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So i made a thread, thats now locked because it got derailed in to oblivion (which i, myself share part of the blame for!), related to weird gaming experiences. But that made me think of another topic, namely this one!

How much money do you guys spend on average on this unholy sinkhole we call a hobby?

Im a bit scared to try and add up my own numbers per month.


in the grim darkness of far future there is only... the destruction of mens wallets.


Edit: actually its a lie i already looked at last month. I used 840 bucks last month. But only because i bought a gargantuan Squiggoth i swear! Normally id probably use.. half that amount... ish.

I started out slowly, but then it decended in to madness and i started throwing a lot of money at models at a pace so fast i couldnt even keep it painted. My rule was, when i started 8 months ago, that i wouldnt buy a new model till the first model was complete. or package, what ever.

I completely failed at that aspect.

I probably spend ~£50 a month or so. Maybe more, maybe less.
TBH I don't ever think about it.
Not much on 40k though now, although I maintain my 40k army (hardly changed since 6th edition), new efforts are focused on other games - Necromunda, Titanicus, Legion, etc.
I want to love 40k, I still do love the models and [old] lore, GW just makes it really hard for me to feel anything positive for them and the game at the moment.

it costs a lot. I am using a 7 year old computer to write this.

 Manchild 1984 wrote:
it costs a lot. I am using a 7 year old computer to write this.

rofl are you actually serious right now oh no thats not where i wanna end up lol.

I just started out so i feel like i.. have? to throw a lot of money at the hobby. I bought so much gak just to get a 2k army lol

The thing with 40k is it has a high start up cost but afterwards you can generally just coast.
Theoretically the only recurring cost is new rulebooks and codexes (which can be obtained less than legitimately though). More practically you may occasionally need to replace units that were invalidated by new rules.
If I wanted to, I could run the same lists now that I ran five years ago, which is very similar to the lists that I ran eight years ago when I started.

I spend very little money on expanding 40k, almost all of my hobby squids go into adopting new games in my ever growing attempts to be able to regularly wargame without having to resort to 40k.

It varies a lot over the year but If I had to make a wild guess: somewhere in the range of 1000 € year. So ~100 € a month.

In the last 12 months I've spent around £300. Some of that's lock down boredom induced but £50~ every 3 months sounds about right.

I got back into the hobby just after the launch of 8th, and the start-up costs were a around a couple of hundred pounds (Dark Imperium, starter pain set, clippers and other modelling bits and pieces, Codex, hobby box for storage) so that was probably in the region of £200.

Since then I haven't spent that much in any single month. I've bought more paint brushes and paints, and the occasionally kit, never more than £50 a month I think, and certainly not every month. I got the ShadowSpear box and the Indomitus 9th ed box and some paint handles as birthday presents from the missus.

I still have a pile of unpainted and unbuilt models just since the launch of 8th, so don't see myself buying any new kits any time soon. If I had to put a number on it per month, I reckon since I bought Dark Imperium I've probably averaged £20 per month over the last 3 and a half years.

I'd say its not a particular expensive hobby unless you let it be. The initial outlay isn't even that much.

The most expensive starter box, a decent selection of paints and some basic modelling tools (brushes paint handle, knife etc) is significantly cheaper than a games console, and the model kits aren't any more expensive that a video game. I pay more per month for internet than I spend on the hobby.

Too much.

Armies I own (at least 1500ish points or so each): space marines, space wolves, ad mech, custodes, sororitas, cadians, scions, deathwatch, grey knights, dark angels, tau, craftworlds, harlequins, drukhari, tyranids, orks, and necrons. Yes, I own multiple differently painted/modeled versions of space marine. Yes, this likely makes me an idiot.

I drew a line in the sand: no chaos. Everything else was fair game, and... as stuff cycled into and out of the meta, I bought. Well, and the tyranids are there because the Christmas battleforce box was crazy value so I'm sitting on two of them and a start collecting for a rainy day. Eventually I'll get all this built and painted. That'll be nice. Then I'll die of old age, or homicide when my spouse has had enough.

I really have no idea, I don't have a budget per month. I've been in the hobby for 20+ years and a few times I paid several hundreds in a single day, sometimes small amounts per month, or even 0 euro for years. At the moment I haven't spent a single cent since 8th edition was released, other than hobby supplies (not from GW), and I'm playing with the same models that were good for 7th edition, only the buggies I've converted to represent the new ones.

I can roughly tell how much I paid for the hobby during my life and then make an average per month, but I don't think it would actually mean something.

After being a while in the hobby I like to invest significant sums in a single transaction and be good for years though, rather than investing smaller sums quite often.

Too much. And I find my self spending more and more with each passing year. It doesn't help that I play numerous armies and numerous systems, and not just from GW either.
So I can quite easily find something somewhere at a price that's too good to miss.

