Warhammer gift ideas

[Monr0e]

19 year old DS has very recently purchased himself a starter kit for Warhammer. Apparently something he has wanted to get into for a while.

I know as much about Warhammer as I do about nuclear physics, which is to say nothing at all. So I have no idea where to begin with adding to his new hobby.

DS is notorious for never asking for anything, so every Christmas and birthday I'm left guessing what he might like. So when he shows a particular interest in something I jump on that bandwagon. So can anyone advise what gifts a new Warhammer fan would appreciate? Thank you very much.

Is he wanting to play games against others, or just collect and paint the figures?

If he's wanting to play you can get special protective cases for the models.

If he's wanting to paint, a painting station and good brushes are a must. A wet palette is also a good idea and painting handle.

As PP said for playing a good carry case will help keep models safe & organised.

If you have a branch of Games Workshop I’d go in and ask the team there

A subscription to the Warhammer magazine?

The staff on the shops are usually fabulous Warhammer mega geeks. I would go to your local shop, tell them what starter set he had bought and go from there. You'll need to know if he bought 40k or Age of Sigmar.

Chat to your ds too, is he enjoying painting his figures? If so you could get him a nice set of brushes, a little stand to put the figure on while painting. You can get bits of grass and gravel effect for the bases. A "bits box" is useful too for safely stowing tiny little weapons and things.

Playing with others. Does he have nice dice? A game board? A retractable tape measure? A carry case to transport his army safely?

Was his starter set one of the little ones or was it a big one with scenery? If no scenery then that's a good option.

It is a very good way of spending a lot of money on teeny, tiny bits of delicate plastic!

There will be all sorts of paints, brushes, modelling equipment, dice, books - would highly recommend checking the name of the starter kit he’s bought because there are very specific different armies and types of games.

If you’ve got a Warhammer or Games Workshop shop, or an independent model/comic/board game type shop, near you they will be able to give you some specific suggestions - or, if you’re anywhere near Nottingham, you could even give him a trip to Warhammer World (like the mothership of Warhammer).

Following because my 13 year old DS loves Warhammer

My eldest son is into warhammer, not really into playing games so much as making and painting the models.

he needs to decided if he wants to play or collect, to buy made models (which can cost up to thousands!) or the make and paint just for collecting. On top of that there are soooo many different armies/ landscapes etc.

my advice is to take him a war hammer shop, there’s one in Nottingham which is huge. He can see games being played and lots of figures and get advice on paints and modelling tools.

OP, you need to know which Warhammer he is collecting - basically, it’s a war game and you collect an army to play against other armies, so your son’s will be a specific type. I have spent a fortune over the years on Warhammer - my DS is still keen as an adult and father - so ask your DS which his army is, and if there’s anything in particular he’d like. (And then be absolutely horrified by the prices!)

A trip to Warhammer World in Nottingham.

Start with finding out what army he’s bought, whether he’s bought it for the painting side, or if he’s intending to play it. If he’s planning on playing it, you could buy dice (lots), the funny disc things which are blast zones (or something like that!), a cool mini tape measure, carry cases for models, that sort of thing. Can get lots off of eBay which are different colours. If he’s purely on the decorating side, find out the colour scheme he’s thinking of, how’s he decorating the bases, washes, paints, nice brushes, an airbrush, tufts of grass/grit/resin for the base depending upon what he says, perhaps some scenery to paint, that sort of thing. Vallejo is good for paint and washes. If you know the army you could buy some other pieces which look cool that he might like.

Start with showing an interest in it, most of the warhammer fans I know love to talk about what they’re thinking and where they’re headed with it.

Mum of a warhammer geek here. I darent think about how many thousands of pounds has been spent on warhammer over the years.

find out what army he’s building and choose from that range. Paint and paint brushes always go down well.

Warhammer stores are really helpful if you have one nearby.

It feels like someone speaking a foreign language! But I really appreciate all the responses.

This is the set he bought.

I think for now it's the decorating side of things? But that could obviously change.

Paints and brushes sound like a good beginning, also some kind of painting table / area? If anyone has any recommendations?

