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So I've been thinking about dipping my IG infantry and thusly I've looked into Army Painter. Then thought twice as I'd rather not spend $30 on something I'm just wanting to try out to see if I like the result. I was wondering if I could use wood stain as a cheaper alternative to army painter? If so what brands would be the best for my buck? I've pondered this since I recall some people referring to army painter as repackaged wood stain/ varnish.

To be honest the thought of dipping my models makes me cringe. But if you really wanna do it. Just buy some White Spirits some professional grade Oil Based paints.. and make a big pot of Oil Wash

You can definitely use wood stain - that's what historical wargamers used for decades, which inspired the targeted modeling product (same thing happened with ground pastels->weathering powders, "magic wash">dedicated segments within paint lines, etc.).

Minwax is both cheap and well documented as suitable for dipping. (Antique) Walnut is roughly equivalent to Army Painter's Strong Tone, from what I gather - a relatively dark brown, where it pools, but not so dark over the flats as to completely muddy all of your underlying colors. Can't speak from experience, here, but that's the scuttlebutt, according to my cursory research. Definitely do a test model to see if you like the effect before committing, but the experiment should only run you a few bucks - wood stain is reasonably cheap, even without comparing it the Army Painter product.

I use minwax polyshades to do my dipping.
Its stain and polyurethane - dips and protects.

It might be a bit thick and takes time to learn to use - so do some practice models correctly.

Also, if you don't want the glossy look (looks fine on my nids) then be ready to hit them with matte spray later.

best of luck!

Alright, I guess a home depot run is in order then. I kind of agree dipping isn't really painting, but painting 70+ guardsmen is a timely fashion is a rather tough thing to do.

I used a water-based wood stain for my Death Guard.
Had to actually dip as my right arm was in plaster at the time.

Got to go with the water based Minwax crowd here. And its hella cheaper than Army Painter.

While not technically "painting" if the goal is to get the largest number of painted figures onto the table in the shortest amount of time, this is a great technique.

I dip nearly all my minis with Minwax Polyshades. I recommend the original formula, not the quick dry water wash up type. The Minwax Polyshades to Armypainter equivalents are:

Dark Tone = Tudor
Strong Tone = Antique Walnut
Soft Tone = Pecan

Antique Walnut and Pecan are very common. ACE hardware is the only place I've found "Tudor", and sometimes they have to order it for me. Luckily it never takes long as it's my favorite dip. My experience is that big box home stores aren't interested in special orders, but most mom and pop hardware stores should order it for you.

Minwax is nearly the same thing as Armypainter in that they are both stain plus polyurethane mixes, and are about the same consistency with similar results. Folks have been using Minwax long before Army Painter existed.

If you want to know more about the entire process, check out my Brush-Dip tutorial
http://chicagoskirmish.blogspot.com/2012/01/with-liberty-and-brush-dipping-for-all.html