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I started keeping track during the Pandemic, as for a while modeling was my sole source of well, anything resembling me accomplishing a task.

Over the last 12 months I've averaged nearly 380$ US per month spent on the hobby.

I've ended up reselling over half of it because I made the decision in the Fall to quite 40K and play AoS/Titanicus instead. I'm not happy at all with the direction 40K is going.

Warhammer will cost you your soul, wife and life! ONLY FULL DEDICATION TO KHOR- er, THE HOBBY IS ACCEPTABLE! Paint for the paint throne!


On a side note, i think the warhammer franchise has helped a lot of people out of maybe depression or otherwise, during the lockdown. Im so happy i started my warhammer trip. Ive always loved the universe, and i used to collect warhammer like 15 years ago when i was like 14. Then i stopped because im a Dane and i dont speak english natively, i didnt understand the rules, i was an absolute doughnut so i ended up stopping collecting.

Back then it was warhammer fantasy battle i collected, namely Chaos. Ive always liked warhammer however, i just played it on my computer with different games like Dawn of War.

I found my old figures when Corona had been around for a bit of time (8 months ago) and my miniatures were god ugly painted, but finding them on my parents attic just made me start again, although with the 40k setting since fantasy battle was discontinued. AoS sounded weird to me, and the 40k figures were ugly back 15 years ago so i didnt collect it back then. The premis of orks with guns sounded stupid (yet here i am collecting orks now).

So yea thats that for me. Since i JUST started around 8 months ago, and starting out means a lot of spendures not just on figures, but also on all the damn paint i needed and such

 Jidmah wrote:

TangoTwoBravo wrote:
This is a very dangerous thread. If a spouse comes across it on the net we are all in deep trouble!

Ok, boomer

I don't need to hide my spendings from my wife and I am responsible enough to not spend money we don't have.

Ok, judgy person

while the "take my wife, please" trope is cringy you have to realize that this is a sadly very American cultural thing and less of a generational one. Im a lesbian and my wife and I have repeatedly fallen into those patterns subconsciously. Plus you have to take into consideration other factors as well. My wife grew up desperately poor so despite the fact that we are doing alright for ourselves she has a strong compulsion to hold on to every dime we have because of her past trauma. As a result we have a system where I simply buy what I want within reason (she trusts that I won't spend away our savings) and I do not tell her how much I have spent. Everyone is happy in that arrangement but it does give the appearance of dishonesty.

Plus let us not forget that some people are not able to control themselves and their spending as much as others and need their spouses to reel them in from time to time. This usually culminates in the aforementioned remarks about spending as an excuse to deflect their own personal failings and save face with their male friends because it represents a lack of control. Something that in American culture represents a great deal of failure when a man is not fully in control of his spouse (despite that being a terrible relationship goal).

But what am I doing in a thread about hobby spending? We should talk about how I preordered a new Space Marine speeder and the guy talked me into getting a Sylvaneth starter box because ive been wanting to experiment with contrast paints and I've been quite enjoying their audiobook antics in Blacktalon. I also spent about $100 buying paint racks and drawers to finally clean up my paint desk and have it look presentable, or at least organized.

Hidding spending from wife seems to be a not just american thing to do. And I know that, without even having a wife. And GW prices from the stend point of some countries are not even resonable, if all one buys are recasts.

It comes in waves. I spent a bunch last July, then very little until November when I spent a moderate amount, then nothing again till mid-January when I spent a bunch more on some OOP stuff.

Probably about US$200-250 per year. I'm a very slow painter, and don't often have the time.

I also only buy new models once I've finished painting every thing I own, so there is no pile of shame here.

Currently have 5 Warriors and a Reanimator left from my Indomitus box to go before I decide what to get next.

 generalchaos34 wrote:

 Jidmah wrote:

TangoTwoBravo wrote:
This is a very dangerous thread. If a spouse comes across it on the net we are all in deep trouble!

Ok, boomer

I don't need to hide my spendings from my wife and I am responsible enough to not spend money we don't have.

