With Games Workshop (or are they just Warhammer now?) putting up prices again, hobby spaces online are flooded with negative comments. Considering Warhammer figures are already overpriced, you can understand the complaints.
But this blog isn’t about expensive hobbying, it’s about doing it on the cheap. So here’s a question, how cheap can it be? If you wanted to get up and running in this hobby and only had £5 to spare, how far could you get?
Now I’m assuming you’ve got access to everything you’d probably have in the house anyway, a few dice, a tape measure, super glue, probably some pva or wood glue and a few bad paints from various craft projects. But if you needed absolutely everything else how would you approach it?
Finding free rules online or writing your own would be a no-brainer, but what of figures? Being the sort of person that just loves games, I’d have the luxury of choosing whatever I can find, and to that end I think Dinosaurs are the way to go.
Bags of inexpensive dinosaurs can be bought pretty much anywhere, and with a little work (budget depending) they can look rather effective. But even without that extra work, dinosaurs do usually come with some level of pre-paint.
Terrain is also not too much of an issue, sticks and rocks can be foraged, you could even play in the garden (if you’ve got one that is).
At least that’s the avenue I’d go down. So if it were up to you, and you had roughly your local currency’s equivalent of £5, how would you get gaming?
Deathzap 
Yes, and the same goes for plastic army men that vary quite a bit in quality but there are still good ones out there. then you can choose to aim for a historical representation if a complete Sf/fantasy rendition.
Green Stuff then becomes the most expensive item although it is possible to use alternatives.
I think the other thing which is free but big companies don’t want you to use is …….. your own imagination. Nowadays the imagination bit is quite an earner and I would suggest that warhammer have made a virtue of selling the “wrap” around their figures. The figures alone are not enough.
So being prepared to let loose your own imagination is quite helpful.
I keep looking at stones and pebbles as cheap miniature spacecraft, tanks, or robots (just add paint).
You get your forces for nothing from junior general dot org…not quite so impactful as 3D figures though!
I have recently bought some very nice dinosaurs but they were reduced to 6GBP.
It would have to be bags of cheap plastic knights for me.
I’ve found poster tac/ blu tac works well in a pinch as knockoff green stuff when covered in a layer of super glue.
For WWII and after, I would go down the cardboard route for vehicles and army men for the armies. Back in the day it was balsa wood and cornflake packets with shilling boxes of Airfix figures! 🙂
Regards, Chris.
An old Risk set from a second hand store. I’ve done a number of armies with them, they paint up quite well.
Yes! I had months of joy out of Risk 2210:
I’m reading this the day after I spent about $100aus on dollar store plastic toy soldiers, paints & other assorted paraphernalia in order to kitbash an army or two of my own inspired by this very blog 😆 the irony isn’t lost on me
That sounds like a fantastic project! Glad to be of inspiration!