Latest posts for the thread "Tips for a hobby newbie?"

Tips for a hobby newbie?

Injection — GMT

Hello guys.

I am currently lost- hobby wise.

I am new to the game and started with Space Marines (Crimson Fists to be exact).
I got the Start Collecting set and some others to go with but now I'm not so interested in Space Marines.

So I tried to start Necrons and bought a box of Immortals but after painting one model I've lost interest in them as well.

I really do want to keep going on with the hobby and actually build a 1000pt~1500pt army and play at LGS / GWs for fun and all but I always seem to never complete an army.

Are there any people like me? Any suggestions or words of advice for someone like me?

Side-question:
Currently my eyes are leaning towards Grey Knights...
How are pure GK for a starter? (Assembling and painting-wise because assembling the Immortals were a pain compared to Space Marines...)

Thank you guys for any advice.

Tips for a hobby newbie?

Lance845 — GMT

Assemble and play. paint over time. I personally enjoy the modeling most (making custom models by kitbashing converting) the game second and the painting last.

Do the parts you enjoy and leave the parts you don't for last. Its your time. Enjoy it.

Tips for a hobby newbie?

Brother Michael — GMT

As someone who has unpainted dwarves, empire troops, high elves, wood elves, orks, orkz, sisters of battle, inquisition troops, a Mordheim warband, Flames of War Italians, LotR Moria goblins, an imperial flyer, a warhound and a stompa within sight, I very much know that feel.

After a long, long time and too much money I finally taught myself to not buy models until after I've painted the previous batch, but that's also because I finally feel content with the forces I chose to collect. If you're unsure what force you want to collect, I suggest doing the following:
- Choose a force that interests you.
- Wait a month at the least, then see if they still interest you.
- Buy a box of standard troops.
- Assemble them, see if you enjoy modelling them.
- Paint them, see if you enjoy painting them.
- Play Kill Team, see if you enjoy playing them.

Only when all those three conditions are met will you be protected from losing interest, as all three are a massive bottleneck if you're disinterested in them. Please please start thinking about this now, and not when you have a mountain of bare plastic lying around

Tips for a hobby newbie?

firechcken23 — GMT

Agreeing with the others,( just to add) don't buy grey knights until you are SURE you want them, look at all the factions individually, and before buying them wait a week or two, if you still really want to buy them, then you are probably going to enjoy them

Tips for a hobby newbie?

vyse.04 — GMT

Think of why you bought those armies in the first place (models, lore, play style, strength, etc.), and then compare that to how you felt after finishing your first box. You order of importance when selecting an army may have changed, and that has happened to me as well. I thought Tau would be a fun army to collect until I looked more into them as a whole. I realized that I liked the idea of Firewarriors, and had zero interest in the rest of their lineup. Thankfully I only lost a bit of time assembling one box, but I may end up coming back to them at some point. Thought I wanted a shooty army but ended up moving towards a fast attack style with the Militarum Tempestus because they seemed more relate able.

To save some money, read up on the fluff. Flip through a Codex and check out their history or wargear if that matters, search through images online to find a cool color scheme, or check out some battle reports. I'm sure you've realized the amount of time it takes to get models on the table, and it is not a bad thing to learn with a minimal amount of money spent (compared to buying $400 worth of models at once). Also keep in mind that some armies can be used as allies if you at least build up the minimum requirement to field an Allied Detachment. This allows you to try different things while still building towards an end goal.

Tips for a hobby newbie?

Marmatag — GMT

Watch batreps. Miniwargaming posts a lot on Youtube, they're a great way to see what's out there, and how it is used on the board.

You'll get to see all kinds of different armies set up, and in action, with some of their mechanics.

For instance, there is a Grey Knights versus Space Wolves game, which helped me understand that I would not enjoy playing Grey Knights. For instance, I like a medium amount of units on the board (not a lot, and not a little, and GK fall into the "a little' bucket.)

If the model aesthetic is what is troubling you, you could also go watch games at the local GW, and find out how some armies look in person.

Tips for a hobby newbie?

Asmodai — GMT

Most people who collect an army end up with a box of spare models (odd special weapons, extra squaddies, etc.) - so you can usually just say "I'm thinking of starting Marines, does anyone have an extra one I can test my colour scheme on?" and get a free/cheap model to see if you like painting them.

Tips for a hobby newbie?

hotshot — GMT

Asmodai wrote:
Most people who collect an army end up with a box of spare models (odd special weapons, extra squaddies, etc.) - so you can usually just say "I'm thinking of starting Marines, does anyone have an extra one I can test my colour scheme on?" and get a free/cheap model to see if you like painting them.

Two things: first of all, take your time, as the other folks have said, army choice is not carved in stone I started with space marines, but then moved to imperial gaurd, only to now, 5 years on, turn my first space marines into a really cool (in my opinion) allied force for my imperial guard.

It may take time, but this is a hobby that rewards patience

Second thing, I've set new players up with models, but it sort of looks like we're drug dealers "hey buddy, first samples free... "

Tips for a hobby newbie?

