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We're all in the habit of buying miniatures but I know for sure I look at a lot of kits and think "Cool, but not at that price" so I was wondering how other people decide what to pass on and what to buy.

I've seen people online arguing that it only makes sense to do "points per miniature" which I've always thought was the absolute worst way to figure this stuff out, but I'm interested if anyone has a defense for it!

I play lots of different games and I expect to use my models in those games. And so it makes no sense to calculate based on the in game value of the models for one system for me. And I don't care if it's a skirmish game either. I don't think having bajillions of parts in your kit is a selling point, especially if what it builds is still very monopose.

Instead, I think of around 1 euro per human sized 28mm mini as good value, under that is excellent value. Increasing size gives you some leeway but only for stuff that I think should be that size, like Ogres or Trolls, but not for Space Marines which are too big these days. 2 euro per dude is acceptable especially if the kit is nice, 3 euro starts to get a bit too high but I might still go for it if I like the kit. If the model is very unique, I'm more forgiving about price, so a really unique concept I always think is harder to sell than something more generic, and so my sense of value is a bit more flexible.

For vehicles I think small ones should be 20-25 euro and bigger ones 30-40 euro. Sub in big monsters for vehicles, basically the same idea.

Fancy characters are something I usually kitbash out of other kits but if I'm buying something very cool then I'd want it to be no more than 10 euro.

If I am looking at a Combat Patrol or something I basically slap those prices onto the minis in the set to see if I think it's worth getting. With the old start collectings and some of the combat patrols, I'd often be happy enough to pick them up based on this calculation, but nowadays I have to say it's slim pickings in my view. Star Wars Legion is way too pricey, same with Marvel Crisis Protocol or Conquest.

On the other hand, if you look at producers like North Star or Mantic, you've got loads of stuff that fits in my comfort zone.

Curious how others do it - how much is an infantry model worth to you?

I cost it very similar to your estimates (perhaps a bit higher, due to spare hobby money, and increasing quality of most models), but I add the cost of painting it.

If it is a very complicated, detailed and busy miniature, the "cost" can get to infinite and I won't buy it (i.e. the new GW chaos marauders).

I used to subscribe more to cost per miniature but more and more I pay more attention to the time it takes to paint something and how much I really expect to play it.

The best recent example is the Ork Combat Patrol which was released right about when I really needed about 20 BSBoyz and a Beastboss and the box provided all that for that cost with an additional unit of Squighog riders I really didn't need. I ended up picking it up to support the local store but painting the riders I haven't ever fielded legitimately felt like I'd made the wrong choice.

These days I focus more on game modules and how much effort they take vs how much I expect to play them. I'm far more prone to spend more on a cool unique model that takes me a couple days to paint for a game I play a lot than I am to buy a box set that will take me a month to get to the table.

That's interesting. I don't really mind painting but I hate assembly, so kits with loads of parts decrease in value for me.

I don't particularly care about undercuts and the like because you hardly notice them when the figures are on the tabletop and I'm far from a top level painter in any case.

But modern GW kits where one figure is sliced into more than a dozen non-intuitive pieces and I have to follow the guide step by step instead of eyeballing the sprue and having a go really drain my will to live.

If it's over 80 for a box of line troops, it's too much.

I do keep it simple, Do I want it, do I want something else more is really all I worry about.
Its use is important as well, but miniatures last a long time. So I don’t worry too much about specific cost that much since it’s a huge variable.

GW feels more pricey since you need an army, but infinity miniature I get updates to my faction all the time since only need to ad a box when ever I feel like.
Necromunda is similar, I’m expecting to use the table for years so its price doesn’t really feel that bad.
But time to build is more worrying lol

I find decay functions helpful in determining worth.

Whatever the price per model, I assume I can get it discounted by 35% - 50% by purchasing it secondhand in a year or two. Whereas if I buy it new, it's going to sit on a shelf for roughly the same amount of time.

The caveat: there are a few things where I want it now and plan to paint it. I will pay full price for those. For anything I won't paint right away, I'd prefer to get it at a discount.

My preferred price for line troops is $1 per model, elites $3 per model, $15 - $20 for HQs / tanks / daemon engines / monsters. I am willing to pay up to 3 times that, depending on the condition. The longer I wait, the more likely I am going to get the price I want.

Mostly I watch for lots on eBay, Facebook and other sites. There are seasons to waiting, people tend to paint stuff in the winter and get rid of stuff in the summer. Usually, finding lots are the easiest way to get cheap models.

There are some things - primarchs / daemon princes / big tanks / forgeworld / boxed sets / etc - that never go for discounts. Depending on how much I need them, I might be willing to pay retail. But only after a long period of reflection.

 Da Boss wrote:
That's interesting. I don't really mind painting but I hate assembly, so kits with loads of parts decrease in value for me.

I don't particularly care about undercuts and the like because you hardly notice them when the figures are on the tabletop and I'm far from a top level painter in any case.

But modern GW kits where one figure is sliced into more than a dozen non-intuitive pieces and I have to follow the guide step by step instead of eyeballing the sprue and having a go really drain my will to live.

I really love to paint. It's one of my favorite ways to spend my free time but I only have so much time I can spend on it. I just don't want stuff sitting waiting to paint. I want to focus on the new thing I got, get it built, get it painted and get it on the table. Buying more models because its a better deal rather than because I really want to spend time on them just leads to stuff piling up and turning into more work than fun I've found.