Propably way too much since lockdown last marchm probably around 2k last year, or something like 200-300€ a month. Then again, I spent basically all of lockdown painting and it was a real life saver for me. Could I have painted the same amount of time spending less and annihilate my backlog? Definately, but where is the fun in that? last three or four months I spent a lot of money on Lord of the Rings, driven by MtOs, FOMo that something circles out of production and the problem, that I want to start a lot of small lord of the rings projects "that are just something around 80-100 quid". But that sums up eventually too

But I am single, dont really like to travel and dont drink, so I have the disposable income and why not spend it on plastic. Iam totally serious with the life saving aspect. Painting kept me sane and occupied the last months and I am so much enjoying it. So I dont think I wasted the money. Well spent. Could be a lot less impulsive, buying stuff though

Beardedragon wrote:

 Manchild 1984 wrote:
it costs a lot. I am using a 7 year old computer to write this.

rofl are you actually serious right now oh no thats not where i wanna end up lol.

I just started out so i feel like i.. have? to throw a lot of money at the hobby. I bought so much gak just to get a 2k army lol

Well, I also don't want to buy too much stuff from China, and this device still does the trick.

I think it's been quite a while since i spent any money on this hobby. It's probably approaching an entire year now since I spent money on anything 40k related, and I'm pretty sure my last purchase was just some bits from ebay.

Quite honestly, even outside of the difficulties playing due to Covid 19, the general state of the game (and my own armies especially) has caused my interest in the hobby to dwindle.

I'd like to think that the new DE codex will reverse my mood but given GW's history in that regard (and the fact that there are *still* no new models for a faction that's lost 2/3 of its HQ section) is seems akin to hoping Belgian chocolate will drop out of a cow's backside.

ryzouken wrote:
Too much.

Armies I own (at least 1500ish points or so each): space marines, space wolves, custodes, sororitas, cadians, scions, deathwatch, grey knights, dark angels, tau, craftworlds, harlequins, drukhari, tyranids, orks, necrons

ryzouken wrote:
Too much.

ryzouken wrote:
Too much.

ryzouken wrote:
Too much.

ryzouken wrote:
Too much.

ryzouken wrote:
Too much.

I think we got it the first time.

A fair amount.

Varies month to month, but usually at least £60 I’d say as a baseline.

If I’m buying a new army, that can jump tremendously. And once I get my current Necromunda scenery fully assembled and played around with possible setup designs, I may be dropping £200-£300 expanding that. This is so it can also pull double duty as ZM for 40K.

Not a lot really. My CSM army is really just in the coasting stage, and I'm slowly and casually building up my DE army. Really only buying the odd pot of paint at the moment.

As i just started 8 months ago its been quite a busy time for my wallet. And then a few months ago i found.. well i guess "found" ebay. I knew it existed, but i didnt know there was so much warhammer stuff there. I ended up buying way too much from there, so this month i tried to not buy anything.

I failed. But i have bought less at least.

But im also at a point where i have a decent army now. When one has to start, one just rushes to reach that 2k mark with different army compositions that makes somewhat sense so you dont have 2k points with a trash army. But i have a bit to work with now, so i think it will slow down a bit now.

at least i fething hope so

When I was young? Most of what I had that I could afford to spend on anything besides rent and beer.

Now that I am old? Much, much less.

Unfortunately I work a minimum wage job so I only get to spend about £40 or £50 every couple months once I've put cash aside. That's probably one or two boxes plus a book or paints. I do miss the days of 4th and 5th edition where I was able to spend around £100 a month on my 40K stuff.

I spent money, not counting rules books, on w40k, twice. So the avarge would be around 260-265$, depending on how much the dollar costs in any given moment.

In March last year I bought the Know No Fear set and over the first lockdown (March to June/July) I bought Indomitus, First Strike, and a box of still on sprue Blood Angels second hand. I’ve picked up the SM and BA codices and the old Start Collecting BA set for my birthday. Aside from painting supplies, I haven’t really been buying much else. I’m not buying anything else if I can help it (though I’ll probably buckle and buy the DG and Necron codices) until I have painted 1000 points of DG (nearly there) and 1000 points of BA (a long way off that). I also want to paint the Indomitus Necrons.

Hmmm. It really varies. A couple of years ago I went on a serious "Start Collecting Box Spree" and that racked up quickly into quite a lot of money.

But then last year I didn't spend anything at all for like 6 months, and then averaged I'd say 30 euro a month for the remainder of the year. This year I am similarly gonna try to avoid buying stuff and work on what I have. Sometimes if something is a bargain, something I had my eye on, and limited edition I will pick it up.