Ok, judgy person

while the "take my wife, please" trope is cringy you have to realize that this is a sadly very American cultural thing and less of a generational one.

Agree with Karol, definitely not an American thing. A generational thing though? Bashing your spouse in front of others is definitely more accepted by older people than by younger ones.

Im a lesbian and my wife and I have repeatedly fallen into those patterns subconsciously. Plus you have to take into consideration other factors as well. My wife grew up desperately poor so despite the fact that we are doing alright for ourselves she has a strong compulsion to hold on to every dime we have because of her past trauma. As a result we have a system where I simply buy what I want within reason (she trusts that I won't spend away our savings) and I do not tell her how much I have spent. Everyone is happy in that arrangement but it does give the appearance of dishonesty.

Sure, but essentially you are just saying the same as I was. Your wife trusts you to not toss out your money and you don't abuse that trust. You also don't make fun of her on a hobby forum. You know, like people in a relationship should.

I don't think it's really making fun of your spouse to joke that they don't see the same value in tiny plastic soldiers that you do - if anything, that seems more self-deprecating than spouse-deprecating - though there's certainly some sexist stereotypes underlying the general schtick.

You would have to be a pair of twins, living without any other family, to be close to assigniing same value to anything.

Karol wrote:
You would have to be a pair of twins, living without any other family, to be close to assigniing same value to anything.

...that's simply not true.

Friendships and relationships can be, and are, built on shared values and beliefs. It might not be about *everything*, but why on earth would you be in a relationship or friendship with someone who you didn't share a majority of values with?

Majority? Possibly, but sometimes the minorities can be well out of whack. ‘Opposites attract’ is a thing, here - what about there?

My spending is generally low (benefits of being in the hobby that long), but recently sold up my RT Orks + Marines (pension plan) and dropped about £400 out of the proceeds on the ‘New Model Waaargh!’ Mostly second hand, but with new Grotz, Boyz, Nobz and Trukk boxes for bitz. Don’t envision further spending ‘till these are painted. . .

Not much anymore. My last purchases were a few second hand models, codex and indomitus. Next will be dark angels supplement. Then probably nothing for 6 months...
Technically. I've spent a bit on till for terrain making recently but most of those tools have a use in general life too.

I spend way too much. Doesn't help I am engaged in several of GW's outings. Been tapering down as of late and checking other games.

@Jidmah,

Do you actually believe that my spouse does not know what I spend on 40K? Or that I hide it? Or that I was actually worried my spouse would read this thread and say "I had no idea 40K could be expensive?" My big 40K acquisitions are gifts from my spouse on special occasions. But anyway. I am honestly not sure how you take my post, which was indeed in jest, as making fun of my spouse on a hobby forum? I think you read a little too deeply, even launching an ironic generational insult along the way. Saying "bashing your spouse" is way offside.

Having said that, spending on luxuries that only benefit one member of a couple can indeed be a source of stress (finances are a big cause of marital discord), and my making a jest about it was itself insensitive. For that I do sincerely apologize to you and all forum members.

Regards,

T2B

Right, my wife knows what I spend on 40k.

She also makes fun of me for said 40k spending. As it boggles her mind as to why any sane person would spend as much $€£¥ on toy soldiers.

If you can't poke fun at the person you're in love with...maybe you're not...in love with them?

It is like my mother always used to say, Love is like a lotus, it only grows in mud

 Sgt_Smudge wrote:

Karol wrote:
You would have to be a pair of twins, living without any other family, to be close to assigniing same value to anything.

...that's simply not true.

Friendships and relationships can be, and are, built on shared values and beliefs. It might not be about *everything*, but why on earth would you be in a relationship or friendship with someone who you didn't share a majority of values with?

Men and women have different set of values by sole fact of being different gender.

And the other part, can be done for many things. Money, influance, more or less all kids get told to be friends with kids of important people, when your at university it becomes even more important, because the people that will be your friends will determinate the group of people you will build a power base in your 40s and later on. Half the political parties work like that, and at least in my country, parties are a big determinant if you can or can not have a job. Say wrong thing in wrong place, take in a demonstration that goverment doesn't like, and you end up like the public persecutors, the state doesn't like their off time activities so they got a 24h order to move out of big cities, to be sent to 10k towns 400km away in a middle of pandemic.

