Wargaming at what cost ?

Hello to all,
                Yesterday while building my second scratch Dreadnought, the neighbor's kids popped in the house and inevitably went to see what I was doing and had the reaction of wanting their own collection to build and paint. I had a thought, how much I did invest into the wargaming hobby. Looking in my inventory I got like .. whoooo I got way more stuff than I thought, yes the mini count is staggering, I did sold some miniature collections and gave away some too as they were of no use to me at the time. Thousands of dollars ( CAD ) have sunk in the hobby, the minis them selves, rule books, paint, glue and so on.  For starters it's quite tricky,
a starter box is always good and later on the possibility to expand is there, may happen that the series of miniatures desired is not available in a starter package, either way the cost at starting can hurt.

Asking guidance from some one already involved in the hobby is somewhat ideal, and for those like me who didn't or don't have a guide PLEASE OH PLEASE read about it. In fact get the most info you can about the game, the background, the factions and the the tactics. I am aware that it's not all of us who like reading but it's a vital part, the time spending reading instead of jumping right to the building do save time and money, never forget it's a hobby so time don't count and in wargaming preparation is also part of the pleasure. My view on preparation is like getting the battle plan ready and getting the best out of my faction.  My start in wargaming was like stepping in the unknown, I did many mistakes and my wallet suffered from it. Lacking the knowledge from the reading, the access to feedback from players themselves was really limited at the time and of course I was in a jungle of minis without a veteran to help in my choices. All those were serious factors and did cost greatly.

So how to start? How to not sink all those precious dollars? First advice I'd say would be, are you alone interested by the wargaming hobby, is there any friends to join you? Is there a club or somewhere to play on a regular basis? Otherwise all those minis might be just some dust collectors. Now for another advice, would be what ever the game, go for the minis you like. Yeah it's all about the minis. A third one would be to READ ALL THE RULES, background and all info you can get on the chosen faction ( can be race, army or warband, what ever the name is given to the miniature series chosen by the future player ) to be honest I do lack in this area, this did cost me lots of victories. Last would be in fact in two parts, first: when starting putting your newly acquired miniatures, ensure that they are rule legal. Second: play skirmish sized games for a while to get a good grasp of the rules and gameplay. These advices are of course to put a minimal investment in starting in the hobby.

Expanding, that's where is the money issue. When expanding, it's easy to get lost in all those options, new miniatures, warmachines, buildings and on and on. To start, depending on budget, I'd say for miniatures; hunt for used stuff, of course this don't apply for all wargames out there but many of the most popular ones do have a second hand market for the miniatures. The local gaming store or comic shop usually offer that kind of service. Naturally second hand miniatures need extra work to restore them to a satisfying level but saving close to 50% off regular price is always worth it to gain two mini instead of one. For those players wishing to expand their collection to epic proportions, molding and resin is a good alternative, this requires some reading. Practice to get it right but the investment it represents and the number of miniature created this way saves so much money that I think is the way to go. There is online auctions sites but those can be tricky so as a last resort it's okay, shipping fees can kill the intended savings or the buyer can get ripped off, better keeping that for the connoisseur.

Scratch building, for the big pieces that may be part of a series, collection or buildings this is the best. I recommend strongly using plasticard ( sheets of white plastic 2mm / 0.0787 inches US thick ) plasticard can be found in arts and craft shops, school art supplies. Cardboard, paper, wood and the recycle bin of the house can do.. OH !!!!! also never get rid of the plastic sprues ( rack where all the parts of your plastic minis or model comes on ) Sprues are very useful to make so many things it's too long to list here. The big picture is that you can build your own model and the cost will be ridiculously low. Just as a reminder that if you build a model to emulate a existing one, be sure that they got same dimensions, weaponry and statistics, no one likes cheaters.

Sculpting, well for those with talent or just wishing to try it, be my guest. The most used is called green stuff, in fact it's a pretty similar to the one used on cars to fix minor damage on the body. Great material for mini sculpting and is relatively cheap, those not afraid of long term project, it's perfect to create a truly unique collection. Talented or not, read about the subject and give it a try, it's very fun to do. Another side to green stuff,  great material to repair or replacing missing a part by doing your own. Again my second favorite reminder...if you build a model to emulate a existing one, be sure that they got same dimensions, weaponry and statistics, no one likes cheaters.

There is many ways to save, to get a really nice collection and have fun with friends, don't hesitate to ask me anything to help you start. Just leave a comment and ask your questions. I'll be more than glad to answer.

Necrohammer signing out !