Vankraken — GMT

Few steps for new players
1. Browse the GW catalog of models and find which models jump out to you as "this is awesome".
2. Of the factions with those awesome models go read up a bit about their fluff and what they (as those models and the faction as a whole) do.
3. Once you narrow it down to the faction you want to start collecting then think about what you want to buy. In order to play the game you generally need two troops and an HQ choice or you can field what is included in a "Start Collecting" box if your desired faction has one.
4. Before you assemble the kits figure out how you want to equip them. Read the rules to make sure your loadout is legal (for Space Marines for example you can't give them a Grav Gun and a Plasma Gun in the same 10 man squad). Read up on some strategies/tactics for them if your concerned at all with trying to play a remotely optimized lists.
5. Assemble and get playing with your models once you know how you want to set them up. Its sometimes easier to paint them before they are assembled but when starting out you really need to get the minis on the table top and rolling those dice. Better to play some fun games with unpainted models than to wait until you have a painted army but lose interest in the slog that is trying to paint a ton of models.
6. Focus on having fun. 40k is a social game which lets you hang out with people to nerd out about the game, fluff, 40k memes, and other similar nerd culture. Winning and losing isn't as big of a deal as having those fun experiences, making friends, and just being able to enjoy yourself in this fun and at times life draining hobby.

References that might help you decide on an army or give you some quality battle reports to look at which might inspire you to pick up an army.
-1d4chan (insert faction name here) tactics. Google this and you will find a quick and dirty breakdown of each unit in your faction's arsenal and what they tend to do. Not ideal for small children but for something related to 4chan its relatively mild, the lore sections can be fairly NSFW so be warned.
-Miniwargaming is a channel that produces battle reports of the game being played with very high production values. Not super competitive and generally don't field optimal lists but they have some good narrative campaigns and can have some fun battle reports.
- Frontline Gaming. Thiis group of people are responsible for the ITC tournament format as well as host some of the biggest tournament events in the NA. More importantly for this post they produce pod casts on twitch / youtube / and on iTunes plus occasionally play games life on twitch and post some short/long form battle reports although its not regular like miniwargaming is (they are VERY busy). They also run a retail store you can order from that in my experience has amazing customer service.

Tips for a hobby newbie?

oldzoggy — GMT

Invest in large batch of small magnets this should cost <10$ and they make weapon replacements easy.
You will thank yourself for this when you want to change all your special weapons.

Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also do not fall into the trap of hoarding unpainted or unbuild miniatures. Its a waste of your money and storage space.

Tips for a hobby newbie?

Mad Doc Grotsnik — GMT

Take your time.

The hobby itself is more than the gaming aspect. Some only paint. Some only convert or scratch build.

Dabble here and there - pickup cheap second hand models if you want. You may find that a model you previously weren't fussed for is a joy to paint

Tips for a hobby newbie?

Capt. Camping — GMT

Before buy anything I recommend you go to a LGS and see others play the game and see what armies you like.

40K is not a balanced game in terms of rules, so be sure to find a balance between what models you like how they work once they hit the table.

Something very important, who are you going to play with. What kind of people? How they behave?

Tips for a hobby newbie?

Spetulhu — GMT

And always, always be careful when cutting things. These days I use a small side cutter to get models off the sprues. Not that a few more knife-produced scars on my hands would be a disaster for a 40+ man who already has several, but the cuts do hurt and blood needs to be cleaned up fast if you want it to be easy.

So get a small side cutter to be safe. Or at least remember to never ever cut anything so the edge is pointed in your direction.

Tips for a hobby newbie?

Vector Strike — GMT

You're making the same mistakes I did, but at least you've spent less money.

First, before buying anything else, try to talk with other players in your FLGS about the game. Fluff, tactics, models, anything - absorb knowledge.

That siad, try to identify which models, rules and fluff (in that order) attract you the most. After selecting a group of armies, playtest them with either other's models or with those you already got as proxies. Playtest until you can finally decide which one you like the most.

Then, and only then, you should buy miniatures.

Tips for a hobby newbie?

Davor — GMT

Please don't be like me. I fully understand where you are coming from. I went from one project to another. I started Tyranids went to Dark Angels back to Tyranids, went to Lord of the Rings, back to Tyranids. Then gave up on GW went to Privateer Press with Warmahordes gave up on it back to GW. Bought this, that and other crap. Gave up came back, took breaks came back took breaks. Now for almost 20 years I have nothing to show for.

There is nothing wrong in starting something and not liking it, or "feeling" it or loosing interest. From my experience, all I can recommend, is start small and stick to it. Try in most cases, before buying something else, finish what you started or at least close to it. So say 75% before going onto something else.

This way, you start small and find out that you loose interest you haven't spent much time and money on that army. But if you but a lot up front like I did and then loose interest and take a break from it, it becomes a chore or work to finish and then it doesn't become fun anymore.

So start small. Try to finish what you buy before you get something else. Hope this helps a bit.