Just about every hobby is some kind of money sink. One reason I stopped playing 40k was because of my distaste for how GW insists on only using their materials and how blatantly they just drill people’s wallets.

But that’s not the whole wargaming community! That’s not even the whole 40k community. There’s OnePageRules, for instance, which is a totally free and really good model-agnostic Warhammer ruleset. There are other games like Battletech that are much more accepting of kit-bashes and creative modeling. Lots of historical wargames are very open about that too (as long as you keep it accurate).

And, of course, investing a couple hundred in a decent UV printer both a) provides a whole new way to hobby and b) saves a SHITLOAD long-term.

I started with DnD miniatures when I was quitting drinking. That’s pretty affordable and risk-free for starting out, and a lot of the models out there for like $5 apiece are really decent these days. A basic paint set and some dollar store brushes and you’re good to go.

I’m very passionate about DIY hobbying ;)