How do you save money on your hobby?

[cheesyfluff]

Hi all.
This is a thread to discuss how best to save a few quid/dollars ect on this wonderfully expensive habbit/hobby of ours. I read the comments section on here when a new model is released and everyone seems to say "i'll be buying 3 of those" like those 3 are penny sweets of something. It's an expensive hobby to have and with folk losing their jobs, cost of living going up and the good old price rises i think it's worth us all chipping in and sugesting a few ways for those on tighter budgets to still get by in this hobby.

For me it's these............

1) Ebay! I know people use ebay already but by shopping around and buying and selling you can fund this hobby very cheaply. I've noticed a trend on ebay whereas job lots of models tend to go for quite a bit less than if they were sold individually ( in squads, tanks ect) so what i do i buy the whole lot for a knock down price, keep what i wanted out of it and sell the rest back on ebay.(broken down into squads ect) usually i make as much back for the rest of it as i paid and end up with free models for a little time and effort listing the rest.

2) Go though your bits box. Anyone who has been in this hobby for any length of time will have quite a substansial bits box. I had a root though mine during the really hard times and managed to knock up 5 marines and another 2 with misslie launchers to give my current Devastator squad the option of 4 missile launchers and 5 extra marines. You might be supprised at what you can kit bash with all those old bits and models sat around.

3)Ebay again. Alot of those bits you don't need anymore will likely sell pretty well on ebay. Especially bits that add flavour to an army like spare bits from a ravenwing sprue ect. Again the money made can help fund new models.

4)Discounters. I know these are not everyones cup of tea but the likes of Dark sphere and Malstrom do offer good savings over your local GW and usually stock quite a few different lines too.

5)Try different companies for the hobby supplies. I've not tried any other undercoat spays yet so i can't offer advice on car primers ect but i know plenty of people have and have done well with them. Building a game board? 3 2x4 sheets of mdf will likely only set you back about £15 in a hardware store (bigger ones will cut to size too) Also look into model railway scenics. I know Javis Manufacturing offer some great basing materials for a fraction of the cost of GW or GF9 and their cork boulders are brilliant for bases.

6) Black libary books. Waterstones usually have a 3 for 2 offer on or sales ect so you can get black libary novels cheaper here than anywhere else.

7)sell a kidney, buy that titan!

Well, thats my helpfull hat took off for another day. I know most of this will be of no use to most people because a, your already financially well off or b, already know these things but for the few that have lost their jobs, took a pay cut ect and are looking at their kids thinking "if i didnt have to feed and clothe you i could afford those new finecast models" then hopefully this will be of some help or someone else will chip in and offer extra advice.

[deadmanwade]

Living in Japan, where all the prices are double what they are in the UK, I save money by ordering everything from Maelstrom.....oh.

[Cyberscape7]

My dad recently gave me a pot of plastic glue from Hobbycraft, It seems to bond plastic together just as well as GW glue and it comes out of the container MUCH easier. The only thing that happens is when your gluing parts together that have been painted (if you model that way) then the paint has a good chance of smearing. It lasts a LOT longer than citadel stuff so I reckon its more worthwhile money-wise.
Probably a good way to save a few bucks

[Lane]

5)Try different companies for the hobby supplies.
Also look into model railway scenics.

My hobby toolkit only has one GW tool in it, a pin vise plus some GW brushes. Even that had to be modified to meet my standards. However the box itself is one of the ammo crates from the limited edition rulebook set.


IIRC buying non GW hobby tools either saves you half the cost or get's better tools. You can get basic side cutting pliers (clipers) for about half the GW price or sometimes a set of pliers for the same price. Or you can get some good quality flush cutters for about the same price. Xacto knives and blades are cheaper. For the cost of a GW pin vise you can get one with better collets though the handle is not as nice.

I second the Woodland Scenics suggestion.
I recently showed some people at the local store you can make a tree from scrap wire, PVA glue and toilet paper. Then added some W.S. foliage using hardware store contact cement.

[Wolfshade]

I have to agree with Cyberscape7, I don't use GW glue it is terribly expensive for what it is. Though I've not had any of my plastics fall apart even my old 2nd ed stuff. Just experimenting with different brands of glue I am currently using this bostik multipurpose, which while it bonds quick and strong it is very stringy

[wittdooley]

I simply Budget. GW gives us plenty of time to plan for new releases. When one drops that I'm interested in, I budget for it. Cutting corners never gets you anywhere; budgeting does. However, there are things I scrimp on:

Glue: Honestly, I'd prefer not to do this with Plastic Glue (the Testors with the metal applicator tip is by far the best) but with Super Glue I'm more than willing to go to the non-hobby route. Gorilla Glue works really, really well.

