Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

If you are like me, your gaming eyes are bigger than your wallet. There are just too many cool things on the market right now, and it is hard to decide where to put your hard earned lucre. With all of this choice out there, what are some of your ideas and gimmicks to help save a buck and still get your wargaming fix?

I have a few different methods.

1. I learned to do some basic sculpt/crafting skills to support some of my games. i have used them to make my own models for the tabletop including Blood Bowl team members, Aeronautica Imperialis aircraft, and ships.

2. Instead of buying rules, I started making my own. Now, I can afford to buy rules but I haven't stopped making my own yet. Too much fun!

3. Paper, Paper, Paper! I have become a big believer in using paper templates for 2d, stand-ups, and 3d models. Paper is especially useful when deciding if you want to spend more money on a game/genre. You can read more about that at my Blog: http://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2016/12/wargaming-on-budget-paper-templates.html

4. I build generic terrain that can be used with a variety of game systems instead of system specific terrain boards.

So, what about you? What are your best tips for budget wargaming?

Buy stuff you intend to build and use, resist impulse purchases. This is the hardest bit, but I'm guessing almost all of us buy stuff we don't make. Set a budget, or rule that you don't buy until you've built your last purchase, whatever works.

Trade and buy second hand, exchange the things you don't want into stuff you intend to use.

Go halves on deals, like GW's Horus Heresy games, with a friend and divide the contents specifically for what you want.

I'm a bit of the opposite.

My gaming budget has been large before, but is now tiny. However, what I've managed to do in the past few years is to realize that a project isn't worth starting if you're not going to finish it. When I do a gaming project, I go 110%. It means a full table of terrain, fully painted miniatures, matching dice, templates etc.

When I start a project and abandon it, I pretty much never recoup that cost. So I'm far more cautious about what miniature games I get into. Once a project is up and running, the budget eases tremendously and I can enjoy painting a handful of $5 minis at a time rather than having to invest hundreds in it. My two largest projects right now are essentially "good to go" so I can enjoy buying a single figure here and there for them. No more worrying about "ugh, I have to buy all of X".

It's a tough lesson to learn...but it helps keep me focused. I supplement miniature gaming with some great board games (to keep variety).

So my only tip is to be honest with yourself. Everyone has a lead pile (or plastic pile now days). Don't let it become overwhelming. Be 100% honest with yourself if you're never going to paint something...get rid of it (or really, don't buy it in the first place!).

Oh, and learn how to strip models. eBay can be great for buying old cruddy, beat-up models and then saving them.

Tip #1 don't play GW games !

Honestly games like bolt action where you can get a full competitive army for £70 that can give you hers of fun modelling and painting.

Or infinity or malifax or any of the huge numbers of other games.

That is solid advice. I think it's safe to say that there is probably a large portion of the Dakka-readers who may be new to wargaming, or only play Warhammer 40K. While some of its model kits are suitably priced (many are not), it is far and away the most expensive "version" of playing toy soldiers --- excluding some small high-dollar manufacturers.

There is also an increase in the number of excellent miniature board games available. Sometimes these go on crazy sale a year or two after they're released. You could get a great game AND crap ton of miniatures --- which you can then use in normal miniature games, etc.

My top tip-Don't be afraid to use models for more than one game or genre. My Mordheim Mercenaries brought 15 years ago have supported my Brettonians in Warhammer, travelled through Frostgrave and entered Open Combat they are also looking at use in Kings of War and Dragon's Rampant. Also don't be afraid to use your old leadpile in a newly planned project in different ways.

My tip, which takes some preplanning so to speak.

When I built my Black Templar, I magnetized all the vehicles and special troops. Now I have 4 dedicated Rhinos/Razorbacks. But if I need more Rhinos and am not taking my predators, they can be Rhinos too. Also easy to find bits over time to get the other weapon options you want, and can play round with magnets. I even have plans if I wanted to fully magnetize a standard marine that includes swapping weapons, shoulder pads, arms, backpacks. Its amazing what a small strong magnet can do!

Now with special weapons, I can have one body that can use 3-4 different weapons, instead of one dedicated to each. Sure it doesn't help if you need 5 of the same guy, but if that guy might be plasma one game and melta the other, it is nice.

The other is organizing your bits and knowing what you have. You never know who at the FLGS will need something and you can trade for something you need, maybe even getting something a tad nicer. I know I got some lascannons for my vendetta's this way, free of charge!


Oh and also figure out what your local area is playing and supports. I feel lucky in MN just reading what everyone plays (I don't play anything right now, just painting here and there). If no one in your area is playing infinity... probably not a great idea to go all in on it. I have gone all in on games that I have turned around and sold for a loss because no one played (at least where I was playing). Like I have every model from the first two Blackwater Gulch kickstarters, and I am pretty sure no one around here plays or even has it. Love the models though, so they stay

Learn to kitbash, scratch build, and cross reference kits. At one time one space marine kit came with extra legs, and another came with an extra torso. Boom, a free marine. Ork Vehicles are totally easy to scratch build or kitbash from leftover parts.

