

Great article, thanks for sharing.

When you're starting out, I'd say it's likely that a GW store would let you maybe use their clippers, and possibly paints to paint a test model - take advantage of this to see what paints you can get away with. If you buy some intercessors and ask nicely, they might let you assemble them in store, and help you with it also. 

Depending on local stores, some have purchase incentives. My local travelling man gives you a free paint/tool starter kit with the purchase of a start collecting/combat patrol box. This considerably brings down the cost of the box, once you deduct paint costs, to more like the intercessors, so more models for your money. 

Thirdly, I cannot reccomend the Hachette Imperium mag enough. It's too late to sub now, but if you want a cheap way into the hobby, this is it. For the £90 you mention, you'd get 10 issues. As a subscriber, you'd get their free clippers, mould line tool and glue. You also get models at a hefty discount, and intro guides on how to get decent tabletop results with the limited number of paints you'll receive. 

[Emurian]

I skimmed through the article, what I would suggest new ppl is just taking some toy soldiers and paint those before buying a box of 40k and paint said models. Getting an idea how the shading process works and drybrushing before actually experimenting on 4-5e models might be a good id for some, especially if your kid shows interest imo.

Ebay is relatively expensive to suggest as a site to buy lots. Dutch marktplaats.nl offerings are A LOT cheaper then ebay. Type in warhammer, skim and thats most likely all the convincing you need.

I would also stress the point that you should make use of ppl you know that play alrdy, ask them stuff irl, most nerds gladly spend hours pointing out stuff to help a newb. Most likely the local group has a discord with a link thread in it where they list tons of retailers, sites to buy scenery, brushes etc.

[pawl]

On 7/27/2022 at 3:31 PM, Xenith said:

When you're starting out, I'd say it's likely that a GW store would let you maybe use their clippers, and possibly paints to paint a test model - take advantage of this to see what paints you can get away with. If you buy some intercessors and ask nicely, they might let you assemble them in store, and help you with it also.

This is something I hadn't considered actually. I must confess that I've not stepping into a GW for years - when I got back into the hobby I was just looking for a book to try and help get me back up to speed with the lore ("what is Primaris and does it come with good action scenes please?" isn't too far from how the conversation went!)
Next edit I'll be sure to mention this, as a freebie is always good, particularly for the younger crowd interested in the hobby. =]

 

On 7/27/2022 at 3:31 PM, Xenith said:

Depending on local stores, some have purchase incentives. My local travelling man gives you a free paint/tool starter kit with the purchase of a start collecting/combat patrol box. This considerably brings down the cost of the box, once you deduct paint costs, to more like the intercessors, so more models for your money. 

I assume this is in-store only? Do they offer the same discounts in-store as they do online? It would seem that a lot of places only offer a discount for digital sales, which is a shame. Again though, this is something I'll try to work in for the next update. 

 

On 7/27/2022 at 3:31 PM, Xenith said:

Thirdly, I cannot reccomend the Hachette Imperium mag enough. It's too late to sub now, but if you want a cheap way into the hobby, this is it. For the £90 you mention, you'd get 10 issues. As a subscriber, you'd get their free clippers, mould line tool and glue. You also get models at a hefty discount, and intro guides on how to get decent tabletop results with the limited number of paints you'll receive. 

I spent a little while thinking about this while I was initially writing the article and actually decided against mentioning it purely for the fact that it's very time-dependent. Maybe that was wrong? I've actually never bought in myself, simply because I assumed the cost was monthly rather than weekly, and I know that I couldn't afford to keep up. Again, maybe I'll make mention of it in the next update. You've given me plenty enough to write about already that I'll have to consider it! xD

Thanks though, I do appreciate it! =]

 

 

On 7/27/2022 at 3:35 PM, Emurian said:

I skimmed through the article, what I would suggest new ppl is just taking some toy soldiers and paint those before buying a box of 40k and paint said models. Getting an idea how the shading process works and drybrushing before actually experimenting on 4-5e models might be a good id for some, especially if your kid shows interest imo

I considered this while I was writing the first draft of the article and decided firmly against it at the time. I'm sure there are plenty of people that have done this and had positive experiences, but I don't think it's something I would want to get behind. 
The main reason is that toy soldiers tend to be very low quality casts. You might be able to layer their combats, but trying to get any definition on their skin would be difficult, and edge highlighting next to impossible. The way that every Citadel painting guide (likely the starting point for many new hobbyists) is structured would be very difficult to follow using plastic soldiers. 
By acquiring some cheap models (be they a badly-assembled eBay win or some old models from a friend) that ideally match your chosen faction you can get actual practise painting the models you want to paint, even if the canvas isn't perfect. And if somebody ends up buying an actual box as their first models (ideally from a 3rd party) then they have two options - paint badly (like most of us probably did as youngsters!) and have something to keep as a memory/benchmark, or strip them down the line and try again. 

