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Inexpensive wargaming seems to be a myth. Miniature wargaming is a hobby that involves collecting, assembling, painting, and playing with miniature figures and terrain to simulate battles and other military scenarios. It can be a lot of fun, but it can also be expensive, especially when you’re just getting started. However, with a little bit of planning and creativity, it’s possible to build a great army without breaking the bank. In this blog post, we’ll go over some tips and strategies for building an army on a budget.

Planning Your Army

Choosing a game system and army

Choosing your game system and army is going to make a BIG difference in how expensive it is. There are some games, like Warhammer 40k and Age of Sigmar, that are going to be at the peak of the expensive pile. If you’re looking for inexpensive wargaming, you’re going to need to either choose a game system that is less expensive, or you’re going to need to be choosy about which models you’re going to buy and which armies you’re going to invest in. 

Because the truth is that you can play a relatively cheap game–an indie game like Reign in Hell or Space Weirdos–and buy very expensive models. Or you can play a relatively expensive game, like Warhammer 40k, and proxy in cheap miniatures. Unless you’re getting into tournament play, there’s no reason why you can’t wargame on a budget. 

Researching army lists and unit options

So let’s take a look, first, at some less expensive games. I am a strong advocate for indie games, and there have been some I’ve reviewed on this website which can be played for very little money. Sludge War is great because you can get Napoleonic miniatures almost anywhere, like these ones from Warlord Games or these from the Perrys–but Sludge War does require a large number of miniatures. Then, instead, try Silver Bayonet, which is also Napoleonic, but skirmish level.

Or you could play the aforementioned Reign in Hell and play it very cheaply–you could literally use the cheap D&D models and get your whole tabletop for fifty dollars. On the other hand, you could do Reign in Hell and use the latest Slaves to Darkness models and pay through the nose. 

When it comes to sci-fi, and the biggest game on the block, there’s no reason why Warhammer 40k should have to cost a lot. It can still be inexpensive wargaming on a budget (again, so long as it’s not a tournament where you’re constrained by proxies). For example, you could make a Leagues of Votann army out of the Wargames Atlantic’s space dwarves, the Einherjar. In fact, Wargames Atlantic has a ton of proxy models you could use for Imperial Guard if you want inexpensive wargaming: the Bulldogs are perfect Praetorians, but Les Grognards are good Death Korps of Krieg proxies. The Eisenkern Stormtroopers could stand in as Space Marines, and there’s plenty of kitbashing you could do with The Great War soldiers. 

While we’re talking about Wargames Atlantic they have a great range for Age of Sigmar, too, with their Skeleton Warriors. If you want to go with Warlord Games, the Mythic Americas have some great stand-ins for Seraphon or Ogors. And if you want some really beautiful proxies, look at Miniwargaming’s Ravaged Star line which are, for all intents and purposes, Warhammer Chaos.  

But why are we talking so much about the most expensive games? Look at something like Stargrave or Frostgrave. They’re inexpensive wargaming on a budget. And if you want something bigger in scope look at A Song of Ice and Fire, which is extremely reasonably priced. 

But what am I talking about? The way I got into miniature wargaming was through using little green army men, some painted blue and some painted black, to use with free rules from a Wargames Illustrated magazine. Total cost, including the magazine, couldn’t have been more than ten dollars, and it game me hours, days, and months of delightful wargaming on a budget. 

Prioritizing which units to purchase first

This can be a big thing if you want to play the more expensive games, and if you want to play them with the game-legal models. Start (or join) an escalation league. An escalation league, if you don’t know, is where you agree to play a game for a certain small amount of points–say, 350 points for Warhammer 40k. That would be the first game, and that’s all you can bring, so you might buy an HQ and a unit of troops. The next month you add 200 more points, so you buy a little bit more. And so on. The gist of it is that it lets you get into wargaming on a budget, because you don’t need to lay out all that much money in the beginning. 

Or you could have thoughts of starting an Imperial Guard army, but it’s a lot cheaper to buy troops than it is to buy a Baneblade. So play a troop-heavy army list until you save up enough for your tanks. 

On a completely different tack, think of playing Napoleonics. You might really want to play the Battle of Waterloo, but all of those models in 28mm are simply too daunting. You don’t have the money to shell out for tons of models (even though Warlord Games and Perry Napoleonics are relatively cheap compared to Warhammer.) So try something else in Napoleonics: go with the Warlord Games Epic Scale (13mm) miniatures, and you can get a single box with more individual soldiers for the price of three boxes of 28mm. You can play both of them with Black Powder rules, too, so you’re playing the same game. 

