One of my favourite elements of this hobby is being creative with the parts you have.
I received a package from eBay with parts for about 15 Cadian Imperial Guardsman. In the box was something extra. It had most of the parts required to make a Necron warrior, including the Gauss Flayer.
Reassembling the Necron. It’s almost like reassembling dinosaur bones or an alien autopsy.
The above picture looks like an alien autopsy, which it kind of is. I don’t think I’ll assemble it, but I’ll use the parts. I’ll probably use the skull as part of a servo skull, replace a guardsman’s leg with the bionic foot, and give the Gauss Flayer to an Inquisitorial Acolyte. I don’t know if the Gauss Flayer will be tabletop legal, so if anyone objects I’ll just play it as a hot-shot lasgun that looks really cool.
The Warhammer 40,000 hobby can be really expensive. Games Workshop models are expensive! You can quickly stock up hundreds of dollars worth of little plastic and pewter miniatures. And then you need paint, glue, and other hobby supplies. In an effort to curb my spending, I followed a suggestion I read on a blog and started bidding on eBay items. It’s been a fun little experiment!
There are quite a few sellers, particularly in the United States and UK selling new, unpackaged, and rare out of production (OOP) models. I’m wary of the shipping costs, but I keep that in mind when making bids.
It’s obvious I’m not the only collector on these auctions because there are usually multiple bids on items quickly driving up the prices. But I definitely stop when the price + shipping exceeds the cost of getting the item new from the store
I had a wishlist of models I wanted, but it was also nice to see what’s available and would match with my growing army. I’m in the market for bargains on unpainted Imperial Guard Astra Militarum models, and maybe some interesting/cool guys to become part of an Inquisitorial Warband.
On my wishlist were some special characters like Commissair Yarrick and Lord Castellan Creed. They’re only available in plastic now, so getting a OOP pewter model would be really cool. Even more cool was a model of a Female Commissair! It’s a genuine Games Workshop/Citadel Miniatures model that is out of production. I have no female models at all, so it would be nice to have a little variety. Sadly, the price for these quickly rose and I didn’t want to shell out too much.
In a way, not winning certain models helps determine my army too. Since I didn’t win Yarrick or Creed, I’ll build my army without them. It forces me to be more creative. After all, I believe it was Lao Tzu who said “You go to war with the army you have, not the army you want.”
It’s almost a relief sometimes not to win an auction. There are definitely times when I get into a bidding war, and make an impulsive bid I wished I could undo. When someone outbids me, it feels good to me, because I drove the price up getting more money for the seller, and the buyer gets what he/she actually wants.
Slightly used spruies of Cadian Shock Troops
The first item I actually won is an Open Box of Cadian Shock Troops for about $5+shipping. I guess there wasn’t too much interest since it’s an open box or because the seller was from Canada. A new box of 10 models costs $35. I could tell from the photos that this lot included enough to make 15 models. Regrettably, I didn’t notice that it didn’t come with bases. I could buy them on eBay, but I can also buy them new from the store for $6 for 10. I still think I got a steal!
new
eBay
15 models
$52.13
$5.47
bases
included
$9.00
shipping
included
$11.87
tax
$6.78
$1.17 (bases)
TOTAL
$58.91
$27.51
My next round of purchases kinda got away from me. Originally, I was looking to score an OOP Ratling model for less than $3. The shipping alone would have been $8, so I started seeing what else the seller had. I saw a lot of $2-3 dollar models that I thought would be nice to have as AM commanders or Inquisitorial Acolytes. I didn’t win the Ratling, but I did get 5 other models! All together it was $17 and with shipping it was only about $30 and I’m pretty happy about that.
