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Hi guys. As with all of my threads so far, this is probably the wrong place for it, but hey-ho.

Is there a cheap (cash-wise) way of running Imperial Guard? I'm happy to run any sort of list, but want to get the first 1000 points or so done for relatively cheap. from there, I can throw in tanks and stuff as I please.

I've got no qualms with getting meltas/plasmas, etc, it's just that so far I'm either buying lots of Chimeras, lot of Valks, or more Guardsmen than is sensible.

Unfortunately, in general IG armies usually run at least 50% more if not 2-3x as much as most Marine armies. The best way to just eat up points at the best dollar-points ratio is tanks, Manticores/Leman Russ tanks would be a good way to go. Veterans as troops too, get 2-3 units of Vets, some chimeras to go with them, and a couple of big tanks and that's probably the best route to go.

Craigslist, miniature market and ebay works for me

Or non-GW minis, which shouldn't be a problem in your garage or in a non-GW store.

But really, your best bet is the Swap Shop...especially if you want Catachans...especially if you want MY Catachans.

Find cheap second hand IG miniatures. Or non-GW alternatives.

Honestly, no, there isn't a cheap way to play IG. IG units are extremely cheap points-wise, and while this is awesome for winning games with efficient firepower it also means that you need to buy more models for an IG list than for a comparable marine army. If money is a factor, you need to either pick a different army, or accept that you're going to be playing at lower point levels than you could reach with a different army.

Use mantic corporation minis or warpath shock troopers as veterans if you don't play at GW. They look good with the GW tanks and are very cost efficient

Design your list beforehand - use vets instead of platoons - 10 minis instead of 25. Use a third party armoured trooper for elites (stormies) since they're much cheaper than GW versions - comparatively more so than standard troop choices.

Magnetise special weapons so you don't need to buy more sets of troopers. Kitbash special weapons you need like sniper rifles by extending and adding a scope to lasguns.

Buy horrible second hand minis off ebay, strip them and rededicate them to the God Emperor.

ebay or off-brand models if you don't plan on playing at a GW shop...most friendly games played would probably not have a problem with this as long as you were just doing it for basic troops and nothing was confusing.

Since I'm somewhat of a purist I personally would go with ebay, there are a number of known sellers there that have great deals going...just do a search for "Imperial Guard army" and look through the results...you'll get both painted and brand new stuff, so sift through what you want.

This comes up all the time and you get the same responses "eBay and find 3rd party miniatures" is pretty much the answer.

Here's my suggestions that I regret not following through when I started my (ungodly expensive) Imperial Guard army:

War Games Factory makes nice miniatures who fit perfectly in with 40k for very little money (comparitivly) ESPECIALLY if you're gonna do normal Foot Guard.

http://www.thewarstore.com/WargamesFactorySciFi.html

$16 for 18 Foot troops with multiple weapon options ($29 for 10 from GW Website)
$16 for 3 Heavy Weapons teams with options that fit the 40k options perfectly ($40 for 3 from GW Website)


Or Mantic's Warpath Series. Not as cheap but some people like the models better as they do have a very different feel to them:

http://www.thewarstore.com/product72960.html

$20 for 10 Foot troops
$20 for 3 Heavy Weapons Teams


As for tanks I think GW's are awesome and I really like them, but if you want to swing waaay far from what GW has Dust has interesting stuff:

http://www.thewarstore.com/Dust.html



That's all I have to offer, let us know if you decide either way or have any questions!

Afrodactyl wrote:so far I'm either buying lots of Chimeras, lot of Valks, or more Guardsmen than is sensible.

Welcome to the Imperial Guard!

Seriously, though, get stuff second hand, as people have been saying.

That or play the long game. It might seem like a lot of money to spend $300 on a new guard army, but if you collect it over the course of a year spent reading rules, painting things, etc, that's only about $5 per week. It's really not that expensive compared to other stuff you could be spending your money on.

Plus, once you get a lot of the core minis done, your expenses drop off considerably.

Sadly that is the way of the Guard, we an't cheep when it comes to building an army.
That is where conversions com in
You'll be surprised what a Sentinel kit can be kitbashed in to, and just to show you here are afew of mine.

It is a cheaper option than buying all the LRBT and Chimera kits and gives you a very unique army that every one goes "OHHHHH" over when you deploy on the table. But then again I love the old Iron Chicken so I'm always trying to push them

CCS
-Plasmas

Vet Squad
-Plasmas

Vet Squad
-Meltas

Leman Russ Variant

That right there is a 500 point (roughly) army of IG. It features a bunch of the cool features guard has (Special weapon spam, Fun/awesome tanks, and orders) and will be easy and fun to play as a beginner, while letting you familiarize yourself with base concepts of guard.

Around 140 US Dollars (plus weapon bitz) if you bought all of it brand new. I'd say buying new isn't something to rule out, because it lets you make the models more your own, and allows you to add your own flavour to your models by posing and making them how you like. A 140 dollar jump-in point is pretty cheap, I'd say. Much cheaper than most sports, hobbies, and video game systems. With 500 pts of playable guard, you can now both enjoy the game, and slowly build up from there. The nice thing about a list like the aforementioned is that the units included will still be useful at higher values, so you won't end up throwing them in the closet when you have to scale your list up to 1500+ points.

-Captain

Thanks for all the comments and such guys. All in all, I've settled on a 1000 point list, featuring mostly infantry; the only vehicles being a pair of vendettas that carry both units of plasma veterans. My other troops choice is an infantry platoon with a flamer PCS used as a speed bump/damage control unit, 30 guardsmen (fl and ac in each squad) and 2 heavy weapons teams (for 6 acs).

It's the most expensive out of all of the lists I've previously drawn up for guard, but I decided that I can spend £60-100 a month and get it built quickly without biting myself in the too much.

Yeah, if you force yourself to wait until you've painted what you have until you buy something new, and you wait to play until you've got everything painted, that greatly dilutes the price over time.

It's really only those people who play flavor of the month armies that really have to pay through the nose. People who go slow and steady generally don't have to spend nearly as much over any given period of time.

 Ailaros wrote:
Yeah, if you force yourself to wait until you've painted what you have until you buy something new, and you wait to play until you've got everything painted, that greatly dilutes the price over time.

It's really only those people who play flavor of the month armies that really have to pay through the nose. People who go slow and steady generally don't have to spend nearly as much over any given period of time.

I plan on going (sort of) slowly. Buying all the infantry first, so I save the vendettas for something shiny to paint at the end

I once had an idea for using some proper-scale plastic Huey models as Valkyries for a lower-tech Elysian detachment once; it didn't pan out since a relative got me a Valkyrie as a present and I decided I liked the models (and now we have the allies rules so I only need two or three for a workable side detachment), but it seems like an interesting way to run a low-cost Guard army if you can find cheap models.

 AnomanderRake wrote:
I once had an idea for using some proper-scale plastic Huey models as Valkyries for a lower-tech Elysian detachment once; it didn't pan out since a relative got me a Valkyrie as a present and I decided I liked the models (and now we have the allies rules so I only need two or three for a workable side detachment), but it seems like an interesting way to run a low-cost Guard army if you can find cheap models.

I plan on buying some 1:48 helicopters when I get my 'dettas so I can omit the wings and run them as huge helicopters