Is this a joke question? Because I am not the smartest socially, but I still get the fact that people do ton of stuff they don't want to just to get through school, get a job, get married right in to the right family or sometimes just to not pay for renting a flat when you are 3 to 5 years at an university.

Relationships are complicated.

40k is simple - keep buying more Stuff :-)

But how much is ‘too much’? If it comes under the heading of ‘disposable income’, there’s no problem for me. It makes more sense to spend on 40k than buying drink, then watching it go down the toilet ;-)

The question is how much do people spend on average. The answer is it depends.

Length of time in the hobby seems to be one big factor. Anecdotally, my experience has been the longer someone plays, the more they tend to take advantage of deals. It's easier for me to remember times I got a really good deal on something than it is to remember what I spent when. Another factor seems to be the faction being played - elite armies seem to be cheaper by comparison.

Examples:

- My Black Legion army has cost me around $6k. In 5th edition, it started as CLs, DPs, CSMs, Berzerkers, Bikers, Havocs and Rhinos and all those were bought new. After that, I got a lot of second hand models off eBay and by buying other people's armies. Also includes some Forgeworld, total points is around 12k. I 'm just a sucker for Chaos.

- My Grey Knights army cost $300 initially, I bought a collection off Facebook consisting of all metal models - HQs, strikes and Terminators - plus some Land Raiders. After that, I bought 3 Dreadknights and a Storm Raven to round it out, other pieces (like Dreadnoughts) were things I already had. Someone gave me a Voldus when he came as part of a boxed set. So total I may have spent $500 to get to ~ 4k points.

- My Chaos Daemon army has around 400 models. The only things I paid for were 2 Bloodthirsters, a Great Unclean One and the Wrath and Rapture boxed set. Everything else came from trades for stuff I wasn't using, people are usually looking to get rid of Daemon units. I think I spent around $380 total, but it feels like I'm forgetting something.

- My Chaos Knights army was "free." I got 2 of the Renegade boxed sets for painting a store army, received 1 Chaos Knight as a gift, and got 2 War Dogs from someone who didn't see a use for them.

- Currently working on a Deathwatch army consisting of Firstborn and Primaris Marines. Paid for some Aggressors, about $160 for 9 of them. Everything else is stuff that's just been sitting around - bits from Veteran sprues left over from commissions, Land Speeders / Bikes / Dreadnoughts / Terminators that accumulated over the years, Intercessors people gave up on when they were new and the rules sucked. At some point, I ended up with Kill Team Cassius, assembled and stripped, in a plastic bag. No clue how it got there, but now it looks good.

- I did spend $125 on Indomitus recently to get the 9th edition BRB. I also spent about $90 to get Codex Space Marines and the Deathwatch Supplement. About to buy the DG Codex. Annually, I probably spend about $200 on books.

- I did spend about $100 on bits recently to get side sponsors for a Land Raider Crusader, Frag Cannons for DW Veterans, and some other odds and ends. Annually, I probably spend around $200 on bits.

- I did spend about $80 recently on paint and thinner (Vallejo.)

So the amount someone spends doesn't seem linear and it would be hard to come up with an average. There's upfront costs to start an army, then you figure out how to take advantage of opportunities and that usually involves trades (instead of cash.) Then there's these other costs that creep in, like books, bits and paint.

Not loads.
Averaged out probably £20 a month at most.
2019 I only got some Conquest, and a cheap WHUnderworlds bundle.
2020 I don’t remember anything except three or four warbands.

But then also, whenever Indomitus was I got it, but like with a lot of things I’d get, I sell off what I don’t want.
So the box cost me zero for the few bits left I was keeping (4 individual sprues of characters, the Assault Intercessors and that mixed marine sprue of whatever they are Blade guard and such.)
So I don’t know if stuff like that counts as a spend anyway?