Scrounge bits boxes at local stores and with other players. I have several thousand points worth of models I made from bits from the local store's bits box over the last 10 years with likely less than $100 in bits. Even friends might have a bit here and there that they'd part with for a favor or two.

3rd party models and bits. Honestly, there are some models out there that with a GW weapon, head, and accessory swap would be nearly unrecognizable as a non-GW model. I have a Hordes model with Chaos Marine arms, head, and backpack that is a 1000 sons sorcerer. It took 3 years for anyone to notice he wasn't GW. I also have a VOID sniper painted up to look like my Catachans. If you are more than 12 inches away you'd never know.

 Llamahead wrote:
My top tip-Don't be afraid to use models for more than one game or genre. My Mordheim Mercenaries brought 15 years ago have supported my Brettonians in Warhammer, travelled through Frostgrave and entered Open Combat they are also looking at use in Kings of War and Dragon's Rampant. Also don't be afraid to use your old leadpile in a newly planned project in different ways.

Mordheim was a hell of a gateway drug for me.

I had already dabbled in Warhammer, but years later a friend suggested starting a mordheim campaign.

My chaos warband turned into a beastmen (and then full blown hordes of chaos) army. We then played another campaign, which I used models my 5th ed undead army (never did get to use that short lived vampire counts army book... sorry GW, you didn't get any more money off this warband). Later again, we played another campaign. I brought a box of empire militia, some knights and a Halfling hot pot, supplemented by an old soldiers of the empire crossbowmen box in order to make a witch hunter warband. Obviously this turned into a huge 7/8thed Empire army.

To be honest, I am nervous about dabbling in Mordheim again, I'm pretty sure it will gateway me into a huge AoS army.

Gorkamorka on the other hand.... No, I don't see how that could possibly go wrong... Just a few cheap vehicles, some boys... No way I will end up with a huge 40k army!

Learn to magnetize. Magnetizing will save you a lot of money in the long run. Plus it "future-proofs" your models against potential future wargear changes.

 Howard A Treesong wrote:
Buy stuff you intend to build and use, resist impulse purchases. This is the hardest bit, but I'm guessing almost all of us buy stuff we don't make. Set a budget, or rule that you don't buy until you've built your last purchase, whatever works.

Trade and buy second hand, exchange the things you don't want into stuff you intend to use.

Go halves on deals, like GW's Horus Heresy games, with a friend and divide the contents specifically for what you want.

I don't buy stuff I won't use too often (although I have multiple rule sets without miniatures - they allow you to use anyone's - so "won't use" is very rare ).
Most of my big battle game stuff is 2nd+ hand.
I've done that for the last 15 years. Saved a motza.

Hell, 2 weeks ago, I got GIVEN some old WHFB stuff (there's a metal brett Character on hippogriff in there somewhere). So yeah, if you know what you are doing, going through someone else's old crap can be a windfall.

Piggy-backing on Llamahead's post as well...if you're really on a budget, look for games which aren't supported by miniature lines - or don't require specific miniatures to play.

Lion Rampant or Dragon Rampant are good examples of this. The rules are cheap (used to be $15 on Amazon) and you can essentially use any fantasy figures you own. The unit types are very generic and allow you to play whatever you want as whatever you want. This really opens up a game. Also games like this don't draw a difference between a unit of say a dozen men-at-arms...or a Giant with twelve wounds. It's essentially the same thing.

There are certain genres in wargaming which are always worth investing in, because of the frequently available rule sets. Some of these are Old West (loads of rules-sets), Gladiators (again, loads of options), generic Fantasy stuff (not Age of Sigmar, but old school more "normal" fantasy stuff), etc.

I have Gladiators that have played in three or four different rule sets. My fantasy/dungeon crawl figures have played in Frostgrave, Mordheim, Dragon Rampant, and more. My Old West figures have seen service in a half dozen different rule-sets.

Either go historical (WW2 nets you a stupid amount of minis for dirt cheap if you are not scale dependent) or skirmish. And to echo what Elbows just said (that's a sentence that is weird out of context), go for small, unsupported games. Stuff like Of Gods and Mortals, Song of Blade and Heroes, Frostgrave, Tomorrow's War, or the latest Osprey sci-fi thingy.

Get a kid or buy a house. That'll put a damper on your hobby budget real quick, as well as your free gaming time.

Personally, I've stepped away from GW. I realize I am not going to play the game enough every year for it to be worth spending hundreds of hours painting an army. I even stopped buying Malifaux because no one in my circle can play it. Infinity needs a weekly commitment to learn and remember the rules, so I have cute armies in display cases, but not a cent is going toward them anymore.