2nd edition Catachan Lieutenant. I think I may use him as a Platoon Commander or Inquisitor Acolyte (source)
2nd Edition Catchan Officer with Power Fist. Could be my warlord, Platoon Commander, or an Inquisition Acolyte (source)
Cadian Officer. Could be my Warlord, Platoon Commander, or Veteran Sergeant (source)
Karskin style Stormtrooper. Probably will be an Inquisitional Acolyte (source)
I’m definitely going to be taking the advice from Imperator Guides on this post and NOT BUY ANYTHING ELSE until my current pile of models are painted. It will save me money, save me from burnout, and let me focus on what I currently have.
Welcome to my Warhammer 40k Sub-Blog! I imagined this was a better solution than cluttering up my main Running Blog with non-Running stuff!
Well, anyways, as I mentioned in this post, I’ve become quite interested in the Warhammer 40k Hobby again. It’s a tabletop game where you collect models, build and paint them, then play them against other models. The gameplay is an offspring of old-school Dungeons & Dragons involving dice, tables and measuring tapes. I started around age 12, took a break for about 15 years.
I started again by buying a (now replaced) Citadel Hobby Starter set that came with a variety of paints, glue, cutters, and a paintbrush.
Hobby Starter Kit
I also found some old models and paint brushes. I have since built and painted a few and I’ll detail them in posts to come.
Completed tactical squad of Imperial Fists Space Marines. My first painted Warhammer 40k models in over 15 years!
There are several things I really like about the hobby: in particular the painting, the lore (or fluff as the fandom calls it), and the planning/strategy.
Art Hobby
I don’t consider myself an artist, but I find I’m quite enjoying the creative element of the hobby. Sitting quietly and painting these little models is surprisingly calming. I suppose that’s how a hobby should feel. I don’t consider myself an artist or ‘artsy‘ type, and I’m definitely not very talented, but it’s nice to think “I painted that.”
Backstory and “fluff”
I find the fictional environment of the game is pretty interesting. It’s set in a dystopian science-fiction future where humanity is a sprawling stagnant empire facing destruction from hostile aliens and internal traitors. It’s science-fiction, but much darker than Star Trek and other typical sci-fi environments. The lore describes the backstory of each race, faction, and why they all want to kill each other. It’s told in novels, magazines, movies, video games, and sidebars in other publications.
I could go on and on about the fictional environment. In such a dark environment, heroes seem to shine even brighter. I’ve read a few stories featuring Ciaphas Cain, a cowardly human officer with an uncanny stroke of luck in horrible situations. Surprisingly, all his stories are comedies. And there are stories about families, brothers, friends, heroes, villains and traitors. Some of them are compelling and even motivating.
Strategy
I really like the strategyand planning element of it too. Each unit has certain abilities, and cost in game. They also have cost to buy, but that’s a different strategy. At the moment I’m trying to put together a 1000 point army that meets all the requirements. I haven’t played a single game yet, but I just enjoy daydreaming about it. I suspect I’ll lose horribly, but maybe that’s part of the experience too.
I mentioned that buying in itself is a strategy. It’s incredibly true because units that have high points cost may not have high dollar cost (and vice-versa). In general, Games Workshop models are pretty pricey. There are jokes that their license on the products essentially allows them to print money and that their products are so expensive that crack is cheaper.
But, there is another element of the hobby altogether. I recently discovered buying off of eBay. I lose most auctions, but I’ve found a couple bargains so far.
Keptain Kayak
Why the name Keptain Kayak? Most 40k bloggers I’ve been reading have hobby “nicknames”. Keptain Kayak was my ICQ handle from a long time ago. I thought the “captain” reference worked well in a wargames kind of way but was also lovingly self-deprecating.
Where do I get the time an money to do this? Well, I’m single, employed, and feeling rather introverted this summer. Seems to be a good mix. I’m trying to dedicate Sunday afternoons to painting since I’ll be worn out from my long runs and won’t feel guilty taking a ‘break’.
I hope you enjoy the blog! Comments and suggestions are always welcome!
My Warhammer 40,000 Blog featuring Imperial Guard, Space Marine and Inquisitor Models