I got some stuff from the wife for Christmas (10 paints and the Space Marine Heroes 3 set).
I will however buy Cursed City when it comes and the Vampire and Idoneth Warbands. That’ll average £15 ish a month to start.

Being in the hobby so long, you just have a lot of stuff to be working on

 Jidmah wrote:

TangoTwoBravo wrote:
This is a very dangerous thread. If a spouse comes across it on the net we are all in deep trouble!

Ok, boomer

I don't need to hide my spendings from my wife and I am responsible enough to not spend money we don't have.

Cool story zoomer, needs more dragons

I don't know how much i've spent on the hobby in the past year. I've never really tried to keep track of it. I know it's probably a pretty scary number. What is even more disturbing to me though is how many of these projects are sitting unfinished. I might be hitting a point where it's simply not possible for me to finish everything I have.

 Thargrim wrote:
I don't know how much i've spent on the hobby in the past year. I've never really tried to keep track of it. I know it's probably a pretty scary number. What is even more disturbing to me though is how many of these projects are sitting unfinished. I might be hitting a point where it's simply not possible for me to finish everything I have.

I've found that setting small steps for a project helps. Right now I am focusing on basing all my painted models in my RG-successor army. That's it. Just basing. In the last week, I have gone from about 1/4 of 3,500-4,000 points worth of painted models being based to about 85%

Once that is done, my next goal is to paint all the models I have primed - probably another 1,500 to 2,000 points worth. Then once that is done, I will base them.

My next step after that is to prime the models I have built (only a few to be honest), paint them, base them and then, and only then, will I move onto building the boxes of models I have that are unopened, including those that my wife got me for Christmas

I find that setting small goals, and giving myself deadlines really helps me move things along. It works for me. Either way, I really hope you can finish everything you have off

This, the buying and not putting together, i have never done in my 8months of warhammer. There are things i havent painted, however, theres nothing i havent put together.

Its pretty fast to put things together, so i dont know why i wouldnt do that.

Beardedragon wrote:
This, the buying and not putting together, i have never done in my 8months of warhammer. There are things i havent painted, however, theres nothing i havent put together.

Its pretty fast to put things together, so i dont know why i wouldnt do that.

Sometimes you get kits in bundle boxes that you either don’t need (like the necron half of the Indominus box most recently for me) or are low priority (the big ‘Nid battleforce I got last Christmas included more genestealers then I need right now). Eventuality they might get built or traded away, but for now they linger in the Pile of Shame.

Other times rules shift. I bought centurions near the end of 7th. They were rules-hot at that point, and I had seen enough people mod the kit that I figured I could build them in a way that wouldn’t make me vomit every time I fielded them. They got hit HARD with the nerf bat in 8th, which sucked all the wind out of that project. The rules got a little better, so I got around to building them.

Sometimes it’s limited hobby time. I’ve got a deep pile of stuff that is primed and waiting for paint. I need to chip away at that more then I need to add to it. But only so many hours in the day.

To the OPs question....way to much!! it went in bursts for me. back between 3rd and 5th i built all sots of 40K armies, when 6th hit it killed the game for me so i went really heavy into other systems, i was mildly interestd in 7th, used 8th as a template for epic and totally walked away when 9th came out to the point i don't even care about the game anymore since our group has gone back to playing 5th, that's just with 40K if i had to tally up ALL the miniature wargames i play the numbers get pretty stupid. But then again i think that would be true of any hobby you love including the ones i used to do before i became focused on wargaming

I estimate that it is to the tune of well north of 10k in US dollars in minis i have built along with all the related material.

