[SovereignThrone]

Hello hello I go around as SovereignThrone ( or sov, for the lazies) I've always bee interested in Warhammer since I was a little boy (I'm 19 these days) and have always tried to get into the game, but due to lack of money/patience I've never been able to. Over the past few months I've started reading the Black library lit and thoroughly enjoying it. Lastn ight however, I was speaking to some of my friends and they decided they wanted to start playing WH fantasy. I never really got to play cause I didnt have anyone to play with in the first place. So now that I finally have people to play with I decided to kick in as well.

So, to get to my question here: I know a little about the WH universe, but I don't know anything about the actual boardgame. So I was wondering if anyone is willing to help a new guy out in picking a relatively cheap, beginner friendly army. I'm planning on going by my local WH shop but feel like I should get some international help as well.

I'll break it down here, for the people too lazy to read all ^


What Army? ( I was thinking Elves or Chaos(Chaos as in the plated axe swingers ;])

What will getting started cost me?(and what will I essentially need, so the store doest saddle me up with stuff I really don t need ;])

Any other tips for a new player, what to do and what not to. etc.

Thanks in advance!!

Bas 'Sov' Teunissen

 

[mynameisgrax]

A perfect place to start would be the new Island of Blood starter set that's coming out. It has lots of models and a rulebook. It'd work even better if you split 2 sets with another player, so you can each have a full army to start with. Of course, that would limit you to Elves or Skaven, but they're both good starting armies.

Otherwise, I'd pick an army that isn't too complicated (anything besides Ogres, Tomb Kings, Vampire Counts, Bretonnians, Wood Elves, and Chaos Daemons) and that you like the look of. Warriors of Chaos are a fine choice.

 

[SovereignThrone]

Thanks for the advice! I'll consider this!

 

[VeronaKid]

I agree with much of what Grax suggested- basically, you gotta go with the army you like the looks of more than anything else, because no one wants to paint an army of miniatures that they aren't excited about.

To answer a couple more of your questions: you asked how much it'd take to start out. Well, to get the basics of what you'll need, you'll probably end up spending between $250 and $500, depending on two things: what army you choose, and what your source is. To give you a comparison example, I bought what amounted to a 2000 point unpainted High Elf army recently that included the army book (an absolute must-have) for $125 on eBay. I know I got a total steal on that, but if you're patient you can find similiar steals frequently. You'll need the basic rule book, and then the accessories (dice, movement trays, templates), so you're looking at maybe another hundred bucks. If you can split that among your mates, along with scenery costs, you'll definitely save some money. Add in a few more dollars for glue, a hobby knife, and some clippers, and you're set.

If you're going in to a gaming store, or a GW store, I'd recommend buying the rule book, the army book, and the batallion box for your army. It'll be a good starting point, but will probably end up being about $100 more than the first option. eBay is definitely cheaper, but buyer beware!

Best of luck and welcome.

 

[Farseer_Iowan]

E(vil) bay does have its uses... Another thing you can look for are older versions of an army. What I mean by this is armies that have gotten new plastic kits, the older kits usually sell for cheaper online... example Skaven, the new plastic clan rats have drop the price of the older clan rats plastic boxes. At my Local Game Store when they came out with the new Empire Battalion Box the old battalion box went on the clearance shelve for like $60... I never really understood the drastic price drops at times... So you have some older figures, (this is GW we are talking about some of there models are have only one sculpt that was done in the early 90's). Another avenue is go to you local game store and look to see who might be willing to sell you the army they never use or are getting out of the hobby... Its always wise to support you Local Game Store... On a side note... I would highly recommend asking for a demo game of say 500 pts, while this is a very small points spread it gives you a idea of how the game works and trust me you will know if its for you or not... this saves you A. Money B. Time C. Sanity (unless your insane to begin with then no offense...)

 

[SovereignThrone]

Thanks all :d I will ask the people at the store tomorrow. I think I'll end up buying someone's unused army or just buying a starter kit =]

Please do keep the tips going, or sny deald you happen to come across on Evilbay

 

[Barnster]

NEVER buy you glue, files, or brushes from GW, EVER(!) Trust me the store guys will try to sell that like it was going out of fashion, but say no

Those products have a crazy mark-up and you can get better quality stuff else where and for alot cheaper. I use Humbrol plastic glue and its about half the price of GWs, Superglue you can pick up cheap in a supermarket, Personally I think loctite gel is the best, but others will have their own opinions of that.