Finding Affordable Miniatures

Online retailers and brick and mortar stores for affordable miniatures

Online retailers and brick and mortar stores are going to have better deals than buying direct from the manufacturer, most of the time. This holds true with Warhammer–buying from a friendly local games store is going to get you 15-25% off, usually. The same is true of Star Wars Legion–you can get a good deal in an FLGS. 

Amazon is great, as well–even though I love my FLGSs–because of free shipping. The same models that would cost an extra $8-15 in shipping to get them from a manufacturer are free shipping from Amazon (and faster) if you’re a Prime member. 

Second-hand marketplaces for used miniatures

Buying second-hand is a great way to inexpensive wargaming. eBay is the biggest seller that I trust, as I’ve never had any significant issues with any of their sellers. (There’s always a few bad apples, but most of the time they’re prompt, cheaper, and well-packaged.) I have never personally tried my hand at buying from Craig’s List, though I know some people (like Casey from eBay Miniature Rescues) have had luck with it. 

One of the best ways to get second-hand miniatures is if your FLGS is holding a sort of swap meet. You’ve got to have the right kind of FLGS, one with a lot of space and owners who will allow that sort of thing, but you can often “rent” table space for your used minis for $5-10, and then sell your stuff while you’re shopping through other people’s stuff. (Sidenote: this is an awesome way to find bits for your bits box if you’re a kitbasher.)

And, of course, there are cheap miniatures at conventions, and this goes for both second-hand stuff and the discounts that retailers and manufacturers will have for their convention sales. Most of the time those stores don’t want to pack anything up and haul it back home so you can get some pretty good deals, even barter a little toward the end of the convention. 

3D printing as a cost-effective option

Now this one comes with a caveat, which is that there’s a big barrier to entry in terms of cost. You’ve got to get all of the equipment, which can be–even with today’s cheap printers–$200-500–and you need to have the space in your home to put a resin-fumey printer. BUT, if you can get over those hurdles and make that initial investment, then the minis that you can get from 3D printing are amazing. 

One of the best ways to get 3D printed miniatures for cheap, inexpensive wargaming, is by subscribing to your favorite modeler’s Patreons. There are quite a few sculptors who run whole miniature businesses with multiple extremely-skilled employees straight from Patreon subscriptions. And, for the price of $10 or $15 a month you get access to a whole host of miniatures. Check out Titan Forge, OnePageRules, or Artisan Guild–but there are so many more.

Of course, you don’t have to go the Patreon route and could instead go to MyMiniFactory, where most of these Patreon sculptors will put their minis up for individual sale after the initial month of sales is over. 

Assembling and Painting on a Budget

Tips for assembling miniatures efficiently and cheaply

There is no reason why assembling miniatures needs to be expensive. Sure, you could shell out $50 for Citadel’s pair of clippers, but you could also go to the local hardware store, like Home Depot or Lowe’s, and buy these for $11. Sanding sticks for removing mold lines are cheap on Amazon.

And glue? You can base your miniatures and do scenery almost entirely with PVA glue, which is cheap Elmer’s Glue All. Assembling your miniatures is best done with superglue for resin or metal and plastic glue for plastic. Superglue is really cheap most anywhere. Plastic glue–I don’t think you should look anywhere besides Tamiya. It’s not insanely cheap, but it’s not expensive either, and it’s not like there’s a much cheaper alternative. (I wrote a whole post about glues here.)

Alternatives to expensive paint

I wrote a whole post about paint and came to the conclusion that my favorites were Citadel and Vallejo. Neither of these are the cheapest, though, and I know a lot of very good, expert-level painters who will use the cheapest paint of all: Army Painter. Online they only sell them in big sets, like this, but in the store individual bottles are less than $2, compared to $4.50 for Citadel. 

As for primer, I wrote a whole post about my favorite primer here, but when it comes down to it, primer is just spray paint. If used effectively, almost any hardware store primer will work. In the UK is considered the norm to buy Halford’s. In the US, you can get away with Rustoleum just fine. 

Building Terrain and Accessories on the Cheap

Creating terrain using inexpensive materials

You can spend a lot of money on terrain–or you can absolutely go the do-it-yourself route. For example, most terrain is made, to some extent, with foam. Now, you can go the expensive route and get XPS foam, the insulation kind of foam, or you can use the foam that your electronics are packed in. Both of them work just fine. The beaded styrofoam that your electronics come in will tend to be a little messier, but using a vacuum will take care of that. And it can save you a lot. The last time I bought a 4×8 sheet of XPS foam from Lowe’s it was almost $50. You don’t need to spend that kind of money. (I wouldn’t have if I didn’t realize the price until I got to the checkout.)