Terrain: One of the only things I actually enjoy more than the plastic counterpart. One piece of Pink Foam and One piece of Foam Core (less than $20 total) will make me more terrain than you can shake a stick at.

Paint for Terrain: I absolutely use Apple Barrel Craft Paints for terrain. No reason not to.

Things I will not scrimp on:

Brushes: I use Raphael or W&N Brushes for all details, no ifs, and, or buts. They hold paint loads far better than anything else. I do also use the GW brushes for basecoating and pretty much everything else, including painting simple tabletop quality.

Paint for Minis: IMO, having properly pigmented paint is worth the extra charge. I use a mixture of GW, Vallejo, and Privateer, with a few Reaper Master Series thrown in for good measure (their triads are really great!)

Additionally, a great way to save money is to sell your bitz back to a reseller. I have an absurd amount of bitz stored, and came to the realization some time ago that, "Yes, I love having them all, but no, I'm never going to get around to using them." It's a nice, easy way to save some money on that new boxed set you just have to have.

[Necron2.0]

My primary method may not work for everyone. It requires absolute discipline in your budgeting. I have a rewards credit card whose credits can be applied to online stores, some of which sell GW crack. I cycle all my major bills through it (except mortgage). I pay everything off the very day it posts to the card. I never charge to the card for anything I couldn't pay cash for. Doing this I making sure I never accrue any interest on the card. When I have enough credits to purchase a kit, I'll buy it. Recently I bought a 2000pt Dark Eldar army, and combining this method with holiday gift monies, I paid nothing of my own money for it.

2) Go though your bits box. Anyone who has been in this hobby for any length of time will have quite a substansial bits box. I had a root though mine during the really hard times and managed to knock up 5 marines and another 2 with misslie launchers to give my current Devastator squad the option of 4 missile launchers and 5 extra marines. You might be supprised at what you can kit bash with all those old bits and models sat around.

Yep, I've done this. I've combined heads, guns, arms from a variety of different kits (not all for the same army) to create figures for a given army. In some cases I've sculpted new torsos out of green stuff when I've not had an adequate replacement bit, or I've used pieces from old OOP non-GW minis.

3)Ebay again. Alot of those bits you don't need anymore will likely sell pretty well on ebay. Especially bits that add flavour to an army like spare bits from a ravenwing sprue ect. Again the money made can help fund new models.

For my DE army, I wanted three units of Kabalite Trueborn. Each unit would have two Dark Lances. I bought one box set of Kabalites and bought 5 Dark Lance bit sets off of Ebay. Done and Done, with one Kabalite to spare.

As for supplies, I don't use anything from GW other than their figures. All my terrain I've made from either foam board or paper mash (not your traditional paper mache' - it's more like paper clay, which is easy to make). I use craft acrylic paint (which provide a greater variety of colors) and real artist brushes. I use HO scale scenery bits and green stuff to sculpt / customize my bases.

[Mauglum.]

Hi all.
I save money by ONLY purchasing good value for money products.

Rules sets FREE to down load.

And I buy minatures from lots of companies, I NEVER pay more than £1 for a 28mm plasic minature

[Brent]

Hi,
I try to save money in a variety of ways:
-I buy some spray paint at Wal-Mart...I get a big can of Krylon primer or other colors for basecoating for under $3. I use GW or similar paint for the coats that show, but the inexpensive stuff works just as well for priming and basecoating. Krylon also makes clear flat and gloss spray that's as good as anything GW or Testors makes.
-I shop craft stores for scenery items and general supplies like acrylic matte medium and brushes. Signing up for e-mail ads from a major chain (Michaels, in my area) gets you a 40-50% off coupon almost every week.
-Check hardware stores for deals...Home Depot typically has a bin of odd sizes of lumber (left-overs from custom cuts) that go for 50 cents to a buck apiece. I got enough basing material (1/" MDF) for a ton of scenery for next to nothing.
-Buy in bulk. Getting the gallon container of white glue is much cheaper than buying 10 squeeze bottles. Also, most hardware stores have a computer that'll match paint colors for you...if you want to use a GW color for some scenery or a tabletop, just paint a small piece of plastic with it, and bring it in to Home Depot. They'll match it exactly and give you a gallon of it for under $20.
-Magnetize figures whenever possible. A couple of dollars' worth of magnets means you don't have to buy another box of figures.
-Use natural materials--twigs for trees, sand for basing material, that sort of thing. Works great, and costs only a bit of your time.
Good luck!
Brent

[wittdooley]

Hi all.
I save money by ONLY purchasing good value for money products.

Rules sets FREE to down load.

And I buy minatures from lots of companies, I NEVER pay more than £1 for a 28mm plasic minature

What companies make Plastics that you can get for the cheap aside from Wargames Factory and Mantic? Do any companies do Sci-Fi plastics that inexpensively? Very curious!