I'm down to X-Wing (relatively cheap if you don't dig the tournament scene) and now Armada (marginally more expensive, but nothing by GW standards). No terrain needed. When I need to paint, I dig through old boxes, call my friends to work on their stuff or repaint my starfighters.

Edit:
I just priced a barebones Astra Militarum army with some options, but not all, and I stopped at 1500$ Granted, in Canadian play money, but still. And that was before play-aids.

X-Wing will set you back 150$ for some good fun. Say 300$ if you really want to get into it, but you'll have fun for a long while.

I have learned (the hard way) not to carry cards on me when I know, or there is a possibility that, I will be entering a hobby shop when I am out and about. Having good, hard, cash on you not only restricts what you can spend (no more "whoops, there goes£140") but also provides a measure of guilt as you hand it over (in the same way that paying a drug dealer gives you guilt), thereby limiting that which I can rationally buy.

Furtheremore, as others have said, you can also use models for multiple game systems. My Mordhiem Skaven can also be Clan Eshin Gutter Runners, my Norse can be Frost Grave, etc. Getting into a relatively cheap game also helps, and games such as Infinity and Bolt Action cost only a fraction of the price and are immensely more fun than 40K or Age of Crapmar (also known as Age of shittingalloverthefansmar).

I hate to say it, but, unless you're only going to be playing small games with friends, don't buy mainstream GW.

Of course, "wargaming fix" covers a vast array of options, as does "budget". Downloaded free rules and paper will get you some way. A couple of packets of 99p plastic army men will get you a little further, and some paint further still without breaking a sweat for most people here I suspect.

The entry sets for GW are not cheap, but are generally good value: I'm still using my space marines and dark eldar from my starter box in 1998. Today I would still regard Space Hulk as good value - but not cheap.

Ebay can turn up some bargains, as can rooting around car boot sales. I've used packaging as scenery to greater or lesser effect. My son created a whole middle eastern town out of 3 packets of cork floor tiles... be creative.... and have somewhere to store all the junk that's going to turn into stunning scenery one day - or not....

Agree with some of the comments here, would second that Historicals are a great way to wargame on the cheap as

a) you can use the same miniatures for multiple game systems.*
b) the warring factions and units that have made up warfare throughout history cannot be anyone's intellectual property. This stops any one company price gouging, and quite often leads to better options and value, depending on the setting
c) you're going to get into it eventually anyway, so why wait?

* as an example I have some 28mm dark age miniatures from Gripping Beast. I can use just a handful for Blood Eagle (skirmish game), 50-60 for SAGA ('squad' level) and 100+ for mass combat games (L'art de la Guerre, Swordpoint etc.) With a lot of the more generic troop choices you can even customise them slightly to use as a completely different faction, saving you from having to buy a completely new army!

 Mathieu Raymond wrote:

Get a kid or buy a house. That'll put a damper on your hobby budget real quick, as well as your free gaming time.

Excellent!

(would also add a collection of old, incontinent cats to that list!)

I have spent a fair amount of time in thrift stores looking for toys/ceramic figures, or other items for terrain.. got a decent amount of usable stuff for less than $2 each, AND fun hobby time to transform it..

Smaller scales are the path to full wallets, giant armies and deeper games.

Playing, say, KoW or WHFB in 15mm provides you with gigantic armies, bigger tables by an order of magnitude and comes so cheap, you'll probably wonder why the heck you ever played a mass battle game in 28mm in the first place.

Scale of gaming though is an entirely different bag of worms, deserving of its own thread. Now, that being said I do question mass-battle games a bit in 28mm.

For a lot of people one scale provides a huge multi-use option. For instance, I only game in two scales 28-32mm and 1/285th (or whatever Battletech is...10mm? 6mm? ---- and I only game that a tiny bit). Being able to us terrain in a variety of games/settings is a big advantage (and using the same figures). A lot of rule sets might accommodate 10/15/20/28mm but many do not.

Remember travelhammer, or laphammer or whatever, where people made magnetic little Epic models/figures and played 40K on a 1'x1' board or something. While neat, and obviously super cheap - that may not be nearly as engrossing or rewarding as playing a game in a scale where you can actually see details on models!

Certainly.
Regarding details, I find that rank and file blends together anyway in mass battle games and it's more about the look of a unit as a whole, rather than individual models. Even heroes pretty much drown in a decently sized unit of regular troopers.
Big centerpiece models can still look impressive and detailed in 15mm or 10mm, it's just that they aren't as big and detailed as their 28mm counterparts. Some might prefer it that way and might call the recent ginormous monsters "unwieldy" instead of "impressive" and "overly busy" instead of "detailed".