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Anyone know of a good way to get bits for conversions? I have browsed eBay tons; some models seem to have a good supply and some are rare as crap. Also can get expensive. Is it worth it to just buy entire kits that have the pieces you want?

Some examples of things I want to do: get more special weapons for my Skitarii (they only come with one of each per box, so if I want to run 3 Plasma Calivers or 3 Arc Rifles I’m in trouble). Also looking at maybe kitbashing some IG or SM for allies in the future to look more Mechanicus-y.

I use bits stores like bitsbox and bits and kits. Not sure if there are any in the states but I'm sure there will be.

Price wise you're going to pay more for bits. I just accept that. I used to buy kits for cool models but now I don't want masses of models I'm never going to use just for a conversion or two. If you have armies or convert a lot then buy the kit

You can find bitz

1) At your local store/club - ask around. Sometimes people have spare parts they don't want or might trade for them.

2) Forums and online communities - comes with all the risk of online trading of course, but can be a good way to specific parts.

3) Ebay - as said above.

4) Online trading website stores - quite a few are already on ebay itself, but some are on their own. Google and asking around on forums for reliable stores in your country is the best way to find them


In general bits are going to cost you. Try to be sensible and as you search around see what price the bits go for. One or two from a kit and its probably worth it to get the parts on their own; but if you're getting multiple bits from the same kit then it can quickly add up to more than the whole kit costs new.
Patience is also important, you might need 4 parts and find 3 of them really fast, but the last might take a while.

Be aware of trends too, for example 40K bits are much easier to get hold of than Age of Sigmar. In addition within armies there are popular and unpopular models; the popular are more likely to have bits on sale, whilst the less popular might not.

Note many bits stores don't hold a vast amount in stock so do contact them to request specific parts if they are not listed/at 0 stock as that might prompt them to update stock and sell them.

The Chessonator wrote:
Anyone know of a good way to get bits for conversions?

Be in the hobby for several decades and collect multiple armies.

I have browsed eBay tons; some models seem to have a good supply and some are rare as crap. Also can get expensive. Is it worth it to just buy entire kits that have the pieces you want?

Sometimes, it really depends. When I was making Minotaurs out of plastic Ogres, it was worth buying entire boxes of Wood Elf cavalry for the horse heads and tails. If you just need an extra gun, buy from a bits service.

Another avenue is to check Shapeways for 3D printed parts or some other 'original' caster that makes conversion parts, rather than 'official' bits. Generally cheaper because they're not trying to gouge you for one part of an entire sprue.

Some examples of things I want to do: get more special weapons for my Skitarii (they only come with one of each per box, so if I want to run 3 Plasma Calivers or 3 Arc Rifles I’m in trouble). Also looking at maybe kitbashing some IG or SM for allies in the future to look more Mechanicus-y.

For Skitarri, my solution was to buy boxes of Kill Team for the terrain/rules, getting the Cult and AdMech sprues at a hefty discount. Alternatively, SC AdMech until you've got your 3 Onager Dunecrawlers gets you discounted units.

You could just build masses of Vanguard with no special weapons to get spare specials.

I used to use eBay or bitz sites, but some parts get insanely pricey.

My go to now is Facebook.
Joined 5 warhammer buy and sell pages and I just post in those if I need parts.
I've picked up everything from spare special weapons to a knights shoulder joint with relative ease and without paying a silly amount of cash.

The best way to get bits is to save all the unused bits of every sprue you build. Over the years, this will turn into an incredible bits box. Also, a good hobby network is useful. My friends and I regularly check with each other for a particular bit, and someone often has it. No cost, all ends up square in the end as no one takes the Mick.

I would second Bits and Kits and also recommend Let the Dice Decide.

Both are based in Britain so shipping to the Colonies isn't the cheapest, but they are still the best bits sites I personally have used.

What are you looking for

Short term what I am looking for are Skitarii special weapons. Long term I’d like to convert some AM into Tech Guard for allies. Even longer term I have some very unfleshed out ideas spinning around that might not ever happen.

If the special weapons only come 1 per box then going to a bits site would seem to be more efficient. Even better might be to go to a 3rd party seller that stocks something that you can easily counts-as a caliver.or whatever. Then you can buy whole sets of the same thing for much cheaper than original GW stuff while enjoying a nice relatively original aesthetic

In the States, your best bet is probably eBay. I use Hoard o' Bits and Window-Box regularly. I recently bought a bunch of Skitarii special weapons for my AdMech Kill Team, but unfortunately some weapons are not cheap. Plasma Calivers were going for around $8-10 each when I bought mine. Economically, you'd be better off buying a box for each weapon and trying to sell all of the other bits, but that would be a pain.

Go third party. People who don't buy third party bits tend not to recognize them, in my limited experience.

Your local community is the best and most accessible resource for bits. There's more than one shop in my city that periodically runs "bits trade" events where people can swap for various parts, old models and even whole armies - see if your community has something similar. We also have a Facebook group for local folks specifically for trading and selling miniatures. Most gamers will have plenty of unused stuff stashed that you can make deals for, and you'll end up paying quite a bit less than bits sites that need to turn a profit (and charge you shipping).

That said, if you're looking for very specific and "must-have" components, online will sometimes be your only option. But it costs you nothing to check out the local scene first. You might find some really cool stuff that you didn't even know you wanted yet.