Thanks again

It feels like someone speaking a foreign language! But I really appreciate all the responses.

This is the set he bought.

I think for now it's the decorating side of things? But that could obviously change.

Paints and brushes sound like a good beginning, also some kind of painting table / area? If anyone has any recommendations?

Thanks again

Just have a conversation with him feigning interest and elicit the information you require re what he might like to own

Oh god you poor woman 🤣
i have both DS & DH obsessed, the bloody stuff gets everywhere

For playing - dice so many dice (only D6 though), dice jail, dice tray, laser pointers (really - to confirm if shooting someone is possible around the terrain!), playing mat

For painting - terrain is a nice change to paint, all the paint (talk to the shop people, there are lots of different types of paint) & something to store it in, endless fancy brushes & wet pallets, a good light maybe with magnifying lens for the fiddly bits (it's all fiddly!)

You also get sets of mini rasps for smoothing down the edges etc when glueing. Also there are hundreds of books

All the above a great suggestions. I'll add that if he is wanting to focus on the painting side, a good, adjustable task light (high CRI rating) is a massive benefit.
A whole range of brushes is great too, dry brushes, tiny detail brushes and larger round brushes.
Sable brushes are rated as among the best but there are some good quality synthetic ones from army painter and AK interactive aswell. Warhammer/ Citadel brushes tend to be over priced.

So my husband (a popular miniature painter) uses a particular brand of Spanish paint called Vallejo. Maybe some of their paints?

I was a warhammer kid... and I got very used to people wanting to buy presents for a hobby that is obviously hard to buy for.

Some things that worked:

Paint + brushes.. can never have too many brushes, and paint is always appreciated, and it is easy to have a quick scan over what they already have.

Scenery - you can buy branded, or just general table-top scenary. Trees, ruined buildings etc. Can never have too many of these, and they are generic/useful no matter what type of game they are playing.

Models - Find out what faction/army/race they are collecting (just get them to write a name down). Then go to a games workshop, and show it to the worker there. They are VERY used to parents and grandparents coming in with no idea... say to them "My son has just started collecting this army, I have X amount to spend on his Christmas present, what is the coolest model that you would recomend" - and they will pick something for you.

Doubling up, really isn't a problem with warhammer - (depending on the type of play) it is very common for an Army to have multiple of the same tanks, units, figures etc. If you do get unlucky though, they can always go to the shop and change it for a model they like.

Age of sigmar or 40k? What army did he buy?

I have a DD who is just getting into it, I echo the go to a shop comment. I have never - and I genuinely mean never - come across retail staff like you get in a war hammer shop, we went to 6 over the summer (every time we went to a different city including 2 in Europe!) and without exception they were incredible. Whoever is in charge of recruitment and training is obviously phenomenal at their job.

I totally agree with @SoSoPredictable.....the staff in Warhammer shops are brilliant and really helpful. DH and DDs are into Warhammer..... unfortunately for our purse strings DD1 collects Age of Sigmar and DD2 40k (the same one your son has bought.) They just like collecting and painting the figures too.

I echo brushes and paints as a good present, you can't go wrong with those. Or if you show a member of staff the photo and say your DS has bought the 40k introductory set they'll be able to recommend some cool models. DD2 likes collecting the Space Marines and Tyrranids from the 40k range.

Take a deep breath before you look at the prices though. Warhammer is not cheap!

Thank you all so much. It seems brushes and paints and figures may be a good way to go to start?

Sorry for more daft questions, but does the paint have to be Warhammer branded? Just wondering if everything has to be specific colours? Or can any be used? And if getting figures, they should be from the 40k range/army/gang?

If he's into painting then I also think a holder is useful. It's basically a stand which holds the models so you can paint more easily. Brushes need to be decent quality and very fine.
Warhammer paint is expensive but obviously is very good as they have lots of specific colours. there's another brand the Army Painter which is quite good. The washes are quite good for effects.
You need to know what army he has to get the right colour paints though or else just get some basics and some washes.

Most of DHs paint seems to be Citadel.
He also uses a spray paint as an initial base coat, apparently helps the paint stick better.

A gift voucher for the local shop might be useful!