Being relatively fresh to the hobby, I'm noticing certain things that are unique to hobbies like 40K, which overlap the playing, modeling, painting, and collecting aspects which are not all present in other games. My prior background includes a good amount of RPG, CCG, and collectible miniatures gaming, but nothing like 40K.
Basically, I'm looking at my Codex Space Marines force in relation to the codex after nearly a year of work, and realizing that while I don't have the special characters and some of the more specialized models, I can certainly field a good number of lists that cover the basics of a C:SM force. I certainly can't do some of the more focused armies--like the bike-based White Scars lists or truly armor-heavy lists--but I can put together basic lists for a good number of contingencies at standard point levels (1500-2000).
Now, I've realized that, at least for what I need now, I'm done with collecting, modelling and painting. That's not say I'm done for good; I know I'll be getting new models and such for fun and as new units get added to my codex. That's a given. But, even though I know that my army is basically set, I still feel the need to continue to get more models.
I think that comes from my background in playing CCG's, like Magic and collectible miniature games that are packed in blind boosters. In the former, there's such a wealth of cards, and new cards are constantly coming into the game, so one has to keep buying to keep up with what's going on. I'm not knocking that system, as it's a really fun game, and it's fun to add new cards to my collection. In the latter, getting a good collection takes getting a lot of boosters and/or doing a lot of trading and buying on the secondary market. In either case, it creates an intense consumer mentality that prevents one from being satisfied with what one has. One must always get more.
My experience with 40K is somewhat different. As a caveat, I'll say that I'm playing one army and not using allies; I don't have the time or need to go past one army, and I'm not collecting all the other rulebooks and such. I'm not naive enough to think that there aren't people who drop a lot of coin to keep up with everything that comes out--but I do think it's the case that one can build up a good force of models for 40K (or WFB, for that matter) and then more or less stop putting money into the hobby for varying periods of time. That is, one has the choice to continue investing or not, depending on one's needs or desires. The game is much more forgiving that way.
That raises another question for me: is this really 'the most expensive' gaming hobby? I've made a pretty good investment in my home-brew SM chapter--more than I'd originally intended to, but hey, I really got into modelling and painting! Anyway, my point is this: I've made an initial investment, and now, I don't need to spend more on it. i could play with these models for the next 2, 3, or 10 years and never buy another one; or, I may spend some to pick up specific new models that come out from time to time. But, barring the need to start a second army, I can look at what I've spent like an investment in an annuity or mutual fund, and focus on enjoying the return on my investment.
My return on investment--the ratio of the cost over how much time and enjoyment I get from what I spent--is potentially quite great. Contrast that with a CCG like Magic, where I may or may not ever play some of the cards, and have to keep investing to stay current with the metagame. If I factor in how much time I spend actually playing, and spread the cost over a number of years, is this game truly an overly expensive hobby? Or is it on par with others--or perhaps even cheaper?
This is just what was on my mind today, and I wonder what other people--particularly those who have been in the hobby for a longer period--think on this.