How Do You Save Money With Your Army?

[Neverchosen]

Hey everyone, I was reading about the price point for the new 40k sets as well as mulling over the Getting Priced Out page and wondered how some of you have saved money with your army? I have yet to really try my hand with magnets but they seem like a great way at saving money on alternate builds. Obviously the secondary market is a great way to save some money as well. I am hoping to make this a constructive topic and a good place for people interested in starting an army to get tips on saving some money. I am returning to the hobby after a long hiatus so lack any great tips of my own but I am including some of my ideas as well. 

My very unoriginal idea was to run my Gorebeast as a chaos spawn it is practical and wastes less plastic. I have also considered kitbashing the Celestant Prime with some of my Demon Prince Bitz to make an undivided greater demon.  I kind of want to do this more as a hobby project but I am also running an undivided army and don't have much use for a Greater Demon... maybe I can proxy it for Archaon? 

I am also starting an Ogor army and I am considering buying the Ogor Bloodbowl set and running them as Maneaters (2 boxes would let me run two units of Maneaters and a full unit of gnoblars). I am also thinking of converting a Ogor rider into an Icebrow Hunter.

Edited October 27, 2020 by Neverchosen

[EccentricCircle]

One of my armies is Daughters of Khaine, so this was a definite concern.

I have bulked out my Sisters of Slaughter with Mantic succubi, which have a similar if less dynamic look (just with actual demon horns, rather than demon masks). For witch Elves I ended up getting some OOP metal models, which somehow ended up being cheaper than the current plastic kit. I don't think that one is going to work for most armies though!

Generally I just wait for Battleforces and SC sets before I start an army project, and try to get the basic troops as part of a bundle, rather than individually.

[amysrevenge]

If "how do you save money?" is a leading concern, here are the things you have to decide (in no particular order).

1) How important is tournament-level winning?  Mostly (not always), it is hard to do bleeding-edge top tier armies on the cheap.  Often (not always), there are significant money-saving opportunities for less effective armies.

2) How do you feel about 3rd party models?  If you insist on 100% GW models at all times, it is usually hard (but not always) to get there inexpensively.  If you are open to models from other manufacturers, then you might open up significant money-saving opportunities.

3) How do you feel about conversions and proxies?  If you are open to conversions and proxies, you can often work toward a better army for less money.

4) How do you feel about hobby reclamation projects?  If you're in a place where you can spend some time stripping paint, you might be able to save a bit of coin.

5) How do you feel about old sculpts?  Some current armies have very old models, that aren't as cool and detailed as what they are coming up with now.  These older kits sometimes have a lot more action going on in the second hand market, just because they have been around longer.

[Beastmaster]

I think the main trick is converting. Making heroes from basic troops&bits works well for Ogors. Or making Skaven weapon teams or acolytes from Stormvermin or Plague Monks with 40k or Empire bits. If you want your hero to look larger and more imposing than the basic troops from which he was made,  or if he has to fill a large base, let him stand on a rock or a piece of ruin.
Magnetizing weapon/rider/head options on big models is also great to have optional builds without needing extra models, especially with the ever-changing rules.

[Overread]

Using magnets is a good one - worth putting these ideas in the budget thread we've got going already