A big thing for me was not backing kickstarters any more. It's easy to throw money at a KS and then you get it down the line and it's an overwhelming amount of stuff.

It does mean I "miss out" on some cool stuff but I've got enough to be working on and don't need more.

About $300 per year, give or take.

Some years, no mandollies, just terrain stuff.
Last year, I spent most of it making terrain to replace older stuff that had just about given up the ghost due to age.

I got off the churn and burn 40k roundabout back in 6th ed, and my spending didn't go down much (After 6 editions of 40k, I had most of what I needed to play).

It varies for me based on releases of certain factions and the like. 2020 saw me spend quite a bit in a short space of time by picking up Dark Imperium and Indomitus in a week although I did make money back selling off the Deathguard and Necron halves from their respective sets. I also bought some second hand Tyranids and had a Mortal Realms subscription running for a good few months as well.

2019 was a bit of a wild one as I bought a lot of minis from eBay and from my FLGS, but also bought a lot of hobby supplies (airbursh, compressor, paint, thinners, wet palette, this list goes on) as I'd been out of the hobby for a few years. I also jumped on a few kickstarters but I realised pretty quickly that was a dangerous game.

This year I have bought Direchasm, a couple of scale model aircraft and a few bits from eBay so I am doing well so far this year as I want to paint more than I buy. I guess I'm spending less than £50 a month, being generous with that number as I don't come near it most months.

 vipoid wrote:
I think it's been quite a while since i spent any money on this hobby. It's probably approaching an entire year now since I spent money on anything 40k related, and I'm pretty sure my last purchase was just some bits from ebay.

Quite honestly, even outside of the difficulties playing due to Covid 19, the general state of the game (and my own armies especially) has caused my interest in the hobby to dwindle.

I'd like to think that the new DE codex will reverse my mood but given GW's history in that regard (and the fact that there are *still* no new models for a faction that's lost 2/3 of its HQ section) is seems akin to hoping Belgian chocolate will drop out of a cow's backside.

Exactly the same for me.

I bought Drazhar and five Incubi from a bits site when they came out, and some Crypt Horrors and other bits to make my own Grotesques, and that's about it.

I am quite demotivated hobby-wise because of the current state of the Drukhari, and if the upcomng codex is a disappointment, I'll probably take an extended break from the whole thing. If it's good, I will probablu splash out on some stuff I don't currently have, like Scourges, Hellions, or Beasts.

I’ve been tracking what I spend since I started blogging. Here are a few years worth. Note: This does not count all gifts. I’ve picked up some more stuff that way.

2017 Money spent on the hobby: $670


2018 Money spent on the hobby: $406.50


2019 Money spent on the hobby: $285


2020 Money spent on the hobby: $928.00

Probably $700-1200 per year since 8th.

This year I'm spreading it out to get the collector coins.

probably about 60-100$ a month, depending on the month. Definitely more in the before times, since getting into 3d printing the amount of miniatures I can get for 30$ has basically quadrupled.

I tend to engage with the hobby in waves of interest, for lack of a better term. Usually, I go months without spending anything and then I get hit by a particularly good new release or a sudden flood of nostalgia and drop around 200-300 bucks on various stuff within a couple of months.

After a few weeks I then sell off most of it at a loss, but at that point I've gotten several hours of enjoyment out of it. Clearing some some shelf space now and then also has a strange kathartic quality to it.

I just started 2020 May again and starting costs have been quite big since that. But that includes:

Blood Angels around 2650 pts
Death Guard around 2730 pts
Necrons 950 pts (Indomitus ones)
Folding Gamemat.EU gaming table
Three Gamemat.EU 6 x 4 gaming mats (one was for free, because they first sent wrong one)
Gamemat.EU two sets of terrain (Chemical and Fallout zone)
Lots of paints, sprays, basing materials, hobby accessories
Marine, DG, BA codexes

Totalling around 1900€ is close. Approximately Board+terrain+mats 600€. Books and hobby accessories around 300€. Models around 1000€.

Now I feel I have almost everything I would think for "good basic" gaming experience. In the future I will be only buying new model box once in a month or two. I have almost all except one Bloat Drone and Indomitus Necrons painted. Have had huge amount of painting and now decided that won't buy anything before all of those are painted. Planning to next have BA Combat Patrol and Nurgle Daemon Prince. Tend to get painting a lot because prefer to buy often those Start collecting/Combat Patrol boxes for savings. Now I feel I have most "core" units and can start to add units here and there instead of buying a bulk. That before I will start some extra army . Don't think money that much, but stress about time to paint more.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Bago wrote:
Propably way too much since lockdown last marchm probably around 2k last year, or something like 200-300€ a month. Then again, I spent basically all of lockdown painting and it was a real life saver for me.

My story too. Without COVID I think I wouldn't have returned to hobby.