 

On 7/27/2022 at 3:35 PM, Emurian said:

Ebay is relatively expensive to suggest as a site to buy lots. Dutch marktplaats.nl offerings are A LOT cheaper then ebay. Type in warhammer, skim and thats most likely all the convincing you need.

This is something that I'm definitely going to use, for both the guide linked above and also the ultimate guide linked in the intro. In the latter of the two specifically I mention the likes of eBay and the Facebook Marketplace, but not sites like Gumtree (UK), Craigslist (US) etc. You've possibly hit on a good way to save a little money there! =]

 

On 7/27/2022 at 3:35 PM, Emurian said:

I would also stress the point that you should make use of ppl you know that play alrdy, ask them stuff irl, most nerds gladly spend hours pointing out stuff to help a newb. Most likely the local group has a discord with a link thread in it where they list tons of retailers, sites to buy scenery, brushes etc.

The 'beg/borrow/steal from friends' thing is mentioned at the top of the article, but I should maybe stress it a little more. 
I do also have a list of discount retailers on the site, but I've actually not linked it directly in this article. I'll fix that with the next update. 

 

 

Thanks to both of you, I appreciate all feedback and suggestions! =]

[Xenith]

On 7/31/2022 at 2:18 AM, pawl said:

This is something I hadn't considered actually. I must confess that I've not stepping into a GW for years - when I got back into the hobby I was just looking for a book to try and help get me back up to speed with the lore ("what is Primaris and does it come with good action scenes please?" isn't too far from how the conversation went!)
Next edit I'll be sure to mention this, as a freebie is always good, particularly for the younger crowd interested in the hobby. =]

Yea, depending on when you visit, you can generally get 1-2 free models, and all stores offer at least 1 free 'make and paint' tutorial session for a primaris or stormcast.

 

On 7/31/2022 at 2:18 AM, pawl said:

I assume this is in-store only? Do they offer the same discounts in-store as they do online? It would seem that a lot of places only offer a discount for digital sales, which is a shame. Again though, this is something I'll try to work in for the next update. 

I've only seen that offer in-store. Online has slightly cheaper prices on all things compared to store, however my local store gave flat out free stuff to a greater value than any discount, with a lot of stores also offering points based store credit systems. 

 

On 7/31/2022 at 2:18 AM, pawl said:

I spent a little while thinking about this while I was initially writing the article and actually decided against mentioning it purely for the fact that it's very time-dependent. Maybe that was wrong? I've actually never bought in myself, simply because I assumed the cost was monthly rather than weekly, and I know that I couldn't afford to keep up. Again, maybe I'll make mention of it in the next update. You've given me plenty enough to write about already that I'll have to consider it! xD

Thanks though, I do appreciate it! =]

Yea, Imperium is odd as you already have to have half an interest in the hobby, but I guess if you casually see it on a shelf somewhere, then you can pick it up as some good value. 

[Inquisitor_Lensoven]

Buy used, buy elite low model count army. There ya go 

[pawl]

2 hours ago, Inquisitor_Lensoven said:

Buy used, buy elite low model count army. There ya go 

I fear that might not quite be in the spirit of the article xD

[Xenith]

15 hours ago, Inquisitor_Lensoven said:

Buy used, buy elite low model count army. There ya go 

Pretty awful way to get into the hobby, to be honest. Someone's manky knackered second hand knights aren't going to get you gripped by the hobby. 

Edited August 10, 2022 by Xenith

[ValourousHeart]

I think one of the most useful bits of advice for anyone interested in Warhammer is "take your time, you've got decades ahead of you in this hobby."

 

When you think of this hobby in terms of decades, money all of the sudden loses meaning.  You buy stuff as you can, there is no real urgency.  Build, paint, play, be happy, and enjoy every moment. 

 

When I first got into this hobby I almost instantly fell in love with Ravenwing and Dreadnoughts.  And more than anything I wanted a Ravenwing themed dreadnought.  It needed to not be walking, but rolling, and it needed to look like it could kick in the throttle and keep up with the bikes and speeders, even if it couldn't do so in game.  I was thinking of a 40k version the robot from The Eliminators.  But it was going to take almost a decade before GW would release the key kit to the entire project.

 

Between waiting for GW to make and release the kits I would end up using, buying, building, painting... and of course all of the procrastinating... it took me 18 years to get from the initial inspiration to the fully painted models on the table.  If I told you that it would cost you $400 to build my 2 Dreadnoughts today, you'd probably think I was insane.  But when spread over years, I believe 6 years between buying the first kit (Thunderfire Cannon) and the final kit I purchased to finish the build (IG Hydra), the cost works out to be about $5 per month.

 

Which brings me to my 2nd bit of advice.  Everyone in this hobby should build the "conversation starter" of their collection.  That "uniquely yours" model that causes people walking by to yell "Hey Billy! Come check this out."  Remember you don't have to finish that "conversation starter" right away.  You've got decades.

 

Here is my "conversation starter".  Well, at least until I finish my next "conversation starter" which I'm currently procrastinating on.

Edited March 7, 2023 by ValourousHeart
grammar