(40K)
a tyranid army*
.a dark angels army
.a deathwing army'
.a ravenwing army
.a sisters of battle army*
.a salamanders army
.a tau army *
.a smattering of odd models i like including a macharius, doom hammer, tech priest dominus etc...
then
(BFG)
.chaos fleet
.grey knight fleet*
.necron fleet*
(epic)
.DKOK armored company
.elysians
.cult mechanicus
.salamanders
iyanden eldar
Non-GW games
(B5 wars)
.earth alliance fleet
.narn fleet
(star wars conversion mostly armada ships)
.imperial fleet
.rebel fleet
.smattering of clone wars ships
(star trek conversions using attack wing ships)
a bit of federation, klingon, borg, jemhadar, romulan
(infinity)
a sizable haqqislam force
(DUST 1947)
.axis heavy grenadier force
,allied heavy ranger force
.SSU steel guards force
(battletech)
lots well over a hundred minis, easy to do with classic battletech
(heavy gear)
a sizable grel force
(1/32 scale WWII battle tactics)
.germans
.russians
(flames of war)
.british mid war desert recon force*
(warmachine)
75+ points of khador
(victory at sea-using axis&allies minis)
.japanese fleet
.british fleet

+ about a dozen terrain mats

*-armies that were sold or given away as gifts

Granted that's over 20 years worth of time so putting a yearly figure on it varies wildly dependent on my income at the time. i have spent most of the last few years just buying up really nice terrain in 28mm, 15mm and 6mm. . about the only minis i am willing to get now are the DUST Fallschirmjäger infantry when they premiums come back in stock since they are all fully assembled and nicely factory painted. bonus being as it is a skirmish game i really only need 3 of the 5 man specialist squads to finish off the army. my terrain buying is pretty well done now as well. so my future buying is going to nearly zero for miniature games...not like i need anything else.

.

I love to see all the history in some these buy lists, well done. Makes me think I'm not alone as some one with way too many small models.

when I was young before 2007, my grandparents had a lot of money, and I was absolutely buried in them. I would probably buy $1000 per visit. so, maybe around 1 tac squad or fire warrior unit a trip

it doesn't help GW store managers are grifters by trade after their training

I bought an entire black orcs army at one time after their big showoff sets and never finished even modeling them. After 2007 that changed a lot though and I became a lot less spoiled, and I also learned I hated the game itself but really enjoyed painting. So I would buy one or two units of the most interesting to paint models and paint some nice things. My favorite and probably most expensive was corrupted sisters of battle, with a greater daemon of nurgle modified from a st. celestine with wings all decrepit and such. Looked great

Those metal SoB probably cost me hundreds alone for 200 points of sisters...

Thinking back to contribute to these history posts and to shame myself on my first post before I can be allowed to post links in the swap forum to images

first army: battle for macragge. I had some space marines. they looked stupid to me. i played protoss in starcraft
finally I got tau and THEN i started having a blast. sort of. anyway I bought more tau. and more. and more.
I had around 4000 points of tau, two hammerheads, 4-5 sets of battlesuits, and not enough fire warriors. that's when they were melee fodder and not 48 shots a turn monsters for a while

i bought IG, then I bought some eldar, then I bought space marines. black templar!
then I bought some tyranids!
then I bought more tau
then I switched to fantasy and got an orcs + goblins army, test battled with it, they all murdered themselves in the first round from animosity so i didn't do that again
back to tau
I became enamored with farsight stuff and wrote a backstory for my commander. around this time I was also buying sisters of battle. they were like space marines only they had character

when daemons came out... I bought the army set. subsequently scattered on summoning into rocks, and instalost. didn't do that again

took a break. came back to tau being overpowered. yes! my chance has come.
found out no one likes to play with you when you are overpowered.
then I bought some skitarii, sisters, and fire warriors to paint, and that was that. never again

Karol wrote:

 Sgt_Smudge wrote:

Karol wrote:
You would have to be a pair of twins, living without any other family, to be close to assigniing same value to anything.

...that's simply not true.

Friendships and relationships can be, and are, built on shared values and beliefs. It might not be about *everything*, but why on earth would you be in a relationship or friendship with someone who you didn't share a majority of values with?

Men and women have different set of values by sole fact of being different gender.

Oh that's a yikes. Yup, not worth carrying this on.

I think he may have been referencing biologically driven behaviors that are scientifically documented VS say political "sets of values" you adhere to.

It is the same thing that engineer from google got fired over when he sent the email about why there were so few women interested in STEM careers.