Budget Wargaming - One Page Rules, 3D printing, and more

[Judge Dredd]

Starting a new thread so I don't shit up the 40k one.

Long power level short, I quit 40k years ago. Not only was it expensive and time consuming, but for me the main draw was the game, but people didn't want to play. Instead, people just stood around theory crafting, list building, and arguing over lore. This left me with two expensive armies I couldn't get to the table. Recently, I learned of One Page Rules. A "free" game "Grimdark Future", a streamlined game originally called One Page 40k, if it wasn't clear what they ripping off. These days it's grown into it's own thing, and delivered things Games Workshop never did, like space lizard men, and bringing squats back.

The rules themselves are wonderfully simple while maintaining most of the tactical depth, and the core game fitting on two sides of A4 with room to spare, and it makes me wonder if I can get board game people into it. It's unlikely I'll actually follow through with it and get into wargaming again, but is an interesting topic to discuss.


Starting with One Page Rules, I like the sound of the ruleset, but the game is also model agnostic. On paper, you could always proxy. I've seen stories online of people using a coke can as Carnifex. But I'm a fan of wysiwyg to some degree. There is also a flip side to this. I've seen people on the internet using One Page Rules to play a game of Halo, Aliens, or Ghostbusters, since the stat blocks and special rules are generic enough to be applied across models.

Their official models also look nice, though some are more "40k at home" than others.

Unfortunately, I don't know anyone with a 3D printer, and buying one for this purpose would be expensive.

I'd always heard the advice that using plastic army men, you know, the kind from Toy Story, was a great way to get into wargaming cheap, but I never really considered this viable outside of maybe a "realistic" wargame. In my day they were just guys with rifles, with one guy with a bazooka, one with a flame thrower, and one with a metal detector. These days they come with vehicles and terrain, though the question of unit variety remains.

I also noticed some off brand lego might work. It works out cheaper than 40k or 3D printing, and there are sets for robot walkers. No guns though, and using legos could ruin the aesthetic of the game.

A bit off topic, I heard a little while ago that toys were more popular with adults than kids these days. I thought that was damning, but seeing things like Funko Pops, Warhammer, and anime satues in the "toys" section next to dinosaurs and Barbie dolls made me doubt the claim. If so much stuff for grown ups have been sold as toys, maybe that skewed the numbers.


To end this wall of text, I want to ask about rules. There's supposedly other "ragequit 40k" games out there, as well as a bunch of One Page Rules YouTubers, but I've not found them. I only know Bolt Action, and One Page Rules. As for OPR YouTubers, I only know GoodNuff Gaming and One Page More.

I also saw an ad for a YouTubers game called "Majestic 13". It promised to be Xcom meets Men in Black, but the 5 v 1 format put me off it and I've not seen anything organic out there talking about it. I also see a lot of YouTubers hyping up Quar, but it feels like a promotion.

 

[Miriam Margoyles]

Have you tried using gummy bears or jelly babies? The sculpts aren't up to much, but they're cheap, you don't have to paint them, and when they get shot you can eat them.

 

[Easterling]

Stargrave / rouge stars are worth looking into, minis are much cheaper than 40k, the price is typically £1 per mini give or take

 

[Operations]

Have you tried using gummy bears or jelly babies? The sculpts aren't up to much, but they're cheap, you don't have to paint them, and when they get shot you can eat them.

Bro but you get ants doing that. Also imagine getting all the weird sugary stuff out of your boards or table.

 

[XYZpdq Jr.]

Bro but you get ants doing that. Also imagine getting all the weird sugary stuff out of your boards or table.

graham cracker terrain

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

From what I heard of 3D printing, it's a hobby in itself and a massive time investment even before assembly time, to the point mosy adults would rather just buy the models and get it done with.

Bro but you get ants doing that.

Count the ants as enemy tyrannid.

 

[Judge Dredd]

From what I heard of 3D printing, it's a hobby in itself and a massive time investment even before assembly time, to the point mosy adults would rather just buy the models and get it done with.

Seems to be that way. From what I can tell on the internet, one problem is that a typical 3D printer (FDM) isn't particularly good for minis as 3D prints have obvious layers, so any detail would get lost. Resin printers are expensive and requires the use of toxic chemicals, and is a more involved process, but gives the details you want in a mini. But 3D printing is supposedly improving quickly so maybe that is outdated.

The internet claims that to get everything you need to get started with resin, you need the printer, extractor for ventilation, a curing station, a vat to wash, etc. All of which comes to a hefty price tag and you're reaching high triple digits. A friend on the internet was talking about a elegoo 4 max they bought that does everything they need it to do. Cost on Amazon is about £340. They aren't into minis wargaming however, and the closest they have is some small statues.

