How do I acquire the plastic for cheap?
Wargaming voraciously eats up disposable income in a manner that would impress a hungry honey badger. The high entry costs of getting a small army together often intimidates new potential players. A new player needs the models, the equipment to build and paint them, and finally proper transportation for the models. Buying all of these things for even a beginner army will climb into several hundred dollars quickly. Dank Lists Wargaming wants to help potential new players know that three reasonable options exist to help get you into the hobby without draining the bank account. The best ways to reasonably start wargaming consist of splitting a starter box, buying someone getting out of the hobby, and buying online.
Almost every wargame sells a two-player starter box. The box usually undercuts the price of buying everything in the box individually. They also tend to cost less than a hundred dollars if you split it with one other person. Another option is to buy one outright and then trade the half you don't want to someone else for the half you do want. So for less than two hundred dollars, one ends up with at least a hundred dollars more in value than what one spent. Some games, like the soon to release Conquest: Last Argument of Kings, offer two-player starter sets for less than a hundred dollars. Forty dollars or so to start playing a wargame makes the hobby much more palatable for the wallet.
If one chooses to not invest in a starter box, then the next best thing to do involves asking around the local gaming community to see if someone wants to offload the desired army. Wargamers often bite off more than they can chew when it comes to collecting models and game systems. After awhile, any wargamer will start to assess the value of certain parts of their collection and debates whether retaining that portion of the collection. The debate intensifies when the collector knows eager customers exist for their unwanted goods if the decision to sell occurred.
The final approach combines the two previous options together; purchasing online. Many online retailers offer 25-30% off the regular price for wargaming products and supplies. Many hobbyists hawk their wares on eBay either to turn or profit or because life unfortunately finds them trying to liquidate their assets. Hard to find collectibles or older miniatures conveniently appear at the click of a button rather than spending hours digging through storage closets at the game stores around the region.
Playing wargames on a budget exceeds plausibility into reality if one at least tries one of these three approaches: splitting starter boxes, buying from a existing owner, or buying online. A lack of variety may turn a potential new player away from splitting a starter box because they will be forced to play whatever the company who makes the game wants to sell and thus put in the box. Despite this, several big games like Warhammer 40,000 or Warhammer Age of Sigmar often make limited release two-player boxes that change frequently so that more armies get the starter box discount treatment and bring more people into the game. I followed my own advice and bought a 3rd Edition Warhammer 40,000 Dark Angels army in college from a former teacher of mine. For two hundred dollars, I acquired easily 4,000-5,000 points of Dark Angels. The models come painted already which meant they would require stripping and repainting if I wanted to change them. On the other hand, the models came assembled, painted, and based. I could play with them right away and I did.
The obvious problems with purchasing over the internet include scams and damages as well as taking money out of the pocket of the friendly local game store. This being said, sometimes the deals online help players collect the bulk of their high model count armies and a wise player may supplement their purchases at their local game store with astute online deals to help keep themselves in the hobby. Playing wargames on a budget rewards new players with a unique experience in the gaming world and allows veteran players to diversify their collections so that way no one goes without a game. If the community thrives due to the budget wargaming, then the places where that community meets will thrive eventually as well because that community will grow and some people don't like to wait for next day shipping.
Keeping it Dank,
Bailey
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