Files you can generally pick up in a decent hardware/ every thing shop. I bought a pack of 10 needle files from "Mr Cheap" for £2.50 over a year ago and their still perfectly sharp. same goes for clippers

Paint brushes you can get from any hobby store and their usually cheeper and better than GW, obviously you can pay a crazy amount for brushes, but I prefer getting the packs that are about £5 for 10, they won't last as long as the real pricey ones, but its very easy to damage a brush.

GW even released a water pot, but I won't get started on that, they even put a page spread in WD saying how great it is they released a water pot, if you buy that well...... just don't!

 

[SovereignThrone]

Barnster: Posts: 666

Haha I'll keep it in mind! Don't you need the files for the metallic figurines? I think the starting kits are all plastic.. I think regular superglue will do just fine. and I'll just buy similar brushes to what GW sells.. and I think the start kit includes some paint and a brush as I recall.. I'm looking forward to tomorrow! probably have to hold myself back from buying more SM books.. I'll report back in tomorrow!

 

[mynameisgrax]

Barnster is correct. Although Citadel paints are fantastic, never buy the official GW paintbrushes, glues, or basing flock. The markup is ridiculous. The worst is PVC glue, which they charge $7 a tube for.

Do you know what another word for PVC glue is? White glue, better known in the states as 'Elmer's glue'. $7 for a tube of glue that normally sells for $1. I nearly died.

Ebay is great for deals, if you don't care too much about the condition of the item. I've found that it's the best/cheapest way to get normal infantry models, to fill out your army.

 

[turel2]

Always shop around online, alot of the independant stores charge less than GW for minis, but watch out for P&P.

As said else where in this thread, Ebay can be good. But check out sellers if you can.

 

[SovereignThrone]

I went by the shop today, and they told me the Blood Island set will be sold in deptember, adn it was also gonna go out ith a discount or in somekind of package, so I'll swing by there. I'll play around with the starterkit to see if I'm actually patient enough to paint an army and to learn how to play in general =] And then I'll just expand by buying more units, maybe a batallion box ^^

Edit: I also found my old box, with some poorly painter archers and the brittonian knights missing. I figure I can still use the dice and other stuff that came with it. it also has an old rulebook, which is a LOT thinner than the new Sigmar marked Rulebook I saw in the store. I did buy two new Black Library books :3 Nemesis, the newest HH and Legends of the Space Marines.

 

[Farseer_Iowan]

... The Black Library books are really good... Money wise you can even find the Battalion boxes for cheaper online then you can buy them in most stores... I agree with staying away from GW brushes/tools as they are ridiculous, lets go with the Green Stuff (modeling puddy) you can get a huge tube of it for $15 from Gale Force Nine versus the little amount you get from GW for $10... I will say get a game in... that will tell you if you want to start dropping coin or not....

 

[SovereignThrone]

I got the Blood island box, getting started on painting everything a black basecoat =] so I can play with the units even though theyre unpaited ;]. Any tips for a colourscheme? I was thinking red bronze + emerald

 

[Durzod]

Also check out your local arts and crafts store. They usually have large packs of brushes for cheap. Also check out so-called tole paints. They're normally used for those plaster sculpts, but for things like bases and basic colors they can't be beat. A bit thicker that Citadel paints, but I've been using them for years with no complaints.
And don't buy primer from GW! A simple rattlecan of flat black paint (I get mine from Wal-mart for about $1 a can) is much cheaper. Try a hardware store/discount store.
The only thing I kinda splurge on is the flat clearcoat (saves paint jobs from wear and tear). For that I use Testor's Dull-Cote. It comes in a smallish spray can, but it's the only consistent flat clear I've ever found. Sometimes certain companies have an off batch that comes out semi-gloss or even gloss! Never had that problem with Testors (I've been using it for 35+ years! Not the same can!)