The question then becomes how much do you have to print before the printer and materials pays for itself? I'm guessing that, if you're the kind of person who pays £500+ for a 40k army, and have multiple armies, then I imagine printing pays for itself.


Then there's buying pre-printed. I don't know anyone local who does 3D printing. There are pre-printed services online, and they still turn out cheaper than 40k. A pre-printed army for OPR goes for around £80 for 40 models. Whereas GW is £100 for 20. There's a Space Marine combat patrol that is £100 for 12 human models.

Stargrave / rouge stars are worth looking into, minis are much cheaper than 40k, the price is typically £1 per mini give or take

Perfect. Thanks for the recommendation. When looking them up, I stumbled across another company called Wargame Atlantic that has minis for a similar price. £25 + postage for 24-30 models. How are the rules for Stargrave, or do you just like the models?

Something else I also found while looking up those models. Similar to, but legally distinct from, film characters. A bit more expensive at £3-£4 each, but things like "Intercepter Driver" that is clearly Mad Max, "80s action hero" that is Snake Plissken, all you need is the scope for his silenced Mac-10. I don't know what you'd use them for, but fun to see. Maybe as part of a kill team? There was a set called Reptilian Overlords that was kind of similar to the humans from Predator, but there were enough differences that it could be a coincidence. Though I could see them being useful in a game since you could feild them as a squad.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

The question then becomes how much do you have to print before the printer and materials pays for itself? I'm guessing that, if you're the kind of person who pays £500+ for a 40k army, and have multiple armies, then I imagine printing pays for itself.

The irony is that if you are the type of guy to spend that amount of money on the hobby then, short of making an entire faction from scratch, you pretty much already spent most of the cash needed to play and really only need to get the occasional cool/meta model.

Speaking of which, how many GW models have a downloadable plastic 3D image (before assembly)? I don't think scanning a bought model is too hard, but it does require someone else to pay the price for the model.

 

[XYZpdq Jr.]

Count the ants as enemy tyrannid.

I think there's some real potential in snack-based gaming.

 

[Tism the Return II]

If you get down to it all you really need to play 40k is terrain (anything can be terrain) and the correct base sizes as stand-in for the models (cardboard cutouts) if you play using true line of sight like in 8th.

 

[Just Some Other Guy]

A resin printer for minis can be as little as $100 for a 6" or so model. A kg of resin can be $10-15 and print 1k points easy. Probably 2k. Depends how many bulky vehicles you're doing. Throw in another $100 for reusable PPE/cleaning/curing and you're set. Oh, I guess a few hobby tools, too.

Can always tell who doesn't do printing. They greatly exaggerate costs to justify GeeDubs.

 

[Involuntary Celebrity]

Can always tell who doesn't do printing. They greatly exaggerate costs to justify GeeDubs.

I think it's just that it used to be true. If you aren't into printing there's no reason you'd stay abreast of the big price drops for resin machines in the last few years.

But yeah, an advantage of just wanting to print minis is that you can get away with the smallest (therefore cheapest) printers around since you're probably not going to need anything with a footprint over 100mm (and when it comes to resin even the 'low' resolution end is plenty of detail). Even the odd tank or winged dude or whatever you could print in pieces. You could probably get going for under $150 if you know that's all you want it for.

I wouldn't say it's time-consuming either. FDM can be very fiddly with supports and material considerations sometimes, but resin is relatively painless. Until you spill it on your carpet.

 

[Just Some Other Guy]

Lots of savings too if you don't mind used/refurbs. Last gen machines usually get sold for fire sale prices (such as a mars 3 for $100) when the new stuff comes out.

 

[ratnoid]

Speaking of which, how many GW models have a downloadable plastic 3D image (before assembly)? I don't think scanning a bought model is too hard, but it does require someone else to pay the price for the model.

There is already a fairly tight knit community on Telegram for scanned GW models and they either do kickstarter type buys or one of the scanners makes a group and crowdfunds the release of files. Some of these were already leaked on on TG's many .stl sharing channels. Biggest problem is that they use Paypal for transactions.

 

[Just Some Other Guy]

There is already a fairly tight knit community on Telegram for scanned GW models and they either do kickstarter type buys or one of the scanners makes a group and crowdfunds the release of files. Some of these were already leaked on on TG's many .stl sharing channels. Biggest problem is that they use Paypal for transactions.

Yeah it's pretty neat how fast scanning quality is increasing.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

There is already a fairly tight knit community on Telegram for scanned GW models and they either do kickstarter type buys or one of the scanners makes a group and crowdfunds the release of files. Some of these were already leaked on on TG's many .stl sharing channels. Biggest problem is that they use Paypal for transactions.

