For those younger players...

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**Chancetragedy**

nkelsch wrote:
Chancetragedy wrote:
I've had a job since I was legal. 14 in my states case. I never really had an allowance from my parents per say. So I typically worked hard and saved my money to buy stuff. Before I had a job I'd do yard work for neighbors.

Me too. My first job was scrubbing toilets and mowing lawns at the state park for 4.25$ an hour. Did it for 3 summers and for weekends during spring and fall.

When I was a wargamer at that age, I would paint models for others to augment my buying power. I would tell them to give me what they wanted painted and when done, pay me in a box of models I wanted. That allowed people to use store credit, prizes, ebay, shelfwarming, bitzbox, whatever to pay me in product. Also, I would try to participate in my local GW and paint the store models as back then, they often let me keep the models after they got used for 6 months or so. I got Ghaz and 10 metal MANZ that way 15 years ago and I still play those models today.

it does get better eventually! don't neglect your studies!

Haha that doesn't sound that bad. My first job was awesome. I worked at a machine shop and cleaned stuff in simple green and belt sanded large metal plates. It was loud, disgustingly dirty, and I almos cut my finger off more than once. But I got payed the astronomical price of 5$ an hour and got to listen to my tape Walkman at work. Which at the time was almost 1$ over minimum wage! So at 14 I had all the warhammer 40k and candy bars my fat little butt could handle.

**DeffDred**

When I first got into 40k it was much cheaper. I had just started highschool and my first job was at a dry cleaner.

At first I saved a bit each week and would buy a box or 2 on the weekends. Back in them days $100 was half a 40k army.

Then I entered painting competitions at Dakka. I won every saturday for, like, 3 months. First place was a choice of blister.

Then the most important thing of all.... I made friends with spoiled rich kids.

I'm infamous in some circles for being able to get armies somewhere between ultracheap and free.

K3

flonky wrote:
K3 wrote:
Now i cant believe when im in GW and 3 kids (the same 3 kids.....) are in their every day that ive been in. If im playing a game, they walk in with their mum and decide taht day they each want stuff (were talking baneblades, stompas, land raiders, not just a small blister) and theyre mum doesnt even bat an eyelid.
But look on the bright side, they will probably go off it once they discover Xboxes and PS3s etc and hopefully sell it all on eBay or something!

I have no illusion to athe fact taht they will be.

What i now find even funnier - i went to GW today, and their mum walked in on her own (in her words "they were too tired to get out of bed today") she had been given a list of things to buy.

**flonky**

K3 wrote:

What i now find even funnier - i went to GW today, and their mum walked in on her own (in her words "they were too tired to get out of bed today") she had been given a list of things to buy.

Boy, are those kids gonna have a shock when they experience the real world!

**malfred**

There weren't any shops I could get to when I was a teen, so
I didn't play.

**Forgotmytea**

Howard A Treesong wrote:
The cost of GW has increased so much in relative terms that I don't know how kids without parents having very deep pockets afford it. GW has always been on the expensive side, but their prices today are wild. I could buy whole units with birthday money, £10 in a card would buy a whole regiment. Now, even £20 won't buy you a Marine squad, and I don't think aunts and uncles the country over are sticking more than that in a birthday card. Jeeze, even a lot of character figures are £13-15 a pop in Finecast which is just sad, to think I thought that Abaddon the Despoiler was hugely expensive at £7 back in the day. Which he was, being about the most highly priced 40K single foot figure they did at one time, IIRC.

I used to go to a lot of wargames shows and pick up a lot of stuff second hand, this is why I have so much Rogue Trader stuff. My dad was buying most of it, ostensibly for himself, but I think we knew I'd be the only one with time to make and paint it all. That's changing now he's retired though. But to share collections and attend smaller wargames shows you really need parents that are interested in the hobby too.

It says something that GW prices are now so high that I can't justify paying them even though I work full time and have more disposable income than ever. Even the second hand market is a bit salty, though I have picked up bargains. This is basically why I gave up doing armies and do skirmish and character scale games/figures.

Pretty much this (especially the bit I took the liberty of highlighting/underlining). Even working full time, thanks to all the essentials (food, bills, paying off the mortgage) I really don't have much left for wargaming at the end of each month. I went through a time of buying Warhammer second-hand off eBay which cut down the costs, but thanks to continual rising prices and just my own general dissatisfaction with the game, I've moved on to cheaper skirmish games (I think my avatar gives a hint as to my favourite game nowadays!).

**DarkCorsair**

I happen to live right next to Falls Church, which, as of the 2011 census, is the richest county in the nation. And believe me, there are plenty of spoiled rich kids (I couldn't help but laugh when the topic on my bus was complaining about maid service), but I never see any of them in the local wargaming scene. Practically all of the regulars that are teenagers are hardworking, nice kids who actually paint all their models, know the value of money and are respectful. The difference between them and most other kids is actually pretty shocking.