The hardware store is your friend. Hobby stores will sell you small bags of sand to use for terrain and basing for $5 or $8 per baggie. I went to Home Depot and bought a 25 lb bag of playground sand for $6 which will last me my entire lifetime of wargaming. Does wargaming need to be expensive? No way.

Repurposing household items as terrain and accessories

For this I want to just point you to some excellent YouTube channels, where the creators make amazing things out of nothing. Eric’s Hobby Workshop builds amazing things with chipboard
(the hard part of a notebook) and dollar-store finds. Dark Matter Workshop does the same thing, just with a Belgian accent. And if you really want to see someone building crazy stuff out of literal garbage, look at Studson Studios. He’s not exactly wargaming, but you will gain new appreciation for all the containers in your kitchen. 

But if we really want to get into repurposing household items as terrain and accessories, I will VERY often set up the kitchen table with items from the pantry as terrain, especially when I’m playtesting a game for review. It’s not as immersive to use cans of refried beans instead of Games Workshop Mechanicus terrain, but if you’re just trying to learn the rules and move models around it works great. You really don’t have to spend a lot of money to get playing. 

Using terrain to enhance gameplay and make the most of your army

One thing that often is missed is how much difference terrain can make for a wargaming experience. You don’t need to pay a lot of money to make wargaming terrain, especially basic stuff, and it adds so much to the hobby. Granted, you’ll still need miniatures for moving and fighting, but when you have the terrain for the game, it adds a cinematic lens that can’t be overstated. 

And it doesn’t have to be costly! Inexpensive wargaming is possible even if, as I mentioned above, you’re raiding the pantry for cans and boxes to use as terrain. A can of soup doesn’t need anything more than a photo printed on your home printer, wrapped around the can and taped on, to turn it into a water tower, a gas tank, or a vat of chemicals. And you can do endless things with boxes of pasta–and on and on. 

If you want to venture into a little fancier, but still very inexpensive, terrain, then take a look at Black Magic Craft. Jeremy creates a number of fascinating things all out of dollar store items, a little foam, and a little sand and paint. Look at these shipping containers, these concrete ruins, or this farmhouse. All things that can be made from scratch, wargaming on a budget, that you don’t need a lot of skill for. And they’ll make your wargaming experience so much richer!

Playing and Enjoying the Game

Finding local wargaming clubs and events

There is no reason why playing wargames needs to be expensive. Unless you live in the most remote, rural areas, you should be able to find people to play with. Check with your local game store to see if they have game nights–almost all do–and if they don’t, then see if they have a bulletin board where you can post flyers for game nights. Honestly, just hanging out in the game store is where I meet most of my wargaming friends. 

Granted, you might be in a situation where the game that you want to play isn’t played in that game store, or your local community. This can pose a problem. For example, a game that I love, that no one around me plays, is Konflikt ‘47. I can find virtually everything else within an hour of me, but no one playing that. This leads me to two things: I can either make TWO Konflikt ‘47 armies and become a gaming advocate for the game. But that costs money. Or, I can go to Tabletop Simulator and play the game virtually online. 

What would probably be better, if you’re really strapped for cash, is not buying into a game until you know you have an opponent. Hang out in your local game store and see what they’re playing, watch a few games and see if it looks like fun. If the locals are all playing something, then join in the fun. 

Inexpensive Wargaming Can Be Fun for Cheap

Wargaming doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. Heck, Battletech, one of the oldest sci-fi games, comes with cardboard cutouts of the models included in the starter box so you can try out new Mechs before you buy them. If that game can go so cheap as to let you use paper miniatures, there’s no reason why you can’t do the same with any other game. 

There will always be reasons to get financially invested in a wargame that looks really nice. Maybe you want to play in the tournament scene so you need all of your models to be “legal” (ie, no proxies). Or maybe you want the immersive experience that comes from models and terrain that look a specific way–something cinematic. Both of those things are great, and there’s nothing wrong with them.

But, at the same time, one of the best times I ever had wargaming was during a storm that caused a power outage: my teenage son and I lit a couple candles, emptied the pantry onto the kitchen table to be terrain, and then used Matchbox cars as stand-ins for Team Yankee tanks–a game I was interested in buying into. We had so much fun with all of that “fake” wargaming stuff that we decided to actually buy models and terrain.

Wargaming can be cheap and still be fun, if you have a little ingenuity, creativity, and imagination.