I don't think there is any issue with the legality of it as long as they claim it's purely for cases a piece breaks or is defective. Trying to pursue it in court will probably lose.

 

[ratnoid]

I don't think there is any issue with the legality of it as long as they claim it's purely for cases a piece breaks or is defective. Trying to pursue it in court will probably lose.

Oh na the whole scanning business is black market and GW is actively shutting it down anywhere they can. Reason why it was driven to obscure Telegram channels in the first place. They used to post them on Cults3D, but GW started to actively rape the website. GW is super predatory when it comes to people replicating their designs (even applies to tons of designs people made from scratch). I know way back some recasters tried to disguise themselves a a part replacement service too but they got fucked either way. So yeah. There is a pretty active GW model black market for both physical and digital like it's some precious items and it'll never be not funny to me (and kinda sad I guess).

 

[Judge Dredd]

If you get down to it all you really need to play 40k is terrain (anything can be terrain) and the correct base sizes as stand-in for the models (cardboard cutouts) if you play using true line of sight like in 8th.

There's technically possible, and there's reasonable.

In one video, a guy uses knock off Jenga blocks with icons drawn on them, on a battle mat made of fuzzy felt. On paper, this is a wargame for under £20, but in practice no one is really going to play a game where you push around jenga blocks and coke cans on fuzzy felt. Even if you do, it loses something.

For OPR, they have some paper minis. Basically PDFs you cut out and make little standees. That works, but it's also a bit naff. I didn't include this in the OP, but one problem is getting people to play. I know (or knew) a bunch of board game people, so getting a board game going is fine. There are also wargame-like board games (Nexus Ops) in the same way there are RPG-like board games (Descent, Hero Quest). I don't think this is as "fun" as having a table of models, but you certainly could play this way.

Paper terrain though is amazing. Terrain is arguably my favourite part of the modelling side of wargaming. I love the card buildings for Infinity. (I'd post a picture but webp. Just google image search) There's options there too. Getting a laser cutter to make MDF terrain is overkill, but MDF terrain can be bought pre-cut. I was also fond of the gridded mats that came with a pack of Halo Clix I bought when a local shop was selling them off.

I think it's just that it used to be true. If you aren't into printing there's no reason you'd stay abreast of the big price drops for resin machines in the last few years.

This. There's also a difference between what's "needed" vs what's "nice to have". The friend who has a resin printer doesn't have a curing station or a wash vat. Instead they cure them by putting them outside or on the windowsill during a sunny day, and for washing they have a sealed container they put them inside and shake. They'd like a real curing and wash station, but space and money are tight. Would this work for minis? Don't know.

There is already a fairly tight knit community on Telegram for scanned GW models and they either do kickstarter type buys or one of the scanners makes a group and crowdfunds the release of files.

I understand why, but that seems to be a bit of a waste when there's so many good models out there.

Maybe it's just me, but I'd like to see pirated versions of old GW scuplts/models. I doubt I'd use them over the new stuff or original models, but I have a lot of nostalgia for 2nd and 3rd edition.

 

[Just Some Other Guy]

Would this work for minis? Don't know.

Shoebox + foil + cheap UV light + cheap solar turntable. That's about $20 assuming you can find foil and a cardboard box at home.

Washing is a plastic container and cleaner of choice. 99% IPA or Acetone work best, but other things can work too depending on budget.

These solutions work just fine for minis. Wash and cure stations are overrated. I have one, but they don't do any better than home made solutions. It's kind of neat having it all in one, but that's about it.


Resin printing has such an incredibly low bar for entry nowadays that brain dead Redditors are doing it fine.

 

[Involuntary Celebrity]

Would this work for minis? Don't know.

The shaking a jar approach to washing might be a little rough on lil delicate minis. Set it on a running clothesdryer or tape your mother's Hitachi to it for a few minutes though and you're doing exactly what a wash station does.

Solar curing on the other hand is probably super feasible for that same reason though: light will penetrate the small prints fairly easily. Something that'd only need 5 minutes under UV will do great in a window; a turntable is overkill.
But you could also make completely and totally certain of that by printing in a clear resin. I use it for making moulds that will poison the silicone I'm using em with if they aren't 100% absolutely cured.
Plus it'd let you have transparent stands on your hoverbikes and maybe do some neat glass/crystal/fire effects on any bits you don't basecoat, potentially.

The main thing is that you'll want to make sure they're fully set if you're using the sun. I how no idea how long that'd take, probably a day or two at a guess. The reason being that incompletely-cured resin has a tendency to warp which could fuck up poses or crack paint: "over"-curing, on the other hand, just makes it a bit more brittle. So while people might talk about finding a sweet spot normally, for minis I'd err towards the latter since you're gonna handle your beautifully-painted doods carefully anyway.